Dr. Douglas R. Lindsay, Lt Col (Ret), USAF, has crossed this gap more than once and spent a career studying what happens inside it. Twenty-two years in uniform, a PhD in the psychology of how leaders actually get built, editor of the peer-reviewed Journal of Character and Leadership Development, and now deputy editor at Military.com and founder of Next Mission Leadership, where he coaches leaders at organizations including Walmart and ExxonMobil. He and Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn get into why looking backward feels so much easier than looking forward, which of your patterns are worth carrying into whatever comes next, and what retrospective versus prospective identity actually means for a leader standing in the middle of change.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why change is an identity question dressed as a logistics problem, and why filling the calendar is real work that still is not the work.
• Why the patterns that made you effective never came from your title, and why they are the most portable asset you carry into whatever comes next.
• The difference between retrospective identity, which is finished and knowable, and prospective identity, which is neither, and why looking backward always feels easier.
• What Dr. Douglas Lindsay's peer-reviewed research on courage, stress, and resilience says the leadership industry gets wrong.
• Why Next Mission Leadership is built on the idea that leadership is defined by how you perform next, not by what you have already done.
• Doug's argument that organizations should maintain their people the way they maintain equipment, on a schedule and before something breaks.
• Why the one-thing rule on Dr. Traci's free collaborative call filters for people who actually engaged with the episode, not just the free book.

We talk about:

00:00 Change tests your patterns, not your plan

00:03:00 Welcome to Got Your SiX with Dr. Traci

00:04:15 Meet Dr. Douglas Lindsay, a career built like scaffolding not a ladder

00:10:53 What is actually pulling you toward this work

00:13:26 Which turn in his career was hardest, and why

00:17:04 Why he named it Next Mission, not a second act

00:20:38 What is the change actually asking of you

00:36:00 Choose your hard, staying versus taking the risk

00:44:00 Why looking backward feels easier than looking forward

00:47:13 One leadership truth to take with you today

00:53:07 Bring one thing, get the book and workbook free

Resources:

• Bring one thing you took from this episode to a free 20 minute collaborative call with Dr. Traci, and her book Inside Out Leadership: Transforming Your Life from the Core, plus the companion workbook, are yours at no cost: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/mission-check-in-call

Connect with Doug

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglaslindsayphd/
• Author page: https://www.military.com/author/douglas-lindsay
• Website: https://www.nextmissionleadership.com/

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#LeadingThroughChange #IdentityAndChange #LeadershipPodcast #ChangeManagement #ExecutiveLeadership #ResilientLeadership #BattleTestedLeadership #ComposedOperator #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerTransition #NextMissionLeadership #LeadershipResearch #ChangeReadiness #SelfLeadership #PersonalGrowth #LeadershipMindset #TransitionCoaching #GotYourSiX

If you have ever watched a confident, articulate leader run a team where nobody knows what is going on, you have already seen the gap between an impression and a trait. Job postings ask for charisma, commanding presence, and strong communication because those things are visible from across a room in the first ninety seconds. None of that tells you what a person does the morning the numbers come back wrong or the moment their best person resigns.

Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn, a retired U.S. Army officer and founder of E&R Business Consulting, walks through the traits everyone lists, integrity, vision, decisiveness, communication, and accountability, then shows why the definition most leaders carry for each one is only the easy half. She introduces uphill accountability, the harder half most leaders never practice, and two traits rarely discussed anywhere else: containment, the ability to absorb pressure without passing it down to your team, and the willingness to be disliked.

Using her Battle-Tested Leadership methodology, she gives you one simple exercise to build a single trait through deliberate repetition this week. Pick the trait you skipped past while listening, and go find the situation that requires it.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Learn the actual definition of a leadership trait, and why it is completely different from a leadership skill you can rehearse and perform on command.
• Discover why integrity in leadership is structural, and why your team is not testing your honesty, they are testing what you do when honesty gets expensive.
• Find out why vision is not prediction or enthusiasm, and how to hold a clear direction while the plan, the market, and your team keep shifting under it.
• Understand why decisiveness has nothing to do with speed, and why owning the outcome of a choice matters more than how fast you made it.
• Hear why accountability has to run uphill toward your own mistakes, not just downhill toward your team, or your people will stop bringing you problems early.
• Learn what containment and restraint actually require, and why absorbing pressure without dumping it on your team is a trait, not a personality type.
• Get the one exercise that builds a leadership trait through repetition under pressure, instead of reading about ten traits you will never practice.

We talk about:

00:00 What job postings get wrong about leadership

03:27 Meet Dr. Traci and Battle-Tested Leadership

04:16 What is a leadership trait, really

07:19 Why integrity in leadership is structural

09:32 What vision actually requires under pressure

12:15 Is decisiveness about speed or something else

15:25 Why articulate leaders still fail at communication

17:39 Accountability running uphill instead of downhill

21:13 What containment means under pressure

24:37 Why restraint stops you from becoming the bottleneck

26:15 The willingness to be disliked as a leadership trait

33:00 How to build one leadership trait this week

Resources:

• Dr. Traci’s Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#LeadershipTraits #BattleTestedLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveLeadership #MilitaryLeadership #AccountabilityInLeadership #DecisiveLeadership #LeadershipUnderPressure #IntegrityInLeadership #VisionaryLeadership #PsychologicalSafety #ConsistencyInLeadership #RestraintInLeadership #ContainmentLeadership #WillingnessToBeDisliked #TraitsOfALeader #BusinessLeadership #TeamAccountability #LeadershipPodcast #GotYourSixPodcast

In this episode of Got Your SiX, Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn walks the actual grounds of Gettysburg with her husband Michael to unpack battle tested leadership, decision making under pressure, and what happens when you're leading through your own smoke, the moments at work when you can't see clearly and no one can hear you. If you've ever wondered whether your title is doing the leading for you instead of you, this episode answers that question on the same ground where it got decided in 1863.

You'll hear what Colonel Strong Vincent, General Meade, and a staff engineer with no troops of his own actually did when the chain of command broke down, and why Lincoln's 270 words outlasted Edward Everett's two-hour speech at the Gettysburg cemetery dedication.

Dr. Traci also opens up about her book, Inside Out Leadership: Transforming Your Life from the Core, and its companion workbook, both free to anyone who books a collaborative call and shares one thing that landed from this episode.

Walk this battlefield with her, then ask yourself what your people would actually follow if you couldn't shout over the noise.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Leadership lessons from Gettysburg start here: a staff engineer with no troops of his own saw the Union's undefended flank, commandeered a hill on his own authority, and held it.
• How Colonel Strong Vincent intercepted an order meant for someone else, told his bugler he would take responsibility himself, and moved his brigade to that hill without waiting for permission.
• What General Meade faced after being woken at 3am and told he now commanded 90,000 men, just three days before the battle that would decide the war began.
• Why the drummer boys and flag carriers on the battlefield mattered as much as any general, and how their signals worked like the radios you rely on today.
• What gunpowder smoke actually did to soldiers in 1863, and why they ended up firing at movement in a cloud instead of an enemy they could actually see.
• Why Lincoln's two-minute Gettysburg Address is remembered and Edward Everett's two-hour speech from the same platform is not, and what that says about leadership communication.
• The story of Jennie Wade, the only civilian killed during the Gettysburg battle, and what her death in her own kitchen says about selfless service.

We talk about:

00:00 What leading in the smoke really means for you

00:42 Why powder smoke made officers lose sight of their own men

02:00 Welcome to Got Your SiX and the Battle-Tested Leadership Methodology

04:13 Recording live on the Gettysburg battlefield with Michael

06:43 Why drummer boys as young as eight carried the beat of battle

10:27 Standing on Cemetery Hill and why the high ground mattered

12:55 The moment that marked the surrender of Lee's army

14:05 How musket and cannon smoke turned soldiers into shapes in a cloud

16:03 Why rank never made the leaders who mattered at Gettysburg

20:16 The one civilian who died during the Gettysburg battle

24:39 Visiting the Jennie Wade House and her story of service

29:01 Why leadership was never about rank, then or in your job now

Resources:

• Dr. Traci’s Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#LeadershipPodcast #BattleTestedLeadership #GotYourSix #GettysburgLeadership #MilitaryLeadership #LeadershipLessons #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipWithoutRank #LeadershipUnderPressure #VeteranLeadership #BusinessLeadership #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipCoach #DecisionMakingUnderPressure #ChaosToClarity #InsideOutLeadership #CivilWarHistory #ServantLeadership #WomenInLeadership #GotYourSixPodcast

On this episode of Got Your SiX, Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn sits down with Joy to unpack what years of unpaid, unnoticed community work actually build: the credibility, trust, and relationships that get you asked to lead before you ever ask for the job. If you have ever wondered whether volunteering counts as a leadership strategy, this conversation answers that directly.

Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn, retired U.S. Army officer, founder of E&R Business Consulting, and creator of the Battle-Tested Leadership Methodology, walks through Joy's path from joining her local chamber in 2008 to running it. You'll hear how 19 years connecting Chick-fil-A restaurants to their community through the Passport to Serve initiative shaped Joy's approach, and how she grew the Crofton chamber to 200-plus members and 140-plus vendors at the Festival on the Green.

Joy shares her practical answer for anyone who wants to get more involved, what to do if your town has no chamber at all, and why she believes real leaders have to be willing to clean the toilet. Stop waiting for permission and start building the kind of trust that gets you asked to lead.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why credibility gets earned in the unpaid hours nobody is tracking, and how that history is exactly what gets you asked to lead when a community needs someone.
• How Joy Hutter turned volunteering into a strategy, joining her local chamber in 2008 and building the relationships that eventually led to her executive director role.
• What "date your chamber" means in practice, and how a chamber of commerce can become your fastest path into community leadership if you're new to a town.
• Why Joy treats AI as an extra team member so a two-person chamber staff can still put one-on-one relationships first with every new member.
• The exact sponsor conversation that forced Joy to fix a stale event lineup, growing it into 140-plus vendors at the Festival on the Green.
• Why leadership isn't about the label you're given but the trust you build day after day, one relationship and one act of service at a time.
• Joy's test for whether a leader has actually earned the right to be followed: are you willing to clean the toilet yourself.

We talk about:

00:00 Why titles are given but leadership is earned

02:16 Meet Joy Hutter, executive director of the Greater Crofton Chamber

05:05 How volunteering became Joy's declared hobby

06:20 19 years connecting Chick-fil-A to the community

09:00 Why you should date your chamber before you commit

15:18 What do you do when a sponsor calls you out on your event

20:27 How the executive director title finally shifted Joy's role

22:00 Using AI to protect one-on-one relationships

26:08 Chamber of commerce or BNI, which one is right for you

28:52 One practical step to build community roots this week

32:24 Joy's one piece of advice, don't be afraid to clean the toilet

Resources:

• Dr. Traci’s Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with Joy

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-hutter-a4139a18/
• Website: https://www.croftonchamber.com/

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#ServantLeadership #CommunityLeadership #BattleTestedLeadership #ChamberOfCommerce #VolunteerLeadership #LeadWithTrust #SmallBusinessCommunity #LeadershipDevelopment #WomenInLeadership #EarnedNotGiven #CommunityInvolvement #NonprofitLeadership #NetworkingStrategy #TrustBasedLeadership #GotYourSix #LeadershipPodcast

In this solo episode of Got Your SiX, Dr. Traci asks leaders, business owners, high performers, and habitual problem-solvers a question they may not know how to answer: Who has your six?

In military terminology, your “six” is the position directly behind you, the one place you physically cannot see or protect by yourself. Yet many leaders leave that structure behind and build lives in which everyone depends on them, while they depend on no one.

Drawing from a deeply personal season in her military career, Dr. Traci reveals what happened when she became the person who could always handle one more responsibility. While supporting her colleagues, caring for her hospitalized husband, travelling hours to be present for her children, and continuing to lead, she created a reputation for being fine even when she was quietly reaching her breaking point.

This episode explores why high-performing leaders struggle to ask for help, how self-reliance can become a dangerous identity, and why building a support system for leaders is an operational necessity, not a sign of weakness. Dr. Traci also explains why relying on your team or family to absorb your unfiltered stress can shift the emotional burden onto the very people you are trying to protect.

You will walk away with four practical steps for finding peer-level support, making your first honest ask, and creating a structure that allows someone else to watch the place you cannot see. Because asking for help is not where leadership ends. It is one of the most important leadership skills you can model.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• What “I’ve got your six” really means and why no one can cover their own six.
• How being known as the reliable one can quietly become an exhausting identity.
• Why people may not offer support when you have taught them to believe you are always fine.
• How leaders become a single point of failure in their businesses, teams, and families.
• Why an unsupported leader can eventually become an unpredictable leader.
• The difference between authentic vulnerability and transferring your emotional load.
• Why your team and family may not be equipped to provide the support you need.
• How asking for help demonstrates leadership rather than diminishing it.
• Why finding peer-level support may require changing the room you are in.
• Four practical steps for building a genuine support system before burnout takes over.

We talk about:

00:00 Intro

00:42 Who has your back when everything falls apart?

02:44 What “I’ve got your six” actually means

04:26 How leaders become known as the one who always handles it

05:43 When “I’ll figure it out” becomes an identity

06:00 The military assignment that left Dr. Traci without support

08:00 Reaching the breaking point and finally asking for help

10:00 Why nobody checks on the person who always appears fine

10:59 The danger of becoming a single point of failure

12:57 How an uncovered leader becomes an unpredictable leader

14:13 Why your team and family cannot always be your six

18:02 Asking for support is not a sign of structural damage

20:55 Four steps for building a support system for leaders

Resources:

• Dr. Traci’s Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#LeadershipSupport #SupportSystemForLeaders #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipBurnout #LeadershipResilience #ExecutiveLeadership #AskingForHelp #PeerSupport #StrongLeaders #SelfLeadership #LeadershipWellness #BusinessLeadership #LeadershipCoaching #WomenInLeadership #VeteranLeadership #MilitaryLeadership #BattleTestedLeadership #GotYourSiX

In this episode of Got Your SiX, Detria challenges one of the most persistent myths about leadership: that authority creates influence. Titles may give leaders power on paper, but trust, loyalty, and lasting impact are earned through service.

Drawing on more than two decades of leadership across the nonprofit, healthcare, housing, corporate, and financial sectors, Detria explains why servant leadership is not soft, passive, or incompatible with accountability. It is an intentional leadership practice that puts people first while still expecting them to perform, grow, and contribute to the mission.

You will also hear why serving yourself is not selfish, how leaders can hold people accountable without abandoning compassion, and the simple act you can take today that may give someone the strength to keep going.

Discover why the strongest leaders do not lead from above. They serve from within.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why servant leadership creates more influence than status, rank, or authority ever could.
• How servant leadership strengthens trust, loyalty, relationships, and organizational performance.
• Why serving others does not mean lowering expectations, avoiding difficult conversations, or allowing yourself to be overlooked.
• How accountability becomes easier to accept when people trust that their leader has their best interests in mind.
• How leaders can use their influence in service to others, even without a large platform or public recognition.
• Why legacy is built through the way you show up every day, not only through achievements that can be measured.

We talk about:

00:00 Would people follow you without your title?

02:21 Meet Detria and the mission behind Serving Is a Superpower

06:04 Why leadership is a service, not a status

07:30 The example that first shaped Detria’s leadership

09:51 Authority, trust, and the actions people are watching

12:45 Why service creates more influence than power

14:49 Servant leadership does not mean being soft

17:35 Holding people accountable while putting them first

18:35 The story behind Serving Is a Superpower

22:05 Grief, purpose, and the decision to finish the book

25:12 Building a legacy that cannot always be quantified

28:43 Why serving yourself is vital, not selfish

33:41 Small acts of service that can change someone’s day

Resources:

• Learn more about Detria and Serving Is a Superpower: www.servingisasuperpower.com
• Serving Is a Superpower by Detria Austin Everson is available through Amazon, Kindle, and major booksellers.
• Dr. Traci’s Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with Detria

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/detriaaustineverson/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/detria.everson/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/detriaaustineverson/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@detriaaustineverson
• Website: www.servingisasuperpower.com

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#ServantLeadership #ServiceBasedLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipInfluence #LeadershipAccountability #LeadershipTrust #PeopleFirstLeadership #LeadByExample #EmployeeEngagement #LeadershipLegacy #PurposeDrivenLeadership #SelfLeadership #WomenInLeadership #VeteranLeadership #BattleTestedLeadership #ServingIsASuperpower #GotYourSiX

If you have ever wondered whether your guidance actually landed, this episode names the quiet, unmeasured moments that shape people long after you have left the room. Dr. Traci calls it the ripple, the influence that moves outward without a spotlight, a thank you, or a report back to you.

Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn, retired US Army officer, founder of E&R Business Consulting, and creator of the Battle-Tested Leadership™ framework, shares the story of one honest conversation with a frightened military family that shifted their fear into pride, and eventually led all three of their children into service.

You will walk away with a new way to recognize the footprint you have already left on someone, and permission to lead that kind of legacy on purpose instead of by accident. Press play, then go find your own ripple.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• The true measure of leadership legacy is often something you never witness or get credit for, according to Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn's Battle-Tested Leadership philosophy on quiet influence.
• How one honest, unscripted conversation with a fearful military family changed the trajectory of three adult children's lives and careers of service.
• What "the ripple effect" means in leadership, and why even the strongest leaders forget most of the good they have done for other people.
• How to recognize the footprint you have already left on someone's life, even when they never circle back to thank you for it.
• Why leading with intention, not accident, is the real difference between a footprint and a legacy.
• How servant leadership and quiet mentorship create influence that outlasts titles, promotions, and anything written on paper.
• Why sitting with your own leadership impact should come from responsibility, not ego, and how that shift changes what you do next.

We talk about:

00:00 Introduction to leading an unseen legacy

00:43 The question every leader should ask themselves

01:46 Meet Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn and Battle-Tested Leadership

04:09 What is the ripple effect in leadership

05:40 The military family who almost said no to service

07:26 Why fear turned into a wall between parent and child

08:39 How three children found their own path of service

10:44 The strength of leading many carries through others

12:23 How do you know if you are leaving a footprint or a legacy

13:41 Why leading with intention matters more as you grow

14:36 Book a collaborative call with Dr. Traci

15:45 Final thoughts on leaving a legacy together

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call
• Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#LeadershipLegacy #RippleEffect #ServantLeadership #MilitaryLeadership #VeteranLeader #LeadershipCoach #LeadershipMentorship #LeadershipImpact #LeadWithPurpose #BattleTestedLeadership #WomenInLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #MentorshipMatters #LeadershipFootprint #LeadYourself #GotYourSiX

If you've ever walked away from a conversation certain you were right, only to learn someone else experienced it completely differently, the gap wasn't the facts. It was perception, conditioning, and the story you've been telling yourself since childhood.

In this episode, Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn, retired US Army officer and creator of Battle-Tested Leadership™, sits down with Pratiqk Jaani, author of Dhrasti! The Perception and a rapid transformational therapist, to unpack how childhood conditioning quietly shapes leadership, decision-making, and fulfillment.

You'll walk away with a clear distinction between operating from lack versus operating from wholeness, and one question to ask before your next difficult conversation.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why every leadership decision begins with perception, not communication, and what happens when that perception is flawed
• How childhood conditioning creates the "programmed self" that quietly runs most adult decision-making without our awareness
• The difference between chasing external success and operating from a state of internal wholeness, and why the first rarely delivers lasting fulfillment
• A practical first step for recognizing when you're reacting from an old belief instead of the present moment
• Why pursuing excellence and chasing a fear-driven expectation can look identical from the outside, and how to tell them apart
• The one question Pratiqk Jaani recommends asking yourself before any difficult conversation

We talk about:

00:00 Why every leadership decision starts with perception

02:47 Dr. Traci introduces Battle-Tested Leadership and today's guest

04:56 Pratiqk Jaani's path from accountancy to inner work

06:36 The health scare that changed how Pratiqk saw his own life

09:00 What conditioning really is and where it comes from

13:46 What is the difference between wholeness and lack

15:00 How childhood beliefs shape leadership without our awareness

18:29 The first step to recognizing you're reacting from an old belief

21:00 What is the difference between excellence and fear-driven expectation

36:00 Why success often doesn't feel the way leaders expect it to

41:00 The one question to ask before your next difficult conversation

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call
• Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with Pratiqk

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janipratikk
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dhrastipratiqkjaani
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pratiqkjaani/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PratiqkJaani
• Website: https://www.pratiqkjaani.com/

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#Leadership #SelfAwareness #BattleTestedLeadership #InnerWork #LeadershipPodcast #PersonalGrowth #Mindset #EmotionalIntelligence #LeadershipDevelopment #Conditioning #ChildhoodConditioning #AuthenticLeadership #LeadYourself #LeadershipCoaching #GotYourSix

If you lead a team, run a business, or manage people day to day, you already know pressure makes conversations shorter and relationships thinner.

This episode names the uncomfortable habits that keep trust intact even when deadlines and stress rise. Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn, retired US Army officer and leadership expert, sits down with Joshua Evarts, owner of The Vault Cigar Lounge in Meridian, Idaho and author of the upcoming If Jesus Smoked Cigars: Eight Lessons in Relational Leadership.

Josh breaks down why openness and transparency are not the same thing, why he is slow to hire and quick to fire, and the one simple habit nine of his twelve early readers flagged as the most impactful lesson in the book. Press play and start leading with both strength and heart.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why relational leadership requires uncomfortable transparency, not just an open door, and how asking people what they actually need exposes a leader's own blind spots.
• Why relationships and accountability build on each other instead of competing, and why avoiding a hard conversation quietly damages someone's career in the long run.
• Why Joshua Evarts believes leaders do not have to like their people, only to love them through patience and honesty, especially during hard performance conversations.
• Why Josh is slow to hire and quick to fire, and how naming clear expectations from day one protects both the employee and the organization.
• How The Vault Cigar Lounge is built around relationships instead of transactions, from phone-free seating pods to employees trained to serve customers in the margins.
• Why confusing influence with authenticity is a modern leadership trap, and how Josh's weekend phone-free ritual rebuilt his relationships instead of costing him connection.
• Why nine of twelve early readers flagged the same simple habit, being intentional about your affect, as the most practical lesson in If Jesus Smoked Cigars.

We talk about:

00:00 Why leadership isn't built in easy conversations

02:21 Meet Dr. Traci and Battle-Tested Leadership

03:57 Josh Evarts on his three decade career and the common thread

06:31 How a cigar lounge became a leadership classroom

09:00 What relational leadership actually requires from a leader

10:29 Openness versus transparency, the uncomfortable difference

14:31 You don't have to like your people, but you have to love them

15:55 Why Josh is slow to hire and quick to fire

19:30 What relationship-first leadership looks like inside The Vault

25:23 Why influence is not the same thing as authenticity

28:44 The phone-free ritual that rebuilt Josh's relationships

35:19 The habit nine of twelve proofreaders flagged in his booky

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call
• Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with Joshua

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/IfJesus/61582094147866/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_ifjesus
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaevarts/
• X: https://x.com/_ifjesus

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#RelationalLeadership #TrustInLeadership #LeadershipAccountability #BattleTestedLeadership #AuthenticLeadership #IfJesusSmokedCigars #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceCulture #ServantLeadership #LeadershipCoaching #EmotionalIntelligence #LeadershipMindset #TeamCulture #GotYourSix #DrTraci #JoshuaEvarts #LeadershipPodcast #VeteranLeadership #WomenInLeadership

Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn, retired US Army officer and leadership expert, sits down with Dirk Horn, business growth strategist and organizational transformation consultant, to explore the hidden mental barriers that keep leaders, teams, and organizations stuck. Together they unpack intentional leadership, fear disguised as logic, and why sustainable growth starts with changing how you think before changing what you do. This conversation may reveal what's really standing in the way.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why the biggest barrier to growth often isn't your market, your team, or your competition, but the mental roadblocks you've carried into leadership without realizing it.
• How to recognize when fear is disguised as logic, so you stop mistaking avoidance and over-caution for sound strategy.
• Why resistance to change inside an organization usually traces back to leadership habits and mental barriers, not unwillingness from the team.
• What it means to lead with intentionality instead of reactivity, and why growth requires changing your thinking before changing your actions.
• How unconscious leadership habits quietly create organizational bottlenecks, and what to look for in your own decision-making under pressure.
• Why building a culture that supports growth and transformation starts with the leader addressing their own internal roadblocks first.

