EP 398 | The New Way Of Doing Business: Soulful Leadership And Real Impact

ANDREA CRISP

“
There’s been a subtle shift happening under the surface… and I needed to get quiet enough to hear it.”

— Andrea Crisp

Redefining Leadership, Success, and Self-Trust

There comes a moment in every woman’s journey where courage isn’t the end point — it’s the doorway. Beyond it is something quieter, deeper, and far more sustainable: alignment.

In this episode, Andrea Crisp explores the shift from striving and performance into embodied leadership rooted in intuitive decision-making, nervous system regulation, and self-trust. This is a conversation for women who are done with hustle, done with proving, and ready to lead from a place that actually feels like them.

The Shift from Courage to Alignment

For years, courage may have been the driving force — speaking up, showing up, pushing forward.

But eventually, something starts to feel off.

Alignment asks something different. It invites you to slow down, to listen, and to choose from truth instead of pressure.

Why “Empire Building” Doesn’t Always Feel Aligned

The language of “building an empire” often carries an underlying energy of constant expansion, striving, and never quite arriving.

For some, that’s exciting. For others, it feels exhausting.

“It feels like there’s always more to prove, more to achieve… and I’m just not available for that anymore.”

This episode reframes success through the lens of impact, presence, and integrity — not just growth for growth’s sake.

Nervous System Regulation & Embodied Leadership

You can’t build something sustainable from a dysregulated place.

When your nervous system is overwhelmed, your decisions come from urgency — not alignment.

“I want to create from a place that feels safe and regulated in my body.”

This is where embodiment becomes essential. It’s not just about mindset — it’s about how you feel while you’re leading, creating, and showing up.

The Power of Self-Trust in Spiritual Entrepreneurship

One of the biggest shifts Andrea shares is moving away from external validation and toward internal guidance.

“What do you think? What do you feel? That’s the question we’re not asking enough.”

In a world full of opinions, strategies, and noise, intuitive leadership requires you to come back to yourself — again and again.

Introducing The Align Collective

Out of this shift, something new has emerged.

Not a program. Not a mastermind. Not a space filled with advice and opinions.

But a living, breathing collective.

“A space where you are supported… but you also lead yourself.”

Inside The Align Collective, you’ll explore:

• Embodiment and nervous system regulation

• Intuitive leadership and self-trust

• Spiritual entrepreneurship and alignment

• Honest, meaningful connection with other women

If you’ve been craving support that doesn’t override your intuition — this is that space.

→ Join Align Collective
→ Learn More about 1:1 Coaching

• Full Podcast Transcript

  As this era of the podcast comes to a close, I want to take a moment to look back. Over the past

  several episodes, we've explored courage, survival, identity shifts, the nervous system,

  authenticity, faith, and vision. We've named what no longer serves us, uncovered the patterns that

  keep a small and open space for the next version of ourselves. The one that leads from alignment

  rather than force. from presence rather than performance. This has been a journey of

  transformation, not just in the topics we've explored, but in how I've experienced life alongside

  of you.

  Hey there, welcome to the Courage Cast. My name is Andrea Crisp, and I am glad that you are joining

  me today. We're going to be talking about moving from courage to alignment,

  and we're in a series that I have been absolutely loving. We're getting ready to reveal.

  the name of the podcast, the new name of the podcast. It's going to be Changing from the Courage

  Cast. And I'm excited to share it with you. But today I want to talk to you about something that

  has, you know, been on my mind for a while. And it's really about how we show up in our business

  and how we show up in leadership and how we show up for ourselves as entrepreneurs,

  especially when it comes to really being in the fullness of who we are.

  And there's a way of building a life in business that I've actually never fully resonated with.

  And it kind of actually annoys me when I hear women talk about building your empire.

  I really don't know why, but it is something that just does not sit right with me.

  I have zero problem with creating wealth and legacy and impact.

  But there's something about empire building that just feels like to me.

  So it kind of connotates like this, you know, constant push or you know you need more and more and

  more and more and there's never really enough and I I feel like that is still in a way that is like

  striving to attain and to achieve versus really allowing ourselves to be in a receiving mode now if

  you feel that way if you're like I'm an empire builder like no shade but just doesn't resonate with

  me And I find more value in creating impact, like real honest impact in my business with the women

  I coach in the communities that I facilitate. And I know that I attract the type of woman in

  leadership who sees herself in a way that is really allowing herself to create that kind of legacy

  and impact that she desires and the abundance to help her family to really shift her whole entire

  life. And she's a woman who shows up for herself, is self led,

  relates to herself and her family and her power in a way that really allows her to be aligned with

  who she is. And as you know, especially if you've been following along for a while that there has

  been something in me that has been shifting. And it hasn't been this like loud, you know,

  huge, big shift. It's been more of a subtle shift that has kind of taken place under the surface.

  And I needed to pull myself back from all the external things, all the noise, all the pressure,

  because I was finding that it was really clouding me and crowding me and quite frankly is

  exhausting and I'm just not interested in doing things that way anymore even if they do work

  because you can do all sorts of things in in hustle and striving and pushing and be very very

  successful but I just don't I don't resonate with that.

  And I've been like leaning away from that and leaning towards what feels true,

  what feels aligned, what actually matters for me. So I have decided I'm no longer doing business as

  usual, no longer doing my life as usual. And I would probably imagine that you might be in that

  same boat as me. So as you know we've been in this series from courage to alignment and one of the

  things I promised myself was that each episode was going to be created in real time not just

  batched and put out because I wanted it to fully chronicle my journey and I wanted every episode to

  really showcase what's happening in real time for me. So that has felt a little bit arduous.

  at times for me a bit painful and by the way thank you for those of you who reached out to share

  how the episodes have resonated with you what has helped you it has been super encouraging so kind

  of back to the series it's also given me an opportunity to take a look inward and to really get

  quiet and ask for divine guidance So that I'm not just creating for the sake of content, but I

  really want to create from my soul and be true to myself,

  be true to the vision that I feel like has been given to me and moving myself,

  my business and the podcast forward in that way. And so it's become really important to me that I

  create everything out of integrity, that I show up in a way that feels safe. regulated in my body.

  And not only just for myself, but for you as well. Because I think as someone who's maybe listening

  to the podcast, you're on a journey as well, where you're, you know, tapping into a new way of

  being for yourself, you're a leader, you're someone who's, you know, making that impact, who's

  showing up in her power and leading herself. And And so I think that's important that,

  you know, you know, kind of where I'm coming from as well. So a little bit of real talk. I've

  actually hesitated to share the next iteration of the podcast with you because it's still

  downloading for me. And if you know anything about me personally, you'll know that I love a good

  plan. And I've been nudged by spirit to let go.

  And to lean into the trust. To be divinely guided. And it has not been an easy just surrender.

  Like it just hasn't been. There is some excitement in it. But also there's been some nervousness.

  And I'm almost to the point of getting ready to reveal the new podcast name to you.

  Just a couple more episodes away.

  One of the things that I've really been kind of going through is like really asking myself,

  like, do you need things to be big and impressive anymore? Like, is this like big and showy? Like,

  are you, you know, needing to have this whole big, you know, renaming process? And I think that

  there was a time where I was like, I want to have a big in-person gathering and I want to do all

  of this stuff and I want to make sure it's live. And to be honest with you,

  I'm like, is that really what I want? Or is that what I thought I wanted or I thought I should do?

  And the truth is, I just really want to... show up honestly with depth with honesty and integrity

  and and just really talk about things that are relevant to you to your growth and not be

  performative now that doesn't mean that I'll never do an in-person event again or never host

  something but I was really you know debating for quite some time whether or not when I changed the

  name of the podcast if I would do something in person and try and get you know more people

  listening but what I'm actually hearing right now as I'm like talking to you is that it needs to

  there needs to be a point in time where I let that go and the podcast will be heard by the people

  who need to hear it now I do highly value if you share the podcast,

  if it resonates with you, if you had an episode that feels like, oh, this is so good. I love what

  she had to say. I want to share it with somebody. I want to share it to my story. I want to, you

  know, talk about it. I would greatly, greatly appreciate that. But I think more than that, it's

  that I want, my desire is that the people who need to hear it, hear it.

  And I don't want to be putting my head in the sand and thinking like that I don't need to market it

  because that's not true either. But I want to market it in integrity. And I know that success is

  not measured just by numbers. Although, you know, when you do see how many downloads that you get

  in a podcast, I mean, obviously, strokes your ego a bit. But I'm really more looking at like,

  I'd rather less people listen, more people impacted, and truly changed,

  and make a difference than more, like, less is definitely more in this case.

