The Highly-Sensitive Leader Podcast

Join me this week as I discuss the 5 Values I think all highly sensitive professionals could use as their North Star to avoid overwhelm, create safe relationships and have confidence in what they do. These are my 5 company values and the values I live by as a highly sensitive person and business leader: #1 - Self-love and Self-trust #2 - Motivation #3 - Diversity and Inclusion #4 - Community #5 - Grit In this episode, I share with you how I define each value and talk you through why they are so meaningful and worth pursuing in the context of being highly sensitive. They also speak to the sort of community and space I am cultivating for highly sensitive professionals to join and develop themselves in a safe and fulfilling environment. Join my bi-weekly HSP-focused newsletter to learn more, get tips and stay up to date with events and opportunities: https://www.highly-sensitive-leaders.com/

Almost a decade ago, I had a major conflict with one of my siblings. And the truth is, I wasn’t equipped to handle it. Not like I am today. Fear of conflict is very common for HSPs. Simply because of the emotional charge these conversations involve. A non-HSP would feel an average emotional charge. You get 220 volts, just because of the way your nervous system and your brain are wired. Managing conflict for an HSP, at first, feels like asking a teddy bear to go to war. It just isn’t our thing. But if we leave or bury our head in the sand every time there is a downward curve in the relationship, we won’t be able to maintain the relationships which are most valuable to us, whether it is in our friends, at work, or with our family. In this episode and in my upcoming Exclusive workshop, I teach you how to be ok with the idea of conflict, and how to approach it with more confidence in ourselves, and in others, in a way which is less emotional, and a bit more objective. Learning to navigate these emotionally charged conversations will allow you to set the boundaries which you need to set, to say No (or Yes) when you need to, and generally create space for yourself within any relationship. Managing and reframing your fear of conflict will also enable you to collaborate with others, in various contexts, more confidently and comfortably. RSVP for your Exclusive Fear of conflict workshop HERE – 3 spaces left. Join our free community of highly sensitive leaders and professionals HERE. I will see you inside!

Does receiving feedback or criticism trigger alarm bells in your mind? Does it become a dreaded conversation where you feel attacked, rather than an open conversation you welcome and learn from? If that’s you, join me this week on the podcast as I teach you 3 strategies you can implement today to turn feedback and criticism into endless opportunities in your life and career. HSPs can find these conversations difficult and we dive into the reasons why as it is important to understand our context and automatic reactions. Then we start shifting towards the benefits of being open and acceptant of any feedback coming your way, in a way that is going to release a lot of energy for you. Finally, I lay out my 3 favourite strategies to practice and nail receiving criticism in any situation, whether formally or informally, and whether we are expecting it or not. Join us this month at the HSP Power Hub HERE to dig deeper into this topic, and getting all the support you need to create your best life and career as an HSP. I will see you there!

Have you ever felt constrained by time, pressured by it, or anxious about it? Conversely, have you ever felt anxious at the idea of having a long stretch of time ahead of you? This is something that, as a highly sensitive person, I have experienced time and time again. And this has led to a lot of confusion and overwhelm when it was time to plan, organise and prioritise, because I wasn’t comfortable with the time element, and I didn’t know why. Later on, I figured out that I was highly sensitive, and it all started to make sense. If you are someone who gets anxious, overwhelmed or confused around planning, prioritising, organising your time, but also if you find yourself not being able to stick to deadlines and see your commitments or project through to the end, this episode is for you. Today, we are figuring out how to get time on our side. So, friends, let’s get started. Join our 3-day challenge, "Get time on your side", HERE. Join the HSP Power Hub, my exclusive monthly membership, HERE.

