Senior Engineering Leader for Final Mile Services and E&T Development Program

I built a successful career in engineering and leadership.

On paper, it checked every box. Strong income. Respect. Stability.

Stability can become a cage when the money is good, but the question of purpose won’t go away.

That’s why I help engineering leaders make a purpose-led next move in their careers.

I bring 30 years of experience leading teams, navigating complexity, and making high-stakes decisions. Now I apply that same clarity and structure to the decision you can’t ignore forever, what you want your next season of impact to be.

My 3-Step Process

1) Purpose Clarity - We translate what matters most into plain language, so you can stop spinning and start choosing.

2) Next Move Focus - We narrow your options to the few paths that actually fit you, your strengths, values, and desired impact.

3) Execution Plan - We build a practical plan you can run while still employed, so your next move is intentional, not impulsive.

If you're a leader who knows you're made for more impact, I’ll help you get clear on your purpose in 90 days or less.

DM me “PURPOSE” and I’ll send you the first step.

Tarek Taha

18 years ago, my boss called me into his office.


He was the best boss I ever had.

I told him I'd received an offer from another company and was considering taking it.

He said, "How much are they paying you?"

I told him it was 40% more than my current comp.

Instead of getting mad, he said he would support whatever decision I made.

I shared how this job would allow me to achieve my financial goals more quickly.

Even though he would be sad to lose me, he knew I needed to do what was best for my family.

It's your job to advocate for yourself and do what's right for you.

Sometimes you have to take emotions out of it.

By the way, I decided to stay and am so glad I did.

My boss and I are still friends today!

Do what's best for you and your family.

Don't settle.

♻️ Repost if you've ever had a great boss and would like to honor them
🔔 Follow Tarek Taha for more.
--
👉 Join me for a free class tomorrow on why success feels empty and what to do about it: https://lnkd.in/e9CvvYdf

I help Successful VPs & Directors figure out What’s Next | DM me “PURPOSE” to join my masterclass

In December 2024, I watched a helicopter take my 87-year-old dad away to a heart center.


This man, who had been a picture of health all his life, had a ruptured aorta.

97% of people who experience this event die on the spot.
My dad didn’t.
He lived.

He recovered, and now, at 88, he walks 10 "very brisk" laps around his neighborhood each day.

His survival meant more time.

I've learned more about what he had to overcome in Egypt to build a life for himself and for our family.

We connected more deeply.

The real gift of more time with those you love is finally having conversations that matter.

[ 👉 Follow Tarek for more | ♻️ Repost if this resonated]

It became clear that staying was more expensive than leaving.


That realization didn’t come from burnout.
Or frustration.
Or a bad situation.

After 21 years at the same company, I walked away.

What surprised me most wasn’t the decision itself.

It was what happened as I was leaving.

The conversations I barely remembered.
The people I’d helped years ago who still use my advice.
The relationships that mattered far more than any title I ever held.

For most of my career, I measured impact the wrong way.

I thought it looked like ladder climbing.
Recognition from others.
Being needed.

It turns out, impact looks a lot more like people.

And sometimes, you don’t fully understand that until you step away.

If you’ve ever wondered what your work actually means to the people around you, you’ll recognize it.

Today at 12 PM EST, I'm going to talk about how every person on the planet has a purpose and what changes when you start pursuing it. 
[Link in comments]

I help Senior Leaders escape the hamster wheel and live with purpose | DM me “PURPOSE” to join my masterclass

You made VP by 35. 


Got the salary. Got the team. Got the respect. 

Then you sat in a meeting one day and realized: 
This is it. 
This is what I worked for.
 
And it feels hollow. 

You're not ungrateful.
You're not broken. 
You just feel out of alignment with who you actually are. 

Most people spend their whole career climbing the ladder.

Very few stop to ask if the ladder is leaning against the right wall.
--
Next Tuesday at noon EST, I'm hosting a free masterclass: 
"Why Your Success Feels Empty — And What to Do About It." 

It's for leaders who got the promotion but lost the plot. 

If that's you, the link is in the featured section in my profile and in the comments.

Them: I've heard your name before. Were you on TV?



Me: No, I wasn't

Them: Are you sure?

Me: I'm sure. You're thinking of Tarek El Moussa from "Flip or Flop."

Them: You are right!

It's funny, I get this a lot now.

Same first name, very different hairstyles.

I used to hate spelling and pronouncing my name.

Now I don't mind at all. 

I've learned to embrace who I am instead of trying to fit in.

Living a life of purpose starts with getting comfortable in your own skin.

