I build organizations that perform through change.

For more than two decades, I’ve led and advised executive teams at Twitter, Lincoln Center, GLG, Verizon Media, Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank, and McKinsey on how to align people, strategy, and systems so that transformation doesn’t just start —it sticks.

My work sits at the intersection of HR, organizational design, and leadership behavior. I help CEOs, CHROs, and functional leaders architect operating models that accelerate performance, strengthen culture, and enable scale without chaos.

Through Leadership Rewired, I’ve worked with growth-stage and enterprise organizations to translate strategy into action, rebuild leadership alignment, and embed accountability where it matters most—at the behavioral level.

Whether leading from within or advising from the outside, my focus stays the same: clarity over complexity, systems over silos, and people at the center of every decision.

Specialties: Organizational Design | HR Transformation | Talent Strategy | Leadership Alignment | Change Enablement | People Analytics | Culture & Engagement | Executive Coaching

Allison Allen, ACC

Leadership doesn’t fail because people don’t know what to do.
It fails because the hardest behaviors are rarely practiced.

Listening.
Curiosity.
Genuine interest in other people.

We treat these like instincts, but they’re skills.
And skills don’t show up under pressure unless they’ve been trained.

In this clip from Leadership Rewired, Ken Fogarty MSc, CPSL, CEO, Dale Carnegie of Nevada, names the uncomfortable truth behind most leadership breakdowns:

Common sense leadership isn’t common practice.

🚩 Especially when conversations are tense.
🚩 Especially when stakes are high.
🚩 Especially when authority would be easier than curiosity.

Leaders don’t rise to intention in hard moments.
They fall back on what they’ve practiced.

🎙️ Ask, Don’t Tell: How Great Leaders Get Better Results
Full episode below in comments.

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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Transforming Organizations Through People, Culture & Systems | HR & Talent Executive | Advisor to CEOs, CHROs & Growth Leaders | Founder, Leadership Rewired | Ex-Twitter, Expedia, GLG, Verizon Media, McKinsey

A regulated leader is a high-performing leader.

Calm is capacity.
Calm is clarity.
Calm is strategy.

You’ve seen it.
The leader who walks into the crisis and the room exhales,
not because they have all the answers,
but because their nervous system isn’t adding to the chaos.

They don’t need perfect information.
They just need enough regulation to think clearly
while everyone else is spinning.

High performance isn’t speed or intelligence.
It’s psychological capacity under pressure.

Consider this...
→ 71% of leaders report increased stress.
→ Stress management practices reduce burnout by nearly 2x.
→ Leaders with emotional regulation skills outperform their peers in every measure that matters...
→ execution, influence, decision-making, and team effectiveness.

Yet most leaders still treat regulation as a “nice-to-have.”
Something for wellness newsletters.
Something useful when things are calm, 
then abandoned the moment pressure hits.

Here’s what they’re missing:
→ Regulation isn’t what you do when pressure is low.
→ It’s what gives you capacity when pressure is high.

The cost of unregulated leadership:
🚩 When leaders lose capacity under pressure:
→ Panic narrows thinking — the solution becomes obvious only in hindsight
→ Decisions soothe anxiety instead of advancing strategy
→ Teams waste energy managing your emotional spikes
→ Reactivity becomes the operating system others must work around

What regulated leadership creates:
✅ When leaders stay grounded:
→ Thinking expands, you see options panic would hide
→ Strategy drives decisions instead of emotion
→ People bring you information early because they trust your steadiness
→ Teams stay focused on execution, not emotional cleanup

The pattern high-performing leaders understand:
→ Pressure doesn’t disappear.
→ Complexity doesn’t calm down.
→ Uncertainty doesn’t resolve.

What changes is your capacity to stay regulated inside all of it.

✅ The leader who can sit in a boardroom full of anxiety and not absorb it?
→ That’s who the board trusts with the hardest calls.
✅ The leader who can hear bad news without spiraling?
→ That’s who teams bring problems to before they explode.
✅ The leader who can feel the discomfort of the decision and make it anyway?
→ That’s who actually transforms organizations.

The compound effect:
Your regulation becomes your team’s capacity.

When you stay steady, they think more clearly.
When you stay grounded, they stop managing your emotions.
When you model composure, they learn how to navigate pressure themselves.

This isn’t “soft skills.”
This is organizational performance architecture.

Calm isn’t the absence of pressure.
Calm is having access to your full strategic intelligence
when pressure is highest.

👉🏾 How would your leadership change if you had full access to your strategic capacity, even under pressure?

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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If you can’t do everything next week, 
choose the thing that will move anything.

Sunday night.
The week ahead is already too full.
The priorities are competing.
The urgent is screaming.
The important is shrinking into the background.

So here’s the question that cuts through all of it:
❓ What’s the one thing you could do next week that would unstick something else?

Not the biggest thing.
Not the loudest thing.
Not the thing that makes you look productive.
The thing that creates movement.

Here’s what I mean:
→ The conversation you’ve been avoiding that’s blocking three other decisions
→ The email you need to send that would clarify direction for your whole team
→ The 30 minutes of thinking that would save you an hour every day
→ The boundary you’ve been delaying that would protect your capacity

You already know what it is.
You’ve been circling it all week.

For the week ahead, try this:
Before you dive into Monday’s chaos, identify your one unlocking move —
the single action that, if you did it, would make everything else easier or unnecessary.

Not your whole to-do list.
Not your full list of priorities.
Just your unlock.

Then protect it like your most important meeting.
Because it is.

The difference between leaders who create momentum and leaders who manage overwhelm?
→ They don’t try to do everything.
→ They do the thing that moves anything.

And here’s what compounds:
When you consistently identify and execute your weekly unlock... 
 ✅ You stop drowning in tactics.
 ✅ You start seeing the levers that actually matter.
 ✅ You build the muscle of strategic action, not just strategic thinking.

Next week doesn’t have to be perfect.
It just has to move.

Your Sunday Practice:
What’s one thing you could do next week that would unstick something else?
→ Write it down.
→ Block time for it on Monday.
→ Do it before anything that feels more urgent.
 ✅ That’s your week.

👉🏾 What’s your unlock for this week, the one move that would create momentum for everything else?

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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Sometimes I wonder if we’ve got leadership backwards.

We chase development like it’s a fix,
more training, 
better frameworks, 
sharper models. 

As if clarity only comes once everything is perfectly defined.

But real leadership doesn’t happen in the polished moments.

It happens in the messy ones. 
The uncertain ones. 
The days when you’re not sure if you’re doing it right.

Building resilient cultures during change isn’t about avoiding chaos.

