🎧 Episode 9 Show Notes
Title: It’s Lonely at the Top: Combating Isolation in Leadership
Host: L. Michelle Smith, MS, ACC, CPEC
Summary:
Leadership can be deeply fulfilling—but it can also be profoundly lonely. In this episode, we explore the quiet cost of success: emotional isolation at the top. Drawing from neuroscience, positive psychology, and real-life leadership coaching, L. Michelle unpacks why so many leaders—especially in today’s volatile work environments—feel disconnected, and what we can do about it.
You’ll learn:
The latest research on workplace loneliness and its surprising health impact
Why high-performing leaders are especially vulnerable
How oxytocin and connection fuel your ability to lead
5 micro-practices that can help you feel more grounded and less alone
A coaching question to help you reflect and reset
Today’s Coaching Question: Where in your leadership do you feel most alone, and what small step could you take this week to create connection?
🔗 Plus, discover The Circle, a supportive growth group for leaders who want more than just a seat at the table.
Looking for a safe space to grow, connect, and lead with more clarity?
Join The Circle—my online leadership growth group created especially for high-performing leaders like you who are tired of doing it all alone. Inside, you’ll find community, monthly live coaching, exclusive tools, and science-backed strategies that support both your leadership and your life.
You don’t have to lead in isolation.
Learn more and sign up today at lmichellesmith.com/thecircle.
BTW, it’s time for a Leadership Revival. Join Coach L. as she reflects on the three pillars of the leadership framework that are the backbone of her upcoming book, Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church (Amistad-HarperCollins/JVL Media, 2026), in a three-part series of essays. It’s the prelude to a new series on The Culture Soup Podcast, coming soon.
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