Lead Well! with Christine Schickinger

Hosted by Christine Schickinger

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135

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

Welcome to the ”Lead Well!” podcast, a unique exploration into Health-Promoting Leadership, leading with mental fitness at its core. Discover how to excel in leading yourself and others through a blend of mental and, physical fitness, purpose, and psychological safety. Drawing from an eclectic background in corporate leadership, innovative coaching methods, naturopathy, and animal care, we’ll share practical insights for leaders (with animal inspired lessons) to foster healthier, more productive environments. Join us on this journey of transformational leadership!

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60 recent

August 11, 202616 min

Ep 134. Train the Pause

What happens when criticism reaches your nervous system before your thinking mind has time to catch up? A critical comment can trigger an immediate urge to explain, defend yourself or push back. The response may take only seconds, but it can leave both people feeling uncomfortable and create tension that later needs to be repaired. In this episode, I share an insight from a recent coaching conversation and connect it with a principle used in dog training: impulse control is first practiced under manageable conditions, before the level of distraction is gradually increased. You’ll learn: • why criticism can activate an automatic stress response • how to recognize your personal warning signs • how a deliberate breath can create more choice • what to say when you are not ready to respond • how to practice the pause before the pressure is high The goal is not to stop feeling defensive. It is to notice the impulse early enough that you no longer have to follow it automatically. Sometimes, one breath is enough to change what happens next.

August 4, 202613 min

Ep 133. Shared Feelings

Can a feeling become part of a relationship? Looking back at my life with three horses, I can now see a different emotional theme in each relationship: freedom with Chio, not belonging with Serena, and resignation and rejection with Maggie. In this solo episode, I explore the Trust Technique concept of Shared Feelings and why I only understood its real significance much later. This is not about claiming that an animal simply mirrors our emotions. Animals have their own bodies, histories, needs and experiences. But our feelings, expectations and habitual responses also enter the relationship. What becomes visible when we stop asking only what is happening within the animal and begin exploring what may be happening between us? An episode about animals, emotional patterns and the third story that every relationship creates.

July 28, 202616 min

Ep 132. My Inner Voice Isn’t Talking to Me

What if your inner voice is not actually talking to you? In this solo episode, I share a surprising discovery: most of the time, my inner voice is addressing other people. It is teaching imaginary participants, preparing podcast episodes, creating courses, and turning everyday experiences into something I could share. That observation led me to a bigger question: who is your inner voice talking to, and what is it trying to achieve? I explore the different forms inner voices can take, why some sound like parents, teachers, or former bosses, and how tone, volume, speed, and distance can change their emotional impact. I also explain how I use these patterns in coaching to help people reduce the power of critical or threatening inner voices. You will also hear about Owen Fitzpatrick’s concept of “inner propaganda” and why familiar thoughts can feel true even when they are not. At the end, I invite you to observe your own inner voice for a day and experiment with changing just one element.

July 21, 202625 min

Ep 131. Spirituality Without the Woo: Finding Presence in Everyday Life

Poetry as prayer, and spirituality you can actually live in. In this episode, Christine sits down with Colette Lafia, an award-winning writer, retreat leader, and spiritual director from the San Francisco Bay Area, to talk about her book Leaving the Shore: Experiencing Poetry as Prayer. Colette makes a quiet but radical case: that we don't need to decode poetry to be moved by it, and that a single line or image can become a way of slowing down and reconnecting with what matters. Along the way, Christine opens up about her own path from a very cognitive life into spirituality, her step away from it, and her search now for something more grounded and honest. What you'll take from this conversation: Why "leaving the shore" means releasing old constructs so something new can emerge, and how that applies to any season of change How the ancient practice of Lectio Divina turns reading into a moment of presence What a grounded spirituality can look like, one rooted in connection and service rather than escape Four simple, tool-free practices for anxious times: breath, feeling the body, orientation, and gratitude, and why they help settle the nervous system Whether or not you consider yourself "a poetry person," this is an invitation to reclaim presence in the middle of an ordinary, buzzing life. Listen to the full episode, and if one practice stays with you, that's exactly the point.

July 14, 202631 min

Ep 130. How Guided Imagery Can Help Heal Trauma, Grief and Guilt

Time may create distance from a traumatic experience, but it does not necessarily resolve the guilt, fear or grief attached to it. In this episode, Christine speaks with clinical psychologist Dr. Chris Cortman, author of The Guided Imagery Cure. Drawing on more than 40 years of clinical practice, he explains how guided imagery can help people actively process unresolved experiences and reach a sense of closure. The conversation explores: Why avoidance can keep traumatic experiences emotionally active What happens when the brain continues to respond from fear and hypervigilance How guided imagery can change the meaning attached to a painful memory Why unresolved experiences often feel like unfinished business When self-regulation may be enough and when professional support is advisable Why trust, connection and emotional safety matter in therapy How grief and trauma can sometimes be reframed into purpose Why hope can change a person’s ability to move forward Dr. Cortman shares several striking cases, including a woman burdened by guilt after her brother’s death, a survivor of suicide loss, and a 100-year-old World War II veteran whose recurring nightmare was resolved after decades. The central message is clear: healing is not passive. It requires the courage to approach what remains unresolved, with appropriate support and in a setting that feels safe. This episode includes discussion of accidental death, suicide loss and wartime trauma.