It’s about staying present inside it. 
Letting disruption teach you instead of rushing to control it.

I’ll be honest, there are moments when leadership feels like translating strategy into action without a clear map. 

When you’re making calls with imperfect information
and trusting your judgment more than your certainty.

And maybe that’s the work.

Leaders who are willing... 
To ask questions. 
To stumble a little. 

To admit they don’t have all the answers, but stay engaged anyway.

So if you’re feeling a bit lost today, you’re not behind.

You’re in it.

And sometimes, that’s exactly where growth happens.

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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We’re entering a world where everyone is certain, and many are wrong.

AI tells us the “truth.”
Data reinforces our beliefs.
Opinions are louder than ever.

And that’s exactly why the most important leadership skill of the future isn’t intelligence.

It’s humility.

In this clip, Ken Fogarty MSc, CPSL, CEO of Dale Carnegie of Nevada, names a principle leaders rarely practice:

If you’re wrong, admit it — quickly and emphatically.

Imagine how different teams, organizations, and cultures would feel if leaders were willing to say:

 “I was wrong.”
 “Here’s what I missed.”
 “I’m changing my mind.”

That’s not weakness.
That’s credibility.

🎙️ Ask, Don’t Tell: How Great Leaders Get Better Results
Full episode below in comments.

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
♻️ Please repost if this resonates and follow for more leadership insights.

Exhaustion makes every leader reactive.
I watched it happen in real time once.

A client — brilliant strategist, 15 years building the company, universally respected.

She called me because “something felt off.”
〰️ Her leadership wasn’t landing. 
〰️ Her team felt distant. 
〰️ Her decisions felt heavier.

She kept talking about the transformation, the pressure, the board expectations, the market demands.

After an hour, I asked one question:
“When’s the last time you slept more than five hours?”

She went silent.
She couldn’t remember.

And in that moment, it was clear:
The issue wasn’t her capability.
It was her capacity.

She’d been operating on fumes for so long that depletion became her normal.
She forgot what it felt like to lead from a full tank.

Here’s what I’ve noticed after twenty years with leaders:
Exhaustion doesn’t show up with a dramatic collapse.

It shows up in a thousand micro-reactions:
→ The midnight email that creates problems you didn’t intend
→ The meeting where your tone lands sharper than you meant
→ The decision you rush because uncertainty feels unbearable
→ The strategic conversation you can’t think clearly through because your brain simply has nothing left to give

None of these moments feel connected.
You tell yourself it’s a bad day. 
A tough week. 
A heavy quarter.

🚩 But your team?
→ They see the pattern long before you do.
→ They start managing you instead of trusting you.
→ They adjust their behavior to your exhaustion.
→ They work around you instead of with you.
And exhaustion compounds.

👉🏾 Reactive leadership creates messes that generate more pressure.

What helped that client wasn’t more strategy.
It was one question:
“What would it take for you to lead from capacity instead of depletion?”
✅ She blocked three days.
→ No email.
→ No Slack.
→ No “quick check-ins.”
→ Just space.

When she came back, she said:
“I didn’t realize how reactive I’d become until I had enough rest to feel what regulated actually feels like.”

Her team noticed before she even told them.
Not because she changed her strategy —
but because she stopped leaking instability into the system.

If something feels off this weekend…
→ Maybe it’s not your strategy.
→ Maybe it’s not your team.
→ Maybe it’s not the transformation.
→ Maybe it’s your capacity calling for protection.

The work will still be there on Monday.
The pressure isn’t leaving.
The complexity isn’t easing.
But your ability to lead through all of it?
That depends on a nervous system that isn’t running on fumes.

Weekend Reflection:
What would change if you gave yourself permission to rest, not as a reward for finishing everything, but as the foundation that makes your leadership sustainable?

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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Sunday night. You’re looking at the week ahead and it’s already overflowing,
 → back-to-back meetings,
→ strategic decisions, 
→ team dynamics, 
→ fires to put out, 
→ problems waiting for your brain.

All of it matters. None of it works if you show up depleted.

👉🏾 You can’t think strategically when your nervous system is running on fumes. 👉🏾 You can’t regulate your responses when you’re already overstretched. 👉🏾 You can’t hold the room when you can barely hold yourself.

The week doesn’t need your exhaustion. It needs your capacity.

For the week ahead, try this:
→ Identify the 10 minutes that protects everything else.

Not the 10 minutes you hope you’ll find. The 10 minutes you will actually protect even when the week goes sideways.

For some leaders, it’s 10 minutes before the day begins to ground themselves. For others, it’s 10 minutes between meetings to reset their nervous system. For some, it’s 10 minutes at day’s end to process before going home.

It doesn’t matter when. It matters that you protect it like your most critical meeting. Because it is.

Why 10 minutes matters:
Not because 10 minutes fixes everything, but because 10 minutes of protected space changes everything downstream.

→ It’s the pause that lets you respond instead of react. → The reset that keeps stress from compounding into impatience or reactivity. → The quiet moment that prevents your team from absorbing pressure you haven’t processed yet.

Ten minutes sounds small. But it’s a leadership leverage point, a tiny hinge that moves the entire week.

🚩 Leaders who don’t protect capacity:
* Leak stress into every interaction
* Make reactive decisions they undo later
* Burn out teams trying to compensate for their depletion
* Lose clarity by Tuesday and momentum by Thursday

✅ Leaders who do protect capacity:
* Think more clearly
* Regulate better under pressure
* Make decisions from strategy, not stress
* Build environments where teams can do their best work

The difference isn’t working less. It’s protecting the space that makes the work sustainable.

Your Sunday practice:
What are the 10 minutes you will protect this week, the space that keeps you leading from capacity instead of depletion?

→ Write it down. → Block it on your calendar. → Protect it like a board meeting.

Because how you lead next week depends on it.

👉🏾 What’s your 10 minutes this week and when exactly will you protect it?

♻️ Repost to promote taking 10 minutes…
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Consistency is a strategy. 
Intensity is a gamble.

The leader who works 80-hour weeks for six months and then burns out.
The team that launches three major initiatives at once, then abandons two.
The executive who’s “all in” until the pressure hits, then disappears.

This isn’t commitment.
It’s unsustainable theater.

Long-term leadership isn’t built on heroic sprints.
It’s built on small, compounding decisions most people never see.

Transformations rarely fail because the strategy was wrong.
They fail because leaders can’t sustain the consistency required.

These efforts are “punishing in their relentless need for consistency, consistency, consistency on the part of leadership.”

Yet intensity gets the applause.
Consistency gets ignored.