Join me on the podcast today to learn to manage your perfectionist inclinations, so that you are able to show up confidently, even when things get scary, and you can really focus on your growth, on your journey, and on your power to bring incredible things to the table, rather than constantly worrying and being upset about not being “perfect” enough. Today, I am sharing with you how I have built acceptance towards things being messy and imperfect, and now use it as a superpower, and teach HSPs in my community to do the same. To join us on this journey, go to www.highly-sensitive-leaders.com/powerhub

Join HSP and leadership expert Muriel this week on the podcast to explore the best strategies to thrive when you feel misunderstood as an HSP. Today, we talk about this feeling of being misunderstood, or perhaps not being understood at all, when you are HSP. She shares two stories around feeling misunderstood which she has experienced over the Christmas holiday – you’re not alone! She shares how she's managed these situations, the strategies she has used to thrive, and what she has learned to keep growing. She is teaching you 5 strategies in order to keep going and keep thriving even when people around seem completely disconnected from your experience as an HSP. We naturally want to insist, re-explain, repeat – out of frustration – but how about we take a step back and regain our power with the strategies she suggests? Applying these strategies will allow you to navigate people’s reactions in a balanced way, and find solutions that work for you as an HSP with ease and in peace. Join us within the HSP Power Hub membership HERE from 1st of February to start creating your best life as an HSP.

“When you’re tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” - Banksy Join me on the podcast this week as I explore the significance of this quote for us as HSPs. We often equate “I am tired/overwhelmed” with “I can’t do this”, and therefore quit on our dreams or on some goals which feel out of reach because we are highly sensitive and often depleted of our energy levels, or experience intense peaks and throughs which scrape away our self-confidence. I share my biggest lesson from 2023 around stopping the confusion and seeing that my dreams are completely within my reach if I feel rested. I teach you how rest and being away from stimulation is paramount and maybe the only non-negotiable we have to work with as HSPs to achieve our goals. I share 3 top tips with you to help you on your journey towards feeling more rested and maintaining motivation, strength and resilience to achieve anything you put your mind to. Learning to rest is my version of sustainable success for HSPs. Join our community on Meetup HERE and take part in our free live events for HSPs.

Self-care is a true gift to yourself as an HSP. We are exploring self-care in this last episode of the year, with the intention of giving it centre-stage all year long to feel at our best. I give you important context around self-care, its true meaning and its importance for HSPs. We deep dive into our main challenge when it comes to self-care and the reason why we have a tendency to put it on the back burner. I give you three solutions to start practicing and applying today, over the Holiday season but also throughout the year. I teach you how to become really good at hearing and honouring your emotional, physical and mental needs, every single day of the year, so that you consistently calm your nervous system, recharge away from stimulation and feel aligned with the best version of you day in and day out. Join of thriving community of highly sensitive leaders and contributors HERE and why not give us a try in January?

Join me on the podcast this week as I discuss and teach our key strategies to celebrate yourself (for real!) this season, but also regularly throughout the year, in line with your HSP trait. As HSPs, we naturally focus on others, on supporting, on giving, on completing projects perfectly. So it is sometimes hard for us to stop and look back. This podcast is an invitation to celebrate yourself starting today, and develop a daily celebration practice. I teach you why this is important, and how to do it in a way that is sustainable. It’s hard for us to be proud of ourselves – being proud of myself is still very much a work in progress for me. So this episode is our opportunity to stop and reflect on what you are most proud of this year. I share with you my best celebration practices, both as reflections and real-life celebration events. I show you how to overcome your tendency to look for other people’s feedback and get re-acquainted with our own feedback and support system, which is always available. My 3-step framework will be invaluable for you to look at your accomplishments from different perspectives and start easing yourself into celebration mode, and start enjoying the process! More info and join my Exclusive Boundaries Workshop (and community) HERE.

Join us on the podcast this week to hear more about our relationship to time as HSPs, and how this relationship might be triggering some of the anxiety and overwhelm you might be experiencing. Our perception and experience of time is different from the rest of the population because, as HSPs, our brain processes information differently. This might impact how we feel about time passing, about the time we have or don’t have to do our tasks, or maybe our feeling of having too much time, which can also trigger anxiety. We explore other elements such as time estimation and productivity, always with a focus on neurodivergence and where we HSPs are on the spectrum between neurodivergence and neurotypicality. I offer good questions, tips and an experiment to really start exploring your relationship with time, and get on track to make time your ally for feeling calm, in control and staying productive. Join our amazing community of highly sensitive leaders and contributors HERE and attend free live events to kickstart your HSP journey.

