Ambassador of what’s possible. I’m the facilitator leaders call when they’re ready to stop playing it safe and do the deep work.

Over the past decade, I’ve led 500+ nature-based retreats and guided high-impact leaders to confront blind spots, shift limiting beliefs, and unlock their full potential. My work incorporates business strategy with conscious leadership to achieve results across all areas of their life. More specifically, I help CEOs and teams examine how their well-being, energy, and mindset create ripple effects that quietly shape culture and performance.

After burning out in 2013 as a leader in the green building industry, I founded Casa Alternavida, a transformational retreat center in Puerto Rico. Here, we design immersive experiences that reconnect leaders to their purpose, presence, and authentic leadership, using nature and adventure as powerful catalysts for world change.

Certified in somatic coaching, conscious communication, resilience, and forest therapy, I blend business acumen with emotional intelligence and embodied practice. The result? Leaders who evolve from the inside out, amplifying the ripple effect they have on their companies, relationships, and lives.

I’ve had the privilege of facilitating team-building for organizations such as CBRE Real, L'Oréal, Wärtsilä, Money Group, Discover Puerto Rico, Interface, and others, helping their leaders and teams strengthen collaboration, reduce stress, and achieve a measurable ROI.

Yancy Wright

Before you plan 2026, pause for a more honest question:
What are you returning to this year?
Not chasing. Not fixing. Returning.

Because 2026 doesn’t need another version of you that’s stretched thin. It needs the one that’s grounded, clear, and fully here.

The leaders who endure don’t reinvent themselves every year.
They return to what steadies them.
They return to what matters.
They return to themselves and lead from there.

Nature shows us the way.
It doesn’t rush into a new cycle.
It returns to rhythm.

So maybe this year isn’t about reinvention at all.
Maybe it’s about remembering what keeps you well, steady, and whole.

What are you returning to in 2026?

Helping Teams 7x Performance, Reduce Burnout, & Drive ROI by Transforming Leadership & Culture | Executive Retreat facilitator, Coach, & Author.

No alternative text description for this image

What if the year ahead doesn’t care how smart your plan is, only how present you are while executing it?

How often are you actually here for the moments that matter?

The year ahead doesn’t unfold on spreadsheets.
It unfolds in conversations, decisions, and moments you’re either present for or not.

The more present you are, the more responsive your team becomes. The less present you are, the more friction you create.

Presence isn’t soft.
It’s a multiplier.

So instead of asking “What’s going to happen this year?”
Try asking: How available am I to meet it as it unfolds?

What if this year isn’t asking you to do more… but to drop what’s no longer true?

Not more urgency filling every gap.
Not more noise masquerading as progress.
Not more proving your value through exhaustion.

Instead:

Less force.
Less friction.
Less pretending.

And in its place:

More presence in the moments that matter.

More alignment between what you say and what you actually do.

More truth about what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’re done carrying.

The leaders who scale sustainably aren’t chasing intensity.

They’re refining by cutting through distraction to focus on what truly moves the organization forward.

Before you add another goal this year, pause and ask:
What would move faster if I stopped forcing it?

That answer often reveals the clearest path ahead.

When did leadership start meaning “carry it all”?

Nature tells a different story.
Rivers don’t carry every stone.
They flow because they release.

Strong leadership isn’t about endurance.
It’s about clarity.

So before this year gains momentum, ask yourself:

What are you choosing not to carry forward?

#LeadershipReflection #NatureAsTeacher #LeadWithClarity #PurposeDrivenLeadership #EmbodiedLeadership #ReleaseToLead
#LeadershipWisdom #InnerWork #SlowLeadership #MindfulLeadership #LeadershipReset

What happens when purpose-driven work quietly pushes your body past its limits? When success looks good on paper but costs you your vitality?

That’s the question at the heart of this episode of The Next Mountain Podcast featuring me.

My journey didn’t start with burnout language or wellness buzzwords. It started with achievement, green construction, sustainability leadership, climbing the “right” mountain of success. Until his body forced a reckoning that landed him in the ICU.

What followed wasn’t a dramatic pivot, it was a long, human process of slowing down, listening, and questioning deeply held beliefs about leadership, pressure, and worth.

This conversation explores:
- Why purpose alone isn’t enough when work is fueled by constant urgency
- How burnout is often a signal, not a failure, especially for high performers
- The unconscious commitment to struggle many leaders mistake for dedication
- Why nature can teach presence and clarity in ways no boardroom ever will

For leaders reading this:
-What signals have you been overriding in the name of impact?
-Where might “high-functioning” be masking something unsustainable?
-What would leadership look like if vitality, not just output, was the measure?

