Episode 19: Rebuild the Container: The Mid‑Year Leader Awareness Reset
Hey there, leaders! Welcome back to People-Forward Leadership™Podcast. I am so glad and delighted that you decided to join me here today.
Something that I've noticed about myself and from working with thousands of professionals and leaders (I can't believe that it's been thousands over the course of my career - WOW - I had to pause for a second and acknowledge that) that mid‑year strategic and business checkpoints can feel like standing at the halftime of the championship game. The scoreboard tells one story, but the mindset —the fuel in the players' bodies — is the story that decides the second half of the game. And while the coaches can be on the sidelines designing and providing new and creative plays, it really doesn't matter if the mindset, motivation, and energy are gone. So, today, we're talking about rebuilding the container that holds your goals.
What do I mean by 'container' you may be asking? Think of it as the invisible vessel made up of your mindset, your emotional agility, and the micro‑behaviors that play out in meetings, emails, and hallway chats. If that vessel is cracked or too small, even the smartest strategy or tactic won't work; it will leak and limit your results. So today, we're going to dive into why rebuilding the container is a core pillar of Leader Awareness, one of the three pillars in my People‑Forward Leadership™ framework, and I'll give you three practical steps you can start using today.
Let me give you a few examples. After more than a decade of building my own firm and leading a team, I now have the incredible privilege of mentoring emerging entrepreneurs and business owners through Goldman Sachs' One Million Black Women: Black in Business program and a local think‑tank, Xcelerate Women.
Inevitably, when a few of my mentees reach the quarterly or mid‑year mark, they begin to frantically bombard me with questions about how to manage or improve the WHAT. And by that, I mean tweaking revenue targets, rewriting social-media calendars, chasing fresh KPIs —you know the content —but rarely do they pause to reflect and inspect the container that holds those goals: their mindset, emotional agility, and habitual leadership behaviors.
I'll hear, "We're off our client‑acquisition numbers; maybe it's the funnel," or "Revenue is lagging; perhaps we need a new offer." Panic focuses their gaze outward. But when we slow down and ask, "What inside me—or inside our culture—is creating this pattern?" real breakthroughs happen.
The same dynamic shows up with the CEOs I coach inside larger organizations. They may see they're 18% behind their projections on reducing absenteeism or still haven't filled critical roles, as expected, by June. Instinct may prompt them to focus on deploying another recruiter or tightening attendance policies, all of which are external tactics. Yet if they were to take a moment and reflect on their own beliefs about remote or hybrid work options, using new tools for recruiting like TikTok, and working on building a culture of trust so people want to stay, they might recognize how their own skepticism, one-way thinking, or limiting beliefs may have leaked into their policies and practices, but by rebuilding the container new ideas and approaches are given fertile ground to emerge. That's when the metrics can actually start to move.
Whether you're running a startup or a global division, the principle holds: Goals thrive—or starve—inside the container you create.
Neuroscience backs this up. When a leader clings to outdated beliefs, the brain's default mode network becomes activated, reinforcing the familiar, even if it is underperforming. Without intervention, we rerun yesterday's code and expect tomorrow's breakthrough.
Leader Awareness says: I can't alter the playbook until I upgrade the player. That's the container. And when you rebuild it—when you expand your emotional capacity to sit momentarily in the unknown —you allow for new, exciting, and innovative ideas to emerge, creating space for bolder tactics and truer collaboration. You don't just think outside the box; you throw the box out and create version 2.0.
See, when your container is strong—when your mindset is growth-oriented, when your emotional responses serve your goals rather than sabotage them when your behaviors align with your values—you create space for bigger goals, better outcomes, and more sustainable success.
But here's the people-forward connection: When you do this inner work, you become a better leader for others. You can't give what you don't have. When your container is strong, you can hold space for your team's growth and potential.
So, how do we actually rebuild this container? Go ahead and grab a pen, or if you're listening to this while on the move, give yourself permission to revisit these tips later. I want to share three practical pillars that you can start implementing this week.
Pillar #1: Mental Pattern Audit
The first pillar is conducting a mental pattern audit. This is about identifying your default thought patterns when facing challenges and noticing the internal dialogue that emerges under pressure.
Here's what I mean: When you're struggling to reach a goal, what thoughts consistently show up? Are you thinking, "This is too hard," or "I don't have what it takes," or "There's not enough time"? Or maybe you're thinking, "I can figure this out," or "This is an opportunity to grow."
Your thoughts create your reality, and if you're not aware of the mental patterns running in the background, they're running the show.
Here's your practical action step for this pillar: For the next week, set three random phone alarms throughout your workday. When they go off, write down exactly what you were thinking about work or leadership at that moment. Don't judge it, don't try to change it—just capture it. After seven days, look for patterns. What themes emerge? What thoughts show up repeatedly? When you see the pattern, try to determine what belief is operating and literally ask yourself if that way of thinking is helping or hindering you and your progress.
