Are you a leader who’s ever been told you’re too nice, too collaborative, too emotional, or just too different to fit into senior leadership? Or perhaps you’ve never been told that but at some level you sense that you don’t fit the typical leadership mould.

In this episode, I’m flipping the script on outdated leadership expectations and exploring how your difference is actually your strength.

What You’ll Learn:

• What “the leadership mould” really is — and who it was built for
• The hidden cost of trying to fit into a leadership style that doesn’t align with your values
• Why traditional feedback like “you need more gravitas” often reflects bias, not fact
• The power of leading with empathy, reflection, and authenticity
• Real-life examples, including Jacinda Ardern’s leadership style and Carla’s own journey
• 3 practical shifts to help you embrace your leadership identity and develop to the next level of leadership

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Impactful Teams Scorecard – Discover how your team measures up and how you can grow your team’s impact.
• 1:1 Leadership Coaching with Carla – Define your unique leadership brand and thrive outside the mould. Book a discovery call

📢 If This Resonated…

Please share this episode with a fellow leader who needs to hear it.

Leave a review to support the show or reach out to me directly — I’d love to hear what landed most for you.

When we think of a confident leader, we might imagine someone who always knows the right thing to do straight away or who has all the answers.  And then we feel bad because we like to think things through before responding, or we don't always know the answer. 

Some of us can spend a fair bit of time negatively comparing ourselves to this fictional and seemingly perfect leader! That mental energy could be going somewhere far more productive so in this mini episode I want to unpick the myth that a good leader always has the answers.

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders with Carla Miller, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Stay in Touch: If you're tuning in on Apple Podcasts, click follow so you never miss an update.

Spread the Love: On June 16th or 17th, share the podcast on social media or leave a review on Apple podcasts. Snap a screenshot and send it to hello@carlamiller.co.uk, and I'll send you an exclusive pack of my Influence & Impact affirmation cards as a thank you.

Work with Carla: To chat about hiring Carla as your coach or to work with your team book a call or visit carlamiller.co.uk.

Work can be a lot sometimes!  How often do you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by all the things you need to do and how much work it’s going to take to do them properly? It’s making me stressed just thinking about it! 

In this mini episode, I’m going to share with you a simple but truly effective way to dial back that overwhelm and make things simpler for yourself.

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders with Carla Miller, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Stay in Touch: If you're tuning in on Apple Podcasts, click follow so you never miss an update.

Spread the Love: On June 16th or 17th, share the podcast on social media or leave a review on Apple podcasts. Snap a screenshot and send it to hello@carlamiller.co.uk, and I'll send you an exclusive pack of my Influence & Impact affirmation cards as a thank you.

Work with Carla: To chat about hiring Carla as your coach or to work with your team book a call or visit carlamiller.co.uk.

The Influence & Impact podcast is back after a 3 month break and it has had a refresh. This mini episode shares what’s staying the same, what’s changing and why.

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders with Carla Miller, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Stay in Touch: If you're tuning in on Apple Podcasts, click follow so you never miss an update.

Spread the Love: On June 16th or 17th, share the podcast on social media or leave a review on Apple podcasts. Snap a screenshot and send it to hello@carlamiller.co.uk, and I'll send you an exclusive pack of my Influence & Impact affirmation cards as a thank you.

Work with Carla: To chat about hiring Carla as your coach or to work with your team book a call or visit carlamiller.co.uk.

Many leaders struggle with making tough decisions and dealing with their aftermath. In this episode Sarah Miller, CEO at leading global ethics consultancy Principia, shares how ethics can provide a set of resources and tools to use within decision-making, guiding how we lead as individuals from our own place of values, but probably more critically, how we engage with others who bring their own sets of values.

In our conversation we discuss…

• How to weigh different perspectives and ‘effectively deliberate’

• The ‘transparency and fairness tests’ you can apply to decisions

• Creating safe spaces for difficult discussions after hard decisions

• The concept of the ‘moral remainder’ and how it will help you navigate hard decisions and their aftermath

Self-awareness as a leader is easier said than done since we all have blind spots. One way to improve the quality of our working relationships is to get our micro-interactions right. When I came across Sarah Langslow’s book ‘Do Sweat the Small Stuff’ I immediately recognised it as an invaluable guide to any leader looking to lead in a positive and people-focused way so I’m excited to share this conversation with you.

In our conversation we discuss…

• What is the ‘small stuff’ and why should leaders sweat it?

• What are micro-interactions and why do they mater so much?

• How important it is for leaders to recognise that their job is their people

• Becoming more conscious of the impact of both the content and delivery of our words

Workplaces and meetings are not set up to get the best out of introverts so it’s no wonder that many people who identify as introverts can experience self doubt at work even in leadership roles.

Sarah Manley built a highly successful career in marketing as a deep introvert but was growing tired of being ‘always on’ and visible and increasingly felt like she was in the wrong place. It ate at her confidence. Then she discovered ‘Quiet’; by Susan Cain and she understood herself and her strengths fully for the first time. Sarah approached work with a new mindset and embraced being an introvert at work. In her book ‘The Quiet Catalyst’ Sarah shares her insights, tools and strategies to thriving as an introvert at work.

In our conversation we discuss…

• How to network successfully as an introvert

• How to navigate working with an extraverted manager

• How to gather feedback that works for you as an introvert and how to make it useful

In today's episode, we reflect back on 2024 and get you thinking about what you want from 2025. This is a great way to bring 2024 to a close and be intentional about 2025 so grab your favourite notebook, a cosy blanket, and a warm drink, and dive into this reflective episode to set the tone for a brilliant 2025.

My name’s Carla Miller, leadership coach, author and trainer. And this is the Influence & Impact podcast for women leaders, helping you confidently navigate the ups and downs of leadership and feel less alone on your journey as a leader. In fortnightly episodes I share practical tools and insights from myself and my brilliant guests that will help you succeed in your career.

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Influence & Impact:

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