Sometimes the most responsible thing a leader can do… is stop pushing and start listening.

You can listen to the full episode here: https://bit.ly/45GlxFC

If your team is smart but struggling, the problem isn’t performance, it’s pressure.

Too many teams are operating in constant urgency: reacting instead of responding, meeting instead of meaning, doing instead of aligning.

Traditional team building doesn’t solve this.
Because you can’t “fix” collaboration without first addressing capacity.

When teams are given intentional space to step out of daily demands, something essential resets:
• Communication becomes honest
• Trust stops being forced
• Decisions get clearer and faster

Real team building isn’t about activities.
It’s about restoring the conditions where people can think, relate, and lead well together.

So here’s the real question for leaders:
Is your team being asked to perform through exhaustion or supported to reconnect before things break?

#ExecutiveLeadership #TeamAlignment #LeadershipCulture #CasaAlternavida #ConsciousBusiness #WellbeingAtWork

Read more through this link: https://bit.ly/4aa82zx

A huge thank you to Nathalia Del Moral Fleury for inviting me to share on The Next Mountain Podcast. It was an honor to be part of a discussion that goes beyond traditional success and looks at what happens when career and purpose intersect in deeper, more human ways.  

In a world that celebrates achievement, it’s rare to pause and explore what sustained impact really looks like especially when leaders are navigating burnout, transitions, and the space between ambition and meaning. The conversation on purpose-driven work reminded us that true leadership often emerges through transition, reflection, and intentional alignment.  

Thank you, Nathalia, for creating a platform where meaningful stories, deep reflection, and real leadership journeys can be heard and felt. We’re grateful for the opportunity and for every listener who is exploring purpose alongside performance.

✨ If you haven’t listened yet, this episode is worth your time.
https://bit.ly/3LsfNse

#Gratitude #LeadershipJourney #PurposeDrivenLeadership #ExecutiveReflection #NextMountainPodcast #ConsciousLeadership

Open article: Yancy Wright&#39;s Purpose-Driven Career Journey to ICU | Next Mountain posted on the topic | LinkedIn by linkedin.com

Yancy Wright&#39;s Purpose-Driven Career Journey to ICU | Next Mountain posted on the topic | LinkedIn

What If Wellness Was a Leadership Advantage? 🌿 

Wellness is often treated like a perk, something optional, added after performance. But today’s leaders know better.

A regulated nervous system leads to clearer decisions.
Presence builds trust. Resilience sustains performance.

Wellness retreats aren’t escapes, they’re recalibration points. Space to step out of urgency, reset perspective, and return with clarity that actually sticks.

The question isn’t can leaders afford to slow down.
It’s whether they can afford not to.

💭 What would shift if wellness became part of how you lead, not something you get to later?

#ExecutiveLeadership #LeadershipWellbeing #ConsciousLeadership #TeamCulture #ResilientLeaders

Read more through our blog post here:

Open article: Wellness Retreats for Burnout Recovery: A Step-by-Step Healing Journey by casaalternavida.com

Wellness Retreats for Burnout Recovery: A Step-by-Step Healing Journey

If your offsite doesn’t change behaviors, it wasn’t a team-building retreat. It was a field trip.

Most corporate retreats get treated like a feel-good expense, not a performance investment.

Baseline what matters, track it during and after, so you’ll finally know if it worked.

Before you approve your next offsite budget, read this, I break down a framework that turns our retreats into measurable outcomes with a solid 7.5x ROI.

Open article: ROI of Team Building Retreats by casaalternavida.com

When was the last time your leadership team actually paused?

Not to plan.
Not to problem-solve.
But to think clearly, together.

Most executive teams don’t struggle with strategy, they struggle with capacity. Decision fatigue. Constant urgency. Conversations that stay surface-level because no one has the space to go deeper.

What if stepping away wasn’t a luxury… but a leadership advantage?

When leaders change their environment, they change how they listen, decide, and relate. Nature has a way of stripping away noise and revealing what actually matters: alignment, trust, and shared direction.

So here’s the real question:
What would shift in your organization if your leaders had the space to reset before things break?

Red more through our blog here: https://bit.ly/4qJzjPV

#ExecutiveLeadership #TeamAlignment #LeadershipCulture #StrategicLeadership #ConsciousBusiness

Where did your most meaningful leadership lessons actually come from? A boardroom… or somewhere quieter?