  And That has been really kind of like what's been going on inside of me.

  Like I have been called to do less, to attend less, to really be selective in what I'm doing and

  how I'm showing up. And that I'm not burning myself out and overriding my own intuition just to

  keep up and just to be noticed. that I'm actually listening and trusting myself.

  And that's something that I want to always hold space for you as well,

  that you can trust your own self. So as I've been transitioning the podcast, I have also,

  and this is very exciting, been creating a community for women called,

  drumroll please, the Align Collective. And I've been able to share little bits.

  here and there. I've shared in my community in some of the calls, but I'm finally ready to share it

  with you here. And friend, if I could tell you how many iterations I've had of this,

  you would probably laugh because

  it's just been so funny. Like there's moments where I'm like, it's going to be like this, then it's

  going to be like this, and then it's going to be like that. And spirits just literally had me on

  this like, kind of path, like I'm going here, I'm going there. And really,

  I it's spirits taking me back to one particular moment. So I want to share it with you.

  Back in early December, I was on a networking call in a group that I'm a part of. And we were on a

  discussion. kind of, you know, a masterminding discussion about the different things that are

  happening in our lives and our business. And one of the women was sharing about a decision she was

  making. And it came time for all of us to weigh in on that.

  And that is a typical masterminding thing. It's like, I'm going to share with you what it is I'm

  going through. And then I want all of your opinion or your perspective or what you've done.

  That can be really, really good. But I also feel like a lot of times for so many people,

  it actually moves you in a direction that you don't want to go in or that you don't need to go in.

  Instead of holding space for you to fully allow yourself to trust in what is the decision you need

  to make, we're like... bombard each other with our opinions. And I did this and this worked for me.

  Now, there's always some validity to sharing experience.

  And but doing it in a way that allows someone else to either resonate or see themselves in that,

  but also not feel like this is what you should do. So a lot of the comments in that particular

  conversation were really actually quite good. But it was so funny because it was very strategy

  based and not very spiritually based. And I was one of the only people who said, like, what do you

  think? What do you feel like you should do? And after that call that day, I went for a walk and I

  was in the woods walking with coffee and I just was sending a message to a friend about this

  particular call that we were on. And I was just about to say, like, I just wish that.

  You know, they would talk about things like more manifestation focused or more spiritually focused.

  And it hit me. That's what you're creating.

  And I was like, oh, what? And I think I've spent a lot of time creating programs and containers to

  teach, to help women shift from their beliefs. And I still think there's some huge value to that.

  And that's definitely going to be a part of what we do in this community. But what I really,

  really feel called to is creating a community and a collective.

  I'm calling it a collective because I feel like it's like the collective of the group of women who

  is actually going to create the essence of it, of really coming into that soul alignment,

  to come into that place of full self-trust. and being self led.

  And women who are impact driven, who are heart centered, who are spiritually minded,

  and grounded in what they really want to put out into the world,

  how they want to live their lives, how they want to show up for themselves. And being in community

  that that really rises together, not competes, but fully embraces one another's journey.

  growth and evolution and this container is going to be a space where we talk about those important

  things we talk about manifestation we talk about the masculine and feminine energies we talk about

  embodiment we talk about those big mindset things that are keeping us held in old patterns and old

  ways of being and it's not a prescribed program That is always going to be done the same way.

  I'm really allowing it to be what it needs to be in each iteration.

  And I've created it in a way that allows women to come in and commit to six months.

  And then if they decide to stay, they can stay after that. But it's to create and cultivate

  community and their own growth and to be supported in that.

  And there's something to be said about being able to come into the energy of a collective and

  receive and feel supported and feel like there is guidance there.

  but that you also can lead yourself. And I think that is missing within the coaching industry.

  And that is what I really, really desire to create. So this is not a mastermind in the sense of

  like what we know it to be like giving ideas and thoughts and opinions. Or a coaching program where

  it's like a prescribed curriculum. It's not a networking call where everybody's just going to be

  pitching all of their ideas and selling their programs. It's a living,

  breathing collective of women who are self-led, leaning into their own growth and evolution.

  a space where I know we can lovingly challenge one another to continue to rise.

  And I really believe that this is going to be one of the most potent containers that I have ever

  facilitated. We're going to focus on embodied leadership. And it's a space for women like you,

  women who are leading with integrity and holding space for others. coaches, healers,

  therapists, women doing really, really good work in the world. And women who want to be supported

  in a way that feels like you're actually being supported, not being told what to do.

  So inside the collective, we're going to focus on leading from soul alignment. What does that look

  like? We're going to talk about human design, we're going to be talking about how to trust and to

  stay in trust of your own leadership, how to create safety in your body.

  So some nervous system regulation. I'm actually going to have a whole resource library on things

  that have helped me regulate my nervous system, some tapping, some guided meditations.

  We're going to have some really incredible guests lead us in some beautiful practices. We're gonna

  have honest conversations. We're gonna have real, deep, meaningful connection with each other.

  And it's a space where you get to become more of who you are meant to be while you're surrounded

  with other women who are holding space for you. And I know that when someone holds space for me in

  a way that lets me be seen and known, things shift and change in my life.

  And I'm so excited for this. We're going to actually be kicking off in May.

  And I'm going to be opening the doors. I'm actually going to put the link in the show notes today

  for you to jump in. And I'm so excited for that.

  And if you jump in, and I'm going to put a little code in there for you,

  there's going to be a little bit of a gift for you,

  shall we say. for the first month. And so you'll have to go into the show notes to take a look at

  what that is. And I'm going to leave that there for you. Because I know that when you feel called

  to something and you take and you follow your your gut instinct, you follow that nudge,

  you follow what feels right for you, you're going to find that something amazing happens.

  So here's the crazy part. It's going to be available to you

  If you listen to this podcast three months from now. So if you are starting in the collective and

  you go to the show notes and you use the code that's there, you're going to be able to access this

  special incentive for you. I am literally so excited. We have one more episode.

  I'm going to be sharing about some of the biggest. takeaways that I've had from hosting the courage

  cast over gosh, like nine years, eight, nine years, I think it is. It's been so long,

  I can't remember half the time. But and as we move into this new iteration of the podcast,

  and I reveal the new name, but next week. I'm going to share a little bit of like,

  kind of some things that I've learned some of the some of the guests that have been super fun to

  chat with some of my favorite episodes, all the things that really have like,

  you know, lit me up. And then we're going to take a little pause in the podcast before I reveal the

  new name of the podcast. So you're gonna have to wait just a little bit because I'm still

  iterating. I'm still doing things behind the scenes to get it ready. So I don't want to push it out

  before it's ready to go. But you'll have one more episode next week. And then the following episode

  is actually going to be the reveal of the new name. So the doors to the Align Collective are now

  open. I'm so excited for this next iteration. journey with you.

  I cannot wait to be on this journey with you. So you can access the link in the show notes.

  And again, there's going to be a beautiful incentive for you there. So make sure that you check the

  show notes. Friend, thank you for being with me. Thanks for being on this journey with me.

  Until next time, remember, you have everything you need to live bravely. And if you like this

  episode of The Courage Cast, make sure to like, follow, and subscribe on your favorite podcast

  player, original music, and production by Stephen Crilley.

Listen Here:

Apple + Google + Spotify

If something here touched you, that’s the invitation. Let’s work together to help you feel supported, embodied, and aligned with what you’re here to create.

EP 397 | Trusting Yourself In The In-Between

ANDREA CRISP

“
The more I let go of forcing, the more I’m being asked to trust.”

— Andrea Crisp

Navigating the Identity Shift in Intuitive Leadership

There comes a point in your growth where courage is no longer the work.

For so long, courage is what moves you forward. It’s what helps you speak, show up, take risks, and build something meaningful. But eventually, something shifts. What once worked begins to feel heavy. Forced. Misaligned.

This is where a deeper invitation begins.

In this episode, I share what it looks like to move from courage into alignment—into a way of leading, living, and growing that is rooted in embodiment, nervous system regulation, and intuitive leadership. Not from the perspective of having arrived, but from being inside the transition itself.

When Pushing Stops Working in Entrepreneurship

There is a phase in spiritual entrepreneurship where pushing, striving, and making things happen feels necessary.