We talk about:

00:00 Why leaders believe their biggest obstacles are external

03:30 Dirk Horn on being the chameleon in his own business

07:00 The hedgehog concept and finding your one thing

12:00 Is your caution strategy or is it fear disguised as logic

15:30 Why fear is energy, not the enemy

19:30 What is signal fear and how does it trap you

24:00 Why business owners avoid hiring out of fear

28:30 The Roche Pharmaceuticals story on letting go to grow

34:00 How quarterly reporting keeps companies fear-driven

40:00 Why organizations resist change and stay reactive

46:30 Practices for building self-awareness as a leader

53:00 The one thing every business needs to stop being a commodity

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call
• Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#MentalRoadblocks #IntentionalLeadership #LeadershipMindset #SelfLimitingBeliefs #FearInLeadership #OrganizationalTransformation #BusinessGrowthStrategy #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveMindset #GotYourSix #DrTraci #DirkHorn #LeadershipPodcast #ResistanceToChange #DecisionMakingUnderPressure #ChangeManagement #SignalFear #HedgehogConcept #LeadershipCoaching #ScalingYourBusiness

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, Dr. Traci welcomes Michael for a fascinating conversation that connects the founding of the United States with the realities of building a modern business. Together, they explore how the Founding Fathers faced uncertainty, built without a blueprint, challenged conventional thinking, and created systems that have endured for centuries.

This episode isn't about politics. It's about leadership.

From creating a compelling vision before taking action to understanding why process matters more than quick wins, Dr. Traci and Michael unpack timeless leadership lessons that every entrepreneur, executive, manager, and business owner can apply today.

Whether you're launching a company, leading a growing team, or navigating the challenges of scaling, this conversation will challenge you to think differently about leadership, purpose, systems, and long-term success.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why the founding of America mirrors launching a startup from scratch.
• What today's entrepreneurs can learn from leaders who built without a blueprint.
• Why successful leaders establish purpose before focusing on tactics.
• How vision creates alignment inside organizations.
• Why business growth naturally happens through cycles and plateaus.
• The importance of systems and process when scaling a company.
• Why every leader needs to define what they will no longer tolerate.
• How continuous learning shapes stronger leadership.
• The hidden value of studying history as a leadership tool.
• Why lasting organizations are built intentionally, not accidentally.

We talk about:

00:00 Why America's founding was the original startup

02:00 What life looked like in 1776 and why change became inevitable

05:00 Building something without permission or a blueprint

08:00 Freedom, service, and defining the real mission

11:00 Why vision comes before tactics in leadership

15:00 Positioning your business around purpose instead of problems

19:00 Leadership, patience, and building better standards

22:00 Business growth, systems, and navigating scaling plateaus

27:00 Success leaves clues, why history matters for modern leaders

30:00 Continuous learning, leadership skills, and building something that lasts

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call
• Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#Leadership #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipStrategy #BusinessLeadership #Entrepreneurship #StartupLeadership #LeadershipMindset #BusinessGrowth #BusinessStrategy #StrategicLeadership #LeadershipSkills #BusinessSystems #SystemsThinking #ExecutiveLeadership #Management #LeadershipPodcast #EntrepreneurMindset #History #SmallBusiness #GotYourSix

In this solo episode of Got Your SiX, Dr. Traci challenges one of the biggest mistakes leaders make in business, government, and everyday life, treating symptoms instead of uncovering root causes. Drawing from military leadership, Spartan strategy, organizational psychology, and years of executive coaching, she explains why reactive leadership creates temporary relief while strategic leadership creates lasting results.

Using real leadership examples from employee turnover, communication breakdowns, declining performance, and operational failures, Dr. Traci demonstrates how great leaders learn to investigate before they react. Instead of chasing surface level issues, they build systems, ask better questions, and create organizations that are prepared long before problems appear.

If you want to become a stronger executive, business owner, manager, military leader, or simply someone responsible for leading people well, this episode will change how you approach every challenge moving forward.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why most leadership problems are actually symptoms of deeper operational issues.
• The difference between reactive leadership and strategic leadership, and why history proves one consistently outperforms the other.
• What Spartan leadership systems can teach modern businesses about preparation, accountability, and execution.
• Why military planning focuses on prevention instead of reaction, and how leaders can apply the same mindset.
• How poor communication, turnover, declining revenue, and weak execution often point to root causes leaders fail to investigate.
• Why emotions matter in leadership, but should never replace evidence, systems, and strategic decision making.
• Practical questions every leader should ask before attempting to solve any organizational problem.

We talk about:

00:00 Why leaders keep solving the wrong problems

01:10 Surface problems versus root causes

02:05 What Spartan leadership teaches modern organizations

03:30 Why systems create consistent results

04:10 Military planning and proactive leadership

05:15 The questions experienced leaders always ask

06:00 Why turnover, communication issues, and poor performance often hide deeper problems

07:00 Feelings versus evidence in leadership decision making

08:00 Why organizations must prioritize systems over reactions

09:00 The leadership questions that uncover root causes

10:30 How to become a strategic leader instead of a reactive operator

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call
• Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• Email: info@erbusinessconsulting.com

#Leadership #StrategicLeadership #RootCauseLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #BusinessLeadership #MilitaryLeadership #ExecutiveLeadership #OrganizationalLeadership #LeadershipMindset #OperationalExcellence #BusinessStrategy #SystemsThinking #DecisionMaking #LeadershipCoach #ExecutiveCoach #ProblemSolving #OrganizationalCulture #Management #LeadershipPodcast #GotYourSix

If you have ever wondered whether being a dad is actually shaping the way you lead at work, the answer is yes, and this conversation will show you exactly how.

In this Father's Day special, Dr. Traci, host of Got Your Six and decorated military veteran, gathers four men from very different seasons of fatherhood: Paul Kohn, Brian Kato, Willacy Knowles (engineer and single dad), and Michael Rayburn.

Together they share the real moments when fatherhood stopped feeling like an idea and started feeling like a responsibility, how lessons in patience, presence, and empathy have made them better leaders, and what they each hope their kids will remember most.

This is a rare, vulnerable, and deeply honest conversation about what it means to show up when the people watching you call you Dad.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why fatherhood is the greatest leadership development program you will ever go through, and the specific skills it teaches that no job title can replicate.
• How being present for your kids, not just providing for them, is the distinction that defines a father's legacy.
• What single dads and co-parenting fathers navigate that rarely gets acknowledged, and how they balanced career demands with showing up every time it counted.
• Why children absorb what you model far more than what you say, and how every one of these four fathers learned that lesson the hard way.
• How each dad transferred skills from fatherhood into professional leadership, from an airline captain managing an entire crew to an engineer mentoring younger colleagues.
• The honest truth about why dads don't get enough credit, and why Dr. Traci believes that needs to change.

We talk about:

00:00 Why leadership begins with responsibility and purpose

01:00 The word that inspired this unexpected episode: sacrifice

02:00 A surprising parent-teacher conference during COVID

03:00 The playground comment that alarmed school administrators

04:00 Why no one asked the most important question

05:00 Military service, deployment, and teaching children about sacrifice

07:00 What leaders can learn from this misunderstanding

08:00 Why communication must come before assumptions

09:00 The many faces of sacrifice in leadership

10:00 When sacrifice quietly becomes your identity

11:00 The danger of always being the dependable one

12:00 Removing titles and roles to rediscover who you are

13:00 Purpose-driven sacrifice versus self-erasure

14:00 The leadership questions every high performer should ask themselves

15:00 Why sacrifice should serve your purpose, not define your identity

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call
• Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

#Fatherhood #FatherhoodAndLeadership #DadLeadership #GotYourSix #DrTraci #SingleDad #MilitaryDad #BeingAPresentFather #FathersDaySpecial #FatherhoodMindset #LeadershipDevelopment #DadLife #ParentingAndLeadership #ShowingUp #FathersLegacy #LeadersLounge #FatherhoodPodcast #Entrepreneur #Leadership #VeteranDad

In this powerful solo episode of Got Your SiX, Dr. Traci shares an unexpected story involving her granddaughter, a playground misunderstanding, and a word that sparked an important leadership lesson: sacrifice.

What began as a routine parent-teacher conference quickly revealed something much deeper about communication, assumptions, leadership, and the stories we tell ourselves about responsibility. Drawing from her experiences as a military leader, business owner, mother, and grandmother, Dr. Traci explores how sacrifice can serve a meaningful purpose, but also become dangerous when it turns into an identity.

Many leaders pride themselves on being the dependable one, the fixer, the person everyone can count on. But what happens when constantly serving others causes you to lose sight of yourself?

This episode challenges leaders to examine the difference between purposeful sacrifice and self-erasure. It explores why communication matters more than assumptions, how leaders often treat symptoms instead of causes, and why understanding the "why" behind behavior can transform the way we lead.