July 7, 202627 min

Ep 129. How to Think More Clearly and Make Better Decisions

Why can we recognize that something is not working, yet still hesitate to change it? In this episode, Christine speaks with Andres Kuusk about the thinking patterns that quietly shape our decisions. Andres is a seven-time World Pentamind Champion, former game theory professor, business executive, and author of Unlocking the Success Puzzle. The conversation looks beyond motivation and productivity advice. Instead, it examines how assumptions, cognitive distortions, and survival-oriented shortcuts can make us overestimate difficulty, avoid uncertainty, and limit ourselves before we have properly tried. They discuss: why believing you are inferior can become a self-fulfilling prophecy how early learning difficulties are often misread as lack of talent why familiar discomfort can feel safer than uncertain change why growth means expanding the comfort zone, not living outside it how curiosity differs from identity signalling the value of evaluating a decision process separately from its outcome a practical question for gaining distance from your own situation A conversation about awareness, perspective, and learning to notice the assumptions that influence how we think, decide, and act.

June 30, 20265 min

Ep 128. How to Rebuild Your Life After Losing Your Daily Routine

For the first time in 26 years, Christine no longer has a horse determining her daily routine. Although Maggie has moved to what Christine considers the perfect home, saying goodbye revealed something unexpected. It wasn't only the horse she would miss, but the structure, movement, rhythm, and responsibility that had quietly organized her life. Reflecting on the seven weeks of intensive care while Maggie recovered from illness, Christine explores how deeply our identity can become connected to the responsibilities we carry. This isn't only true for horse owners. The same questions arise when we retire, finish an important project, change jobs, or when children leave home. We often think we are losing a task, while in reality we are also losing part of the structure that defines our days. In this personal episode, Christine reflects on what remains when responsibility ends, why unfamiliar freedom can feel uncomfortable, and how creating a new structure may be one of the most important parts of any life transition.

June 23, 202624 min

Ep 127. How to Turn Tension Into Better Decisions

Many (leadership) challenges are approached as problems to solve. But some aren't problems at all. In this episode, Dr. Tracy Christopherson and Michelle Troseth introduce the concept of polarities: interdependent pairs of perspectives, values, or priorities that appear to be in conflict but actually need each other to achieve a greater purpose. We discuss: Why we often default to either-or thinking Common workplace polarities such as managing vs leading, hierarchy vs partnership, and individual vs team How different perspectives improve decision quality The difference between healthy tension and destructive conflict Why psychological safety is essential for navigating disagreement How partnership agreements create clarity and trust A simple way to distinguish a recurring polarity from a solvable problem One of the most practical insights from the conversation is this: when the same issue keeps resurfacing despite repeated attempts to fix it, it may not be a problem at all. It may be a polarity that requires ongoing attention and balance. This episode offers a useful framework for leaders who want to move beyond choosing sides and learn how to benefit from multiple perspectives at the same time.

June 16, 202624 min

Ep 126. How Trauma Patterns Shape Identity And How Awareness Creates Choice

In this episode, Christine speaks with Keri Lefave about trauma, identity, triggers, and the daily work of choosing a different response. Keri describes how early experiences of restriction and abuse shaped her sense of self, her relationships, and her ability to speak up. She also shares the turning points that helped her recognize repeated patterns, leave an abusive relationship, and begin rebuilding her identity from the inside out. The conversation goes beyond personal story. It explores how patterns persist, how triggers show up in everyday life, how the body can signal old responses, and why awareness creates the possibility of choice. Topics include: how trauma can shape identity and relationship patterns why understanding a pattern is not the same as changing it how silence and shrinking can become body-based warning signals why vulnerability can become a strength how gratitude can shift fear-based thinking what it means to move from victimhood toward learning and choice Keri also talks about her two memoirs, Unfinished and The Chrysalid, and the spiritual perspective that now shapes how she understands life, pain, and growth.

June 9, 202621 min

Ep 125. How Authenticity Builds Trust and Personal Brand

What creates trust? According to Brittni Cosgrove, it is not visibility, marketing tactics, or having the perfect message. Trust grows when people consistently experience authenticity and alignment. In this conversation, Brittni shares her perspective on personal branding as an expression of who we are rather than a performance we create. We discuss the difference between authenticity and role-playing, the importance of vulnerability, and how pressure and perfectionism can pull us away from ourselves. We also explore: What authenticity actually means Why vulnerability does not require giving up privacy The role of presence during stressful situations Internal versus external sources of pressure How consistency creates trust Why comparison often undermines personal brands Practical advice for people who are afraid of visibility At its core, this episode is about showing up as yourself, building trust through alignment, and finding a way of communicating that feels genuine rather than performative.