📌 DM me "PURPOSE" if you're ready to join my masterclass that goes live tonight at 6 PM CST.
--
tagging Tarek Dakakni, MD FCCP Tarek Taha  Tarek Sobh Tarek Dewey for fun!

I once sat in a conference room and watched a senior leader take credit for his team's work.


And no one said a word.

Gallup says companies pick the wrong manager 82% of the time.

75% of people who quit aren't leaving the company. 
They're leaving the boss.

The loudest person often gets promoted.
Even when they're not the most capable.

We built a system that rewards command-and-control leadership. 
Then we act confused when people leave.

I watched it for 30 years.

The leaders who listened first and built people up? Passed over.
The ones who were quick to speak and slow to listen? Corner office.

Here's what the research says: 
Servant-led teams see 50% lower turnover and 35% higher productivity.

If you're promoting someone this year, ask yourself:

Am I choosing the person everyone notices? 
Or the person everyone trusts?

I watched a boss shut down her own employee last week.


In a co-working space. In front of everyone.

The employee asked questions. She wanted to learn.

Her boss cut her off. Mid-sentence. More times than I could count.

It wasn't coaching. It wasn't development.

It was poor leadership on display.

Here are 10 things that need to go in 2026

1. Managers who confuse control with leadership
2. Companies that preach culture but practice fear
3. Promoting people who are good "doers" but bad leaders
4. Leaders who talk about development but never let anyone grow
5. Meetings run by people who love the sound of their own voice
6. "Open door policies" where the door is open but the ears are closed
7. One-way loyalty disguised as "we're a family"

But I'm not done. 
Because some of this is on us too.

8. Staying in a job you hate because it feels "safe"
9. Blaming the company while doing nothing to change your situation
10. Waiting for others to give you permission to go after what you actually want

The best companies respect their people.

But the best professionals respect themselves enough to stop settling.

What would you add to the list?

♻️ Repost for someone who needs to hear this.
--
I'm hosting a masterclass on 3/24 on how to be a true success. Here's the link to signup: https://lnkd.in/e9CvvYdf

I wrote my eulogy today.


What didn't make my list:
- The corner office.
- The vacation home.
- The Ferrari.

What made the list:
- My faith.
- My family.
- My friends.

The things we chase seem important and aren't necessarily bad.

But if they won't make your eulogy, you are wasting your life.

Begin with the end in mind.

Join my masterclass on 3/24 if you're ready to live with purpose: https://lnkd.in/e9CvvYdf

The best leaders are the ones with all the answers.


Thought no one ever.

But I used to think that.

Because that's what I saw in my leaders.

They would:
↳ Be the first to speak.
↳ Take credit for work that others did.
↳ Never admit when they were wrong.
↳ Make all the decisions.

The best leaders I know:
↳ Are quick to listen and slow to speak.
↳ Encourage the quiet ones to speak up.
↳ Give credit away generously.
↳ Build trust by admitting they got something wrong.

Being a leader is not about being the boss.
It's about being someone who is worthy of being followed.

♻ Repost to help a leader in your network.
Follow Tarek Taha for more.

Average coaching: feels like catching up with a friend.
Great coaching: makes you uncomfortable enough to change.

Average coaching: validates your excuses.
Great coaching: challenges your identity.

Average coaching: You leave feeling good.
Great coaching: You leave knowing what to do.

Average coaching: You talk about the same problems for months.
Great coaching: You solve them in weeks because someone won't let you hide.

You don't need someone who agrees with you.

You need someone who sees what you can't.

👉 DM me "PURPOSE" if you're ready for real change.

I help VPs & Directors go from successful but empty to successful and fulfilled | DM me “PURPOSE” to join my masterclass

The most dangerous feedback I ever received was "great job."


Once a year, I would study prior performance reviews, looking for progress.

I read things like: 
 "Exceeds expectations." 
 "Strong performer." 
 "Positive impact."

This was good, right?

It did feel good. That was the problem.

There was zero constructive feedback.

I was like a gas station hot dog on a roller. 
Spinning. Warm. Looking great on the outside.

Except I wasn't growing. 
I was just cooking.
Year after year after year...

I mistook motion for progress. 

When comfort becomes your goal, your future potential is cooked.

One of my engineers got a massive job offer from another company.


We're talking almost double what we were paying them. 

When he told me, my first thought was about me. 

"I just lost one of my best people. What will I do?"

But the first words out of my mouth were: 

"You need to take that offer. It will be great for your family."

I then acted as a reference. 

The worst time to offer a raise is after someone resigns. 

