Here's what no one tells you about strengths: knowing them isn't enough. Many high-performing leaders know their strengths well and still feel drained or disconnected not because they're doing something wrong, but because something is out of alignment.

This episode explores why strengths alone aren't enough and what to notice when leadership starts feeling heavier than it should. I also unpack the difference between burnout and misalignment. Misalignment shows up quietly through constant urgency, reduced presence, or emotional fatigue and often appears long before burnout does. By paying attention to energy and emotional signals, leaders can realign sooner, practice their strengths more intentionally, and lead with greater clarity and sustainability.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1. Knowing your strengths isn't the same as leading in alignment with them. Strengths used out of habit can drain energy when they aren't applied intentionally.

2. Misalignment comes before burnout. Feeling constantly "on," impatient, or disconnected are early signals not personal failures.

3. Your energy is leadership feedback. Irritability, urgency, and fatigue often point to misalignment, not incompetence listening sooner changes everything.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 1: Differences Between Burnout and Misalignment

Minute 3: How Energy Acts as Honest Feedback

Minute 4: Using The Authentic Imprint Assessment to Identify Misalignment

Resources from This Episode:

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Plan your days by actively using your strengths with The Strengths Journal™

Book a 30-minute discovery call to discuss your executive and team development needs

In this episode of the Dominate Your Day podcast, I speak with speaker, identity strategist, and co-founder and CEO of Build-A-Biz Kids, Leah Coss, to explore how early identity formation shapes the trajectory of our lives. Leah shares her personal journey from growing up in a chaotic and unsafe environment, to making destructive choices as a teenager, to experiencing a pivotal moment of self-awareness that changed everything.

We also discuss the powerful mission behind her nonprofit organization, Build-A-Biz Kids. While the programs teach business, public speaking, and digital literacy to kids, the real impact lies in experiential learning that develops confidence, decision-making, resilience, and self-awareness. Leah explains why soft skills not technical skills are now the most critical for the next generation, and how giving kids real responsibility and ownership allows them to see feedback as data rather than rejection. By partnering with schools, libraries, and nonprofits, Build-A-Biz Kids is scaling this impact in a sustainable way reaching kids early, before the world defines who they are for them.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1. Identity drives behavior. When kids (and adults) see themselves as capable, their decisions and outcomes change.

2. Confidence is built through experience, not instruction. Real ownership and real-world feedback create lasting growth.

3. Soft skills are future-proof skills. Resilience, decision-making, communication, and self-awareness are essential for both mental health and career success.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 1: A Journey of Transformation

Minute 8: Building a Charity: The Birth of Build-A-Biz Kids

Minute 18: Empowering the Next Generation:

Skills for the Future Links + Resources from This Episode:

Learn more about Build-A-Biz Kids at www.buildabizkids.com

Connect with Leah Coss on LinkedIn

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of Dana's book, The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Learn more about The Strengths Journal

Organizational consultant Jacqueline Robinson joins me for a powerful conversation on authenticity, leadership, and what it truly means to lead from within. We explore my proprietary framework, Authentic Imprint™ the alignment of strengths, core values, mission, and emotional recognition and how these elements shift depending on the season of life you're in. Jacqueline shares how her mission of elevating people and celebrating culture has served as a North Star throughout her career, even during seasons of caretaking, entrepreneurship, and personal disruption. Her reflections reinforce that authenticity isn't static it's a daily practice of self-management.

We also went deep into emotional recognition and energy management, especially in a world filled with distraction, pressure, and constant task switching. Jacqueline highlightes how awareness naming emotions before they shape behavior allows leaders to respond instead of react. From leveraging CliftonStrengths intentionally, to dialing strengths up or down when needed, to redefining productivity as managing energy instead of time, this conversation is a reminder that leadership starts internally. When we lead ourselves well, alignment follows and so does impact, whether locally or globally.

Top 3 Takeaways:

1. Authentic leadership starts with alignment: When strengths, values, mission, and emotional awareness work together, leadership feels more natural and sustainable.

2. Emotional recognition is a leadership skill: Pausing to notice and name emotions helps leaders stay grounded, focused, and intentional especially during stressful seasons.

3. Manage energy, not just time: True productivity comes from protecting attention, prioritizing what matters most, and honoring what fuels your well-being.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 3: Exploring the Authentic Imprint Assessment

Minute 9: Understanding Strengths and Emotional Recognition

Minute 15: Aligning Actions with Values

Minute 29: Managing Energy vs. Time

Links + Resources from This Episode:

Learn more about Jaclynn's work at www.jaclynnrobinson.com

Explore purpose-driven products at www.jaclynnrobinson.com/shop

Follow Jaclynn on Instagram

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint Assessment

Get a copy of Dana's book, The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Learn more about The Strengths Journal

In this episode, I challenge one of the most common leadership assumptions we've all been taught: that better time management is the answer. But perfectly organized calendars still leave so many leaders exhausted.

The real issue isn't time it's energy. It is energy that is your strategic leadership asset managing it intentionally is essential in today's workplace.

Listen in to learn about the four energy currencies physical, emotional, mental, and relational and how each one depletes and replenishes differently. This episode will help you stop treating yourself like a machine and start leading like a human: one who understands that your energy shapes your impact.

Top 3 Takeaways: 1. Time management can't fix energy depletion. A full calendar doesn't equal meaningful impact. Sustainable leadership requires intentional energy management, not tighter schedules.

2. Different energy drains require different solutions. Physical, emotional, mental, and relational energy each need specific forms of renewal. The right diagnosis leads to the right intervention.