And for a time—it is.

But there comes a moment when that energy no longer creates expansion. Instead, it creates tension.

“What used to feel like momentum starts to feel like pressure.”

This is often the beginning of an identity shift.

Not because something is wrong—but because you’re being asked to lead from a different place.

The Shift from Courage to Alignment

Courage says: Do it anyway.
Alignment says: Wait, listen, trust.

Courage moves you through fear.
Alignment asks you to release control.

“I’m not in a season of figuring it out. I’m in a season of becoming.”

This shift into alignment can feel disorienting, especially for women who are used to holding others, creating results, and being deeply capable.

Because alignment doesn’t always feel productive.

Sometimes it feels like space. Like slowing down. Like not knowing.

Nervous System Regulation and Trust

One of the deepest layers of this work is learning how to feel safe without forcing outcomes.

This is where nervous system regulation becomes essential.

Because the body often associates:

• Control with safety

• Action with certainty

• Striving with worth

Letting go of those patterns can feel like stepping into the unknown.

“My nervous system is learning that I don’t have to grip in order to be supported.”

This is the work of embodiment.

The Identity Void: Becoming Someone New

There is a space in this transition where:

• You’re no longer who you were

• But you’re not fully anchored in who you’re becoming

This is the identity void.

And it can feel uncomfortable, spacious, and deeply exposing.

“It’s not clean. It’s not linear. It’s a becoming.”

But it’s also where the deepest transformation happens.

What Intuitive Leadership Actually Requires

Intuitive leadership is not about always knowing.

It’s about trusting yourself even when you don’t.

It’s about leading from connection instead of control.

It’s about allowing your next level to emerge instead of forcing it into existence.

“The more I trust, the less I need to prove.”

Original Music And Production By Stephen Crilly.

• Full Podcast Transcript

  I want to start this episode a little differently because what I'm talking about today isn't something I've figured out. It's something that I'm in. I've been sharing about this transition from courage to alignment, from pushing, striving, making things happen, into something that feels more like allowing, trusting, and becoming.

  And I think a lot of us believe that when we choose alignment, when we choose our intuition, everything just clicks. But what I've been experiencing is actually the opposite. There's this space in the middle where who you used to be just doesn't fit anymore, but who you're becoming isn't fully here yet. It's not fully landed. And that's the space we're going into today.

  Hello, welcome to the Courage Cast. I'm so glad that you're joining me today. And if this is your first time listening to the podcast, then I'm so happy that you're here. My name is Andrea Crisp. I am...

  a life coach. And I specialize in helping women to step into the fullness of who they are, to really come into that remembering. And we're in a series right now where we're actually shifting from where we've been on the podcast to something brand new. And so we're actually pretty close to revealing the new name of the podcast, so to speak, but

  What I want to talk to today is really where I have been in my own journey as I've been processing through the many years that I have been podcasting, but also coaching and in business and just some honest shares. When I first started talking about this shift from courage to alignment, I really thought it was going to be very simple, very straightforward.

  kind of a linear shift between going from the CourageCast into the next new evolution of the podcast. And I love a good plan. And I love knowing where I'm going and how I'm getting there. So I genuinely believe that if I had a plan, and if I followed it,

  And if I did the work to stay aligned and trust the process, that everything would just naturally fall into place. Well, that's not been the case. Not even close. Instead, I have found myself in this in-between space. And it has felt very uncomfortable and often very disorienting. And I've written in my journal several times that

  It feels a little bit like I'm lost or that I'm just kind of floating out there in the middle of nowhere. And it's brought up a lot in me, a lot of questions. And, you know, when you start to ask yourself the questions, like the big, deep questions in life, that it kind of, you know, gets the wheels turning and then you start asking more questions and then more questions. You know, like, what am I actually doing here?

  What am I doing with my life? Why is this not working? Why is this not clicking into place? Why is it that I seem to not be able to shift quicker or, you know, find out what it is that I'm actually doing sooner and, you know, move it into gear? Is there something wrong with me? You know, what the F is actually happening here? And maybe you've been

  in a season in your life, maybe it's now maybe it has been, you know, somewhere you've been before, that when you start questioning one thing, it's like, suddenly your whole life's under review. And you're trying to figure out, okay, what the heck am I doing here? And that's the space that I've been in. And that's really what I want to talk about today is that whole feeling that

  you experience when you're in that middle space. Maybe you have an idea, maybe you have something that you are excited about, and you're wanting to put it out into the world, you're wanting to launch it into the world, you're wanting to, you know, write a book, start a podcast, start a business, do something creative with your life, maybe make a big change or transition.

  And you're in that stage and you know you want to do something else and you know something else is coming. But then what the heck happens in the in between? Now, of course, I wanted to bring this in.

  in the lens of human design because I love human design and I think it's important when we are you know asking these big questions that we go back into the roadmap and say okay well what can I pull from my human design what can I see that maybe will help me to navigate this place in my life and if you're unfamiliar with human design then I

  highly suggest that you pull your chart. You can find them in online spaces, free online chart all over the place and find out what your chart is first because there's centers within your chart and you want to take a look at this one particular center and it will give you a lot of context for what I want to talk about today. So for me, I want to talk about

  the G center. So that's the identity center. And for me, I have an undefined G center. So if you're familiar with that, it really means your sense of self, your direction. And for me, having an undefined G center, it means that it's not fixed. So that essentially means that

  It's kind of fluid. So it's responsive to what's happening around me. So it evolves based on the environment I'm in, the people I'm around, what I feel aligned with. And that actually took me a long time to understand because I often questioned myself based on where I was at. And I always felt pretty adaptable.

  in environments. So I would move, I moved from Canada when I was growing up to the US to go to school, I lived in the Midwest. And it was really easy for me to adapt to the lifestyle there and to, you know, feel like I could fit in and understand the people around me. Because I had an undefined G center, which meant that whomever I'm around, I can easily adapt and

  create a sense of identity of who I am based on the people that I'm around, the environment that I'm in, which can feel funny because if you do that enough times in your life, like I did, I went from Canada to Missouri, then to Tennessee, then back to Canada in Northern Ontario, which is very different than Southern Ontario. And all of those different spaces and environments that I was in, I was around

  different types of people.

  And my identity would shift or my sense of self, let's call it that, would shift and be responsive to the environment I was in, the people I'm around, and really what I was doing in my life at that time. Okay, so I want to express that first because that's very different than someone who has a defined.

  g-center because someone who has a defined g-center is going to have a more consistent sense of identity they're going to know who they are regardless of where they are or who they're with and you you often notice these people because when you're around them it's kind of like oh yeah like

  they're the ones who stand out. They're kind of the ones who just have this sense of knowing, this innate sense of knowing who they are and what they believe in and their truth. And there's a grounded continuity there. I actually really feel in some ways like I wish I had a divine sense of self, but there is some definite pluses to having an open

  defined undefined g center because I'm truly able to understand people because I'm able to adapt and it gives me an edge of being attuned to the people I'm around so it is there is some good there so those of us with an undefined g we're not here to lock into one identity okay we're here to experience identity

  to be in that like fluidity of it, to be in that, you know, that space where it moves and evolves. And when it comes to really understanding when we're moving from one season of life into something else, and it requires the next level of identity, it has really been

  tricky for me to figure that out. Because I'm like, how does that actually work for me, if I don't have a defined sense of self, right? And so for me, it's really about understanding what it is that I desire. And if there is something that I desire, that I'm around people who

  have those qualities or are emanating those qualities in environments in spaces because my undefined sense of self and identity needs to be around the energy of other people that are there that know that and if I'm not I find that I can feel a bit lost

  I can lose myself. I can feel as though I'm not really sure what's happening and I really have to have that touchstone. So even when I live in places that maybe I'm not around a lot of entrepreneurs or I'm not really in close contact with my really good friends that live elsewhere.

  I have to create spaces and environments for myself that I'm around these people. So it means, you know, having contact with people via text, getting on calls on zoom calls, even if you know, we may be zoomed out. I don't have that luxury of not jumping on zoom because I live in a location where I need that. And so and I need to be around people who

  value similar things and who are moving in this in similar directions don't have to be you know definitely like going in the same direction but it has to have some sort of purpose and alignment and for me if I don't have that I can feel as though I'm kind of losing my way

  So when I started this shift from courage into alignment, it really was shifting that identity, that sense of self for me, moving more into alignment or attunement with what I feel like my divine purpose is and where I'm going and what feels right for me.