We glorify the late nights.
We praise the “whatever it takes” mentality.
We mistake exhaustion for dedication.

But the math doesn’t lie:
Intensity burns out.
Consistency compounds.

What intensity-driven leadership actually creates:
🚩 The intensity trap:
→ Unsustainable patterns that guarantee burnout
→ Teams that sprint, crash, and disengage
→ Results that spike briefly and then crater
→ Cultures built on crisis mode instead of capability

What consistency-driven leadership builds:
✅ The compounding effect:
→ Sustainable practices that grow over years
→ Teams that deliver reliably, not heroically
→ Trust rooted in predictable follow-through
→ Systems that outlive individual effort

The truth about long-term impact:
A leader who shows up at 80% for ten years
will outperform a leader who shows up at 120% for eighteen months
every single time.

Because leadership isn’t about how hard you push today.
It’s about whether your team can count on you to show up
tomorrow, next month, and five years from now.

The best leaders aren’t the weekend warriors trying to prove commitment.
They’re the ones... 
✅ Who build systems that don’t require heroics.
✅ Who create rhythms they can sustain.
✅ Who understand that presence beats performance theater.

Intensity is impressive.
Consistency is rare.

And in a world addicted to hustle culture,
the ability to show up steadily, not spectacularly,
becomes your competitive advantage.

Your team doesn’t need you to be extraordinary for a quarter.
They need you to be reliable for a decade.

That’s not less ambitious.
It’s just harder to Instagram.

👉🏾 Are you building leadership that compounds, or burning intensity you can’t sustain?

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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You know what needs to happen.
The strategic move is obvious.
The direction is clear.
The data supports it.
Your experience confirms it.

So why isn’t it happening?

Because between knowing what to do
and actually doing it sits the hardest part of leadership:

Managing yourself.

Your strategy isn’t the problem.
The emotional discipline to execute it is.

Organizations spend millions on strategy, consultants, frameworks, offsites, planning cycles, alignment sessions.
But execution stalls for one simple reason:

Doing what the strategy requires feels emotionally uncomfortable.

Research shows emotional intelligence accounts for twice as much impact 
as IQ and technical skill in leadership effectiveness.

Yet most development dollars still go into strategic tools, 
not emotional discipline.

Most strategy failures aren’t strategy failures.
They’re self-management failures.

What happens when emotional discipline is missing:
🚩 The avoidance pattern:
→ The conversation needs to happen 
      ↳conflict feels unbearable → delay
→ The decision needs to be made 
      ↳uncertainty feels dangerous → wait for more data
→ The accountability moment arrives 
      ↳disappointing someone feels costly → soften it
→ The boundary needs protecting 
      ↳saying no triggers fear → say yes

What emotional discipline enables:
✅ Courage-based execution:
→ Having the hard conversation even when your stomach tightens
→ Making the call with 70% clarity because waiting costs more
→ Holding people accountable even when the relationship strains
→ Saying no to protect what matters, not to avoid discomfort

This has nothing to do with intelligence.
And everything to do with your willingness to tolerate discomfort long enough to lead.

The leaders who break through aren’t the ones with better strategies.
✅ They’re the ones who’ve built the emotional discipline to execute strategy
when execution feels terrible.
✅ They can recognize the spike of anxiety and not let it veto the decision.
✅ They can feel the discomfort of the hard conversation and have it anyway.
✅ They can sit inside uncertainty without manufacturing false clarity to soothe themselves.

That’s not a strategy skill.
That’s self-management.
And it’s the difference between leaders who are smart
and leaders who are effective.

Your team doesn’t need another strategic framework.
They need you to manage yourself well enough to execute the one you already have.

👉🏾 What strategic move are you avoiding right now, not because you don’t know what to do, but because doing it feels too uncomfortable?

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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I used to think leadership was about control.
 Making sure decisions were tight. Execution was clean. 
People stayed in line.

What I’ve learned is that control creates compliance, not commitment.

Real leadership is influence. It’s built through trust. 
Through consistency. 
Through creating space where people don’t have to perform to belong.

That kind of leadership asks something harder of you.
 It asks you… 
→ To admit when you don’t have all the answers. → To stay present instead of defensive. → To lead without gripping everything so tightly.

And yes, that can feel terrifying. Because influence requires letting go of control.

But here’s what surprised me: ✅ The less I tried to control outcomes, 
✅ The more people stepped up. ✅ The more honest the conversations became. ✅ The more movement actually happened.
Influence isn’t softer than control.
 It’s stronger, and more sustainable.

And maybe, especially right now, that’s the kind of leadership that actually moves things forward.

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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Your biggest competitive advantage isn’t speed, capital, or strategy.
It’s whether you can stay steady when pressure spikes.

Imagine this:
→ A competitor launches something disruptive. 
→ The board starts asking questions. The team gets anxious. Slack lights up. → Everyone wants a fast response.
→ Most leaders reach for activity, more meetings, faster decisions, louder communication.

But the leaders who outperform don’t move faster.
They move steadier.

That steadiness? Emotional endurance.

Strategy doesn’t fail in moments of disruption.
It fails when leaders lose the capacity to think clearly through disruption.

Here’s what I see over and over:
Two organizations face the same pressure.
Same data. Same market. Same urgency.

One spirals into reactive decisions and mixed signals.
The other holds the line, adapts intelligently, and compounds trust.
The difference isn’t intelligence.
It’s endurance.

🚩 What low endurance looks like:
→ Urgency replaces strategy
→ Anxiety drives decisions
→ Teams spend energy managing leadership stress
→ “Agility” becomes chaos

✅ What high endurance enables:
→ Clear thinking under pressure
→ Consistent decisions even when uncertainty rises
→ Teams that execute instead of brace
→ Strategy that survives contact with reality

Here’s the part most leaders miss:
Emotional endurance isn’t built during crises.
It’s built before them, in small, repeatable ways.

Not retreats. Not apps. Not slogans.
But things like:
→ Protecting a small, daily reset that keeps you regulated
→ Naming pressure early so it doesn’t leak into behavior
→ Designing your operating rhythm to reduce decision fatigue

That’s not self-care.
That’s leadership architecture.

Because when pressure hits, and it will,
your team doesn’t need you faster.
They need you steadier.

👉🏾 As you head into the weekend:
What would change if you treated emotional endurance as a strategic asset, 
not a personal nice-to-have?

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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I used to think culture was something you could shape with policies and programs.
 Put the right structures in place, and culture would follow.

What I’ve learned is that culture refuses to be engineered.
👉🏾 It lives in the stories people tell themselves. 👉🏾 The unspoken rules no one writes down. 👉🏾 The way leaders show up when no one’s watching.