It's essential that you separate facts from the story you're telling yourself. Your opinions and thoughts are NOT facts.
This awareness is the first step to rebuilding your mental container.
Pillar #2: Emotional Response Mapping
The second pillar is emotional response mapping. This is about tracking your emotional reactions to setbacks, conflicts, and pressure, and understanding which emotions fuel your progress versus which ones derail you.
Susan David's research tells us that high‑performing leaders aren't emotionless; they're emotionally agile. They can name, process, and pivot their emotional state rather than be driven by it.
When we feel frustrated or overwhelmed, it's common for us to try to either avoid the problem or make rushed decisions that usually make things worse. Our brains hate discomfort, so we do what we can to avoid it. But if can shift your emotion from frustration or overwhelm to curiosity by asking yourself something like, "What is this situation trying to teach me?" You can shift your emotional energy and potential to find new solutions you couldn't see before.
Your emotions aren't good or bad, but they do have consequences. Some emotional states enhance your leadership effectiveness, and others diminish it because we CANNOT act in the antithesis of our emotions. Whatever emotional state we're in will impact our actions. Oh, you can get things done, but they won't be done well if you're emotional state is off.
So, here's your practical action step to help, which I call an "Emotion-Impact Log." For two weeks, note these four things: What emotion am I feeling? Name it, but the key is to pick the ONE overriding emotion, not every emotion you're feeling, that can be confusing. Then ask, "What triggered it?" Next, "How did I respond, or what actions did I take?" And finally, "What results or outcomes came from those actions?" Then your final question is, "Did this emotional response serve my goals or hinder them?”
This isn't about suppressing emotions. Our society already teaches us to suppress what we're feeling, to suck it up and move forward, and honestly, that is NOT a successful long-term strategy. What this is about is understanding your emotions and their impact on your ability to take the necessary steps and actions toward your goals. This is what guides the WHAT we so often focus on when trying to achieve a goal. When you understand how your emotions drive your actions, you can begin learning to work with them more skillfully. As Susan David's research suggests, you can pivot your emotional state rather than being driven by it.
Pillar #3: Behavioral Alignment Check
The third pillar is conducting a behavioral alignment check. This is about examining the gap between your stated values and goals and your actual behaviors.
Here's the hard truth: You can have the most beautiful goals and the strongest intentions, but if your behaviors don't align, you won't see the results you want. And often, we have blind spots about our own behavior patterns.
I once worked with a leader who said his top priority was developing his team, but when we reviewed his calendar, we found that he spent less than 10% of his time on team development activities. His intention was there, but his behavior wasn't supporting his goal.
Here's your practical action step: Choose one important goal you have for the rest of the year. List five behaviors that would virtually guarantee success if you did them consistently. Now rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 on how consistently you actually do each one. Pick the ONE behavior with the lowest score and commit to it for the next 30 days. Track it daily.
I call this a 30-day Behavioral Alignment Sprint, and be sure to celebrate your micro-wins during the 30 days, which will help reinforce the behavior.
Listen, this isn't about perfection; it's about alignment between what you say matters and how you actually spend your time and energy. Remember, it's not about what you say; it's about the behaviors you repeat.
Now, before you get overwhelmed thinking you need to overhaul your entire leadership approach, let me be clear: Start with one pillar, not all three. The goal isn't perfection—it's awareness and gradual improvement. Your container rebuilding is ongoing work, not a one-time fix.
Choose the pillar that resonates most with you right now. I suggest you start with the first pillar because they actually do build on each other. Maybe you know you need to examine your thought patterns, or maybe you're aware that your emotional reactions are getting in your way, or perhaps you suspect there's a gap between your intentions and your actions.
Start there. Build that awareness. Strengthen that part of your container first.
When you audit your mindset, cultivate emotional agility, and align behaviors, you're not just patching cracks; you're pouring a new, reinforced container.
And remember, this inner work has a direct impact on your ability to lead others effectively. When you can hold your own biggest goals, your own setbacks, and your own growth edges with grace and intention, you create that same space for your team.
So here's your challenge for this week: Pick one of those three pillars and action steps and commit to it. Don't try to rebuild your entire container overnight. Choose one crack to repair, and start there.
Set the phone alarms for the mental pattern audit. Create your emotion-impact log. Or identify those five behaviors and start tracking one of them.
Because the truth is your team needs you to be the leader who can hold their biggest goals, their wildest dreams, and their inevitable setbacks. But first, you need to make sure your container can hold your own.
Thanks for being here with me today. I hope this conversation sparked something in you and gave you some practical tools to strengthen your leadership foundation.
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Until next time, continue to lead with intention and invest time in your growth. Goals thrive in the containers we build for them. And remember, keep leading people-forward.
I'll see you soon!