Some of the most important leadership lessons don’t come from frameworks, KPIs, or strategy decks.
They come from moments without an agenda.

From walking without talking.
From noticing how you react when plans change.
From listening long enough to hear what you usually override.

In rooms designed for efficiency, leaders sharpen their thinking.
But outside of them, something just as critical gets refined: presence.

Nature, distance, and stillness reveal patterns urgency tends to hide:
• how quickly we reach for control
• where we avoid discomfort
• what clarity feels like when it isn’t rushed

These aren’t “soft” insights.
They shape how decisions land, how teams feel, and how trust is built.

So the real question isn’t whether you lead well when everything is structured.
It’s this:
What does your leadership look like when the structure disappears?

And where have your most important leadership lessons come from?

What if the very traits some leaders view as obstacles, impulsivity, rapid idea shifts, intense focus on interest areas aren’t deficits at all, but undervalued strengths in the wrong context?

Recent thinking in mental health suggests that framing ADHD not as a disorder, but as a different way of thinking, can improve wellbeing and unlock cognitive advantages often overlooked in traditional work environments. This reframing shifts the narrative from “fix what’s wrong” to “leverage what’s unique.” 

Before we dismiss this as a niche topic, consider this:
What leadership behaviors today are being misread as weaknesses when they could be assets in the right environment?

How often do we equate leadership success with linear, sustained attention when real transformation requires modulation, pattern recognition, and big-picture leaps?

Many executives push themselves to fit into narrow definitions of productivity, uninterrupted focus, rigid expectations, systematic routines. Yet in rapidly changing markets, the leaders who thrive are often the ones who connect disparate ideas quickly, notice patterns others miss, and pivot with agility traits that resemble what’s commonly labeled “ADHD tendencies.”

Reframing these traits doesn’t excuse chaos, it contextualizes potential.

It invites leaders to ask:

1. Are we rewarding conformity at the cost of innovation?

2. Are we asking our brains to operate in ways that suppress natural strengths?

3. What leadership capabilities might emerge if we valued cognitive diversity as a strategic advantage?

The future of leadership isn’t about enforcing uniform ways of thinking. It’s about embracing diverse thinking styles, creating environments where different minds can contribute, and redefining what strength looks like in a complex world.

Because the leaders we need now aren’t just those who manage well, they’re those who think differently, respond creatively, and adapt with curiosity.

#LeadershipEvolution #NeurodiversityAtWork #ExecutiveLeadership #MindfulLeadership #InnovationCulture #ConsciousBusiness #LeadershipGrowth #InclusiveLeadership

Read more through this link: https://lnkd.in/gyawiK3f

What if pushing harder this January is the exact opposite of what your system needs?

We love the idea of a clean slate. 
Our nervous system doesn’t. 

It remembers stress. 
It remembers pace. 
It remembers what last year felt like. 

Great leaders don’t ignore that truth. They work with it. 

Before accelerating into the year, consider: What would it look like to lead with compassion for your own humanity? 

That choice quietly shapes everything that follows.

Sr Living, ever thought about it? I was invited to talk on a podcast yesterday with Steve Moran about leadership in the Sr Living business world? If you know anyone in that world, please share it.

Founder @ Senior Living Foresight | Driving Innovation in Senior Living - 2.81 GPA from #1 party school in the nation

In just two hours, my conversation with Yancy Wright goes LIVE 📺 🕚  Who's tuning in? 🎉

Turnover isn’t random. It’s a culture signal, and it’s measurable in daily micro-moments.

I just recorded a conversation with Steve Moran (Founder, Senior Living Foresight) about what actually improves retention: leadership behaviors that create belonging, clarity, and pride, not just policies.

After this podcast it seems Senior Living most likely doesn’t have a “staffing” problem. It has a belonging problem.

What’s one micro-moment your team experiences every day that either builds trust…or drains it?

Before strategy, goals, or execution kick in, something else sets the year first.

A leader’s pace, tone, and energy in January quietly shape the emotional climate of the months ahead.

Teams take their cues long before the first deadline hits.
From how you enter meetings.
From how you handle pressure.
From what feels rushed… and what feels considered.

Strong leaders don’t just plan the year.
They embody it.

So before the calendar fills, pause and ask:
What energy am I carrying into the rooms I lead?

Because that answer becomes culture.

What is your body telling you about your leadership right now?

February is where the nervous system tells the truth.

The urgency of January has passed but the body remembers how it was treated.

Before this month fills up, pause and ask:
Is your leadership being driven by clarity… or by stress?

Because no strategy can outpace a dysregulated system.