If they are valuable to you, let them know by paying them what they're worth.

And keep the people who genuinely want to stay.

[ 👉 Follow Tarek Taha for more | ♻️ Repost if this resonated]

In 2018, a surgeon cut into my brain. 


I was 50 years old with a brain infection. 

I remember lying in that hospital bed thinking about my 20+ year corporate career. 

The VP title I wanted. 
The corner office. 
The promotions I'd fought for. 

And none of it mattered. 

Not because the work was bad. 

But because I'd been building someone else's version of success for nearly three decades without ever asking one question: 

What am I actually here for? 

That health crisis changed me. 

Since the surgery, I've spent every day helping leaders answer that question before life forces them to. 

Next Tuesday at noon EST, I'm hosting a free masterclass: 
"Why Your Success Feels Empty — And What to Do About It." 

It's for leaders who got the promotion but lost the plot. 

👉 If that's you, the link is in the featured section in my profile and in the comments.

Your title won't matter on your last day.

Living a life beneath your potential will.

I'm hosting a free masterclass next Tuesday at noon EST:

"Why Your Success Feels Empty — And What to Do About It." 

It's for leaders who got the promotion but still have an empty tank.

👉 If that's you, click the link below to join us.

Qamar Gebarin, CIPP/US, CIPM, CIPT, CIPP/C, Cory Smith, MBA and 13 other attendees

View event: Why your success feels empty and what to do about it!

Why your success feels empty and what to do about it!

You are what you give your attention to. 
And right now, it's killing your leadership.


Scroll through your last 24 hours.

How much went to Teams threads that didn't need you?

How much went to doomscrolling news that left you angry?

How much went to meetings that made you feel busy but not better?

Now ask yourself: what did you consume that actually made you grow?

That's the gap.

Every book you don't read is a mentor you'll never meet.

Every hour you give to noise is an hour you're not becoming the leader your team needs.

You don't have a time problem.

You have an attention problem.

Your inputs are your blueprint. 
Choose them like your leadership depends on it.

Because it does.

I wrote more in my blog today. Link in comments.

Everything I know about servant leadership, I learned from a woman who wrote children's books.


My mom was a media specialist and a children's book author.

She didn't manage a P&L. 
She didn't lead a department. 
She never stood on a stage to talk about her leadership philosophy.

But she showed me something that no management training ever did.

She showed me that the words you speak matter:
- To yourself.
- To others.
- To the world.

Leading others by serving them isn't weak, and it isn't just one of many options.

It is the only valid option.

Pass it on.

There's one major secret to living a fulfilling life.


And it's about giving to others, not receiving recognition from them.

Living a fulfilling life means:

1. Waking up each day with an expectation to serve
↳ Make your coffee shop barista smile
↳ Go to lunch with your kid at school
↳ Ask a team member where they are stuck

2. Investing in yourself every day
↳ Read one chapter of a growth book
↳ Listen to a podcast and learn new ideas
↳ Put one thing you learn into practice

3. Taking action instead of planning endlessly
↳ Let a team member take the lead on their idea
↳ Stop worrying about all the political angles
↳ Learn through failure

You will never achieve enough to make you feel like enough.

Fulfillment comes when you give the best of what you have to serve others.

📌 DM me "PURPOSE" if you're ready to start living yours.

I met some 5th graders last week who were more impressive than many adults.


These were the finalists for the Amazing Shake competition at their school.

We sat at a table and ate breakfast together.

They carried the conversation.

They asked great questions.

They talked about serving others.

They talked about what they wanted to do when they grew up.
(the answers ranged from a day trader to a brain surgeon)

They didn't all start out being confident enough to join the Amazing Shake.

One young lady said that she thought she was too shy.
"And now here I am!"

The culture at this school is impressive and is changing lives.

When you are around people who believe in you, 
Anything is possible.

You will become like the people you spend the most time with.

Change your environment and change your life.

🔔 Follow Tarek Taha for more

"Follow your passion" is the worst career advice ever given. 


I bought into it for 25 years. 

Found work I was passionate about. 
Got promoted. 
Hit almost every target. 

Yet I still felt empty on Sunday nights. 

Here's what nobody tells high-achievers: 
- Success is about what makes YOU feel good. 
- Purpose is about what the world needs from you. 

They are not the same thing. 

I've coached dozens of leaders. 

All of them were chasing success. 
Yet most felt something was missing, no matter what they achieved.  

The leaders who actually feel fulfilled didn't chase dollars and titles. 

They asked a harder question: what was I built to contribute? 