If you've ever felt the pressure to carry everything, solve every problem, or put yourself last in the name of leadership, this conversation offers a powerful reminder that leadership is not about disappearing for others. It is about serving with purpose while still protecting who you are.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why sacrifice is one of the most misunderstood concepts in leadership
• The leadership lesson hidden inside a simple playground conversation
• How assumptions create misunderstandings in teams, families, and organizations
• Why communication should always come before reaction
• The difference between sacrifice as a choice and sacrifice as an identity
• How leaders unknowingly lose themselves through constant responsibility
• The hidden dangers of becoming the fixer, helper, or dependable one
• Why many high performers tie their worth to what they give away
• How military leadership shaped Dr. Traci's perspective on service and purpose
• The difference between sacrifice, stewardship, and self-erasure
• How to recognize when leadership has become unhealthy
• Why purpose-driven sacrifice builds character while purposeless sacrifice creates burnout
• Questions every leader should ask themselves about identity and fulfillment
• How to lead others without losing yourself in the process

We talk about:

00:00 Why leadership begins with responsibility and purpose

01:00 The word that inspired this unexpected episode: sacrifice

02:00 A surprising parent-teacher conference during COVID

03:00 The playground comment that alarmed school administrators

04:00 Why no one asked the most important question

05:00 Military service, deployment, and teaching children about sacrifice

07:00 What leaders can learn from this misunderstanding

08:00 Why communication must come before assumptions

09:00 The many faces of sacrifice in leadership

10:00 When sacrifice quietly becomes your identity

11:00 The danger of always being the dependable one

12:00 Removing titles and roles to rediscover who you are

13:00 Purpose-driven sacrifice versus self-erasure

14:00 The leadership questions every high performer should ask themselves

15:00 Why sacrifice should serve your purpose, not define your identity

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call
• Battle-Tested Leadership Action Plan: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

#SelfLeadership #WomenInLeadership #EmotionalIntelligence

In this episode of Got Your SiX, Dr. Traci sits down with entrepreneur, wife, mother, and self leadership coach Jenna Wahl to explore one of the most overlooked leadership skills of all: learning how to reconnect with yourself before burnout, overwhelm, and survival mode take over.

Jenna works with career-driven women who appear successful on the outside but often feel disconnected from themselves on the inside. Together, she and Dr. Traci unpack the hidden pressure of balancing entrepreneurship, motherhood, marriage, personal growth, and identity in a world filled with endless expectations and constant noise.

This conversation dives into the realities many women silently carry. The pressure to do it all. The guilt that comes from slowing down. The endless stream of advice telling you who you should be and how you should live.

Jenna shares how she learned to stop chasing everyone else's expectations, quiet the noise, regulate her nervous system, prioritize what truly matters, and build a life that feels aligned instead of exhausting.

If you've ever felt burned out, overwhelmed, overstimulated, or unsure of who you are beneath all the roles you carry, this conversation will remind you that leadership begins with the relationship you have with yourself.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why self leadership is the foundation of effective leadership
• How high-achieving women unknowingly live in survival mode
• The hidden connection between burnout, resentment, and overwhelm
• Why entrepreneurship and motherhood don't have to compete with each other
• How identity shapes the way we lead, parent, and show up in life
• Why consuming more information isn't always the answer
• The difference between learning and implementation
• How social media noise contributes to burnout and self-doubt
• The importance of creating space for self-care without guilt
• Practical ways to regulate your nervous system and create more harmony at home
• Why clarity and prioritization matter more than productivity hacks
• How small daily habits create lasting transformation

We talk about:

00:00 Leadership begins with how you lead yourself

03:00 Meet Jenna Wahl and her mission to help women reconnect with themselves

04:30 Motherhood, entrepreneurship, and navigating competing identities

06:00 What "having it all" actually means

08:00 Why so many women stop taking care of themselves

09:30 Survival mode, burnout, and resentment at home

11:00 The identities and personas we create to fit expectations

14:00 Why authenticity matters more than perfection

16:00 Rebuilding routines that support your goals and your family

18:00 Self-care, nervous system regulation, and releasing guilt

20:00 The danger of information overload and constant consumption

24:00 Why consuming more can keep you stuck

25:00 The surprising sourdough lesson about confidence and growth

28:00 How to remove noise and trust yourself again

30:00 Burnout, overwhelm, and the power of slowing down

33:00 Jenna's new program for helping women leave survival mode behind

35:00 Presence, gratitude, and noticing the small things

37:00 Why expectations often keep us from growing

41:00 The clarity framework that changed Jenna's life

44:00 Leadership starts with your habits, thoughts, and daily choices

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call

Connect with Jenna

• Website: https://jennawahl.com/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamjennawahl
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamjennawahl/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theregulatedmom
• Jenna’s programs

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

#SelfLeadership #WomenInLeadership #BurnoutRecovery

In this episode of Got Your Six, Dr. Traci sits down with Captain Steve Mills, a retired US Navy chaplain who has spent more than three decades walking beside people through combat, crisis, grief, and now hospice care. Steve has done the death notifications. He has sat in silence with a sailor who just needed someone to be there. He has buried two siblings and built a fort in his backyard to honor his brother. He knows what real strength looks like, and it is not silence.

Together they take apart one of the biggest misconceptions in leadership: that strength and suffering always look different. Sometimes the strongest person in the room is simply the one who has learned to hide the pain the best. Steve and Dr. Traci talk about the conversations leaders avoid, starting with the ones they refuse to have with themselves. They get honest about fear, rejection, grief, burnout, and the rising rate of suicide among veterans and the people we lead every single day.

This one is raw, real, and no fluff. If you are leading while exhausted, carrying more than people can see, or quietly wondering how much longer you can hold it together, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• What vulnerability in leadership actually looks like, and why it is a strength and not a weakness
• The conversations leaders avoid most, starting with the ones they will not have with themselves
• Why strength is not the absence of struggle How servant leadership builds trust faster than authority ever will
• What a "ministry of presence" teaches us about showing up for the people we lead
• Why silence feels safe, and how it quietly isolates the people everyone depends on
• How to create emotional safety so honesty is not punished at work or at home
• What grief does when we ignore it, and why Steve says to embrace it instead of avoid it
• The link between leader burnout, mental health, and veteran suicide Simple, science-backed ways to release the pressure: humor, movement, mirror work, and real connection

We talk about:

00:00 The conversation most leaders are afraid to have out loud

02:30 Meet Captain Steve Mills: Navy chaplain, firefighter, and hospice chaplain

04:00 "You can't do it alone": the helicopter crash that changed everything

06:30 From a wheelchair to six marathons: Steve's story

08:30 Becoming a Navy chaplain and the leaders who made or broke the mission

11:00 Life in thirds: firefighting, chaplaincy, and hospice

12:30 "Keep walking": the tagline behind the man

15:30 The conversations leaders avoid, and why they start with yourself

17:30 Servant leadership and the fear of being rejected

20:00 Vulnerability in leadership: why we hide it and what it costs

22:00 Silence, processing, and how strong people isolate themselves

25:00 The ministry of presence: being embedded with your people

28:00 The coldest baptism and leading from the front

29:30 Why humor heals and how laughter releases the pressure

31:00 Mirror work: the self work most leaders skip

35:30 Ten minutes of silence: the counseling session Steve never forgot

40:30 What people misunderstand about strength

42:30 Creating environments where honesty is not punished

43:30 "Now is not your time": grief, focus, and the time and place for everything

44:30 When crying is your body releasing the emotion

47:00 Burnout, mental health, and the suicide conversation we keep avoiding

49:00 Anger, faith, and the outlets that keep you whole

53:00 Grief as a gift: sunflowers, Fort Keith, and honoring the people we lose

58:00 Strength is not the absence of struggle: the takeaway

59:00 An invitation to lead with clarity, resilience, and support

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call

Connect with Steve

• Website: https://www.etiw.org/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sdmills

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/
• https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/battle-tested-leadership-action-plan

#VulnerabilityInLeadership #LeadershipAndMentalHealth #StrengthIsNotSilence

In this deeply personal episode, Dr. Traci opens up about what Memorial Day truly means, sharing stories that go far beyond the battlefield. She reflects on two extraordinary leaders, Desmond Doss and Michael Murphy, whose courage redefined what it means to lead, sacrifice, and serve. She also shares her own family's story, including her father's untreated trauma after the Korean War and how it shaped her understanding of leadership, pain, and generational cycles.

This episode is for every veteran still fighting invisible battles. It is for every military family trying to understand the person sitting across from them at the dinner table. It is for every leader who has ever confused resilience with not feeling.

