Welcome to Episode #238 of the Own Your Best Life Podcast
There comes a moment in your life and career when you pause and ask yourself a deeper question.
Is this the kind of life I want to live?
Is this the kind of leader I want to be?
Is this how power actually works?
This moment often arrives quietly.
You may be stepping into a new role at work. Becoming a parent. Leading a team. Or simply noticing that what once worked no longer feels sustainable.
You start to observe different leadership styles around you. Some environments feel alive. High trust, high performance, mutual respect. Others rely on fear, pressure, and authority alone.
Without realizing it, many of us assume there is only one way forward.
To copy what we have seen.
To replicate what appears to get results.
But there is another option.
You can repeat what you inherited or you can consciously create a new way of leading, living, and influencing.
A New Definition of Power Is Emerging
Right now, a different kind of leadership is coming to the surface.
Not one that abandons ambition, excellence, or results. One that asks a more intelligent question.
How do we lead sustainably?
We still want meaningful work.
We still want impact.
We still want to deliver at a high level.
But fewer people are willing to sacrifice their health, relationships, and sense of self in the process.
The Oxford definition of sustainable is “able to be maintained at a certain level or rate.”
So here is a powerful question to sit with.
Can the way you are currently leading be maintained, not just this year, but over the next decade?
This is where power becomes relevant in a deeper way.
Power Is Not About Force. It Is About Influence.
Power is often defined as the ability to influence. To direct energy, decisions, or outcomes.
Whether we acknowledge it or not, we all hold power.
As leaders in our work.
As parents and partners.
As contributors within teams and communities.
The real question is not whether you have power.
It is how you use it.
Through my work coaching leaders and training high performers, and through years of studying leadership, psychology, and human behavior, I have seen a consistent pattern.
Power is subjective.
High achievers, in particular, are often taught to access power through effort.
Through responsibility.
Through capability.
Through being the one who carries more.
We say yes. We work harder. We push through.
Until burnout, resentment, or disconnection quietly sets in.
I recognized this in myself. There was a point in my career where my sense of influence came almost entirely from how much I could carry, how available I was, and how hard I pushed. It worked, until it didn’t.
But influence is not one dimensional.
Quiet Authority Versus Loud Power
Power does not need to come from force. It does not need to be loud, aggressive, or dominating.
Some of the most effective leaders operate from a different place.
A settled one.
What if power did not come from being the loudest voice in the room, but from being the most grounded presence?
Research on psychological safety, emotional regulation, and high performing teams consistently shows that people trust and follow leaders who are steady. Leaders who listen. Leaders whose nervous systems are not constantly reacting.
Quiet authority does not mean passivity.
It means conviction without aggression.
Clarity without control.
Strength without force.
When power is settled, it does not need to announce itself.
People feel it.
Why This Kind of Power Matters
Influence built on fear creates short term compliance, but long term erosion.
High turnover.
Broken trust.
Shallow relationships.
Influence built on steadiness creates something very different.
Loyalty.
Durability.
Long term success.
This is the difference between burning energy and directing it.
When power is settled, your impact can grow without working all hours of the day and night. Your leadership becomes more magnetic. Relationships deepen. Negotiations improve. Opportunities expand.
And success becomes something you can actually live inside of.
The Question That Changes Everything
So here is the question I will leave you with.
What kind of power do you want to embody?
Not the kind you inherited.
Not the kind you were taught to perform.
But the kind that feels aligned, sustainable, and true.
Because the way you choose to influence others, at work, at home, and in your life, may be the most important leadership decision you make today.
Ready to Lead From a More Grounded Place?
If this resonates, and you know you are done with burnout, over functioning, and force based success, this is exactly the work we do inside Spiritual Achiever Coaching.
This work is for leaders who want high performance without self abandonment. Impact with presence. Power that feels settled, not exhausting.
You can learn more or start a conversation here:
www.mayempson.com/contact
Because power does not have to be loud to be effective.
It just has to be embodied.
Start Here: Free Training
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STAND OUT AND LEAD – How to use spiritual and high-performance strategies to achieve time and financial freedom.
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Ready to live a life that feels as good as it looks?
📞 Apply now at www.mayempson.com/contact
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