Because success without purpose won't ever satisfy. 

Start asking what you were made for.

My work inbox was empty on my last day.


Not one email.
Not one “quick question.”
Just…nothing.

That screenshot messed with me.

For years, my calendar felt like proof I mattered.

But the truth is simple.
-You can be replaced fast.
-Your company will move on.
-Someone else will sit in your chair.
-The emails will keep coming, just not to you.

The people you love are the only ones who cannot replace you.

So if you’ve been giving your best to work,
And your leftovers to your family, 

Stop.

Work will take what you give it.
Life will take what you give it too.

Give your best to the people who can’t replace you.

👉 I'm hosting a masterclass next week on why your success feels empty and how to fix it: https://lnkd.in/e9CvvYdf

Executive People leader and Talent business executive with 15+ years of combined experience in national and international organizations, ranging from global shipping /supply chain, technology, academics, to health and social service industries.  

Diversity and inclusion champion with exemplary success for informed Data informed-decisions and People Analytics, Talent Management, leadership development, and strategically aligning HR programmes to design and support innovative manager and employee experiences. Results-oriented and business-driven with a record of delivering against key performance objectives. 

Dynamic communicator and impactful corporate trainer, keynote speaker and lecturer, with proven success in full-cycle workforce planning within fast-paced, growth scaling businesses.   

Expertise: Talent Acquisition and People Management, Organizational Behaviour and Development, Leadership, Coaching, Employee Relations, Internal Communications, Succession Planning, Job Analysis, Competency Development, Total Rewards, AI Transformation Management and Executive Search.

Shauna MSW

Still processing.

Last night was one of those evenings that reminds you why you do this work.

She Builds. A room full of people who showed up for stories that dont always get told. A film, How She Dares, that wrecked me in the best way. And a panel coversation that went places I didn't expect.

I said some things out loud last night that I've carried quietly for a long time. That happened because the women in that room made it safe to.

Thank you to the Laidley Centre for Business Ethics and Equity and the Desautels EDI Team at McGill for putting this together. A special thank you to Zoonie Nguyen, B. Eng. for being so open with her story. To Hala Scandar Eng, MSc, PMP, Six Sigma Green Belt... thank you for reminding me I'm not out here alone in this. And thank you to everyone who came out, listened, nodded in resonance and sat with us.

This is what Women's Month should feel like.

#SheBuilds #ImmigrantWomen #WomensMonth #HowSheDares #WomenEntrepreneurs #McGill #Desautels
#Joy Bennett #Nikita Boston-Fisher, MPH, PMP, MCHES 
#Karrie-Noelle Plohman #Joelle Moses Speaker-Box.Online

Shauna Callender, MSW, CRHA

I'm late to this, but I watched Bad Bunny at the Grammys a few weeks ago, and couldn't look away.

Not just because of the music. Not because of the accolades.

Because of the pause.

That moment before he stepped up to the stage. Stoic. Gathering himself. 

Holding his own in front of millions.

And I'm thinking... this man has sold out arenas. Broken records. Changed an entire genre.

And he still needed a beat to breathe.

That's the part that gets me about people in positions of power. The ones we admire from afar.

They're still human.

Still wrestling with imposter syndrome. Still carrying insecurities we'll never see. Still processing it all in real time.

We forget that.

We see the confidence and assume it came easy. We see the accolades and forget the doubt that probably showed up right alongside them.

But in that pause, I saw something familiar.

The same hesitation I've felt before walking into rooms where I wasn't sure I belonged. Maybe you've felt it too. 

The deep breath before saying something that mattered.

I'll probably never stop being fascinated by that. 

The moments right before someone steps into the thing they've earned.

Even they need a second to believe it.


➕ Follow me Shauna Callender, MSW, CRHA for more.
♻️ Repost to help others.


Credit: CBS (Grammys 2026)

It's today and I am not ready in the best possible way.

Tonight I get to be in conversation with the unconquerable filmmaker Zoonie Nguyen, B. Eng. and fempreneur extraordinaire, Hala Scandar Eng, MSc, PMP, Six Sigma Green Belt, moderated by the incredible Joy Bennett at She Builds: Stories of Immigrant Women Entrepreneurs at McGill University.

We start with a screening of How She Dares, Zoonie's documentary about her own journey, and then we just... talk. Personal stories. Honest obstacles. What it actually cost. What it means to build something as an immigrant woman in this country.

The real stuff. Not the highlight reel.

Tonight. 5pm. Armstrong Building, McGill. Its free. Just come.