  Now, there's always going to be because of my undefined G center, a sense of like, movement and fluidity around it, I'm always going to be adaptable with it because of the fact that it really, you know, when I'm around other people, I have that sense of, you know, movement and connection. And I really

  I'm able to kind of lean into their sense of self. I know that seems very weird. But I'm also able to mirror back other people's sense of self to them through my own design. Okay, so I know that I feel like I'm getting into the weeds here. So I want to pull back out. So for me, I had to kind of reframe identity.

  as a little bit more like a recalibration for myself. And feeling like my identity, because it doesn't always feel locked in, has to recalibrate. It has to like reboot into that next iteration. And what I had built my...

  old identity on, or how I was leaning into sense of self was, you know, based on what I knew. And what I knew was structures was creating, you know, a plan all the time. And, you know, really following that masculine energy of hustling and doing and, and although I think there is definite

  need for that productive, masculine, not male, but masculine energy. And also the importance of that feminine, soft being energy. And so for me, I've been trying to navigate, you know, what is really working for me? And how do I, you know, allow myself to let things fall away? That

  are not really where I'm going and embrace where I am going. So I've been in this kind of middle space. And when you don't have a really solid sense of self, it can feel wobbly. It can feel like instability. And the old way of being, the old identity that I was attaching to,

  felt safe. It worked. It was something that I knew. And I sensed it in my body as something that, you know, was the way I lived and did life and did business. But for me moving forward, I know that that doesn't work for me any longer. And it means that I have to shift into a more kind of equal parts.

  feminine masculine energy and it means refining and it means recalibrating into this new way of being. It means stepping into a deeper sense of alignment and understanding of what will work for me. And I think oftentimes we look to other people to external sources for what will work for us.

  And if you have an undefined G center, like myself, then that actually does help you at times. But you also have to know how to trust yourself in it as well. Okay. And there is an embodiment piece that is so necessary. And I don't think we talk about it enough. Now, identity work.

  is not like something you think yourself into. It is really something that you are feeling into. So it's in your body. It's something you're becoming. And I'll use this analogy because it really has helped me over the years. But when I was in college, I took a running class. And if you've listened to the podcast, you've probably heard this story several times. But when I was in college, I took a running class.

  That was mandatory. And I would get shin splints every time I tried to run. So I ended up talking to the coach that was running the class. And he said, well, why don't you just use the bike? And I was like, okay, I will do that. So I got on the bike every class and I would bike. And in order to pass the class, we had to run a certain distance. And so when we got to the end of the semester,

  The coach is like, okay, well, we're going to do our test and everybody's going to run. Well, meanwhile, the whole entire class has been running all semester. And I've been on a bike. And now I'm being required or asked to run. And I can't even remember. I've probably blocked it out because it was so traumatic. I was asked to run to pass this.

  final test and we were paired up with um in genders so like there was the females running in one at one time and then the guys were running at another time so we were paired up with someone I was paired up with a guy who I was in um the music program with he was a drummer and uh a great runner and a great drummer actually as well but

  he had to count my laps and when he was running, I had to count his laps. So the guys ran first and I stood on the sidelines and it was easy. He was done so quick. He was probably one of the first people to be done. And then when it came time for my turn, I ran and I was literally dying. Like, and you had to finish this. Like it was, it was a nightmare. I just put it that way. So

  I don't even know if I passed the class or not. It's all kind of hazy because at the end, I threw up at the side of the track. It was awful. It was terrible. Basically, what I'm saying here is I created an identity that I'm not a runner. So long story short, when I was in my late 30s, so fast forward,

  I was working at a church in Toronto and there was a young pastor who was on staff with me. Her name was Michelle. And she's like, we should run the zoo run this year. It's a 5K run. And I was like, what? And she's like, I'm like, I'm not a runner. She's like, yeah, but you could learn like how to run. And I'm like, I took a running class and I failed it. So that's probably not going to happen. And anyways, needless to say, what ended up happening was.

  I started training, I started running. And without going into a lot of detail, because there's so much involved in that time of my life where I started running, you know, very short distances, a minute at a time, then stopping and then a minute. And it was in some cases, sometimes very almost embarrassing. I was at the gym, I was on the treadmill, and I was doing this, I was outside doing this.

  downtown Toronto in front of hundreds of people who walk and run every day. And anyways, within about four or five months, I had trained to run. And the very first race I ever did was not a 5k. It was a 10k. And I made it through I was not the fastest by any stretch, but I did it.

  And I created for myself an identity of being a runner. And I did it because someone else held that identity. And I was able to watch and learn from her and talk to her. She felt very solid in that identity, Michelle did. And I was able to...

  allow myself slowly and incrementally to shift into the identity of a runner and embody it. And the more I did it, the more I ran, the more my body learned that I am a runner. And that's why I say identity work is not mental. You can't just think yourself into it. I mean, yes, you make a decision, but your body starts to become it.

  And it holds this new level of receiving what it is that you desire moving forward. So for me, it was to run this 10k. And eventually, I got there. And your system will recalibrate over time to really hold the capacity for what

  the new thing is. So for me, for running, it was like creating that, you know, space for my body to shift into what it required to be a runner. To this day, I still do run, I don't run all the time. But I have an identity now of a runner.

  And so when we kind of like look back at our purpose in life and our identity when it comes to business and to what we're doing in the world, it is really asking the question, what am I available to embody? And when I was in college, I was embodying the identity of someone on a bike, not someone who ran. So when I ran that,

  final race, of course, I couldn't do it. But when I did it later in my 30s, my late 30s, I, over time, created this new identity. I had to shift through some of the mental blocks, obviously, to do that. But anyways, that's how it ended up happening for me. Now, I want to share one more story because this is something

  Something that is more recent and how I really think that when we are in a season where we're kind of in the in-between, how do we move from one to the next? And it kind of is something that's recent. It just happened this week. The day I'm, I think I'm recording this on a Thursday today.

  This happened on Sunday, Monday of this past week. So we had a major snowstorm. There was about 50 centimeters of snow dumped. It was crazy. Everything was covered. Cars, driveways, yards, everything in people's backyard was like fully covered. Drifts like basically to the top of, you know, vehicles. Winter had almost gone and there had been so much snow that had melted prior to that. And then.

  Like just out of nowhere, this winter storm came and all of a sudden we were back full throttle winter. Our banks, our snow banks are so high right now. It's absolutely crazy. And on the day that it kind of subsided, I remember standing, looking out the window thinking, how in the heck am I going to clear all of this snow? Like it was just almost impossible to think of.

  a way to do it. I have a couple of snowblowers, not very big, and one's a kind of a tiny one and one's like a midsize and a shovel. And neither of the smaller snowblowers had the capacity to even move the snow, which meant I had to do it by hand, by shovel. And I already have some back

  and glute issues. So I was not looking forward to it. And I have a neighbor who lives right next door. And we kind of have a shared part of our driveway, not completely, but like our path kind of merges into his driveway. So anyways, he was out there and he was removing snow with his snowblower. And I was just like, Oh, like,

  It was taking him forever even to do it. It was so much like because he had to move it from the driveway into the street, across the street and onto the berm, which is right in front of the river. And so it was this whole big thing. And I remember thinking, I don't if like, I don't know when he's going to stop or where he's going to stop and how much I'm going to have to do. And even if I do do it.

  Like, where am I going to put the snow? Because there's so much of it. Like, how am I going to move it with a shovel? It was like this whole thing. Well, I was overwhelmed, like just even thinking about it. But he ended up helping me move that snow from our shared driveway. And then I went out and I helped him move the snow off of his steps.

  front entrance because he hadn't even done that he'd been hours out there doing his driveway without ever doing his steps I'm like well I can do that so I helped him with that he helped me with the part of my driveway so much so that I was able to move the car shovel around it move the car back in and it was so much easier to navigate with the help and after it all kind of you know

  happened, I was just thinking to myself, you know, like we were just literally a few weeks ago with these like really warm temperatures. The snow was melting and we were so ready for spring. We were so ready for that next like season to show up. And I was like, that's how I'm feeling about my life. I have been in the winter and I am so

  ready for the new thing. But just because we're ready doesn't mean it's time yet. And we can try and rush it all we want. We can try and force it into being. We can try and make it happen. But spring is going to come when the conditions are right. And not because we're forcing it, willing it into existence. And that is exactly what identity recalibration feels like.