And here’s the thing most leaders miss: culture isn’t static. It’s alive. 
Constantly shifting. 
Trying to control it is like trying to hold water.

So maybe the work isn’t about tightening the grip. Maybe it’s about creating space
→ for the stories to be told, 
→ for the unspoken to surface, 
→ for people to feel safe enough to be honest.

Culture isn’t built in policies. It’s built in everyday moments, 
→ how decisions are made, 
→ how conflict is handled, 
→ how people are treated when things get uncomfortable.

I’m still learning this myself.
 But I do know that real change doesn’t come from cleaning up the mess.

It comes from getting comfortable enough to stay present inside it.

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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You can’t out-strategize emotional dysregulation.

Your transformation plan is brilliant.
The roadmap is clear.
The communications are crisp.
The milestones are defined.
Then the first obstacle hits.

Suddenly:
💥 A late-night email reverses yesterday’s decision.
💥 An emergency meeting creates more questions than answers.
💥 Priorities shift, not from strategy, but from panic.

A system can’t work when the leader running it is reactive.
When anxiety makes decisions, strategy becomes optional.

70% of change initiatives fail.
Leaders blame strategy, resources, or timing.
But here’s the truth behind the failure rate:
The plan didn’t collapse; the leader did.

73% of employees report moderate to high stress during change.
Employees experiencing change-related stress perform 5% worse.
But the real cost isn’t the team’s stress, it’s how leaders respond to their own.

When leaders can’t regulate themselves under pressure, they create:
→ Chaos their teams must absorb
→ Confusion that erodes trust
→ Whiplash pivots that look like incompetence
→ A culture where everyone manages emotions instead of executing strategy

What reactive leadership looks like during change:
🚩 When leaders lose regulation:
→ Monday’s priority becomes Friday’s “why are we even doing this?”
→ Anxiety gets translated into false urgency
→ Every problem triggers a meeting → every meeting triggers three more problems
→ Strategic pivots happen weekly because uncertainty feels unbearable

👉🏾 Teams manage the leader’s emotions instead of the organization’s change

What regulated leadership enables:
✅ When leaders stay grounded:
→ Decisions hold steady even when pressure spikes
→ Anxiety exists, but doesn’t drive strategy
→ Problems get solved without organizational chaos
→ Uncertainty is acknowledged without forcing premature answers

👉🏾 Teams stay focused on execution, not emotional cleanup

What most leaders miss:
→ Emotional regulation isn’t about staying calm.
→ It’s about staying strategic when your nervous system wants to run.
→ It’s noticing the spike of panic and refusing to turn it into policy.

✅ The leader who can feel uncertainty and still hold the line?
→ That’s who teams trust through transformation.
→ The leader who needs to “do something” to soothe their discomfort?
→ That’s how change turns into theater, not progress.

Stress management practices reduce burnout by nearly 2x.

👉🏾 Leaders who build emotional discipline create the only environment where change can actually land.

And this is the real reason 70% of change efforts fail:
Not because the plan was wrong.
But because the leader couldn’t stay regulated long enough to execute it.

👉🏾 What change are you leading right now, and how are you managing your own stress so it doesn’t become your team’s strategy?

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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Unexpressed stress becomes unintentional harm.
Leaders leak what they don’t address.

You think you’re hiding it.
You think the team can’t tell.
You think if you just “get through the meeting,” no one will notice.

They notice.
They always notice.

Unexpressed stress doesn’t disappear.
It seeps, into tone, decisions, silence, timing, and presence.

Teams absorb what leaders won’t acknowledge.

What I’m noticing:
→ 71% of leaders report increased stress.
→ Only 29% of employees trust their immediate managers.
→ Employees with supportive managers are 11x more likely to trust their leaders.

Leaders are drowning in unspoken stress.
Teams are losing trust without knowing why.

Because stress you refuse to name doesn’t stay contained, 
it leaks into leadership in ways you can’t control.

What unexpressed stress actually looks like:
🚩 How unaddressed stress harms teams:
→ Anxiety: confusion (teams assume they caused it)
→ Irritability: vigilance (people manage mood, not work)
→ Withdrawal: isolation (silence feels like punishment)
→ Perfectionism: paralysis (fear trickles down and freezes initiative)

What acknowledged stress creates:
✅ When leaders name what they’re carrying:
→ Transparency builds trust: “Here’s what I’m managing — not your performance.”
→ Humanity spreads: teams feel permission to show up honestly
→ Clarity returns: they stop interpreting tension as failure
→ Culture shifts: problems get named instead of navigated around

What actually helps:
Leaders don’t need to process stress publicly.
But they do need enough transparency to remove misinterpretation.

Statements like:
✅ “I’m managing a lot right now. If I seem distracted, that’s me, not your performance.”
✅ “I’m under more pressure than usual this week. I’ll do my best not to let it spill over.”
✅ “My bandwidth is tighter than normal. Here’s why, and here’s what you can expect.”

That’s not oversharing.
That’s leadership that understands the cost of silence.

Stress is personal.
Its impact is not.

The moment you lead people, your inner state becomes an outer experience.

When you won’t name what you’re carrying, your team carries it for you, without context, without support, and without knowing it’s not about them.

✅ Leaders who create psychological safety through transparency 
build trust that survives pressure.
🛑 Leaders who hide their stress create cultures where everyone performs invulnerability until something breaks.

👉🏾 What stress are you carrying that your team is absorbing, and what would change if you simply named it?

📌 Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
♻️ Please repost if this resonates and follow for more leadership insights.

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$20k Monthly Brain Based Sales System Without Chasing the "Yes"

You know the feeling:
😳 Your brain lights up with “What if they think I’m pushy?” the second you open a DM.
😬 You’d rather post and pray the right people find you than risk being ghosted.
😅 You tell yourself that if you were really good, clients would just show up.

You don’t want to fake connection just to pitch.
You want sales that feels human. Real conversations, not pressure tactics.

You’re not bad at sales.
Your brain is just protecting you.

The amygdala flags rejection as danger.
Your prefrontal cortex freezes.
And boom hesitation, overthinking, silence.

That’s where my work comes in.
I teach the Neuroscience of No-Pressure Sales so you can sell with calm confidence instead of fear.

No scripts. No manipulation.
Just science, psychology, and simple tools to retrain your nervous system so selling feels natural again.

When your brain is relaxed, your authenticity returns.
You stop pitching and start connecting.
Outreach stops feeling like an intrusion and starts feeling like service.

This is sales made easy for coaches who hate selling.