🎟️ Register here → https://lnkd.in/emG6GzYj


#SheBuilds #ImmigrantWomen #WomensMonth #HowSheDares #WomenEntrepreneurs #McGill
Nikita Boston-Fisher, MPH, PMP, MCHES
Karrie-Noelle Plohman

Laidley Centre for Business Ethics & Equity at McGill Desautels

View company: Laidley Centre for Business Ethics & Equity at McGill Desautels

The Laidley Centre for Business Ethics and Equity, the Desautels EDI Team and the Desautels Innovation & Entrepreneurship warmly invite you to a film screening and panel event, "She Builds: Stories of Immigrant Women Entrepreneurs." 

The event will feature a screening of "How She Dares" by McGill alumna and Vietnamese-Canadian filmmaker Zoonie Nguyen, B. Eng.. The film traces Nguyen's extraordinary journey from war refugee to corporate powerhouse and advocate for women entrepreneurs worldwide.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Nguyen and other female entrepreneurs, Hala Scandar Eng, MSc, PMP, Six Sigma Green Belt and Shauna Callender, MSW, CRHA, who will share their experiences building businesses in Canada. The panel will be moderated by Joy Bennett, and will be followed by cocktails, food and networking.

We hope to see you there! 

Details and registration can be found here: https://lnkd.in/emG6GzYj

Early in my career, I thought working hard was the baseline for task execution. 

I reacted to crises, meetings, and emails, thinking that’s what leaders do.

But reacting is different from designing.

Being intentional isn’t about doing more.

It’s about choosing what matters and letting that guide every action.

For leaders, the stakes are even higher: if you drift, your team drifts with you. 

Every meeting, every conversation, every decision sends a signal about what really matters.

I learned to stop being a passenger.

I started leading my work, my career, and even my life with clarity and purpose.

And the difference is massive: energy, impact, results and freedom.

And you... are you piloting your life, or just holding the steering wheel while someone else decides the route?

If you're ready to pivot direction, it's time we chat. I can show you how.

➕ Follow Shauna Callender, MSW, CRHA for more.
♻️ Repost to help others.

Credit:Nikki Barua

I had an employee who was struggling. Not in a way she'd ever admit.

But I could see it. 

Burnt out. Unhappy. Going through the motions.

And still showing up every single day, which honestly made it harder to address.

The mistakes started catching up.

And I got to a point where I couldn't keep covering for them.

That's not leadership, that's avoidance. And it wasn't helping her.

I thought about what I'd actually want if I were in her position.

Not a formal conversation. Not a PIP.

Just... someone who cared enough to ask the real question.

So I gave her a reflection exercise. Genuinely no agenda.

Simply…what do you want? 
Are you happy? 
What are you actually working toward?

I didn't steer it. I just gave her the space.

I didn't rescue her from discomfort either because honestly, growth requires it.

She came back having made a decision. 

Fully hers. And she chose herself.

I couldn't be prouder.

On International Women's Day (Month), we talk a lot about women having a voice.

But sometimes the hardest voice to find is the one that's honest with yourself.

Not the version that keeps pushing through. 

The one who knows something has to change.

That's the voice she found. And she listened to it.


We confuse loyalty with silence sometimes.

Watching someone fade and saying nothing isn't kind. It just feels safer.

What I did was nothing dramatic. 

I just stopped looking away.


➕ Follow me Shauna Callender, MSW, CRHA for more.
♻️ Repost to help others.

For the past few years, my son and his friends have been passing around the same fish filet sandwich.


Cooked once. Frozen ever since.

It shows up at birthdays, gets acknowledged, and goes right back in the freezer.

I asked him about it once.

“It’s our tradition. What we do, our culture.”

That was the entire explanation.

I still wonder if the other parents know this thing is circulating through their homes.

Nobody planned it. Nobody named it. It just kept showing up. 

At some point it became theirs.

And that’s when I realized something about culture.

At work we spend a lot of time trying to build it. 

Decks. Surveys. Team-building.

Some of that helps.

But the things people actually hold onto usually look more like the sandwich. 

Slightly weird. Hard to explain. 

Just something the group kept doing until it stuck.

No one’s reminding those kids to bring it.

No reward. No tracking.

They do it because it’s theirs.

Most places spend a lot of energy trying to design culture.

When the stuff people actually care about usually starts smaller. 

Stranger. Messier. And somehow, it outlasts everything else.


➕ Follow me Shauna Callender, MSW, CRHA for more.
♻️ Repost to help others.


Credit:McDonald's

My mom got conned into buying Encyclopedia Britannica.

Single parent. Tight budget.