  You're on the edge of something like it should happen any moment and you're waiting and you're waiting and nothing's happening and then more waiting and more unknown. But here's the truth that I keep coming back to. Your new identity or the identity you're stepping into recalibrating will internalize inside of you before it shows up on the

  outside of you before it manifests into your actual reality. So just because like right now I'm in winter doesn't mean spring is not coming. It just means it's not here yet. So just because I'm on the edge of something new in my life doesn't mean it's not here. It's just not here yet. Something's happening on the inside. It's still integrating. It's still recalibrating.

  So if you're in that space right now, I want you just to pause for a moment. Maybe place your hand on your heart. And if it feels frustrating, if you feel like you're in this space and you're like, I just want to be where I need to be in my next season. Just ask yourself, is there something that I still need to release? Maybe it is the fear. Maybe it is, you know, holding on. Maybe it's control.

  Is there something that wants to emerge from this season? And what wants to actually start coming through you? And just let that be enough. Let that be enough for where you're at in this season. And when it's time, you're going to wake up one morning, the sun's going to be out, spring will be on its way, it'll be here, and you'll be like, ah, there it is.

  You don't have to rush. You don't have to force clarity. You don't have to like hold so fast and so tight to a certain timeline that you think is going to get you where you need to go just because somebody else had that timeline. Yes, the middle space can be uncomfortable. It can feel a little bit like you're isolated or you're lost or no one understands, but it is also sacred.

  It is also this place where you're forming, you're recalibrating, you're integrating what you've learned into what you're going to be stepping into. It's where your capacity is being expanded and it is the embodiment. So if you're feeling like you're in this and if you're in that in-between, I just...

  really invite you to have compassion and some grace for yourself. It's also the work that we do inside Align Coaching because we're always at that

  edge of something that requires us to step in. And I know for myself that it has required the right support and aligning with people who get me that create safe spaces for me to do the work. And in inside align coaching, we don't just do surface level strategy. This is the actual identity.

  nervous system embodiment work. And it's where you allow yourself to kind of incubate, recalibrate and become the woman who can hold what she desires. And this is sacred, sacred work, because what happens internally is then going to manifest externally.

  And when you have the tools to be able to allow yourself to do that work, you will be amazed at what begins to show up for you and what will continue to show up for you. So if that's calling to you, I just encourage you to reach out. I'm going to leave a link in the show notes where we can either jump on a call and have a conversation or you can learn more about Align Coaching because this is not something that you have to navigate alone.

  Definitely something I have not navigated on my own either, because I knew that in order for me to move forward in my life, I truly needed to be aligned with the right people who knew how to help me move in that direction. So friend, you're not lost. You're recalibrating. You are in the season of shifting from what was into what

  is coming for you in the future. So thank you for joining me today on The Courage Cast. I love having you here. And if we haven't connected, you can find me on Instagram at Andrea Crisp Coach. All the links again will be in the show notes. And until next time, remember you have everything you need to live rightfully. If you like this episode of The Courage Cast, make sure to like, follow and subscribe on your favorite podcast player. Original music and production by Stephen Crilly.

Listen Here:

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If something here touched you, that’s the invitation. Let’s work together to help you feel supported, embodied, and aligned with what you’re here to create.

EP 396 | The Leadership Shift No One Is Talking About

ANDREA CRISP

“
I’m learning not to rush myself out of this space.”

— Andrea Crisp

When Nothing Fits Anymore: The In-Between Season of Intuitive Leadership and Identity Shift

There’s a season I don’t think we talk about enough. The one where things don’t quite fit anymore… but you don’t have clarity on what’s next either. It’s subtle. Quiet. Sometimes hard to explain. But you can feel it. And lately, I’ve been right in the middle of it.

This episode is a more personal reflection on that space—what it’s been like for me, what I’m noticing, and how I’m choosing to move through it without forcing answers too quickly.

When It’s Not Wrong… But It’s Not Right Anymore

One of the most disorienting parts of growth is when nothing is clearly broken. Your work still “works.” Your message still makes sense. From the outside, everything looks fine. But internally… something feels off. Not in a chaotic way. Just in a quiet, persistent way that says: This isn’t quite it anymore.

“It’s not that anything is wrong… it’s that something in me has changed.”

And that’s a very different kind of space to navigate.

The In-Between Isn’t a Problem to Solve

What I’ve been noticing—both in myself and in the women I work with—is how quickly we try to get out of this space. We want clarity. Direction. A new plan. But the truth is, this in-between isn’t confusion. It’s transition. And if we rush to define it too quickly, we end up recreating something from the old version of ourselves instead of allowing something new to emerge.

“I’m learning not to rush myself out of this space.”

Nervous System, Control, and the Urge to Figure It Out

This is where nervous system regulation becomes really real. Because when things feel undefined, your system will often interpret that as unsafe. So the instinct is to: tighten, control, figure it out, make a decision just to feel grounded again.

But that kind of clarity is usually forced. And you can feel the difference. Intuitive leadership asks something deeper. It asks you to stay.

Embodiment in the Undefined

For me, this season hasn’t been about finding answers. It’s been about staying connected to myself while the answers are still forming. Letting things fall away without immediately replacing them. Letting my message evolve without rushing to define it. Letting myself be in process… without making that wrong.

“This isn’t confusion—it’s a transition.”

If You’re Here Too

If you’re in a space where things don’t quite fit anymore… You’re not behind. You’re not doing it wrong. You’re in a threshold. And the most powerful thing you can do here isn’t to push forward—it’s to stay present long enough to actually hear what’s next.

• Full Podcast Transcript

  Today's conversation is going to be a little more personal than usual, because it's something that I've been moving through in my own life, and it pertains to how we're shifting things here on the podcast. Lately, I have found myself in this in-between space where it feels like a lot of things don't fit me, not because they're wrong, not because they're bad, but because something in me has shifted.

  And if you've ever gone through a season like that, you know it can be both incredibly uncomfortable, but also bring a lot of clarity at the same time. There's this moment when you start realizing that what once fit you, maybe the environments, the people, the communities that have been serving you or you have been serving, just really don't fit where you're going anymore. Well, that's the space that I've been in.

  a season of letting go, a season of refining, and a season of getting really honest about what feels aligned for me right now. And interestingly enough, this has also made me realize something important about leadership and growth that I want to share with you today. Because for a long time, I taught that courage was the answer to be brave, to take the leap, to push through fear. And for

  so many years, courage was what shaped my life. But lately, I've been realizing something. Courage alone isn't enough for the next level of leadership that many women are stepping into. Because courage can still come from pushing and from the adrenaline and from hustling. And there are so many of us, including myself, that are no longer trying to just survive our lives. We're trying to live in alignment with them. And that

  my friend, requires something deeper. Hey there, welcome to the CourageCast. My name is Andrea Crisp. I'm glad you're joining me today. It actually feels kind of funny and I kind of bittersweet because it will be long before I'm sharing with you the new name of the podcast and not just saying welcome to the CourageCast anymore because it is

  about to change. We are nearing the end of this series. We only have a few more episodes before we reveal the name of what the podcast is actually going to be. And I have been really sitting, thinking about just what I want to share with you and how transparent I want to be with this whole journey. And I feel like, you know, what the heck, might as well, right? Just go for it.

  Because I've been in this place in my own life and leadership lately where it feels like nothing really fits me anymore. I know it's crazy, right? Like, is that possible that all of a sudden nothing fits? Well, yeah, that's kind of what it feels like. So for me, it has really caused me to pull back and to really sit with where do I want to start showing up in my business?

  Where do I want to start showing up online? What events do I want to attend? What communities do I want to be a part of? What do I actually want to offer as a part of my business? And where am I going? So it's kind of been like a little bit like a whole revamp on what's happening in my world. And this weekend was no exception. So I'm going to share a little bit about how I have kind of been processing this.

  And I think that there are seasons that we all go through in our lives where we're reevaluating things. Maybe it's in our leadership. Maybe it's in our business. Maybe it's in our relationships where things just don't seem to fit anymore. And there are a lot of moments that you probably have, you know, been in your own life where you've had to.

  Be very brave. You've had to take some risks to make some bold moves and maybe even leave things behind. But there are also times where it's not about taking a huge risk. It's actually about refining and pulling things back just a little bit to shift something that's not working.

