The Unburdened Leader podcast

The Unburdened Leader

Meet leaders who recognized their own pain, worked through it, and stepped up into greater leadership. Each week, we dive into how leaders like you deal with struggle and growth so that you can lead without burnout or loneliness. If you're eager to make an impact in your community or business, Rebecca Ching, LMFT, will give you practical strategies for redefining challenges and vulnerability while becoming a better leader. Find the courage, confidence, clarity, and compassion to step up for yourself and your others--even when things feel really, really hard.

Meet leaders who recognized their own pain, worked through it, and stepped up into greater leadership. Each week, we dive into how leaders like you deal with struggle and growth so that you can lead without burnout or loneliness. If you're eager to make an impact in your community or business, Rebecca Ching, LMFT, will give you practical strategies for redefining challenges and vulnerability while becoming a better leader. Find the courage, confidence, clarity, and compassion to step up for yourself and your others--even when things feel really, really hard.

 

#146

EP 145: Leading Through Outrage: Why Moral Imagination Matters with Dr. Kurt Gray

How do we stay awake and aware without constantly being outraged? Or, perhaps even worse, ... more

Yesterday

1 HR 23 MINS

1:23:42

Yesterday


#145

EP 144: Faithful Skepticism: Questioning Without Losing Hope with David Adey

Every day, we’re flooded with information–headlines, opinions, advice, noise. And beneath ... more

28 Nov 2025

1 HR 07 MINS

1:07:12

28 Nov 2025


#144

EP 143: Transforming Legacy Burdens in our Leadership with Crystal Jones

Leaders carry the weight of more than their current roles. We receive messages from the ge... more

14 Nov 2025

1 HR 02 MINS

1:02:10

14 Nov 2025


#143

EP 142: The Hidden Leadership and Mental Health Costs of Performative Goodness with Elise Loehnen

What does it mean to be good? It’s a little word that carries a lot of weight for many of ... more

31 Oct 2025

1 HR 21 MINS

1:21:52

31 Oct 2025


#142

EP 141: When Science Meets Misinformation: How to Lead with Evidence in a Truth-Decay Era with Dr. B...

We live in an age where truth twists into confusion, opinion drowns out data, and it’s inc... more

17 Oct 2025

1 HR 20 MINS

1:20:00

17 Oct 2025


#141

EP 140: Dare to Dabble: How Intentional Amateurship Builds Resilience with Karen Walrond

Have you ever thought of being an amateur as a good thing? Many of us learned from an earl... more

03 Oct 2025

1 HR 19 MINS

1:19:04

03 Oct 2025


#140

EP 139: Bad Bosses Aren't Born, They're Made: Breaking Toxic Leadership Cycles with Mita Malick

We’ve all had bad bosses. We might have even been one. At the very least, we’ve probably l... more

19 Sep 2025

1 HR 14 MINS

1:14:33

19 Sep 2025


#139

EP 138: Unburdened Eating: How Healing Your Relationship with Food Transforms Your Leadership  with ...

How we care for ourselves is inextricably connected to how we lead. In a culture where we ... more

05 Sep 2025

1 HR 18 MINS

1:18:34

05 Sep 2025


#138

EP 137: The Summer Willis Act: From Silence to Systems Change with Summer Willis

What does it take to lead when your story becomes the story, and the stakes are survival a... more

22 Aug 2025

1 HR 02 MINS

1:02:35

22 Aug 2025


#137

EP 136: From Overwhelm to Enough: Leading Through Intentional Consumption with Ashlee Piper

What do you care about these days?  Caring is the currency of leadership, but here’s the p... more

08 Aug 2025

1 HR 06 MINS

1:06:03

08 Aug 2025


#136

EP 135: Disability Joy and Persistent Leadership: Honoring Our Full Humanity with Tiffany Yu​​

We persist for what matters most—for the people we lead, and the people we love. But persi... more

25 Jul 2025

1 HR 16 MINS

1:16:38

25 Jul 2025


#135

EP 134: Focus, Feel, Forward: Redefining Leadership for the Long Haul with Amanda Litman

How do we lead in the face of fear, when the stakes feel sky high and relentlessly persona... more

11 Jul 2025

1 HR 08 MINS

1:08:02

11 Jul 2025


#134

EP 133: Beyond Nostalgia: Leading Through Constant Uncertainty with Chris Hoff, LMFT

Nostalgia can be a balm. Especially when we’re in what feels like a never-ending season of... more

27 Jun 2025

1 HR 05 MINS

1:05:02

27 Jun 2025


#133

EP 132: Why Most Feedback Fails (And How to Make It Actually Work) with Therese Huston, Ph.D.