Before the internet, in 1989, this was the move. 

A door-to-door salesman convinced her that these heavy, leather-bound books were the key to accessible education for her kids.

She wasn't wrong.

Those encyclopedias became my first introduction to research. But it wasn't the encyclopedias that changed me.

It was the two paperback books that came with them: a thesaurus and a book of famous quotations.

I wore those two books out.

Something about words just stuck with me after that. 

I don't know what it was. I just loved words.

I've often said words saved me. Across my life. Across my career.

My mom was a voracious reader. She passed that down to all of us. But I don't think she knew what she was really giving me though.

Cause the way I write feedback now? It started there.

The way I navigate hard conversations? Started there.

The way I choose my words in high-stakes moments? Also started there.

So much of who we are at work is rooted in things that happened long before we got the job title.

What's something from your childhood that quietly shaped how you show up at work?

➕ Follow me Shauna Callender, MSW, CRHA for more.
♻️ Repost to help others.

Somewhere along the way, I learned to shut up in the right rooms.

I can be a chatterbox. Always have been.

A few years back I got curious about proxemics. 

Basically, how people use space and silence. Where attention goes. Who holds the room without saying anything.

Turns out my gut had been doing that work for years. I've always read people. 

The tension. The dynamics. What's really going on.

But here's what actually changed me:

Living in Japan.

I remember sitting in a meeting at my 教育委員会 (school board office) and noticing no one was in a rush to speak.

Over there, silence isn't awkward. It's respected. 

The person who doesn't rush to fill the gap? Often the most trusted one in the room.

I carried that home with me.

Now when I'm in a meeting, I'm not prepping what to say. I'm watching.

Who's checked out. Who's holding back. What no one's saying out loud.

Trust me, chatterbox still lives here. 

But she's just learned when to take a seat.


➕ Follow me Shauna Callender, MSW, CRHA for more.
♻️ Repost to help others.

Credit: Kinkaku-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan

Honoured. Surreal. Validated.

That's honestly what I felt when I got the invitation to join the panel at She Builds: Stories of Immigrant Women Entrepreneurs at McGill University this Thursday.

After everything it took to get here... those three words reinforced everything.

The evening kicks off with a screening of How She Dares, a documentary by Vietnamese-Canadian filmmaker and McGill alumna Zoonie Nguyen, B. Eng. Nguyen. Her story goes from war refugee to corporate powerhouse to champion for women entrepreneurs worldwide. Then a few of us sit down and talk about what building a business in Canada really looks like as an immigrant woman.

Real stories from local female entrepreneurs.

It's free. It's open to everyone. And I'd love to see some familiar faces in that room.

📅 Thursday March 19, 2026
🕔 5:00–7:30pm
📍 Armstrong Building Room 365/375, McGill University, Montréal

🎟️ Register here → https://lnkd.in/emG6GzYj

Come through. And if you can't make it, share this with someone who should be there.

#SheBuilds #ImmigrantWomen #WomensMonth #HowSheDares #WomenEntrepreneurs #McGill 
#Hala Scandar Eng, MSc, PMP, Six Sigma Green Belt   
#Joy Bennett #Nikita Boston-Fisher, MPH, PMP, MCHES 
#Karrie-Noelle Plohman

I've never been one to run away from hard work.

But I'm amazed at how many people do.

And I say this as someone who appreciates remote work. I'm hybrid for life.

But I've been noticing something lately.

We got hours back. No commute. No getting dressed up. No forced small talk by the coffee machine.

And yet... we're moving less. Exercising less. Somehow more tired than we were before.

We've got time to throw in another load of laundry between calls.

But not enough in the tank to take a walk after them.

I've caught myself in this too.

Last week I looked at my step counter and it was embarrassing. I'd been "busy" all day and barely moved 2,000 steps.

Sitting way longer than I should. Choosing the couch over the gym. Ordering delivery because I "don't have time" when I absolutely do.

The weird part? Remote work gave us freedom.

But freedom with no structure starts to look a lot like hiding.

I don't think the answer is dragging everyone back to the office.

I think it's being honest about what we're actually doing with the time we got back.

Because I'm starting to wonder if some of us traded the commute for the couch and called it progress.

If so, then I don't want to be one of them.


➕ Follow me Shauna Callender, MSW, CRHA for more.
♻️ Repost to help others.

I went to jail in my twenties.

Not for anything I did. 

I was a brand new social worker accompanying a teenage girl to visit her father.

I remember walking through security like I had it all figured out. 

Calm. Collected. Naïve as hell.