You'll walk away with a deeper understanding of what resilience actually is, why veterans struggle to transition out of service, and how redefining leadership after the uniform comes off might be the most important thing we can do to protect the people we've already asked to sacrifice so much.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• What Memorial Day actually means for veterans and military families
• The story of Desmond Doss and the Hacksaw Ridge battle that redefined courage
• How Michael Murphy's sacrifice in Operation Red Wings showed us what real leadership costs
• Why resilience is not fearlessness and what it actually looks like in practice
• The invisible wounds veterans carry long after deployment ends
• Her father's story after the Korean War, and what unresolved trauma does to families
• What veterans miss most after leaving service (and it's not what most people think)
• How to redefine leadership after military service ends
• Why Memorial Day should also honor the veterans we are losing every single day

We talk about:

00:00 Welcome and why today's episode is personal

01:00 What Memorial Day really means for veterans and military families

02:00 The invisible battles that come home from war

02:30 Desmond Doss: Leadership, faith, and the courage to keep going back

04:30 What resilience actually is (and what it is not)

05:30 Michael Murphy and the story behind Lone Survivor

07:30 Why real leadership requires sacrifice and what Dr. Traci joined the military

09:00 Her father's story: The Korean War, survival mode, and unresolved trauma

11:00 Veterans losing their lives in silence, and what we can do about it

12:00 What veterans miss most after leaving service

13:30 Redefining leadership after the uniform comes off

15:00 A message directly to veterans: you are not weak and you are not alone

16:00 The community Dr. Traci built and an open invitation to connect

17:30 Closing thoughts: The greatest way to honor sacrifice

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/

#VeteranLeadership #MemorialDayMeaning #LeadershipForgedInFire

In this special Mother's Day episode of Got Your Six, Dr. Traci brings two real women into the conversation for the first time in the show's history. AshLeigh, an IT leader and single mom raising an 11-year-old, and Kristina, an entrepreneur and mother navigating balancing, work, motherhood with her kindergartener and baby son was still in the hospital, sit down together to talk about what it actually means to keep showing up when everything is heavy.

This is not a polished conversation about work-life balance. It is an honest one about what women carry quietly, what it costs to be the strong one in every room, and what it feels like to finally stop performing strength and start practicing it.

They talk about depression, ADHD, medication, advocating for yourself in a healthcare system that does not always listen, the identity shift of becoming a mother, the pressure of single parenting, what real friendship looks like under pressure, and why finding joy in ordinary moments is not a small thing. It is everything.

Because resilience is not built in one big dramatic moment. It is built in the repetition of waking up exhausted and choosing to care anyway.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why women feel they have to appear strong even when they are completely overwhelmed
• What the mental and emotional load of single motherhood actually looks like from the inside
• How to advocate for yourself in a healthcare system that does not always hear you
• Why being vulnerable with your kids builds trust instead of undermining your authority
• The identity shift that happens the moment you become a mother and realize you are now the one who is supposed to know everything
• How Kristina's mindset of controlling only what you can control keeps her grounded through uncertainty
• Why AshLeigh's journey to finding the right medication for depression and ADHD is a story more women need to hear
• What reciprocal energy in friendship actually means and why it does not have to be perfectly equal
• How to raise financially responsible kids even when money is genuinely tight
• Why the things that cost nothing often create the most meaningful memories for your children
• What it looks like to redefine "rich" outside of money and material things
• The one takeaway both guests want every listener to walk away with

We talk about:

• 00:00 Introducing AshLeigh and Kristina and why this conversation matters
• 02:00 The pressure women feel to always appear strong and where it comes from
• 04:00 The identity shift of becoming a mother and suddenly being the one with all the answers
• 07:00 Being honest at work about what you are carrying and why it creates more freedom not less
• 09:00 Traci on being a soldier and a mom and never being allowed to show weakness
• 12:00 What vulnerability with your kids actually builds in them
• 15:00 Single parenting, real conversations with kids, and why shielding them does not serve them
• 18:00 Teaching financial responsibility when resources are limited
• 20:00 Redefining rich: why happiness and love are the real measure
• 22:00 AshLeigh on depression, ADHD, and the long road to finding the right support
• 25:00 Why you are allowed to interview your doctor and say no
• 27:00 Kristina's mindset: control what you can control and wake up like it is a gift
• 28:00 What real best friendship looks like when life gets hard
• 30:00 Reciprocal energy and why it does not have to be perfectly even
• 32:00 What Traci wants every listener to walk away carrying

Resources:

• Traci is offering one free month inside one of her three membership communities for listeners of this episode. To claim it, schedule a free 20-minute call using the link in the show notes and include one takeaway from this conversation when you book. This is not a sales call. It is simply to make sure you land in the right group for where you are right now: https://drtraci.erbusinessconsulting.com/book-a-discovery-call

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/

#MomLife #MentalHealth #WomenLeadership

In this special episode of Got Your Six, Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn brings together real conversations with women navigating leadership in its most unfiltered form, as mothers, partners, business owners, and the emotional anchors of everyone around them.

Because here’s what no one talks about:

Leadership for women doesn’t always look like a role. Sometimes it looks like holding everything together while no one realizes how much you’re carrying.

Through powerful conversations with multiple guests, this episode explores the reality of leading in different seasons of life, building businesses through uncertainty, raising families while managing pressure, and functioning at a high level while quietly navigating burnout.

And beneath it all sits one critical truth:

You don’t rise to your intentions under pressure. You default to your conditioning.

That’s where mental fitness comes in, not as a buzzword, but as the skill that allows women to lead themselves with clarity, capacity, and control in the middle of everything they’re responsible for.

This episode isn’t about doing more. It’s about understanding what you’re carrying, and learning how to carry it differently.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why women are already leading, even without the title
• The invisible emotional and mental load mothers carry daily
• What leadership actually looks like behind the scenes
• The cost of being “the strong one” in every area of life
• Why high-performing women still feel overwhelmed and inconsistent
• How entrepreneurship, motherhood, and leadership intersect
• The truth about burnout and why it’s not a badge of honor
• How clarity and communication reduce emotional load
• The role of boundaries and capacity in sustainable leadership
• Why slowing down creates more control, not less
• How to create connection in relationships while leading everything else
• The difference between functioning under pressure and leading through it
• How mental fitness helps you regulate, respond, and lead with intention

We talk about:

• 00:00 Why leadership for women isn’t about titles, it’s about responsibility
• 02:00 The reality of balancing motherhood, business, and leadership
• 04:00 Monique’s journey, leaving corporate and building a business during crisis
• 06:00 Risk, fear, and freedom in entrepreneurship as a mother
• 08:00 What success costs behind the scenes that no one sees
• 10:00 The myth of balance and the reality of building something meaningful
• 12:00 Jenna on motherhood, self-leadership, and slowing down
• 14:00 How regulating yourself changes how you lead your home and life
• 16:00 Prioritizing yourself without guilt as a leader and a mother
• 18:00 Relationships, connection, and maintaining identity in busy seasons
• 20:00 Tia on burnout, pressure, and carrying everything for everyone
• 22:00 Why strong women are often the most overwhelmed
• 24:00 Communication gaps and emotional load in leadership at home
• 26:00 Practical tools, clarity, boundaries, and capacity awareness
• 28:00 The leadership pause, creating space before reacting
• 30:00 How small shifts create massive change in leadership and life
• 32:00 Final reflection, who are you when the pressure rises

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/

#WomenInLeadership #MotherhoodAndLeadership #MentalFitness

In this episode of Got Your Six, Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn breaks down a distinction that most leaders miss entirely, the difference between mental health and mental fitness.

Mental health is your state. Mental fitness is your capacity.

And when pressure rises, you don’t rise to your intentions. You default to your conditioning.

Through real-life military leadership experience, high-pressure decision-making, and raw, direct insight, Traci reveals why so many high performers struggle with consistency, clarity, and emotional control, even when they’re intelligent, driven, and capable.

Because the issue isn’t knowledge. It’s structure.

And without mental fitness, your emotions become your decision-making system.