When you hear the word, feedback, what comes up for you? Most of us do not have a neutral ... more

13 Jun 2025

1 HR 07 MINS

1:07:33

13 Jun 2025


#132

EP 131: Leadership, Accountability, and the Self: A Special Anniversary Conversation with IFS Founde...

The leaders I work with want to be the kind of leaders who can handle complexity without d... more

30 May 2025

1 HR 02 MINS

1:02:18

30 May 2025


#131

EP 130: The Unburdened Leader Roundtable Sessions: Autism and Leadership with Eric Garcia and Meg Ra...

Fear of the unfamiliar is a powerful force.  And when it comes to autism, we don’t only ha... more

16 May 2025

1 HR 16 MINS

1:16:46

16 May 2025


#130

EP 129: Beyond the List: Building Communities of Generosity and Mutual Care with Charles Vogl

We often hear the advice, “You just need to find your community.” It sounds simple. Hopefu... more

02 May 2025

1 HR 25 MINS

1:25:46

02 May 2025


#129

EP 128: The Humanity Behind the Science: Challenging Misinformation with Empathy featuring Dr. Jess ...

Many things we once widely accepted as true and considered non-controversial galvanize int... more

18 Apr 2025

1 HR 15 MINS

1:15:30

18 Apr 2025


#128

EP 127: Hard on Ideas, Not People: Fighting Fiction with Facts (and a Little Humor) with Dr. Jonatha...

The issues at stake—our health, our rights, how we educate our kids—demand a lot from us. ... more

04 Apr 2025

1 HR 06 MINS

1:06:17

04 Apr 2025


#127

EP 126: Authenticity in Action: Speaking Up, Holding Nuance, and Leading with Courage with Dr. Jamie...

Given our political situation in the United States, you may be hearing a lot of people–mys... more

21 Mar 2025

1 HR 04 MINS

1:04:26

21 Mar 2025


#126

EP 125: Power, Regulation, and Leadership: Connecting to Your Personal Power with Dr. Amanda Aguiler...

In Twelve Step programs, the first step, as I understand it, is recognizing that we are po... more

07 Mar 2025

1 HR 15 MINS

1:15:29

07 Mar 2025


#125

EP 124: Doing the Work: Internal Family Systems and Creativity with Sacha Mardou

Toxic leadership stems from the burdens of unresolved trauma and difficult life experience... more

21 Feb 2025

1 HR 10 MINS

1:10:00

21 Feb 2025


#124

EP 123: Befriending Your Nervous System: Building Capacity for Regulation with Deb Dana

These days, the call for leaders to be adaptable, agile, flexible, clear, focused, and cal... more

31 Jan 2025

1 HR 12 MINS

1:12:35

31 Jan 2025


#123

EP 122: 2024 Debrief: Rhythms, Reps, and Metabolizing Loss

I know I’m not alone in feeling like 2024 was a year. So many of us are still working thro... more

17 Jan 2025

53 MINS

53:39

17 Jan 2025


#122

EP 121: Loving the Other Side: Leadership That Bridges Divides with Frank Anderson

As I’ve been reflecting on the past year, themes of relational trauma, betrayal trauma, an... more

20 Dec 2024

1 HR 17 MINS

1:17:28

20 Dec 2024


#121

EP 120: Permission to Pause: How Glimmers Fuel Creativity and Leadership with Amanda Jones

When was the last time you felt truly moved by something you saw or heard? It could be a p... more

06 Dec 2024

1 HR 06 MINS

1:06:10

06 Dec 2024