  Over the past six months, that is exactly where I have been. And that has been my story. I felt like I've had to let go of so many things that just don't feel aligned for me anymore. And it also has been coming to some realizations and moving through some emotions, even more recently, like the feelings of guilt around the fact that I might not.

  please everybody. And that's just okay. You know, sometimes you have to just kind of move forward. And for some time, I have felt this pull to deeper soul alignment. But if I'm being just really transparent, it's been very scary for me. It's been very uncomfortable. And I mentioned that, you know, this weekend, I was thinking about my business and what I'm doing. I was thinking maybe I should just like

  stop doing it all together and burn it all down and I'm sure if you are an entrepreneur or you have you know something that you're passionate about you probably felt very similar but it made me look at everything in a new lens and and start to think okay if I'm going to be intentional about what I'm doing in my business what I'm doing in my life where I'm pouring my energy then

  I also need to take a look at the output, like where am I serving? What communities am I a part of? What events am I attending? Where am I spending my energy, especially as I'm moving forward? And it's not as though I feel like that everything has to change, but definitely I know where I'm spending my energy.

  really has to shift. And for a long time, I kind of followed the prescribed way of doing business, especially online business, and going into spaces that made a lot of sense on paper and, you know, seem to be like the place to be the it place to be. But the truth is that just being in communities to be in them and be part of them just actually doesn't serve me anymore.

  If they're not really valuable for me and they don't, you know, make me come alive, then I'm just like, well, I just don't need to be part of them anymore. And over the past couple of months, I have actually seen this to be so true for me because I spent probably a good part of February and then the beginning of March.

  getting ready, preparing for two different trips where I attended friends events. Now, to be very, very clear, these were amazing rooms. Women I deeply respect, friends I love seeing and just absolutely adore value in every way, shape and form. But something interesting kept happening for me.

  And I want to share it with you. So every time I got ready to start to pack to go to these events, my body felt incredibly stressed.

  I have been learning to pay more attention to what is happening in my body when I'm doing things because for a long time I didn't and it is part of my intuition to listen to my body but I would bypass that and just kind of go with the flow anyways because it's the right thing to do or that's what you do and my nervous system

  was trying to tell me something because it was giving me the information that something was up for me specifically but I was like you know what I've already committed and I'm just going to push through. For both of these trips I felt like canceling probably a week out of each event and I thought you know what this just doesn't feel right for me anymore.

  And that was really hard for me to admit because I felt like, you know what, I've committed to these events. I've paid for the tickets. I've booked kennels, you know, for the dog and my brother's dog who was staying with me at the time. I was putting a lot of money out. I kind of needed to get away from, you know, being where I live and being so isolated.

  with all of those things, it just didn't feel like it was sitting right for me. And I went to both events. And just in full transparency, they were amazing. Like, I learned a lot at both of the events, I got to connect with some amazing humans, like, it was just really, really good. But even when I got home, I still had this lingering

  feeling, this lingering sense that something is off. And that can be a very strange place to be. Because when you don't really know why, you don't feel like you're supposed to be somewhere anymore. But you don't know what's next. It can feel like you're in this like, void, you're in the in between. And

  There's nothing particularly wrong with where you've been. It just doesn't seem to fit anymore. And so I had to make the decision that, you know what, it's time for me to step out of the big rooms and for a time, not attend any more big events. Not because there's anything wrong with them, but because it simply...

  doesn't feel aligned for me right now and what I'm craving is really small intimate rooms with deep connection really really good conversations a sense of belonging where you feel totally held supported and where it feels like you can truly be yourself that is what I am craving

  right now. And I think my nervous system is also craving that safety. And when we put ourselves in spaces and environments where we are not feeling truly safe to be seen, it is really overriding our own innate wisdom. And friend, that is something that I am no longer willing to do.

  And there comes a moment for many of us where we kind of wake up to this realization that I actually can't keep doing this. I can't keep saying yes to things that are not a hell yes for me. And that is the space that I have found myself in. So kind of moving from this place of forcing things to work in my life and in my business.

  to allowing them to unfold. And even as I've been recording this podcast series, I think I told you, you know, a few episodes back that I was still in the middle of renaming the podcast, I was in the middle of kind of like shifting myself from where I had been to where I'm going. And things have been messy over here. They really have, like it has not been a clear path for me.

  in any way shape or form but the one thing that I can tell you is that I am moving from this place of striving and trying to make things happen to just being like okay I surrender I'm open to what needs to happen like I'm done trying to perform to belong I'm I'm done trying to fit into spaces that really don't serve me and

  I don't want to do that in my business either. I really want to embody this new version of myself. Maybe the version of myself that I've always been and come back to this like sense of who I truly, truly am and really, really honor that. And this transition has not been graceful.

  in any way. In fact, I have felt so confused at times. I have been looking at like what works, what doesn't work and feeling like, oh my gosh, so much of this doesn't work. Now what do I do? And questioning it all. It's been exhausting at times. It's been frustrating. It's been challenging. But that's what happens when you're evolving. The old ways stop working.

  And you have to question things in order to know what comes next. You have to say, like, this is not serving me anymore. And only when you get to that place can the new things emerge.

  So for me, it's been a lot of listening, tuning in, and maybe you can resonate with that. Maybe you're like, I'm in that place in my own life. I'm shifting in my own business. I'm shifting in my own life. Maybe you've made a big move. Maybe you are, you know, realigning something in your life. And you might be in a place where everything is, you know, shifting for you. I want to say this, just because things no longer fit doesn't mean you're failing.

  It just means you're evolving. And if the systems that you once used don't work, or if the methods you once used don't work, or if the messaging you use once does not work, doesn't mean like, okay, it's all over and throw in the towel. It just means that maybe it's time for something different. And you need to create more alignment in your life and really get clear on what is for you.

  And even though, like, even it was funny, as I'm recording this, I got a message that popped through from one of my old mentors that I was in this big program many, many years ago. And they're offering this mastermind. And it's really interesting because as my computer pinged, and I don't know if you can hear it on the recording or not, I guess it really doesn't matter. But I was reminded.

  of places that no longer fit, that are...

  no longer where I'm at in my life and business. Because there used to be places where I'm like, I want to be seen in that space. I want to be acknowledged in that space. I want to be known in that space. But honestly, that is not where I am at anymore. So I have really come to learn for myself that if I'm leading through force,

  then I'm not really trusting what is meant for me. And so often I have to just take a step back and go, all right, what feels right? Even if I don't see that it makes logical sense. And that part has been really kind of asking my body to be like, okay, does this feel safe to shift in this direction?

  And of course, you know, when you're making any big moves in your life, you have to regulate your nervous system to accommodate the move and to accommodate where you're at. It's not just like an easy like, you know, oh, here I am, I'm just going to move right into the next thing. Because when you are shifting, when you are evolving, it really is about

  regulating to that new level, that new sustainability, that work that you're going to be doing wherever it is. And that often takes time and space. Now,

  When I first started recording the podcast today, I kind of had a little bit of a sense of where I wanted to take the episode, but I wasn't entirely sure, which actually now makes a whole lot of sense for me because I am realizing that this whole episode is really about getting honest in your life and in your leadership about where things need to change and being okay with that.

  Because it's not always this easy transition from one thing to the next. But yet we want to make it look seamless like it is. And you might have to step from one place in your life to another place by taking a big risk. But it really is about asking yourself, is this right for me?

  leading yourself in a way that allows you to be the most authentic version of yourself and to expand in a way that feels right for you in that next evolution. And as I'm, you know, moving into this new place in my own business and transitioning,

  I have been feeling that same thing. Like I have been asking myself those same questions. Like, does this feel right? Does this feel authentic? It's not about just making a big shift to make a big shift or make a big splash. It's a, it's really about being honest about what is it that I want and the safer I feel to ask myself that question.

  the more that comes through for me, the more that lands for me, the more that opens up for me, and the more I get to experience what it is that is in my next evolution, more in alignment with who I am and what my soul is asking from me. So this whole evolution of the podcast, moving from

  courage into alignment has really been a real shift for me. And it's been exciting. It's been challenging. But it's also asked me to show up in a new way. It's asked me to have more courage. But it's also asked me to refine what I'm doing, who I'm doing it for, where I'm showing up.

  how I'm leading, and especially how much I'm trusting myself. So friend, you might be in that same space. You might be like, yeah, Andrea, I totally get it. I'm asking myself those same questions. Well, friend, I hope this encourages you that it gets to be messy, that it doesn't always have to look like everything is.

  put together, that you have everything figured out. Because inside of leadership, there's always this shift or this evolution that we don't want to talk about that we don't want to share with other people. Because heaven forbid, anybody take a look in and go, Oh my gosh, what a mess that is. It's always messy before it moves into alignment because

  It's where you're getting the clarity. It's where you're asking yourself those hard questions. So I hope this encourages you. And friend, yes, there's more coming. I was going to lead into, you know, this is how you would coach with me one on one. But honestly, I don't feel like that's where I'm going to go today. I will leave all of the links in the show notes of how you can connect with me, how you can work with me. But here's the thing.

