Authentic Leadership Coaching Blog | Insights by Lead With Linnea

Lead with Linnea owner and trainer, Linnea Rader

Blog with Linnea

LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS THAT ACTUALLY WORK

Real Talk About the Challenges You're Facing

Every week, I share practical leadership insights for the real challenges you're dealing with, at work and in life. No fluff. No theory. Just honest, actionable wisdom from someone who's been there.

Whether you're a new supervisor navigating your first difficult conversation, a mid-level manager building your team, or a seasoned executive shaping culture, you'll find insights here that help you lead better.

Flyer for 4th Annual René Rangel Golf Open Fundraiser at Shamrock Hills, with photo of Rene Rangel in hard hat and safety vest.

You Can Do Anything You Put Your Mind To (Here’s How)

Nobody hands you a checklist for building a memorial golf outing out of nothing. I’ve been thinking about that all week. This past Saturday was the fourth annual René Rangel Jr. Golf Outing, and I kept thinking back to the very first one. Before that first year, the people who built it had never done anything like it. It reminded me of something I believe all the way down: you can do anything you put your mind to. I know, it sounds like a poster in a school hallway. Stay wi

linnearader

4 days ago5 min read

Red octagonal STOP sign on a post, with leafy green trees blurred in the background on a sunny day.

Leading a Team Through Hard Times (When You Don't Have the Answers)

Not long ago, one of our road crews was working behind giant orange signs, flashing lights, and a traffic regulator holding a stop sign. A car was already stopped in front of him. Then another vehicle came up fast and showed no signs of stopping. Our traffic regulator radioed a warning and ran for his life. The speeding vehicle rear-ended the stopped car, launched over it, landed on its top, and came to rest on its side within feet of him. Then he climbed up on that vehicle

linnearader

Sep 305 min read

Smiling woman in a blazer writes Communication on a whiteboard with a pink marker in a bright office.

Clear Expectations at Work: The Foundation Every Team Needs

What are expectations? It's knowing what someone can count on you for, and what you can count on from them in return. What you'll do. How you'll do it. What the end result is supposed to look like when it's done. Saying “everyone needs to know what's expected of them” sounds so obvious it barely feels worth saying out loud. Of course that makes sense. Who would argue with it? And yet, in more than twenty years of public sector leadership, this is the piece I watch teams str

linnearader

Sep 234 min read

Road roller paving a new road beside trees, with a worker driving and large overlaid text Asking Questions.

The Power of Positive Intent When You Ask Questions

For years, every time I asked a question, I got the same reaction. People got defensive. Their shoulders would tense up. Their answers got short. And for the longest time, I couldn't figure out why. Now I understand it completely. And once I did, it changed everything about how I show up at work, and honestly, at home too.

linnearader

Sep 165 min read

Woman with curly red hair writes in a notebook beside a laptop at a wooden desk in a warm, tidy home office.

Time Management Tips for Busy People Who Are Juggling It All

"How do you have time to do all of that?" "How many hours are in YOUR day?" I get some version of this question all the time. I work full time as a Finance and HR Director. I run my own leadership coaching business, working with teams at different agencies and companies. I'm writing journals and slowly working my way through a book. I write a weekly blog post and a weekly email. I'm on socials promoting my business more often than I'd like to admit. I homeschool my son. And

linnearader

Sep 96 min read

Curly-haired woman sits on a couch by a bright window, gazing thoughtfully; cozy room with sign reading one step at a time

How to Get Through a Hard Season in Life (Without Faking It)

Some days are hard. Some weeks are hard. And sometimes, entire seasons of your life are just plain hard. I'm not going to sugarcoat that for you, because I've been in one of those seasons myself lately. If you're wondering how to get through a hard season in life without just faking your way through it, that's exactly what we're talking about today. I talk a lot on this blog about staying positive, finding the bright side, and leading with a good attitude. All of that is sti

linnearader

Sep 27 min read

Negative self-talk is something we all deal with at times

The Negative Self-Talk That Feeds Imposter Syndrome (And How to Stop It)

Last week we talked about imposter syndrome, that nagging feeling that sneaks into your brain at the most inconvenient times. Today I want to go one layer deeper, because imposter syndrome doesn't show up out of nowhere. It's fed by something. It's fed by the self-doubt underneath it, the negative self-talk running in the background of everything we do. I can tell you with absolute certainty this is true, because I lived it this week.

linnearader

Aug 266 min read

Imposter syndrome still creeps in after all these years.

Imposter Syndrome Doesn't Go Away, You Just Get Faster at Catching It

Last week I walked into a room full of finance and human resources professionals. Smart people. Experienced people. The kind of room where you'd think, after 21 years in this field, I'd walk in and simply belong. Instead, I felt that familiar flash. Quick, sudden, gone almost as fast as it arrived, but it still landed. A pang that told me everyone else in that room already had more of what it takes than I did. Not a long drawn out thought. Just a flicker of doubt, there and

linnearader

Aug 195 min read

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