3. Your energy sets the tone for your leadership. What you bring into a room affects everyone in it. When you lead from a full tank, you become a source of energy not drain for others.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 1: Understanding Energy Currencies

Minute 2: The Misdiagnosis Problem

Minute 4: Energy Audit Assignment

Resources from This Episode:

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Plan your days by actively using your strengths with The Strengths Journal™

Book a 30-minute discovery call to discuss your executive and team development needs

As we step into 2026, I'm seeing a shift that every leader needs to pay attention to. People aren't quitting their jobs they're shrinking inside them.

In this episode, I unpack what that quiet disengagement really looks like and why it's an identity issue, not a motivation or productivity problem.

I walk through three warning signs I'm seeing: Addition Sickness, Quiet Cracking, and Job Hugging and how each one signals misalignment beneath the surface.

Top 3 Takeaways: 1. Burnout is a signal, not a flaw. Patterns like overloading, emotional exhaustion, and clinging to safety are signs of identity misalignment not weakness.

2. You can't subtract until you know who you are. When identity is unclear, everything feels urgent. Clarity allows you to let go of what no longer fits.

3. Leadership rises from identity, not effort. Sustainable leadership comes from aligning your strengths, values, and mission not from doing more or trying harder.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 1: Introduction to Leadership in 2026

Minute 2: Identifying Leadership Misalignments

Minute 5: Taking Action for Authentic Leadership

Resources from This Episode:

Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Plan your days by actively using your strengths with The Strengths Journal™

Book a 30-minute discovery call to discuss your executive and team development needs

In this episode of Dominate Your Day, I speak with Dr. Camille Preston, business psychologist and owner of Aim Leadership, about navigating grief, mental health, and authentic leadership. We unpack the concept of "telescoping grief" how personal and collective loss can merge and become overwhelming and the importance of sitting with those emotions rather than pushing them aside.

We discuss the rising mental health challenges many face today and how small mindset shifts and genuine connection can bring healing. Her new book, Living Real, encourages embracing life's full emotional range and creating community through real conversations.

Camille's focus on managing energy by aligning with strengths rather than forcing performance is a powerful leadership lesson. Her insights remind us that true resilience comes from understanding ourselves deeply and leaning into connection.

Top 3 Takeaways: 1. Living real means feeling the full range of life. Avoiding discomfort leads to burnout and disconnection. Growth and fulfillment come from allowing both the highs and the lows of life.

2. Unprocessed grief compounds over time. When grief is ignored or pushed down, it resurfaces in bigger, messier ways. Healing begins by acknowledging and holding it instead of avoiding it.

3. Lead by sourcing, not forcing. Sustainable leadership comes from knowing your strengths, managing your energy, and making small shifts that let your best self emerge naturally.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 3: Journey of Authenticity

Minute 9: Impact Of Grief and Loss

Minute 15: Living Real and Micro Shifts

Minute 21: Creating Meaningful Connections

Links + Resources from This Episode: Learn more about Camille's work at aimleadership.com

Get a copy of Camille's new book, Living Real: Redifining Success, Pretense, and Happiness

Explore all of Camille's books

Get a copy of Dana's book, The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Learn more about The Strengths Journal

"Change me first."

Those three simple words changed everything for me. As we kick off Season 5 of the Dominate Your Day podcast, I want to share my own story. I had outward success—a respected career, titles, and accomplishments that looked great on paper—but felt empty on the inside.

People-pleasing, fixing, and performing leadership left me exhausted and disconnected from who I really was. In this episode, you'll hear how learning to focus on what I could actually control sparked an internal revolution, restored my marriage, reshaped my leadership, and led to the creation of the Authentic Imprint™ formula. I also share what's ahead for the podcast as we enter our fifth year and why this next season will go deeper into real-life transformation stories.

Top 3 Takeaways: 1. Change starts with me. Lasting transformation doesn't come from fixing others or circumstances it begins when I take responsibility for what's happening inside me.

2. Emotional recognition is the multiplier. Strengths, values, and mission only work when paired with emotional recognition the ability to notice and name what's happening inside you before it drives your behavior.

3. You don't need to be more productive you need to be more you. Alignment, not achievement, is the key to sustainable leadership. When you lead from the inside out, transformation ripples through your life, your relationships, and your organization.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 3: The Drama Triangle and Circle of Control

Minute 6: Discovering Authentic Leadership

Minute 9: The Authentic Imprint Formula

Resources from This Episode: Take the free 3-minute Authentic Imprint™ Assessment

Get a copy of The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Plan your days by actively using your strengths with The Strengths Journal™

Book a 30-minute discovery call to discuss your executive and team development needs

My guest today is Gina Riley, a career transition coach and author of "Qualified Isn't Enough." We discuss the importance of storytelling in career transitions, the challenges of the current job market, and the concept of executive presence.

Gina talks about developing a unique value proposition, aligning personal branding with job opportunities, and the significance of authenticity in leadership. Our conversation also covers practical strategies for job seekers, including networking, crafting effective resumes, and preparing for interviews.

Episode Minutes:

Minute 9: Challenges in the Job Market

Minute 15: Developing Executive Presence

Minute 21: Networking and Personal Branding

Minute27: Interview Preparation and Strategies

To find out more about my work, please visit www.danawilliamsco.com

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My Book - The Internal Revolution: Lead Authentically and Build Your Personal Brand from Within

Email: hello@danawilliamsco.com

The Strengths Journal™ is the only Gallup-certified, purpose-driven daily planner that helps you actively use your strengths to plan your days. Get Your copy here