  No matter where you're at in your life or no matter where you're at in your business right now, I really want to encourage you that it's okay if things don't look like how you thought they would look. Because when you ask yourself these questions, you know you're in the right space. You know you're asking yourself what really matters. And when you're asking yourself that question, what really matters, that's when you're going to take that next

  brave step in your life. So friend, thank you for joining me today. And until next time, remember, you have everything you need to live bravely. And if you like this episode of the Courage Cast, make sure to like, follow and subscribe on your favorite podcast player. Original music and production by Stephen Crilley.

Listen Here:

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If something here touched you, that’s the invitation. Let’s work together to help you feel supported, embodied, and aligned with what you’re here to create.

EP 395 | The End of Performative Leadership

ANDREA CRISP

“
Courage taught me how to survive. Alignment is teaching me how to live.”

— Andrea Crisp

The Hidden Exhaustion of Being “On” All the Time

Many women in leadership roles quietly carry an invisible pressure.

The pressure to always be composed.
To have answers.
To be the grounded one when everything around them feels uncertain.

For high-functioning women, leadership can slowly become something that feels managed, curated, and controlledinstead of natural and embodied.

In this episode of The CourageCast, Andrea Crisp shares an honest reflection about the moment she realized her leadership had subtly become performative — and how returning to alignment changed everything.

If you are navigating spiritual entrepreneurship, intuitive leadership, or visible work online, this conversation will likely resonate.

The Difference Between Performing and Leading

There is nothing wrong with being skilled at what you do.

Leaders often have experience, wisdom, and the capacity to hold others through challenging moments.

But there is an important distinction between showing up with competence and feeling the need to perform leadership.

Performative leadership often looks like:

• Always needing to appear grounded

• Feeling pressure to be the “healed one”

• Avoiding vulnerability to maintain credibility

• Managing how others perceive you

• Staying constantly “on”

Over time, this creates strain within the nervous system.

As Andrea shares:

“Performance will always affect your nervous system because you’re constantly managing perception.”

The Identities That Can Trap Us

Many leaders unconsciously adopt roles that become part of their identity.

The strong one.
The wise one.
The spiritual one.
The healed one.
The regulated one.

While these qualities may be true, they can quietly become roles we feel responsible to maintain.

When leadership becomes about protecting these identities rather than living from truth, exhaustion inevitably follows.

Why People Trust Coherence, Not Perfection

One of the most powerful realizations Andrea shares is this:

“People don’t trust perfection. They trust coherence.”

Coherence happens when your internal experience matches what others see externally.

When you’re not managing perception.

When you’re simply present.

When your nervous system feels safe in your own leadership.

This type of leadership builds trust naturally because it is real, embodied, and grounded.

The Nervous System Cost of Performative Leadership

Trying to maintain an image creates constant nervous system activation.

You may notice:

• tension in the body

• bracing or clenching

• hyper-awareness of how you’re perceived

• emotional depletion

• difficulty resting

This is your body signaling that leadership has shifted from alignment to performance.

Returning to authentic leadership requires rest, regulation, and honest self-reflection.

A Simple Practice to Return to Yourself

In the episode, Andrea shares a short guided practice to help release tension and reconnect with your body.

The practice focuses on:

• softening facial tension

• relaxing the jaw

• releasing shoulder bracing

• breathing into areas of stress

• asking the powerful question:

“Where might I be performing right now?”

This simple moment of awareness can shift everything.

Leadership That Is Sustainable

Aligned leadership is not about being perfect.

It is about feeling safe within yourself as you lead.

Andrea shares:

“You don’t have to earn your leadership through performance.”

When your leadership aligns with your intuition, design, and purpose:

• decisions become clearer

• presence becomes magnetic

• leadership becomes sustainable

If This Conversation Resonated

If you’re navigating the pressure of leadership and longing to reconnect with yourself beneath the roles you’ve carried, there are spaces to explore this work more deeply.

You can start by joining Coffee + Connect, a space for honest conversations and connection with thoughtful women.

Or explore 1:1 Coaching, where we work together on intuitive leadership, nervous system regulation, and embodied growth.

• Full Podcast Transcript

  I want to talk today about something that almost no one wants to admit to. How exhausting it is to always be on. As high-functioning women, there is an unspoken pressure to be the one who gives advice, to always be grounded when times are tough, and to be strong when the pressure's on. And to be the ultimate example of a regulated leader. Which is why it is easy for leadership to become performative. Not fake.

  not manipulative, but curated, managed, and controlled, and ever so slowly disconnected. Hey there, welcome to the CourageCast. My name is Andrea Crisp, and I'm so glad that you're joining me today. We're in a series called Courage to Alignment. I know it's not very exciting, the title, but it is really my own personal journey and evolution of the podcast and how

  Things have changed over the many, many years that I have been showing up and recording these episodes. And if you've, by chance, been here since the beginning, and you have really seen the evolution of the podcast, you know that we have really come a long way. I am super proud of every iteration of the podcast from

  the beginning of 2017 on. And I was thinking the other day, there's some people who, you know, have been podcasting a few years, and they've got, you know, hundreds and hundreds of episodes. And we're here at 395, I believe it is. And we don't have, you know, maybe even as many, but we have been here steadily showing up.

  and sharing with you over the past eight years, which is crazy. And so I want to thank you for being here. You have a few more episodes before we shift into a new season of the podcast. I'm very excited about that. But today we're going to be talking about leadership that can be performative. And this is definitely one that might strike a chord with you.

  it's a bit of a confession for me, because for a long time, I built my business and my leadership based on performance. And if you know that I am a musician, a singer, I play piano, you'll know that I have spent many, many years performing on stage. And so

  There really was no big difference for me to, you know, jump into the online world and think that I should be performing here as well. And I didn't really know it was happening because I was playing out a pattern that I had created over time.

  I realized how I was actually showing up. It is widely considered a good thing for a leader to have their shit together. And I think people come to expect that people in leadership really know what they're doing, they're experts in their field, and they have a little bit of experience under their belt to be able to perform at a high level.

  But there is a big difference between performing and doing what they're good at and being a performative leader. And being a performative leader is a very, very slippery slope. Because when we're not showing up in a way that allows us to be perceived by others as real or authentic, and

  just not really being vulnerable or humble, then we can get caught up in trying to just do things for likes or follows or for validation or approval from clients, instead of actually leading the way and showing up as an embodied leader. For me, it meant not letting anyone know what I was really going through.

  There were many, many times in my business that I felt really uncertain about what I was doing or the direction I was going in, but I didn't want others to perceive me as not having my act together, not knowing what I was doing. So I would put on a bit of a front and just show the part of me that I wanted them to see, but that's very performative. And that was what I had learned.

  how to do it was what I knew to do. And so I did it, I held space for women in my community, I, you know, led community groups, I did all sorts of things. And I wasn't getting the support that I needed. So even though I was fully available to the women in my community, I was actually pretty depleted myself and really trying to hold it together.

  And it showed up in the ways that I, you know, didn't take time for myself. On weekends, I was constantly working. I was always doing things. I was trying to hustle. I was trying to be successful. And I wanted everyone to think that everything was great and that I was doing really well, when in actual fact, that was not what was happening at all.

  When we fall into that pattern of being performative and just trying to show up in a way that, you know, we think others need to see, it doesn't work long term. Like you cannot sustain that. And there is always going to be a cost to that. And it may be a cost to you financially, maybe a cost to you relationally.

  And probably most definitely it is going to cost your nervous system because you're always going to be scanning for who needs your attention. So I want to talk a little bit about authenticity versus performance. Like what does it look like? Now you hear a lot of coaches and a lot of people online talking about visibility and being seen.