Then he walked through the door.

Orange jumpsuit. Just like on TV. Chains connecting his wrists to his ankles. You could hear them before you saw him.

The guard took off the chains and walked out. Smallest room I've ever been in. 

3 chairs, a tiny table and no windows. Just the hum of the lights.

I didn't know where to look.

I realized my job wasn't to have an opinion about this man.

It wasn't to judge the choices that put him there.

My job was to make it possible for a teenage girl to hug her dad.

That's it.

That moment in that room still comes back to me.

Every time a candidate walks into an interview and you can see the nerves all over them.

Every time a leader asks for a quick chat and breaks down because the weight of the job finally got to them.

People don't need you to fix them. They don't need your judgment.

They just need it to be safe enough to be human for a second.

What kind of room are you creating for the people sitting across from you?


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I hate to break it to you…

…but doing everything “right” doesn’t guarantee you’ll feel right.

I know because I did all the things.

Built a career helping people heal.
Transitioned into leadership.
Launched a company.
Spoke on stages.
Checked all the boxes that were supposed to add up to fulfillment.

And yet, I’d sit in meetings, nodding, contributing, performing, and quietly wonder,

Is this it?

While the world rewards competence.

It also applauds the ones who can hold everything together.

But no one tells you how lonely it can feel when you’re the one everyone depends on.

The truth?

You can be successful, respected, even admired and still ache for something more honest, more aligned, more you.

No job title, salary, or applause will give you that.

At some point, you have to break your own pattern of proving.

That’s what I did.

And it didn’t start with a strategy.

It started with a whisper: “There's got to be more to life.”

That whisper turned into a decision.

A decision to build a life that doesn’t look perfect, but feels true.

I hate to break it to you…

.....but no one’s coming to give you permission to want more.

That permission is yours to claim.


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Nobody brags about their boundaries. But everyone brags about how slammed they are.

I used to be that person.

A few years back, I hit 2:00 PM one afternoon with nothing left in the tank.

I'd spent my whole day on things that didn't actually matter.

Meetings with no agenda. Projects that existed just to exist.

I'd been productive in the way that looks productive, but the work I actually cared about?

Untouched.

That was the moment I stopped blaming my calendar and started paying attention to my energy.

Every yes is a withdrawal. 

And that account has a real limit, whether we admit it or not.

Say yes to the noise long enough and you've got nothing left when something worth showing up for actually arrives.

It took me a while to get comfortable saying no.

It felt selfish at first, maybe even lazy.

But it's really just being honest.

One person can only do a handful of things really well.

So I'd rather protect those few things than spread myself across everything else.

You can be available to everyone or excellent at something. 

Not both.

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Credit: Salvador Dali

I loved this amusement space called Belmont Park when I was a kid.

Sign me up for cotton candy, candied apples, and the smells of fresh popcorn in the air.

But the merry-go-round? I could’ve done without it.

Not sure if it was the sameness, the predictable angles, or just the dizziness, but even back then it made very little sense to me why so many people enjoyed it. 

To each their own, I guess.

The park has been gone since '83 (yep 1983), but I can still feel that spin if I think about it long enough.

Some years of work have felt exactly like that ride.

Busy. Really busy. Emails, threads, docs, feedback loops. A massive amount of movement, but you look up and think... what actually got done?

The strange thing is, it doesn't feel like spinning while it's happening. It feels like energy. It feels like progress. Until the ride stops and you realize you’re just tired.

Trust, I’ve been there: staying busy because "busy" feels safer than stopping to ask the harder questions.

Birthdays have a way of asking those questions for you, though. Another one today, and I keep coming back to this: how much of last year was actually forward motion, and how much was just... spinning?

I’m trying to get better at catching the spin earlier now.

This year, I’m just looking for more of the moments that actually stick.

The ones where I can finally keep my eyes on the horizon without getting dizzy.


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Photo credit: Gabriel Jacob

A colleague raised her voice at me several years ago.

Her staff was in the room.

I didn't react. Not yet.

I looked at her employee and asked if they could give us a moment. They stepped out.

Door closed.

Then I said what I needed to say.

Not loud. Not soft. Just clear.

I told her that wasn't going to work for me. That whatever was going on, we could figure it out; just not like that.

She didn't say much at first. 

I think she was surprised I didn't back down. Or blow up.

I wasn't trying to embarrass her. I wasn't trying to win.

But I also was not going to let it sit.

That's the part people skip. 

The part where you actually say something.

It's uncomfortable. It's awkward. And most of the time, you'd rather just let it go.