This episode challenges you to stop sitting in awareness and start training your response, so you can lead with clarity, consistency, and control, no matter what’s happening around you.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• The real difference between mental health and mental fitness (and why it matters)
• Why awareness alone is not enough for effective leadership
• How pressure exposes your internal conditioning, not your intentions
• Why high performers still struggle with inconsistency and overwhelm
• The hidden reason you feel reactive instead of proactive
• How emotions quietly take over decision-making without mental fitness
• Why leadership is about how you show up, not how you feel
• The role of repetition and training in building mental strength
• How urgency distorts clarity and decision-making
• Why predictability builds trust in leadership
• The moment your internal state becomes external impact
• How to separate facts from feelings in real time
• Why mental fitness is a daily practice, not a one-time shift

We talk about:

• 00:00 Why this isn’t about motivation, it’s about self-leadership under pressure
• 02:00 The meaning behind “Got Your Six” and leadership responsibility
• 04:00 Mental health vs mental fitness, the critical distinction
• 06:00 Mental health is your state, mental fitness is your capacity
• 08:00 Why leadership doesn’t happen when things feel good
• 10:00 Military leadership lessons on pressure, stress, and control
• 12:00 The difference between feeling stress and being controlled by it
• 14:00 Why high performers still feel inconsistent and overwhelmed
• 16:00 Mental fitness gaps vs operational problems
• 18:00 How emotions take over decision-making without structure
• 20:00 Practical mental fitness habits, pause, separate fact vs feeling
• 22:00 Urgency vs importance, how leaders lose clarity
• 24:00 How inconsistency erodes trust and predictability
• 26:00 Why your internal state becomes your external leadership
• 28:00 Final reflection, who are you under pressure

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/

#MentalFitness #LeadershipMindset #SelfLeadership

In this solo episode of Got Your Six, Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn dismantles one of the most common lies in personal growth, that discipline is about intensity, energy, or feeling ready.

It’s not.

Discipline is consistency. Especially when conditions aren’t ideal.

Through real-life leadership examples, military experience, and raw, unfiltered truth, Traci breaks down how the smallest moments, the quiet negotiations you have with yourself, are the exact moments that define your identity, your leadership, and your results.

Because the moment you say “I’ll do it later” isn’t just about that task. It’s about who you’re becoming.

This episode challenges you to stop waiting, stop negotiating, and start reinforcing a standard that carries into every area of your life.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why discipline is not motivation, energy, or intensity
• The true definition of discipline (and why most people misunderstand it)
• How self-negotiation quietly destroys consistency
• The difference between looking disciplined vs actually being disciplined
• Why discipline shows up most when it’s inconvenient and uncomfortable
• How your personal standards shape your leadership
• Why inconsistency with yourself creates inconsistency with others
• The hidden cost of avoiding discomfort
• Why small excuses don’t stay small, they transfer into bigger decisions
• How consistency builds identity, not just results
• Why discipline is not an action, it’s an identity
• The question that reveals everything, who are you when no one is watching

We talk about:

• 00:00 This is not a conversation about motivation or “getting it together”
• 02:00 What discipline actually is (and what it isn’t)
• 04:00 The difference between showing up when it’s convenient vs when it’s hard
• 06:00 Why discipline is consistency, especially in non-ideal conditions
• 08:00 The moment discipline is revealed, self-negotiation
• 10:00 Common excuses, time, energy, motivation (and why they’re false)
• 12:00 Why you’re not lacking motivation, you’re lacking standards
• 14:00 How inconsistency with yourself impacts your leadership
• 16:00 A real-life example of self-negotiation in action
• 18:00 Why small excuses transfer into bigger decisions
• 20:00 Discipline as identity, not an activity
• 22:00 Final reflection, who are you when no one is watching

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/

#DisciplineVsMotivation #LeadershipMindset #SelfLeadership

In this solo episode of Got Your SiX, Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn breaks down the difference between motivation and mindset, and why relying on motivation is the fastest way to stay stuck.

This isn’t about positive thinking or quick mindset hacks. It’s about what actually happens when pressure hits, when you’re tired, overwhelmed, and still expected to lead, perform, and show up.

Because that’s the moment your mindset reveals itself.

From military leadership lessons to real-life moments of pressure, Traci shares how reactive thinking keeps people stuck, why consistency matters more than intensity, and how to build a mindset that holds steady when everything else feels chaotic.

If you’ve ever felt inconsistent, overwhelmed, or frustrated with your lack of follow-through, this episode will help you understand why, and what to do instead.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why mindset, not motivation, determines your follow-through
• The difference between reactive vs intentional leadership
• Why knowing what to do isn’t the problem, and never was
• How pressure exposes your true mindset patterns
• The hidden reason high performers still feel inconsistent
• Why you can’t separate mindset from leadership
• The power of pausing instead of reacting under pressure
• How consistency builds identity, not intensity
• Why staying busy doesn’t mean you’re actually progressing
• The role of structure and support in long-term growth
• How your internal state shapes your external results
• Why leadership starts with how you lead yourself

We talk about:

• 00:00 Why this isn’t another “think positive” conversation
• 02:00 Mindset vs motivation, what most people misunderstand
• 04:00 Why follow-through is not a knowledge problem
• 06:00 Leadership is always happening, even when you don’t realize it
• 08:00 The mirror test, how you lead yourself first
• 10:00 Reactive vs proactive thinking in leadership
• 12:00 Why mindset is revealed under pressure
• 14:00 The cost of inconsistency in leadership and life
• 16:00 The discipline of pausing instead of reacting
• 18:00 A real leadership moment under pressure
• 20:00 Why mindset drives direction, not effort
• 22:00 The hidden impact of your internal state
• 24:00 Leadership as responsibility, not just results
• 26:00 Why you can’t outwork a poor mindset
• 28:00 Consistency vs intensity, what actually builds change
• 30:00 How to recalibrate when you feel off
• 32:00 Why support and structure accelerate growth
• 34:00 Final thoughts, leadership is how you live

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/

#MindsetVsMotivation #LeadershipMindset #SelfLeadership

In this episode of Got Your SiX, Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn sits down with DJ Logory, founder of the “Be That Guy” club, to unpack what’s really missing for young men today, and why so many feel stuck, inconsistent, or directionless.

From getting fired early in his career to rebuilding his identity through mentorship, DJ shares how structure, accountability, and simple daily habits became the foundation for everything that followed.

This conversation goes beyond surface-level motivation. It explores the deeper truth, that most young men don’t need to be fixed. They need guidance, consistency, and someone who believes in them before they believe in themselves.

If you’ve ever wondered why discipline feels hard, why follow-through is inconsistent, or how to actually build confidence that lasts, this episode will change how you see it.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why leadership starts long before a title, and begins with habits
• The “effort gap” and how low-effort dopamine is shaping behavior
• Why confidence is built through action, not mindset alone
• The power of mentorship and accountability in identity transformation
• How simple habits create undeniable proof of self-belief
• Why young men struggle with follow-through in today’s world
• The connection between discipline, structure, and mental fitness
• How consistency rewires identity and builds internal trust
• Why asking for help is a strength, not a weakness
• What it actually takes to become someone others can rely on

We talk about:

• 00:00 Why leadership is built, not born
• 02:00 DJ’s story, losing direction after failure
• 04:00 The mentor who changed everything
• 06:00 Why young men need guidance outside their parents
• 08:00 Asking for help and breaking the “weakness” stigma
• 10:00 Why the 18–26 age range matters (and why it doesn’t)
• 12:00 The real gap, effort vs. discipline
• 13:00 How technology is lowering effort and raising expectations
• 15:00 Dopamine, distraction, and the cycle of avoidance
• 17:00 Why structure matters more than motivation
• 18:00 The three core habits, reading, exercise, sleep
• 20:00 Building confidence through proof, not affirmations
• 22:00 The power of tracking habits and follow-through rates
• 23:00 Why finishing a book changes everything
• 24:00 Exercise as intentional discomfort and identity building
• 25:00 Why sleep is the hardest habit to master
• 27:00 Discipline vs belief, what’s really missing
• 28:00 The truth, only 1 in 4 young men believe in themselves

Connect with DJ

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dj-logory-96b573ba/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djlogory/
• Website: https://www.bethatguyclub.com/

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/

#MentalFitness #HabitsForSuccess #SelfDiscipline

In this episode of Got Your SiX, Dr. Traci Eisenberg-Rayburn sits down with Chelsea McLeod, a hormone and gut health practitioner, to unpack why so many high-performing women feel exhausted, inflamed, and stuck despite doing everything “right.”

From caffeine dependency and under-eating to overtraining and chronic stress, this conversation breaks down what is actually happening inside your body and how it directly impacts your energy, mood, and ability to lead.