✨ Ways to get started with me:

✅ If you're a coach DM me "Butter"
✅ If you're a business owner DM me "Butter"
✅ If you're a sales leader DM me "Butter"
✅ Attend my next workshop for FREE BRAIN BASED SALES SECRETS. https://forms.gle/HvTRDEZEuu7bgQEF8
✅ Subscribe to the Be Like Butter Bugle: Weekly brain hacks for resilience and influence. https://synaptic-solutions.kit.com/newsletter

Personal interests: 
- Captain ⛵️ 
- Recovering Sugar Addict 🍭 
- Trash TV consumer 🗑️

Sales Coach | Toxic Boss Coach | Neuroscience Coach | Executive Coach | Master Behavioral Strategist | Speaker | Advisor | Expert | 7 figures | Virtual Speaking | Sales Performance Brain Hacker | Mindset Coach I Corporate Trainer I Influence I Key Note Speaker

🧠 Shannon Smith, J.D., M.S. 🚀

Your answers are already in your head.

You just have to slow down long enough to hear them.

Your brain holds ideas you have not discovered yet.
But it cannot reveal them when you never pause.
Creativity needs space.
Insight needs quiet.

Most people overwork their minds.
But the brain solves problems when you stop trying.
Silence activates deeper networks.
Boredom lets ideas rise to the surface.

Here are 3 ways to access the answers inside you 👇
1️⃣ Give your brain boredom time
✔️ Take short breaks without your phone
 Boredom activates the default mode network
 This is where creativity lives

2️⃣ Use quiet as a tool
✔️ Sit still for a few minutes
 Quiet reduces noise in the prefrontal cortex
 Your thoughts get clearer and sharper

3️⃣ Let your mind wander
✔️ Go for a slow walk with no agenda
 Wandering boosts pattern recognition
 Your brain connects ideas without force

You are not stuck.
Your mind just needs room to speak.
When you rest it, it reveals what you need.
The answers show up when the noise drops.

P.S. When is the last time you surprised yourself?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

Video Credit: Unknown

----------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain based insights
♻️ Repost if your best ideas hit you in the quiet moments

I used to shrink parts of myself to fit into corporate.

It quietly drained the life out of my ideas (and me).

At the time, I thought success required self-erasure.
I hit every goal on the board.
But I felt empty.

 🧠 Promotions
 🧠 Pay raises
 🧠 Prestige

None of it mattered.
My spark was gone.
And so was my creativity.

Have you ever noticed how your brain invents ideas
When you’re not even trying?

Your imagination lights up your neural networks
Like a synchronized light show.

Brain imaging reveals that
Most of your regions activate during visualization.

Here’s what fuels your imagination 👇

1/ Your Brain’s Creative Engine
 ↳ Default Mode Network turns on as the PFC steps back
 ↳ Memory blends with emotion to create new associations
 ↳ Your brain recombines patterns without limits

2/ The Moment Insight Strikes
 ↳ Gamma bursts peak during big realizations
 ↳ Hippocampus sends raw material to the DMN
 ↳ New pathways strengthen the more you play with ideas

3/ Your Creativity Enhancement Tools
 ↳ Take short intentional pauses for DMN activation
 ↳ Change scenes to trigger fresh circuitry
 ↳ Welcome boredom because it sparks innovation

Creativity is not magic.
It is a neural process you can train.
All you need is the space and permission to
Reconnect with curiosity and let your mind roam.
Don’t lose your spark chasing goals that dim you.

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

PS: When does your imagination run wild?

Video Credit: Unknown

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share to help others reclaim their creativity
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The only true failure in life is quitting. 

Success is never a straight line. It certainly wasn't for me.

I've had many failures and setbacks along my path.
Layoffs.
Failed ventures.
Bad investments. 

Life is messy. 
Mess is a part of life.

Enjoy the messiness. 
And, your brain kinda likes it messy too.

Why your brain craves zigzag paths 🧠

(The science of why progress feels so messy) 👇

Your neural pathways aren't built in straight lines
And neither is your path to greatness
Here's what's really happening in your brain:

1️⃣ The Neural Reality
↳ Growth pathways form through trial and error
↳ Each "failure" strengthens neural connections
↳ Your brain requires contrast to learn

2️⃣ The Resilience Loop
↳ Setbacks activate problem-solving networks
↳ Stress actually enhances memory formation
↳ Recovery periods boost cognitive flexibility

3️⃣ The Growth Paradox
↳ Progress activates dopamine reward system
↳ Plateaus create new neural foundations
↳ Breakthroughs happen during apparent standstills

Your "messy" journey is how your brain is designed to learn and grow.

P.S. What was your latest messiness?

Learn how to build a $20k - No Chasing the Yes - Sales System
Apply here --> https://lnkd.in/eZRF_jZe

Video Credit: Unknown

-------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if you're ready to embrace the zigzag
➕ Follow Shannon for more brain-based insights

Most people’s LinkedIn strategy: grind harder and hope

Mine: close clients while living life on my own schedule

I wandered through Spain
Slow mornings in Barcelona cafés
Afternoons coaching from Valencia’s old town
Sailing in Las Palmas, looking at the beautiful islands

I spent time exploring Japan
Sunrise work sessions in Gion, Kyoto 
Evenings wandering neon-lit Tokyo streets
A day trip to Nara where a deer bit my bootie

And Vietnam became a whole new chapter
Coconut coffee in Danang while answering DMs
Boat rides in Hoi An down the river between content bursts
Bana Hills calls with clients who thought it was a Zoom background

Why am I sharing this?
Because your brain says “that’s not for me”
Because it tells you to stay with what feels familiar
(It’s called comfort bias and it keeps you small)

If you want it, this life is closer than you think
Here’s how your brain makes it happen:

1/ The Belief Reset
 ↳ Your brain rejects anything that feels too far away
 ↳ Turn “that could never be me” into “why not me”
 ↳ Stack small wins until change feels normal

2/ The LinkedIn Advantage
 ↳ Understand what your ideal client looks for before they ever respond
 ↳ Post and message in ways that feel safe and human
 ↳ Use a system that works even while you’re wandering night markets

3 The Lifestyle Flywheel
 ↳ Every yes starts before the offer is made
 ↳ Match your approach to how the brain decides
 ↳ That’s how I work from rooftops, coastlines, temples, and train stations

The point?
It’s not about more work
It’s about the right work for the brain

I am offering a once in a lifetime DONE FOR YOU SYSTEM
For one month, I will rebuild your entire LinkedIn system
- ICP Subtext Discovery
- LinkedIn Optimization
- DM Framework that gets sales calls
- One month of content that gets inbound leads
- Engagement strategy that lifts your reach
- Exponential follower growth

I will only take ONE client.
 If you want me to build your system
the way I grew from 3k to 51k followers, DM me
"DFY Butter" and we’ll talk.