  And I really want to be able to, you know, be very clear about what I'm referring to. Because being visible when you are being authentic is really the goal. It really is. Being visible and performative is actually just going to repel clients. It is going to keep people from you.

  fake. It's really not going to show the best parts of you. And I think that we can all fall into that habit every now and again, because, you know, there might be things going on in your life that you don't want people to see, or you really don't want to share all of the things that are happening in your world, which I don't think you need to do either. One of the telltale signs that you've

  fallen into that performance or performative way of leading is when you are in the identity of being the strong one. Like you think you need to be the one who holds everyone together and shouldering all the problems and being the one who everyone leans on. And that becomes an identity in which you are operating.

  out of. Or being the wise one, the one that people come to for advice or to, you know, feel like they're heard or they want to know what your opinion is. Or the healed one, the one who's done the inner work and who can share from a place of lived experience and people feel are spiritual or can manifest in a very beautiful way.

  Or the regulated one who everyone perceives as calm and collected and always has their whole life kind of just on ease and flow. Or the spiritual one who's attuned to God in the universe. It doesn't really matter what identity you might fall into.

  You can be all of those things. You can be strong, you can be wise, you can be healed, regulated, spiritual, and you can also be authentic and not put on airs that make people think that you are doing better than you are or that you, for some reason, are above any kind of negative things happening in your life.

  Because truth be known, we're all going to have things that we go through as leaders. And even if you don't process it out in public, which I certainly do not, it's still important to be able to share that, yeah, there are things going on. And I'm a real person. I'm a real human. And people really are attracted to others who speak the truth.

  So if you unconsciously start projecting any of those things, then you might feel your body responding to that through tension, through clenching, through bracing, because performance will always affect your nervous system. And it will say,

  Like I have to stay consistent or I have to, you know, keep up airs or have to keep up this performance. Because it's always trying to manage what everyone's perception of you is. Whereas when you are leading out of your truth, when you're authentic, when you're showing up as yourself and embodying that, then you will be grounded and anchored.

  And it will be felt without you even having to say anything. And here's the thing. People don't trust perfection, really. They trust coherence. This is something that took me so long to understand because I wanted to project that everything was perfect and that I had it all together. So I really had to, I had to get it through lived experience. I had to really.

  learn the hard lessons for this so when you are showing up internally as you are externally your body will relax because it's it's basically like showing up and and everyone knowing that what is projected on the outside is actually what's happening on the inside I was actually at the gym today and I was watching the Netflix documentary with Eric Dane

  It's called Famous Lust Words, you know, the McSteamy from Grey's Anatomy. And it was really the documentary on his life. And he shares in it that there was times when he realized that what was happening on the inside was not what people perceived on the outside. They didn't match.

  He was probably referring to projecting one thing, but internally feeling something different. But when you allow yourself to do the inner work, when you allow yourself that time, the rest, the regulation, and really honestly process through things that you need to, you lead from coherence, where the external and the internal.

  And that is a beautiful way to co-regulate. I know that leadership can be really lonely sometimes. I feel it myself. And there is a pressure that we feel to have it all together. And that can feel very heavy. And I remember when I first started to be vulnerable.

  online and started to share you know what I was going through actually wrote emails and sent them out and recorded podcast episodes and I think I think I called it authentic me and I really had to be honest and open about you know some of the things in my life and it was so freeing to share that part of myself and after I did that I realized that

  It wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. So even being vulnerable and transparent about where you're at, even after the fact, can release you from that feeling like you have to show up in a certain way. Now, there are a lot of people like, you know, they get online and they look like they just rolled out of bed and they're, you know, showing up. I have never done that.

  I don't think I have done that. In the many, many years that I have been, you know, doing coaching, it just doesn't feel like me. Like I wouldn't do, I wouldn't get out of my bed and show up like that in front of a friend that was at the house, let alone online. So I have realized that being authentic for me looks like I brush my hair, I put clothes on.

  And I put some effort in. But for some other people, authenticity looks like rolling out of bed and just showing up and recording a video. So it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to look a certain way or be a certain way. It just means that you are authentically you.

  If you knew how many times I considered quitting coaching and just going back to a job that allows me to do mundane tasks and not lead anyone's, like it is literally a thought that I have daily, maybe weekly, but like it is often. And in order to have a sustainable business, in order to be the leader that you want to be, to feel safe in your leadership, it's going to require that you have the support.

  and the rest and the regulation that you need. And even if you are feeling like you're carrying a lot right now, and it is very, very heavy, I want to invite you to take those moments to pause and allow yourself to truly be seen and truly be held. So I want to walk you through a little practice today. And if you're in the car, then I suggest maybe coming back to this and

  and doing it later. But if you're in a safe environment, I just invite you to just take a moment for yourself. So if you can, and you're able,

  just close your eyes for a moment or lower your gaze, whatever feels good for you. And just begin to notice how you're holding your face. And as you're bringing awareness to your face, just take a nice deep breath in through the nose and allow your muscles in your face to just soften. And then just take another nice deep breath in through the nose, maybe unclench your jaw and release through your mouth.

  And then one more breath in and again, release. You may feel just like your whole face just completely relaxed. And now just bring awareness to your shoulders. Are they sitting high up by your ears or are they resting down? Either way, it's okay. Either way, you can be totally held.

  in this moment. And just take a nice deep breath again in through the nose and out through the mouth. And ask yourself, is there anywhere in my life that I am performing right now? And just take a moment to tune in. Maybe something will come up for you or you'll recognize a pattern that you've been walking out. And if you feel any tension in your body, just breathe into it.

  Allow the breath to release the stress, the tension, whatever you've been holding. Setting intention to bring your nervous system into rest. Not abandoning your responsibility, but just allowing yourself to be more of who you are. And now ask yourself, what would it look like for me to be more of myself?

  to trust your leadership, to trust the imperfection of who you are and your lived experience. And then just take one more deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. Friend, your leadership will ebb and flow. You don't have to have it all together. There will be times when you may have to step away to gather yourself.

  to come back to center, and to lead yourself first before you lead anyone else. And you certainly do not have to earn your leadership through performance. Being seen, being chosen, being the one that people hire, being the one who is successful or financially abundant does not require you to be performative.

  And I've really never loved the phrase vacatio make it because I think that lends itself to trying to be something you're not when it's always going to be more beneficial to be exactly who you are and to grow your leadership honestly. Because when you feel safe with yourself, grounded in your own ability and capacity,

  then others will feel safe to be with you as well. Now, friend, if this episode brought up something for you and you're starting to see how much energy it takes to be on all the time, I get that. I really do. This is the work that I support entrepreneurs, leaders, creatives through. Now, we don't spend time teaching you how to perform better or

  craft a better image or be more visible. The work we do really allows you to tap into who you are at the core and to feel safe with yourself as you lead, as you step into more of your own truth beneath the roles that you have filled maybe your whole life or even now. And we tap into your intuition and where maybe you have been overriding it.

  Looking at all of that honestly, so that you can take the steps you need to take to move forward. Because when your leadership is aligned with who you are, with your design, with your purpose, with your mission, then it stops feeling like it is something you have to manage because you're able to take the lead. Your decisions become easier and cleaner.

  Your presence becomes something that people really feel and it's powerful. And you don't have to put on any airs before you walk into any room because you're not trying to calculate what your next move is when you're with a group of people. You're just there. That kind of leadership is sustainable. It builds trust and it allows people to really see you.

  And it creates impact without abandoning yourself in the process. And if that's the direction that you're moving in, then I am here to support you either through one-on-one coaching or the group programs that I offer here.

  And I love to connect with you. So if you haven't already connected with me online, you can find me at andreacrisp.ca or on Instagram at andreacrispcoach. And I love to chat with you. Of course, all the links to get to connect with me will be in the show notes and they'll be available for you. But friend, I want to say thank you for being here. We have a few more episodes.

  in this series. I'm excited to bring them to you. I'm excited about the direction that we're going. I'm so grateful that you're here. And if this episode resonated with you, please share it with somebody and tag me in it.

  It's on social. I love to say thank you in person. It goes a long way to, you know, growing the podcast, but also to helping women to truly step into that embodied leadership and into alignment when you share what has helped you navigate your own journey. And until next time, remember, you have everything you need to live bravely.

  If you liked this episode of The Courage Cast, make sure to like, follow, and subscribe on your favorite podcast player. Original music and production by Stephen Crilly.

Listen Here:

Apple + Google + Spotify

If something here touched you, that’s the invitation. Let’s work together to help you feel supported, embodied, and aligned with what you’re here to create.