This month isn’t about doing more.
It’s about leading from steadiness.

#LeadershipWellbeing #RegulatedLeadership #ExecutiveHealth #CasaAlternavida #ConsciousBusiness

🧠 What Your Body Clock May Be Telling You About Brain Health

A recent study in Neurology found that weaker and more fragmented circadian rhythm, our body’s internal clock that governs sleep, activity, and rest were linked to a higher risk of dementia in older adults. People whose daily activity peaks later in the day and whose rhythms are less consistent had up to a 45% increased association with dementia risk. 

⚙️ Your circadian rhythm isn’t just about sleep, it influences hormones, metabolism, digestion, and even inflammation. When that rhythm becomes irregular or fragmented, it may be more than “tiredness”; it could be signaling deeper imbalance. 

For leaders, this research isn’t just a health headline, it’s a reminder that well-being isn’t separate from performance. When we consistently misalign our internal clocks by ignoring rest, disrupting sleep, or living in constant urgency, we may be paying a deeper cost over time.

Leaders who prioritize rhythm, consistent sleep, daylight exposure, boundaries around work cycles aren’t just investing in energy and creativity. They’re supporting long-term brain health and resilience.

💭 What small rhythm change could you make today that supports your clarity and longevity?

Read more through this article: https://bit.ly/4pBo4b8

#LeadershipWellbeing #BrainHealth #CircadianRhythm #MindfulLeadership #EnergyManagement #WellbeingAtWork #HealthyLeadership

Open article: Weaker and fragmented circadian rhythms linked to higher dementia risk by news-medical.net

Weaker and fragmented circadian rhythms linked to higher dementia risk

What happens when purpose doesn’t protect you from burnout?

We often assume that meaning shields leaders from overwhelm that purpose makes struggle worth it. But what if purpose without presence just delays the crash?

In his conversation on The Next Mountain Podcast, Yancy Wright shares a story many executives know too well: climbing the ladder of success driven by meaning and impact, only to find yourself physically depleted and emotionally disconnected. His journey didn’t end in accomplishment, it ended in an ICU bed.

That moment wasn’t a failure.
It was a signal.

In the episode, it unpacks:

⭐ Why purpose alone isn’t enough when work is fueled by stress
⭐ How burnout shows up long before it breaks you, if you’re willing to pay attention
⭐ The unconscious commitment to struggle that many high performers mistake for resilience
⭐ Why nature and presence can be powerful teachers for leadership clarity and intuition

So here’s a question worth sitting with:

👉 What signals have you been ignoring because “purpose” felt like protection?
👉 How many more decisions are being made from exhaustion rather than clarity?

High performance isn’t just about how much you can do,
it’s about how well you can be while doing it.

If leaders want sustainable impact, the inner journey matters just as much as strategy.

#LeadershipWellbeing #ExecutivePresence #SustainableLeadership #ConsciousLeadership #BurnoutPrevention #PurposeDrivenLeadership #MindfulLeadership

Open article: #008: From Burnout to Purpose: Yancy Wright on Leadership, Nature and Listening to the Body — Next Mountain by nextmountain.life

#008: From Burnout to Purpose: Yancy Wright on Leadership, Nature and Listening to the Body — Next Mountain

Before January ends, PAUSE.

Not to review goals but to notice how you arrived here.

Did this month feel steady… or strained?
Focused… or frantic?

Because the way you begin a year quietly shapes how you lead through it.

What’s one thing you’re choosing not to carry into February?

#LeadershipReflection #ExecutivePresence #CasaAlternavida #ConsciousLeadership

Ranked #1 in Branding | AI Strategist for High-Stakes Communications | I Help You Attract Premium Clients, Stages & Global Media | 35M Views

Iza Montalvo is an award-winning journalist, founder, and speaker whose work has been recognized on the floor of the U.S. Congress.

She works at the intersection of media, reputation, and influence, shaping how leaders, companies, and experts are seen, trusted, and remembered.

Over the past 15+ years, Iza has helped craft public narratives and media strategy for U.S. elected officials, public figures, advised C-suite executives at Fortune 100 and 500 companies, and partnered with product and go-to-market teams to launch and scale complex technologies. 

Her specialty: translating high-stakes ideas, from AI platforms to enterprise systems into human stories people understand and believe.

Her own platform has reached more than 50 million people, building a 115k-strong audience in a single year. 

She has been featured in Times Square, recognized by Forbes as a LinkedIn expert, and ranked #1 globally for branding and positioning by Favikon.