Join me on the podcast today for a deep dive into your overwhelm triggers, which are causing you to be frequently overwhelmed as an highly sensitive person. This “paralysis” of the mind and body is how I and many of my clients experience overwhelm. As HSPs, it is really important that we spend time understanding why we get overwhelmed, and what triggers this experience. So that we can make changes where they are needed to avoid being overwhelmed. I show you how to map out your triggers and examine each of them, so that you can start managing your experience better, and create or place yourself in the best environments for you as an HSP. This episode is all about taking the power back on your emotion of overwhelm, by learning to manage what creates it, at the source. Join our Exclusive workshop HERE – limited space!

The experience of Overwhelm is very common for a lot of highly sensitive people and this is what we are discussing in this episode. Overwhelm is an intense, gripping emotion which can hold us back from thinking, contributing and performing at our best. It can also hinder our wellbeing and happiness. But, on the flipside, Overwhelm is also here to teach us something. An emotion is a response to an environment and perhaps, when we are overwhelmed, it means something needs our attention, something needs to change, either internally or externally. Today, I am sharing my 3 biggest Overwhelm lessons and what this emotion has taught me about myself, about what’s best for me, and about how to best work and live as an HSP. Let’s dive in! Join our workshop (limited space) HERE: “Managing overwhelm as an HSP – In-depth workshop: clear-minded, calm and in charge 93% of the time” I will see you there!

Today, we are talking about how to shift perfectionism as it participates in the imposter syndrome you might be experiencing. My experience as an HSP, and working with dozens of highly sensitive leaders and contributors, is that, for us, imposter syndrome is mostly triggered by perfectionism, and a deep, deep fear to be, or appear im-perfect. This episode will help you understand how you experience imposter syndrome as an HSP and give you tools to shift your narrative around perfection in order to increase your quality of life. This practice has allowed me to create a different baseline in my life as an HSP, where I feel relaxed, valued and feel like I’m doing the right thing, at my own pace. This episode will teach you how to make the impact you want to make AND still feel valuable and content when things are not perfect. This will free up space for you to be content with what you have, and what you have created so far. This is the best space to create more from and be your awesome HSP self! Join our thriving community of highly sensitive leaders and contributors here.

Overwhelm used to be a big part of my life as an HSP - 95% of my time was spent feeling overwhelmed. Drastically reducing my overwhelm has freed up time, space and capability for me to create an extraordinary life where I have quality time to focus on my dreams, my decisions, my wellbeing, my contributions, my team and my hobbies in a calm and constructive way. This is what I call my “overwhelm-free plan”. The after-story, if you will. Today, I am sharing 5 items on my overwhelm-free plan and discussing how these items came to be and are fully available to me now that I am not in coping, survival overwhelmed mode anymore. Tune in and get a feel for what your overwhelm-free plan could look like. Join our community and in-depth workshop “Managing overwhelm as an HSP – In-depth workshop: clear-minded, calm and in charge 93% of the time” here.

Join me this week as I share my 4-ingredient antidote to staying anxiety-free as an HSP, as much of the time as possible. I teach you two key secrets – how to be prepared for anxiety and how to treat it, sometimes even before it shows up! I teach you the difference between anxiety and stress, and then goes on to share my own definition of anxiety as an HSP. Anxiety completely changes my perspective on a day which could have been experienced which lightness and joy on a different week – I can’t let that happen! Because of the unpredictable nature of anxiety, I have changed my tactic and sharing it with you today, partly because it works so well but also because I know many HSPs are experiencing high does of anxiety, and I want to help. You are not alone! Even when we have worked a lot on our self-development, like I have, we often have to come back to the drawing board and seek better solutions – which is what I am offering today in relation to treating anxiety in a way which will work for you as an HSP. Join our thriving community of highly sensitive leaders and contributors here.

