When one thing has ended, and another needs to begin, it can be easy to feel stuck. You can feel the pull to move forward, but uncertainty, hesitation, and competing energy make it hard to act. That in-between space can feel uncomfortable. It can also be the place where real momentum begins.

In this conversation on the Leading with Instinct podcast, Katie Navarra-Bradley, Professional Facilitator and Leadership Coach with Katie the Coach, and Ginny Telego, President of Collaboration Partners, explore what the Year of the Fire Horse represents for leaders stepping into 2026. They talk about movement, freedom, and intentional forward motion—and how horses model these qualities every day. It is an invitation to move with clarity instead of pressure.

Change is hard, but usually necessary. Often, leaders know it, but can’t move forward. Katie and Ginny explore how leaders can recognize what gives them energy, what drains it, and how intentional choices create sustainable progress rather than burnout.

Shedding your 2025 “Year of the Snake” skin might be hard to do, but it’s important. The Year of the Horse is about understanding when you’re ready to move, trusting your instincts, and stepping forward with clarity, confidence, focus and purpose.

Takeaways

— Letting go is the first step, while the next step forward requires clarity

— Forward motion is easy to do if you will simply do it

— Uncertainty is part of change. It’s a sign that you’re paying attention to what matters.

— Energy misalignment creates chaos for people and teams

— Horses model how intention regulates momentum

— Leaders must consider what gives energy and what drains it

— Sustainable progress comes from clarity instead of coming from urgency

— Self-permission often unlocks the next step

— Change works best when others are brought along thoughtfully

The Leading With Instinct Podcast is brought to you by Collaboration Partners and KatieTheCoach.com.

Chapters

00:32 — Introduction/Shedding the Old Skin

07:50 — From Snake to Fire Horse

15:31— Ready for Hard Change

22:03 —Creating Forward Motion

34:26— Questions to Ask Yourself if Stuck

Helpful Links:

Katie Navarra-Bradley, Katie The Coach: https://katiethecoach.com/

Ginny Telego, Collaboration Partners: https://www.thecollaborationpartners.com/

Setting goals in the New Year? Good for you, but be careful. Beating yourself up for goals you didn’t hit is too easy. The hard work comes in setting clear goals from the beginning. If you’re feeling stuck, you’re not alone. And feeling stuck doesn’t mean you failed. Clarity, movement, and direction matter more than rigid destinations when it comes to actually hitting those marks.

In this episode of the Leading with Instinct podcast, Katie Navarra-Bradley, Professional Facilitator and Leadership Coach with Katie the Coach, and Ginny Telego, President of Collaboration Partners, reflect on the podcast’s one-year anniversary, (a stretch goal in itself!) and unpack what goal-setting actually looks like when leadership, business, and life collide.

This conversation weaves together stories of business setbacks and major life disruptions, with lessons learned in the arena with horses. Horses become powerful mirrors, revealing how unclear energy, misaligned intentions, or the wrong goal at the wrong time can stall movement altogether.

Rethink success, not as hitting every mark on a timeline, but as staying in motion, adjusting when needed, and choosing goals that fit the reality of the moment.

Takeaways

-Feeling stuck often means clarity is missing

-Direction creates movement; fixation on outcomes can create paralysis

-Course correction is leadership in action

-Shared leadership and trusted perspectives help prevent unnecessary self-punishment

-Breaking goals into directional steps builds momentum and resilience

-The “right” goal depends on timing, environment, and current reality

-Progress is often quieter and more meaningful than we expect

The Leading With Instinct Podcast is brought to you by Collaboration Partners and KatieTheCoach.com.

Chapters

00:34 — Introduction

02:52 — One-year anniversary. Goal Achieved!

05:39 — Destination vs Direction

08:47 — Major life disruptions and forced course correction

11:38 — Finding your “herd” for perspective and support

14:49 — Ignoring outside pressure to pursue the right path

19:09 — Imposter syndrome

22:16 — How Horses can show direction

25:31 — Setting the right goals

32:46— Directional goals vs. rigid outcomes

36:00 — Letting go of control and choosing intention

Helpful Links:

Katie Navarra-Bradley, Katie The Coach: https://katiethecoach.com/

Ginny Telego, Collaboration Partners: https://www.thecollaborationpartners.com/

Confidence isn’t a permanent state for most leaders. Even highly capable leaders can find themselves questioning decisions, second-guessing instincts, or wondering if they truly belong in the moments that matter most. These “imposter thoughts” are likely familiar to you, and more common than most people realize. They are certainly more real than most leaders will want to admit.

In this conversation on the Leading with Instinct podcast, Katie Navarra-Bradley, Professional Facilitator and Leadership Coach with Katie the Coach, and Ginny Telego, President of Collaboration Partners, are talking about our common fears of inadequacy. Drawing from real client experiences, research, and their work facilitating leadership development with horses, they talk about what imposter thoughts actually look like in practice, how they affect decision-making, and why even highly successful leaders wrestle with them privately.

Through powerful stories from the arena, Ginny and Katie reveal how horses immediately reflect internal confidence and the lack of it, without judgment, bravado, or performance. Leaders who hesitate, overthink, or avoid uncertainty see those same patterns mirrored back to them by the horses.

Takeaways

-Imposter thoughts affect leaders at every level, including CEOs

-Fear of failure often drives hesitation and overthinking

-Horses reflect real confidence, not performative confidence

-Speaking self-doubt out loud reduces its power

-Grounded confidence comes from internal and external alignment

-Past successes can be used to interrupt imposter thinking

-Physical posture and breath influence confidence

-Clear expectations reduce anxiety and hesitation

-Community support weakens isolation and doub

Chapters

00:28 Snowy Days

02:28 Introduction

04:23 We’re all Imposters

09:59 Fear of Public Failure

13:43 Confidence in Context

15:06 Stories of Client Experiences

26:03 Building Self-Image

33:03 Physical Confidence

41:39 Closing Thoughts and Contact Info

Helpful Links:

Korn Ferry’s Workforce 2024 Global Insights Report: https://www.kornferry.com/about-us/press/71percent-of-us-ceos-experience-imposter-syndrome-new-korn-ferry-research-finds

Workplace Impostor Thoughts, Impostor Feelings, and Impostorism: An Integrative, Multidisciplinary Review of Research on the Impostor Phenomenon : https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/annals.2023.0100?journalCode=annals

Workplace ‘impostor thoughts’ may have a genuine upside: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/workplace-impostor-thoughts-may-have-a-genuine-upside

Psycho-Cybernetics: Updated and Expanded (The Psycho-Cybernetics Series) :https://www.amazon.com/Psycho-Cybernetics-Updated-Expanded-Maxwell-Maltz/dp/0399176136


Katie Navarra-Bradley, Katie The Coach: https://katiethecoach.com/

Ginny Telego, Collaboration Partners: https://www.thecollaborationpartners.com/

The Leading With Instinct Podcast is brought to you by Collaboration Partners and KatieTheCoach.com.