But when you don't address it, you carry it. A

And eventually it shows up somewhere else.

Have you ever had to give feedback you really didn't want to give?


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Can I tell you a secret? 

Most leaders have no clue what they’re doing.

And that’s not a criticism. It’s the truth.

Because leadership doesn’t come with a manual. (Despite what you’ve read.)

Leaders are magically expected to:

·      Give feedback that doesn’t crush someone
·      Set boundaries without breaking trust
·      Speak up in rooms full of power
·      Navigate conversations that can change careers (or lives)

But here’s the catch: most leaders were never taught how.

That’s where Speaker-Box.Online comes in.

I teach leaders to communicate with clarity, confidence, and humanity, so that high-stakes conversations become opportunities rather than obstacles.

If you’ve ever thought:

“I hope this goes well” before walking into a tough conversation..."
It doesn’t have to be that way.

We help leaders and mission-driven professionals script, practice, and own those moments, so they walk out saying: ✨ “I nailed it.”

DM me privately if you’re ready to be equipped, not exposed, in your next big conversation.

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My voice shakes when I care too much.

This might be a surprise to some of you.

Not from nerves. Not because tears are coming.

When I'm speaking on something I feel deeply about, there's this quiver. 
This tremor that sounds like I might break.

But I'm not breaking. I'm brewing.

It runs in my family. And I have it too.

Like a volcano right before it erupts.

Recently, I was in a conversation trying to validate something that mattered. 
I felt it happening. The volcano was waking up.

It gets misread. People hear it and assume I need rescuing.

I don't.

I'm holding. Deliberately.

Not because I'm weak. Because I know what's underneath.

Maybe you've been there too. 

Someone saw your intensity and called it "too much." 
Your conviction and called it "emotional." 
Your pause and assumed you had nothing left to say.

We lose good voices this way. People who stop speaking up because they got tired of being misread.

Passion doesn't always look polished. Sometimes it shakes. Sometimes it goes quiet. Sometimes the most composed person in the room is just the one who's learned when to stop talking.

The pause isn't retreat. It's control.

We all have a tell. That thing that shows up when we care more than we probably should.

If yours has ever been mistaken for weakness, it probably wasn't.

It was just proof you were in it.

Drop a 🌋 if you know exactly what I mean.

The best performer on my team was also the biggest problem.

I'll call them Alex.

Talented. Sharp. Right more often than not.

And that's exactly what made it hard to see.

Because when you're right often enough, you stop looking outward. Why would you?

Ego does this thing where it shrinks what you can see. Slowly. Until you're the only one in the frame.

That's the line between a manager and a leader.

A manager can run everything from their own perspective and still hit the numbers.

A leader has to make room for everyone else's view. Especially when it's uncomfortable.

Alex delivered. Consistently.

But the team quietly stopped growing. Stopped speaking up. Stopped bringing ideas.

That cost never shows up on a scorecard.

When I finally had the conversation, the hardest part wasn't delivering the feedback.

It was watching someone realize the story they'd been telling themselves about their leadership had a whole chapter missing.

The one where other people actually exist.

Ego doesn't make you a bad person.

It just keeps you a manager when your team needs a leader.

Who's the Alex on your team right now?

And if you're being honest... are there moments where you're Alex too?


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Showing up and protecting yourself can look the same from the outside. 

They're not.

We've seen a lot of leaders step into hard moments lately. Tragedy. Loss. 

News nobody wants to deliver. And sometimes you can just feel when something's off. 

I mean, the words are right, but the person isn't really there.

I don't think it's usually because they don't care. 

I think it's because somewhere between feeling something and saying it out loud, the instinct to manage the moment takes over. 

To get it right. To not mess up. 

And that instinct, however understandable, is what people pick up on.

People aren't looking for perfect. They're looking for real. 

They want to feel seen, not just acknowledged, but actually seen. 

And they notice when a message has been shaped to protect someone's reputation more than to be honest with a room.

When a leader fumbles but stays in it? People forgive that. Usually pretty quickly. 

What sticks is the absence of warmth. 

The sense that the words were chosen carefully, but the person wasn't fully present behind them.

That's hard to recover from.

Look, I'm not here to pile on anyone navigating a crisis. That's genuinely difficult, and I have a lot of grace for it. 

But I do think it's worth keeping in mind that:

When it's your turn to say the hard thing, who are you actually showing up for?

Because people remember how you made them feel long after they've forgotten what you said.


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taplio

The Battle

Tarek Taha

Shauna MSW

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Posts

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Tarek Taha's LinkedIn Performance

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