S8E28: Resetting Your Career with Intention
Black Woman Leading
What does it really mean to reset? Not to give up. Not to start over from scratch. But to pause with intention, get honest with yourself, and realign your career with who you actually are and where you actually want to go. In this solo episode, Laura walks listeners through the Black Woman Leading Career Reset Framework, a five-area reflection process designed to help leaders regroup, restore, and realign with clarity and purpose. Drawing from the Black Woman Leading Career Reset Kit, this episode brings together head work and heart work to support leaders who are navigating transition,...
info_outline
S8E27: Moving Beyond Titles with Suezette Yasmin Robotham
Black Woman Leading
In this episode, Laura sits down with Suezette Yasmin Robotham, bestselling author, global talent and culture executive, executive coach, and keynote speaker, to explore one of the most important and often unasked questions in leadership: who are you when the titles fade away? Drawing from her book Beyond Titles: Fearlessly Leading as Your Authentic Self, Suezette brings two decades of experience shaping leadership at some of the world's most recognized organizations, including Google, Meta, Gartner, and Salesforce, to a conversation that is equal parts practical and deeply personal. Together,...
info_outline
S8E26: Defining Your Executive Presence with Shaquanna Chappelle
Black Woman Leading
In this episode, Laura sits down with Shaquanna Chappelle, executive presence consultant and speaker, to break down what executive presence really is and what it isn’t. While executive presence is often framed around image, polish, or performance, Shaquanna invites us into a deeper understanding: true presence is built from the inside out. Drawing from her journey from wardrobe stylist to confidence and presence expert, she shares how she realized that what many leaders were struggling with wasn’t how they looked, but how they felt about themselves. Together, Laura and Shaquanna explore...
info_outline
S8E25: Reclaiming Your Power Through the Body with Blessing Uchendu
Black Woman Leading
In this episode of Black Woman Leading, Laura is joined by Blessing Uchendu, licensed clinical social worker and somatic leadership coach, to explore what it means to reclaim your power through the body. With over two decades of clinical experience, Blessing challenges a common assumption in leadership development—that growth is simply a mindset shift away. Instead, she introduces a deeper truth: your nervous system is shaping how you lead, how you respond, and how you experience the workplace. Together, Laura and Blessing unpack the power of somatics, a body-based approach to awareness and...
info_outline
S8E24: Catalyzing Community-Led Leadership with Alysia Lee
Black Woman Leading
In this episode, Laura sits down with Alysia Lee, President & CEO of the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund, to explore what it means to lead through community, creativity, and shared power. Alysia brings a unique leadership lens shaped by her background as a musician and composer, offering insight into how artistic practice (listening, collaboration, and responsiveness) translates into her approach as a first-time CEO. At the heart of the conversation is Alysia’s approach to Ubuntu community-led leadership—a model that challenges traditional, expert-driven systems and instead centers...
info_outline
S8E23: Casting Your Future with Dr. Cornelia Shipley Bearyman
Black Woman Leading
In this episode, Laura is joined by Dr. Cornelia Shipley-Bearyman, Founder & CEO of 3C Consulting, to explore what it means to intentionally cast your future, not just react to your present. Drawing from her work in leadership, culture transformation, and her recent PhD in metaphysics, Dr. Cornelia breaks down how our mindset, language, and belief systems shape the realities we experience, both personally and professionally. She invites listeners to consider how the way we think, speak, and interpret our circumstances directly influences what becomes possible in our lives. Together, Laura...
info_outline
S8E22: Leveraging Strategic Self-Advocacy with Sarah Boyd
Black Woman Leading
In this timely and empowering episode, Laura sits down with Sarah Boyd, Founder & CEO of The Formation, to unpack what it truly means to leverage strategic self-advocacy—especially for Black women navigating today’s complex corporate landscape. Drawing from her experience working with C-suite leaders and building community for Black women in corporate spaces, Sarah introduces a more nuanced understanding of self-advocacy—one that goes beyond simply “speaking up” and instead centers strategy, clarity, and sustainability. Together, Laura and Sarah explore why self-advocacy is not...
info_outline
S8E21: Reclaiming Connection & Purpose with Dr. Cree Scott
Black Woman Leading
Updated: We recently learned that Dr. Cree Scott passed away in December 2025. We didn’t know when this episode aired. We recorded in November 2026, and she requested that the episode be released this spring closer to her book release. We're heartbroken and keeping this up because her words deserve to be heard. Her book, The Missing Peace, releases April 14th, posthumously. Please consider grabbing a copy to honor her legacy. Purchase the book here: ______ In this insightful episode of Black Woman Leading, Laura sits down with Dr. Cree Scott, clinical psychologist, workplace...