Join my wonderful guest, educator, coach and author Jay fields and myself for an exploration of our nervous system as it relates to being HSP. This interview will tell you everything you need to know about the 3 parts of your nervous system and how each part impacts your emotions, mood and the safety and trust you are able to build with yourself and with the rest of the world. Jay imparts invaluable knowledge and wisdom to help HSPs learn to be in the driver’s seat within their body, take back the ownership on how they feel and use simple yet effective strategies to feel and be at our best as we navigate the ebb and flow of our day. What you will learn from this episode: ✅ An overview of the nervous system and how it impacts how you feel ✅ The principle of embodiment and “felt” presence ✅ The challenges of having a highly sensitive nervous system and adapted solutions ✅ How to regain ownership and the driver’s seat within your body and, by extension, in your life and relationships ✅ How to build a trusting and safe relationship with yourself so you can create the same with other people Links to Jay’s LI courses: https://jay-fields.com/courses To join Jay’s newsletter: https://jay-fields.com/contact-jay

Join to explore Connection & Trust, two central concepts at the core of how HSPs approach and build relationships. In this series on HSPs & Relationships (this is part 2 – Part 1 is episode 82), I aim to give you a clear blueprint to understand yourself as an HSP when it comes to how you approach and navigate relationships, not only with other people, but also with yourself. I teach you why these two concepts are so critical for HSPs and the challenges which they can bring to us building and maintaining healthy, fulfilling and productive relationships both in our personal and professional life. I lay the foundations for each concept, and give you practical strategies and exercises for you to raise your self-awareness and see what might need tweaking in order for you to create smoother, fulfilling and regulated relationships around you. Understanding your need for Connection and Trust as an HSP, and how your search for these both drives your behaviour and can get in the way, is critical for you to progress towards having a more rewarding relationship with yourself, and with others. The questions and strategies I teach you are readily applicable and will bring both awareness and relief, if this is a topic you have been wrestling with, like I have for a long time.

Join me this week as I explore 3 ways your HSP trait operates behind the scenes and influences your life, your career and your capacity to progress towards fulfilling your potential. It is often the non-obvious details which, as HSPs, derail us in the most profound ways and in the long -term. This episode is for us to go one step further and ask ourselves: How does my HSP trait show up behind the scenes, in the way I experience people and situations, without being really aware of it? How does it potentially slow me down, or prevent me from being the contributing and empowered individual I truly want to be? Today, we are discussing three of the ways your HSP trait shows up, in a perhaps non-obvious way. How it gently but surely influences you in a way which might hold you back from fulfilling your potential. I also give you 3 strategies to be more aware, but also gain more control on your sensitivity in order to feel and contribute at your best. Click here to find the JTP brochure and roadmap.

Join HSP, coach and teacher Muriel Kosovsky this week as she shares her journey from isolation to finding the power of community as an HSP. Being HSP can be very lonely and lead to isolation. Our experience of the world can leave us feeling isolated because our ways of thinking and reactions are different than most people. Like Muriel, you might have spent years and years trying to do it all by yourself, because the rest of the world proved that it couldn’t understand you. But what if there was a way to step out of this isolation we experience as HSPs? What if being part of a community was a big part of the answer, of how we can grow our self-confidence, our leadership skills and our power in the way we build our life and career? What you will take away from this episode: ✅The reasons why isolation seems the best option when you are HSP ✅ Why being isolated is not serving you ✅ How to challenge our previous coping mechanisms to enable us to step out of isolation ✅ How joining a community can provide safety and empowerment for HSPs ✅ What you can gain from joining the community and live events Join Muriel’s growing community of highly sensitive Leaders and contributors HERE. We’ll looking forward to seeing you!

Relationships… I don’t think there is a juicier topic for HSPs, and we’ll start to understand why in this first episode. In my experience, one of our main source of intense emotions as HSPs is our relationships. This episode gives you a blueprint to understand yourself as an HSP when it comes to how you approach and navigate relationships, not only to other people, but also to yourself. That relationship to ourselves is always the starting point, and we often by-pass it – so I make sure we have a look at that. I teach you how our default setting as HSPs is to constantly seek connection and harmony within that connection with others. I also tell you the reasons why we as HSPs are always looking to validate our sense of safety. We also learn, in this episode, how we sometimes delegate this harmony and safety fully to other people, and build the road to our own disappointment. I teach you two exercises to start developing that relationship to yourself, which is the very foundation for building safe, healthy, joyful and consistent relationship with others. Join our thriving (and free) community of highly sensitive leaders here. Join the JTP waitlist here. Download your free JTP brochure here.