P.S. What country would be your first laptop escape?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if your goal is freedom without the hustle
➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain-based sales strategies

The cleanest pipelines 

Hide the dirtiest truths.

A perfect dashboard is rarely a good sign.
It usually means the real story is happening off-screen.

Because deals don’t collapse in chaos.
They collapse quietly.

Reps smooth out the rough edges.
They phrase things “optimistically.”
They avoid saying the part that makes them look unsure.

So everything looks green
right up until the moment
it turns red.

• Struggle gets softened
• Risk gets delayed
• Doubt gets hidden
• And you hear the truth weeks too late

Bad quarters don’t come from one big miss.
They come from dozens of unspoken micro-problems
your CRM can’t detect
and your reps won’t say out loud.

SalesSage surfaces all of that in one pulse.

Ten minutes.
One check-in.
Full visibility.

You get:
• early emotional signals leading indicators miss
• patterns no dashboard can surface
• risk detection before the slip
• clarity without interrogation
• truth without friction

If you want fewer surprises
and more control over your number
start your free 14-day trial:

👉 https://salessage.co/

See the truth your team can’t articulate
before it costs you the quarter.

P.S. When’s the last time a “healthy” pipeline wasn’t so healthy?

⸻

♻️ Share if you’re tired of getting blindsided
➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon Smith, J.D., M.S. 🚀  for brain based sales insights

One more trip around the sun.

It's been a doozy.

Every birthday, I pause and reflect on my last year.
This year was the year that stretched me in every direction.

I lost my favorite person (my Belley Bean)
That loss began an 8 month walkabout across the globe.

I found my spiritual side.
I found strength I didn't know I had.

I escaped 3 typhoons
I sailed the Mediterranean
I ate the most amazing food 
I chopped a bajillion bananas
I swam in the Blue Cave in Croatia
I cared for 140 elephants and 700 dogs
I got bit and headbutted by deer in Nara
I moved what felt like a million watermelons
I spoiled myself at a Japanese Onsen regularly
I calmly navigated a stalker sitch right up to my airplane 
I lost a toenail trying an advanced yoga post in Cabo San Lucas

I missed my family.
I missed my friends.

I grew.
I grew so much.
I think I grew more this year than any year before.

I admired the precision of Japanese trains.
I learned Thai people do not use chopsticks.
I went from a 3k to 50k community in 8 months.
I was stunned by the beauty of the Greek islands.
I made new friends in the most unexpected places.
I built a predictable, brain-based revenue machine.
I helped countless clients do the same for their businesses.

This year was not easy.
It was not predictable.
But it was deeply transformative.

Here is to another year of becoming.
Here is to letting go, leaning in, and staying open.

And if you are reading this…
Thank you for being part of my journey.

P.S. Today, I am Seattle celebrating!
Wanna celebrate with me?

I am offering a once in a lifetime DONE FOR YOU SYSTEM
For One Month, I will revamp your LI system
- ICP Subtext Discovery 
- LI Optimization
- DM Framework that gets sales calls
- 1 month of content that gets inbound leads
- Engagement that builds your reach

I will only take ONE client. 
If you want me to build your system,
the way I went from 3k to 50k followers, then DM me
"DFY Butter" and we'll chat.

-----------------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if your goal is freedom without the hustle
➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain-based sales strategies

Lighting someone else's candle doesn't dim yours.

It just makes the room brighter.

Helping others shine doesn't dim your light.
Your brain actually glows brighter when you lift people up.

Most people think helping drains energy.
Neuroscience shows it does the opposite.
Your brain rewards contribution.
It expands your capacity, not shrinks it.

Here are 3 ways helping others strengthens your brain 👇
1️⃣ Your reward system lights up
✔️ Kindness boosts dopamine
 Dopamine lifts motivation and focus
 Your flame grows, not fades

2️⃣ Your connection circuits strengthen
✔️ Support boosts oxytocin
 Oxytocin builds trust and safety
 Your brain gets more resilient

3️⃣ Your creative networks open
✔️ Giving lowers stress chemicals
 Lower stress frees the prefrontal cortex
 Ideas flow easier when your heart is open

Lifting others isn't self sacrifice.
It's self expansion.
Your brain shines brighter
every time you help someone rise.

P.S. What's the last time someone lit your flame?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain based insights
♻️ Repost to help someone light up today

Confidence isn’t a personality trait. 

It’s a regulated nervous system.

You can't sell if your brain is in survival mode.
But you can train your mind to stay calm under pressure.

High pressure flips your nervous system fast.
 😱 Your heart speeds up.
 😱 Your thoughts race.
 😱 Your brain shifts into threat.
 😱 That’s when deals slip and confidence drops.

It’s not about skill.
It’s about regulation.
Your brain needs clear signals to stay steady.

Here are 3 ways to keep your brain calm when things get tense:
✔️ Slow your exhale
 A long exhale activates your calm system.
 It tells your brain you're safe.
 Clear thinking returns fast.

✔️ Name what you feel
 A quick "I'm feeling pressure" helps the amygdala settle.
 Your brain relaxes when you name the feeling.

✔️ Ground your senses
 Notice one thing you see, hear, or feel.
 This pulls your brain out of threat mode.
 Your thinking brain comes back online.

When your brain stays regulated, you stay in control.
✅ You listen better.
✅ You ask smarter questions.
✅ You hold your power in the conversation.

Prospects feel your steadiness and trust you more.
Your mind isn't the enemy under pressure.
It just needs direction.

P.S. What's the hardest moment for you to stay calm in a call?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
https://salessage.co/ 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow Shannon for more brain based insights
♻️ Repost to help someone keep their calm today

The real threat to your number isn't the market.

It's the things your reps never say.

Everyone talks about activity.
Everyone talks about coaching.
Everyone talks about pipeline discipline.

But nobody talks about the truth gap.

The space between what your reps say...
...and what is actually happening.

That gap is where bad quarters grow.

😱 The rep who says “all good” while confidence tanks.
😱 The pipeline that looks clean but is full of dead deals.
😱 The silent fear that turns into quiet quitting.

You see these problems too late.
You take the hit.
You carry the blame.

And you never get the early signal
that could have saved the quarter.

Your top threat is not performance.
It is blind spots.

Sales Sage closes them.
Ten minutes.
A simple pulse.

✅ Signals you will never see in a meeting.
✅ Patterns no CRM can surface.
✅ Emotional shifts that predict misses

BEFORE they show up in your number.