If your body is not keeping up with the life you’re leading, this episode will help you understand why and what to do next.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why exhaustion is often a fueling issue, not just burnout
• The most common nutrition mistakes high performers make
• How caffeine can mask deeper hormonal imbalances
• Why under-eating and overtraining are working against you
• The connection between hormone health, mood, and emotional regulation
• How gut health impacts clarity, focus, and daily performance
• Why your body reflects what you are not processing
• The importance of fueling yourself before leading others
• Simple shifts to improve energy and consistency
• What it looks like to support your body in a high-demand lifestyle

We talk about:

• 00:00 Why leadership starts with how you fuel yourself
• 02:00 The reality of running on empty
• 04:00 Chelsea’s transition from corporate to hormone health
• 06:00 Why “doing everything right” still is not working
• 08:00 Caffeine, cortisol, and energy crashes
• 10:00 Common nutrition mistakes and how to fix them
• 12:00 Fat, fiber, protein, and building balanced meals
• 14:00 Why overtraining can stall progress
• 16:00 The emotional patterns behind physical symptoms
• 18:00 Gut health and processing stress
• 20:00 Hormones, mood, and emotional regulation
• 22:00 The cost of self-sacrifice on your body
• 24:00 The first hour of your day and energy management
• 26:00 Simple routines to stabilize your system
• 28:00 Why women delay prioritizing their health
• 30:00 What changes when you finally support yourself

Connect with Chelsea

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelsea-mcleod/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chelseajmcleod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthywithchels
• Website: https://chelseamcleod.com

Connect with me

• Leadership Call: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/coaching/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-traci-55410868/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrTraciER/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtraci_battletested/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gotyoursixpodcast/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@erbusinessconsulting
• Website: https://www.erbusinessconsulting.com/

#HormoneHealth #HighPerformance #GutHealth

Most leaders are drowning not because they lack motivation, but because they’ve become the "Single Point of Failure" for their own mission.

When every follow-up, every lead, and every tactical decision lives exclusively in your head, you aren't leading... you’re bottlenecking. This internal noise creates an unsustainable pace that eventually swallows your light, leaving you trapped in a cycle of "triage mode" where you’re reacting to the loudest fire instead of commanding the terrain.

That's why, we have Courtney Strugnell is joining us to strip away the idea that systems are just "tech" and reveal why they are actually the primary defense against leadership burnout.

If you’ve ever felt like a gerbil on a wheel, exhausted by the mental loops of a business that collapses the moment you step away, press play because this conversation is your map to reclaiming your capacity.

Then, get access to the TAME THE WORKPLACE CHAOS CLASS here!

PS. Want to connect with Courtney? You can find her on Instagram or Facebook.

That's why this episode dives into the uncomfortable reality that many entrepreneurs - and parents - are their own worst enemies, mistaking constant reactivity for meaningful progress while their personal lives pay the silent tax of their "indispensability."

My husband and Marketing, Michael Rayburn and I pulling back the curtain - not just on how to streamline your systems, but on 30 years of navigating military deployments, single-parenting in shifts, and the "Love Shack" beginnings that forced us to choose: would we let life happen to us, or would we start designing it?

If you’ve ever felt like a gerbil on a wheel, wondering why your success feels so heavy, this conversation is the tactical intervention you’ve been waiting for.

PS. Grab the LEADERSHIP COMPASS to help you start building systems that support calm, confident leadership under pressure.

Most leaders resist project management because they think it’s about rigid frameworks and sterile offices. But really, when you avoid structure, you aren't being "flexible" - you’re creating a culture of dependence where nothing moves unless you move it first. It’s time to stop the "spillover" that follows you from the laptop to the dinner table and start building a foundation that doesn't collapse the moment you step away.

Press play to reframe project management as the ultimate act of self-leadership and learn how to finally move with intention instead of just moving faster.

PS. Stop winging it and start structuring your mission 🧭👉🏻 PROJECT MANAGEMENT BOOTCAMP

And that’s exactly what it feels like to create a tactical pivot in your time management and strategy. That’s why, today, we are sitting down with Brian Kato to show leaders how to "dump the legos" of their schedule on the floor.

It’s intentional. It’s meant to hurt. Because if you don’t look at the sharp edges of your calendar, your kids are the ones who feel the impact.

Press play to stop just stepping over the mess and create the awareness that will take you from being "always at the desk" to being fully present at the dinner table.

PS.

Want to connect with Brian? You can visit their website here or follow them on Instagram.

This episode is for you if you’re ready to move beyond the "titles" and build a culture grounded in the kind of trust that lasts long after the results are delivered.

Press play to shift from performing for the spotlight to anchoring your leadership in an identity that creates real, sustainable ROI for your team and your mission.

PS. Want to get Dr. Traci on your show or at your event? CLICK HERE for her Press Kit

Women are often rewarded for anticipating needs and filling gaps before anyone asks, but that conditioning eventually turns leadership into a heavy obligation. It’s time to stop absorbing the emotional labor of everyone around you and start deciding intentionally what actually belongs to you.

Press play to trade "can-do" exhaustion for strategic recalibration and learn why real leadership isn't about how much you can absorb… it's about how much you can empower.

PS. Don't just weather the storms... be the leader who confidently shows others the way through. Download the LEADERSHIP ALIGNMENT TOOL here.

We’re conditioned to believe that for men, silence equals control and endurance equals leadership... but what if that conditioning is actually making your role heavier than it needs to be?

Choosing to lead with reflection and support isn't "soft,” it’s strategic. That’s why this episode is dismantling the belief that self abandonment is a requirement for success. It’s time to hear the truth about how conditioning shapes your character and how to reclaim the leader you were meant to be.

Press play to trade "stiff-upper-lip" survival for a leadership reflection tool that builds real, unshakeable credibility.

PS. Get the LEADERSHIP ALIGNMENT tool to find your true north as a leader and solidify your leadership identity.

When you confuse high pressure with high performance, you stop leading from strategy and start operating from survival. It’s time to put the weight down and realize that leadership isn't a solo mission.

Press play to trade the “no one understands my situation” belief for a tactical pause and learn how to reclaim your strategic altitude through the power of confidential support.

PS. Book your PRIVATE LEADERSHIP CALL to build internal and external success that lasts.

But what if you need a methodology designed for the days when the world feels like it’s tumbling down around you?

The Battle-Tested Methodology wasn't born in a classroom - it was forged through military deployments, business pivots, and the hard work of rebuilding a marriage. It’s not a theory… it’s a compass created from the scars of real-world pressure.

Press play to shift from "fluffy" leadership slogans to a grounded, lived-experience framework that holds up when the margin for error is thin.

PS. Grab the BATTLE-TESTED LEADERSHIP COMPASS here to strategically pause, evolve, and recalibrate your trajectory.

When you operate under the "I can do it myself" mindset, you don't just increase your load… you decrease your team’s growth.

Real leadership isn't about being the smartest person in the room, it’s about having the strategic altitude to ask the one question that changes the entire trajectory of the mission.

It’s time to shift from being the primary problem solver and become a leader who empowers others through the art of the intentional ask…

PS. Want to see how asking more and better questions can transform your role as a leader? JOIN THE LEADER'S LOUNGE

We’re taught that being busy equals being effective, but "survival grit" eventually turns you into a bottleneck for your own team.

This episode is for you if you're ready to stop riding the bike down the street with no hands and start using a tactical pause to align your hours with your true priorities.

Press play to trade the feeling of constant urgency for a time-blocking system that actually honors your mission at work and your family at home.

PS. Download the COMPASS for more focused execution and intentional living.

The truth most leaders miss is that pressure doesn't create gaps - it exposes them. Whether you are at the commander’s table or the kitchen table, high-stakes moments reveal exactly where your communication, regulation, and decision-making are currently brittle.

Press play to shift from merely surviving to understanding the FIVE leadership styles that turn pressure into a strategic advantage.

PS. Transform your life from the core with your copy of the INSIDE OUT LEADERSHIP book here.

But what if the pressure you’re "managing" is actually spilling into the places that matter most?

When you lead from rank instead of credibility, your nervous system stays on high alert, making you physically present but mentally miles away. This episode is for you if you’ve noticed your family taking a "quiet step back" because they’re getting the leftover version of you instead of the best one.

Press play to shift from being a highly functional but deregulated leader to mastering the art of returning to yourself when the world feels loud.

PS. Get exclusive access to the FLAME MEDITATION that changed everything…

It's learned in those real life moments. Whether you’re at the commander’s table or the kitchen table, leadership is revealed when things get complicated and the margin for error gets thin.

It’s time to stop carrying the weight alone and start deciding to intentionally allow support.

This episode for you if you're ready to trade in your "survival grit" and finally lead in a way that doesn't require you to fracture yourself just to keep moving forward.

Press play and learn what Battle-Tested Leadership truly is.

PS. Join The Leaders Lounge to start leading from a place of clarity and sustainable energy.