Pausing for Progress with Karen Liebenguth. In this Short Talk episode Judith Germain discusses with Karen Liebenguth what constitutes good leadership. Judith introduces Karen Liebenguth, a leadership coach, executive coach, mindfulness teacher, and mediator. Karen shares her background, including living in London for 23 years and her focus on working with clients in nature to help them feel more grounded, connected, and open to new perspectives.
You can listen to Episode 454 on any of the popular podcast platforms or apps (including Spotify, and Audible). If you prefer to listen to your browser you can do that below. Enjoy!
Key Takeaways
- Good leadership starts with self-awareness, self-reflection, and personal growth
- Leaders should model work-life balance, self-care, and presence
- Creating space for connection, listening, and inclusion is crucial
- Good leadership is about more than just getting things done – it’s about the quality of relationships
Topics
Self-Awareness and Personal Growth
- Good leaders commit to learning, increasing self-awareness, and knowing their patterns/tendencies
- They understand their impact on others and strive for qualities like humility, patience, compassion
- Self-reflection and noticing inner experiences/reactions is key
Modelling Balance and Presence
- Leaders should model work-life balance by taking breaks, having reasonable hours
- Pausing and being present allows clearer thinking and better choices
- Creating stillness and connection at the start of meetings shifts the atmosphere
Relationships and Inclusion
- Listening deeply, showing curiosity, and including everyone builds trust
- Making time for 1-on-1s deepens relationships and allows leaders to step back
- When people feel they belong, they want to contribute and be creative
Beyond Just Doing
- There’s a myth that constant doing equals high performance, but pausing restores energy
- Getting things done flows better from a grounded, present state
- Leaders should give permission for self-care by modelling it
In this conversation Karen defines good leadership as leaders being committed to self-awareness, understanding their own habits and tendencies, and recognising the impact their actions have on others. She emphasises the importance of qualities like humility, patience, acceptance, compassion, and empathy in effective leadership.
Karen addresses the common perception that leadership is about “getting things done,” highlighting the importance of leaders modelling a balance between action and reflection.ย
Karen is a leadership coach, mindfulness trainer and mediator. She feels passionate about working with leaders helping them have the positive impact they want to have on others, their organisation and the wider world.
Karen Liebenguth can be found on LinkedIn here. Her website can be found here.
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