info_outline
S8E20: Exploring Professional Wanderlust with Dr. Crystal Moten
Black Woman Leading
In this episode, Laura is joined by Dr. Crystal Moten, an award-winning writer, historian, and expert on Black women’s history who has spent her career amplifying the lives and labors of Black women. Dr. Moten introduces the concept of professional wanderlust, a term she coined to reframe how we think about career mobility. Drawing inspiration from the idea of wanderlust in travel, she explores how many Black women navigate their careers as spaces of learning, growth, and exploration rather than following a single, linear path. A self-described professional wanderlust herself, Dr....
info_outline
S8E19: Amplifying Your Strengths with Dr. Elizabeth Adams
Black Woman Leading
In this episode, Laura sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Adams to explore what it truly means to amplify your strengths… not just possess them. In today’s dynamic corporate and technological landscape, many Black women leaders are deeply skilled yet under-recognized. Dr. Adams challenges listeners to move beyond quiet competence and into intentional visibility — leveraging presence, strategy, and even AI as tools to elevate their leadership. Together, they unpack how Black women can confidently own their leadership identity, strategically identify overlooked opportunities, and use emerging...
info_outlineAs we step into a new year, this solo episode invites you to pause, reflect, and intentionally define how you want to lead starting from the inside.
Laura explores what it means to trust yourself as a leader and to draw from your internal vision, values, capabilities, and ways of knowing to guide how you want to lead in this new year.
Rather than focusing on resolutions or external expectations, this episode centers alignment, self-compassion, and joy as powerful leadership strategies. You’ll be guided through reflection and forward-looking practices designed to help you flex your leadership with clarity, confidence, and resilience in the year ahead.
Laura walks listeners through the SELF Framework as both a reset and a call forward. The four-part approach includes Setting Your Vision & Parameters, Excavating Your Excellence, Leveraging Your Environment, and Framing Your Mindset with Self-Compassion.
Laura ends the episode with a new year leadership challenge, inviting listeners to use their reflections from the SELF framework to write a leadership intention statement, identify three leadership strengths to intentionally honor this year, and to commit to one boundary that protects joy and wellbeing. This challenge is designed to be revisited quarterly as your leadership evolves.
Tune in to this episode as an invitation to begin the year aligned, intentional, and deeply rooted in self-trust.
Click here to download the companion reflection worksheet for this episode: https://blackwomanleading.com/leading-from-within-reflection-worksheet/
Also referenced in this episode >> S6E7: Strengthening Mindful Self-Talk: https://blackwomanleading.com/s6e7-strengthening-mindful-self-talk/
About Laura
Laura Knights is the Creator of Black Woman Leading® and host of the podcast. She is an executive coach, speaker, facilitator, and licensed clinical social worker with 20+ years of experience creating personal and professional development programs that have touched leaders worldwide.
Her expertise and background in business, human resources, adult education, and social work uniquely equip her to teach others how to deal with both the "head work" and "heart work" required to succeed at work and in life. She is the Founder and CEO of Knights Consulting LLC, a leadership development consultancy that provides customized training and coaching programs to create more confident leaders and high-performing teams.
Black Woman Leading® is a research-backed initiative which offers leadership development programming, a podcast, and an annual conference for Black women professionals. Black Woman Leading® is an initiative of Knights Consulting LLC. Learn more at blackwomanleading.com.
BWL Resources:
-
Now enrolling for both the January sessions of the Early Career and Mid-Career programs. Learn more at https://blackwomanleading.com/programs-overview/
-
Full podcast episodes are now on Youtube. Subscribe to the BWL channel today!
-
Check out the BWL theme song here
-
Check out the BWL line dance tutorial here
-
Download the free Black Woman Leading Career Reset Kit - https://blackwomanleading.com/career-reset-kit/
Credits:
Learn about all Black Woman Leading® programs, resources, and events at www.blackwomanleading.com
Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/
Email Laura: info@knightsconsultinggroup.com
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn
Instagram: @blackwomanleading
Facebook: @blackwomanleading
Youtube: @blackwomanleading
Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights
Graphics: Dara Adams
Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms: