Every leader eventually faces a moment that stops them cold: watching someone who cuts corners, sidesteps accountability, or operates without integrity get ahead. It’s the kind of moment that makes you question not just the environment you’re in, but the meaning of your effort. And it’s far more common—and more neurologically impactful—than people realize. In this week’s episode of Her Next Power Move, leadership expert L. Michelle Smith…
The very first trade review for my upcoming book, Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church, has arrived from Publishers Weekly — and it is everything I hoped readers and leaders would see in this work. They didn’t just summarize the book. They understood it. They affirmed the book’s central thesis with this line: “The Black Church and many of its traditions are a crucial…
Iron fists and machine-centered cultures may dominate the headlines—but the most effective leaders are charting a different course. They’re leading with heart. As I share in my forthcoming book, Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church (Amistad Books | JVL Media, Feb 2026), heart-centered leadership isn’t sentimental. It’s strategic. It’s the science of emotional regulation, empathy, and trust at work. My research revealed that the…
Every leader faces moments when the path forward blurs—when market shifts, organizational change, or world events make it difficult to see what’s next. In those moments, calm becomes more than composure. It becomes strategy. Neuroscience shows that uncertainty triggers the amygdala—the brain’s fear center—causing stress hormones to rise and focus to narrow. But there’s another way. When you slow your breathing, reframe the situation, or anchor to purpose,…
People are exhausted. Budgets are tightening. Certainty feels out of reach. And yet—there’s a quiet call for something deeper. In today’s FlightPath, I unpack what that means for leadership right now and what the science says about empowerment—not as a buzzword, but as a neuropsychological process that fuels courage, connection, and change. It comes directly from the Call & Response Leadership Revival Framework which reveals that the work…
Every leader faces moments when the path forward blurs—when market shifts, organizational change, or world events make it difficult to see what’s next. In those moments, calm becomes more than composure. It becomes strategy. Neuroscience shows that uncertainty triggers the amygdala—the brain’s fear center—causing stress hormones to rise and focus to narrow. But there’s another way. When you slow your breathing, reframe the situation, or anchor to purpose,…
In a world that prizes logic, metrics, and constant optimization, emotional regulation has quietly become the differentiator between managers who simply execute and leaders who truly inspire. As I explore in my forthcoming book, Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church (Amistad Books | JVL Media | Feb 2026), the most resilient executives don’t rely on head-only decisions. They lead from the intersection of heart…
If you’re feeling weary from yet another round of reorgs, RTO mandates, or shifting priorities, you’re not alone. Change fatigue has quietly become one of the most underestimated barriers to leadership effectiveness today. Neuroscience tells us that our brains are wired to protect us from uncertainty. Positive psychology reminds us that hope and meaning are the antidotes. But how do you bridge the gap when you’re leading a…
Intuition Isn’t Magic—It’s a Muscle For some leaders, “trust your gut” is second nature. For others, it takes practice. Intuition grows when you exercise it early and often—something many gospel singers learn young while listening, blending, and responding to the moment. I learned this firsthand under my favorite minister of music, Gaye Arbuckle—a Stellar Award–nominee and gospel recording artist—during seven powerful years in Concord Church’s music ministry here…
Right now, many people are showing up to work carrying invisible weight. Economic uncertainty. Social tension. Cultural unrest. When the world doesn’t feel safe, it’s no surprise that the workplace often mirrors that unease. Psychological safety is one of the most powerful tools a leader has to shift that dynamic. Coined by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson, the term refers to a shared belief that it’s safe to take…