If you want to know what your team is really telling you
before it becomes a fire you have to put out

Take advantage of the 14 day free trial
https://salessage.co/
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud 
(before it blows up your number)

You will never manage your team the same way again.

P.S. The pic looks like a mix of me and Data from Star Trek, right?

----------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if you are tired of surprise misses
 ➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain based sales insights

"Get out of my head."

That is what I hear a LOT. 

It's also what my clients hear.
If you want to win in business
Learn to enter your ICP’s mind.

Not their surface answers.
Their unspoken thoughts.
The quiet stuff they never say out loud.

Your ICP is thinking about risk, safety, and reputation.
Their nervous system scans the world for certainty.
Your job is to understand the subtext they hide.

Here are 5 ways to read your ICP’s real inner world:

1️⃣ Listen for the pause
 When they hesitate, note the silence.
 Write down what fear that pause might signal.
 Ask one gentle question to explore it.

2️⃣ Name the problem better than they can
 Say the thing they hint at but avoid.
 Use words they have not said yet.
 Their brain relaxes when it feels understood.

3️⃣ Track their emotional patterns
 Notice where their tone shifts.
 Spot excitement, tension, or doubt.
 These shifts reveal what they truly value.

4️⃣ Map their failed attempts
 Ask what they have already tried.
 Look for frustration in their answers.
 This reveals hidden pain they rarely voice.

5️⃣ Reflect their vision back to them
 Repeat their goals in simple language.
 Show them the future they want.
 The brain trusts what it can picture clearly.

When you understand the thoughts they never say,
your ICP feels seen at a deeper level.
They think you can read their mind.
And trust becomes the easiest part of the sale.

P.S. When is the last time you thought someone was in your head?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

-------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share to help others build resilient minds
➕ Follow Shannon for more brain-based growth insights

4 reasons your deal stalls

(and what to do to get it moving again)

1️⃣ Cognitive overload
Buyers aren’t ignoring you.
Their brain’s overwhelmed.
Inbox stress. Competing priorities.
PFC taxed. No room for new info.

Solution: Simplicity + clarity.
Lower their cognitive load first.

2️⃣ FOMU: Fear of messing up
It’s not the budget.
It’s the risk of being wrong.
Wrong call. Future pain. Career damage.
ACC fires. Danger signals spike.

Solution: Normalize hesitation.
Show the low-risk path.
Make them feel safe, not pressured.

3️⃣ Neurological alignment
Deals close when nervous systems sync.
Matching pace, language, and rhythm.
That’s what creates trust.
Miss the alignment and buyers pull back.

Solution: Listen deeper.
Reflect priorities. Mirror their world.
Create the feeling of “you get me.”

4️⃣ Clear path forward
If buyers can’t see the path,
their amygdala fills the gaps with danger.
Ambiguity = risk.
Risk stalls deals every time.

Solution: Structure + structure.
Short runway. Clear phases.
Small wins that feel safe.

Why all four matter
 - Overwhelm fuels FOMU.
 - FOMU breaks alignment.
 - Misalignment makes the path feel risky.
 - A vague path increases overwhelm.

Fix all four and everything shifts.
✅ Buyers settle.
✅ Their nervous system calms.
✅ They feel seen.
✅ Trust forms.

And the path becomes obvious.
That’s when you stop “selling”…
…and start facilitating clarity.

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
https://salessage.co/

---------------------------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if you’re done pushing and want to start aligning
 ➕ Follow Shannon for more brain-based sales insights

Persuasion isn’t pressure.

Persuasion is helping someone feel safe.

Here are 8 ethical persuasion swaps that actually work 👇

Most people try to persuade with logic or force.
But the brain listens to safety signals first.
When you protect autonomy and reduce threat,
People open up, not shut down.

Here are the 8 upgrades:

1️⃣ Regulate before you relate
❌ Don’t say: 
“Let me just explain why this makes sense.”

✅ Say this:
“Before we dive in, take a breath. I want this to feel clear.”

🔬Science:
 A calm nervous system sends safety cues.
 Their mirror neurons match your steadiness, lowering resistance.

2️⃣ Lead with curiosity
❌ Don’t say:
 “Here’s what you need to do.”

✅ Say this:
 “What feels hardest about this right now?”

🔬 Science:
 Curiosity keeps the amygdala quiet.
 Questions activate the prefrontal cortex, the part that evaluates options calmly.

3️⃣ Validate before redirecting
❌ Don’t say:
 “I understand, but…”

✅ Say this:
 “It makes sense you’d feel that way.”

🔬 Science:
 Validation reduces cortisol.
 It signals “You’re safe to express hesitations,” which reopens trust pathways.

4️⃣ Protect autonomy
❌ Don’t say:
 “You should really move forward.”

✅ Say this:
 “Want to explore this together?”

🔬 Science:
Autonomy is a core human need.
When someone feels in control, dopamine rises and decision-making improves.

5️⃣ Reframe with clarity
❌ Don’t say:
 “You’re overthinking this.”

✅ Say this:
 “What might shift if this were already solved?”

🔬 Science:
Reframing widens cognitive perspective.
It moves the brain out of threat mode and into problem-solving mode.

6️⃣ Align intentions
❌ Don’t say:
 “I just want you to see my point.”

✅ Say this:
 “We both want a solution that actually works for you.”

🔬 Science:
Shared goals increase oxytocin.
Oxytocin boosts collaboration and reduces defensiveness.

7️⃣ Match energy before guiding
❌ Don’t say:
 “Relax, it’s not a big deal.”

✅ Say this:
 “I hear how this feels for you. Let’s slow it down together.”

🔬Science:
Attunement regulates the nervous system.
The brain trusts what feels familiar before it trusts new direction.

8️⃣ Close with clarity, not pressure
❌ Don’t say:
 “So… are you ready or not?”

✅ Say this:
 “Here’s what the next step looks like. Does this feel right to you?”

🔬 Science:
Clear choices reduce cognitive load.
When the brain knows the path, uncertainty drops—and commitment rises.

Ethical persuasion is simple:
 🧠 Lower threat
 🧠 Raise clarity
 🧠 Protect autonomy

That’s how influence becomes trust.

P.S. Ever notice how pressure makes you want to run?

My workshops are open again.
Learn how to build a $20k No Chasing the Yes Sales System
Apply here → https://lnkd.in/eZRF_jZe

----------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain-based sales tools
♻️ Repost to help more people influence with integrity

The hardest boss to work for...

is the one who teaches you the most

Not because they’re wise.
But because their chaos forges your clarity.

A toxic boss can drain you fast.
😶‍🌫️  The micro-cuts.
😶‍🌫️  The blame shifting.
😶‍🌫️  The constant tension in the air.

You feel small in rooms you should feel powerful in.
You shrink your voice just to keep the peace.

Most people miss the big picture, tho. 

You can still win in a losing environment.

Not by fixing them.
Not by fighting them.
But by refusing to let their storm rewrite who you are.

Your brain is always watching you.
It tracks how you respond under pressure.
It rewires itself based on your patterns.

Stay resentful,
and the amygdala burns that path in deeper.

Stay grounded,
and the prefrontal cortex takes back control.

This is how you grow power
even when the room works against you.

Do this:
Focus on who you become in the fire.
Not the person trying to put it out.

Protect your energy.
Hold your boundaries.
Build skills that outlast the situation.

Every painful moment becomes fuel for your next level.

That’s where the deeper truth lives:
Life doesn’t happen TO you.
Life happens FOR you.

Even the unfair parts.
Even the parts that sting.
Even the people you wish you’d never met.

Toxic bosses reveal your limits.
They sharpen your emotional control.
They push you into growth you never would’ve chosen alone.

They don’t define you.
But they do refine you.

Walk out stronger.
Walk out clearer.
Walk out with proof that you can stay positive
Even in a negative place without it poisoning you.

That’s the win.
And it’s the one they can’t take from you.

P.S. What’s one lesson a toxic boss taught you?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
https://salessage.co/

--------------------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if you turned pain into power
➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for brain-based insights that make you unstoppable

People who seem fearless aren’t certain.

They just learned to move while afraid.

Technology is moving fast than imagined.
New tools appear every week.
New systems shift every month.
New AI applications we never thought of.

If your brain isn't bendy, you fall behind quick.
Not because you lack talent.

But because your neural pathways favor comfort.
Most people resist change.
But your brain can be trained to welcome it.
Despite any fear you feel.

Neuroplasticity is the answer (for all of us). 
Here's how you can keep your brain bendy

1️⃣ Practice daily discomfort
✅ Try one thing that feels unfamiliar
 A new skill.
 A new feature.
 A new creative method.
 Novelty boosts dopamine and strengthens learning loops.

2️⃣ Reframe overwhelm into opportunity
✅ Ask what if this makes my work easier
 This simple shift reduces threat.
 A calm brain learns faster and adapts faster.

3️⃣ Use ten minute micro learning
✅ Study one small skill for ten minutes
 Explore a tool.
 Test a workflow.
 Short bursts build stronger neural pathways.

Thriving today isn't about knowing everything.
It's about staying flexible.
A bendy brain wins in a fast world.

P.S. What's the last thing you learned?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

Video Credit: Unknown

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow Shannon for more brain based sales tools
 ♻️ Repost to help more people train their brain to adapt

A like is not a buying signal. 

99% of you get that wrong. 

Buying signals are precise.
Buyers drop clues long before they commit.
Most sellers chase the wrong ones.

A like isn’t intent.
A compliment isn’t commitment.
And “great post” doesn’t mean “I want to buy.”

Here are the 8 way to tell the difference:

1️⃣ Passive Likes vs Patterned Attention
❌ Random likes on your content.
✅ Repeated and thoughtful comments and DMs
🔬 Science:  Patterned consumption = dopamine-driven curiosity.
 That’s early-stage intent.

2️⃣ “Sounds Interesting” vs Ownership Language
❌ “That’s cool” or “I’ll think about it.”
✅ “How would this work for my team?”
🔬 Science: Ownership language activates planning circuits.
 The brain is rehearsing the decision.

3️⃣ Talking in Circles vs Clarity Moments
❌ Telling long stories about their company with no point.
✅ They articulate the problem clearly and connect it to outcomes.
🔬 Science: Clarity = PFC engagement.
 That’s when decisions begin.

4️⃣ Information Hoarding vs Micro-Commitments
❌ “Send me more info.”
✅ They attend your event, answer questions, or complete a short action.
🔬 Science: Micro-commitments create consistency bias.
 Once the brain starts saying yes, it prefers to continue.

5️⃣ Surface Engagement vs Depth Engagement
❌ A quick DM reply or emoji reaction.
✅ They ask specific questions that reveal internal problem-solving.
🔬 Science: Specificity = cognitive effort.
 The brain only invests when it cares.

6️⃣ Random Compliments vs Risk Reduction Questions
❌ “Love your work.”
✅ “How do you handle onboarding?”
🔬 Science: Risk questions mean their amygdala is evaluating safety.
 They’re preparing to commit.

7️⃣ Friendly Vibes vs Monitoring Behavior
❌ They seem nice, polite, or responsive.
✅ They quietly check your LinkedIn daily, revisit your DMs, or watch old content.
🔬 Science: Monitoring = pre-decision due diligence.
 The brain is gathering safety data.

8️⃣ “Just Exploring” vs Timeline Talk
❌ “I just wanted to learn more.”
✅ “We’re planning for Q1.”
🔬 Science: Timeline activation reduces uncertainty and accelerates commitment.

Buying signals are simple:
 🧠 Depth over noise
 🧠 Patterns over one-offs
 🧠 Specificity over compliments

Once you know the difference,
You stop chasing and start closing.

P.S. Ever notice how the real buyers talk very differently?
My workshops are open again.

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

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➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain-based sales tools
 ♻️ Repost to help more people read buyers clearly

Your biggest risk is the rep who says they're "fine."

Your rep's "fine," is eerily similar to your spouse's "fine."

TL:DR It's definitely not "fine."

You don't lose a quarter in one moment.
You lose it in tiny blind spots.

A rep who says they're fine.
A pipeline that looks clean.
A deal that feels safe until it slips.

Then your forecast cracks.
Your VP starts asking questions.
And you wonder what you missed.

What every manager thinks but never says out loud:

You're managing stories, not data.
Your team tells you what feels safe to say.
Not what protects your number.

Sales Sage shows you the parts they leave out.
A simple 10 minute pulse surfaces early risk.

😶‍🌫️ Stress signals. 
😶‍🌫️ Confidence drops.
😶‍🌫️ Hidden struggles that turn into missed targets...
If you catch them too late.

We give you visibility your dashboards say they give you
But can't

The minority report for sales teams. 
14-day free beta: https://salessage.co for early adopters

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The Battle

Allison Allen, ACC

🧠 Shannon Smith, J.D., M.S. 🚀

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The Battle

Allison Allen, ACC

🧠 Shannon Smith, J.D., M.S. 🚀

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

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);}Allison Allen, ACC's LinkedIn Performance

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