Whether on stage, online, or on the page, Iza challenges one belief:
talent isn’t enough, visibility shapes opportunity.


IZA MONTALVO 🧲

This isn’t persuasion.
It’s how the brain works.

Most offers don’t fail because the product is weak.
They fail because the decision feels hard.

Carousel created by Tom Pestridge.

Every buying decision runs on a few shortcuts.
Ignore them and strong offers stall.

9 principles that shape buying decisions:

✅ Anchoring Bias
✅ The Framing Effect
✅ The Contrast Effect
✅ The Affordability Illusion
✅ The Power of Free
✅ The Rule of 3
✅ The Paradox of Choice
✅ The IKEA Effect
✅ The Endowment Effect

Good marketing isn’t deception.
It’s structure.

It aligns the offer with how decisions happen
so value doesn’t need explanation.

📌 Save this before you price or package anything.
♻️ Share it with someone who builds offers.

NEUROMARKETING CONCEPTS TO KNOW

I lost time trying to “figure things out myself.” Speed matters more than pride.

So in 2023, I made a rule:
If I want to learn something fast, I hire the best.

I treat this as a practical decision.

Jobs are contingent.
Markets are cyclical.
Titles are temporary.
Skills are portable.

I’ve seen people lose income, security, and status.
The ones who recovered weren’t unusually confident or optimistic.
They were competent.

They could do something useful in more than one setting.
They didn’t need ideal conditions to function.
They weren’t dependent on a single system continuing as planned.

One distinction:

You’re not paying for information.
Information is easy to access.

You’re paying to shorten the gap between not knowing and being able to act effectively.

There’s evidence behind this way of thinking.

The World Economic Forum estimates that 44% of workers’ skills will change by 2027, driven by technology and shifting business needs.

Skills that only work in one role or one environment don’t age well.
That’s why I don’t see learning skills as a gamble.
I see it as limiting downside.

When you invest in property, equities, or a role, you rely on external conditions holding.
When you invest in skills, you increase your ability to operate when they don’t.

The filter I use before investing in a skill:

Can I use this in more than one role or industry?
Does it improve how I think and decide, not just what I produce?
Would it still be useful if my current job disappeared?

If the answer is no, I skip it.
If things went wrong tomorrow, I wouldn’t be starting from zero.

I’d be starting with capabilities I can apply again.
That’s the difference.

PS: If you’ve built a skill that paid off later than expected, share it below, those examples are more useful than advice.

♻️ Repost to help spread this message

When I say it's never too late, I mean it because I've lived it.

At 40, I:

got married for the first time
had my second child
quit my corporate career in news
built my first serious business
traveled to my dream city in Europe 
bought my first investment property

At the same time, life didn't stop happening.

I lost a job. 
My husband got sick.
I spent years trying to find the right support for my child with additional needs.
I got scammed online.
I had to reinvent myself.
I found success again. 

If you're new here, I want you to know this:

You're not late.
You're not broken.
You didn't miss your one chance.

Some of us move slower because we're carrying more.
We are figuring out things as we get older and wiser. 

If you're in the middle of a reset, this isn't the end of your story.
It's the part where you realize what you're really made of.

PS: What's one thing you started later than you "should have" and still made happen?

Award-Winning Founder, Journalist & Speaker | Top 1% Creator | Former U.S. Congress Communications Director

Kindness matters more now than it used to. 
Or at least it feels that way. 

Sometimes it’s a smile, a helping hand, or a simple gesture that brightens someone’s day. 

Work has sped up, gone remote, stripped back to tasks and messages and calendars. 
A lot of the human stuff has thinned out.

There’s data behind that feeling. 
Studies on modern workplaces show declines in perceived empathy and connection as work becomes more digital. 

Gallup has found that only a small fraction of employees feel genuinely seen or cared about at work, even when performance stays high.

During remote learning, a professor logged into what he assumed was just another final Zoom class. 

Same faces. 
Same screens. 
Nothing to mark the end.

Then the cameras came on.
One at a time.
Every student holding a handwritten sign.

"Thank you".
"For caring".
"For showing up".
"For treating us like people".

He stopped talking.
Just looked at the screen for a second.

Then said is a whisper: “You’re gonna make me cry.”

Someone recorded it. 
The clip made its way around. 
People shared it, saved it, sent it to each other.

Psychology research explains why moments like this are so memorable. 

Under stress, the brain holds on to emotional experiences more than information. 
Facts blur. 
Feelings don’t.

That semester was full of isolation, deadlines, and glowing rectangles. 
And this is what stayed with people.

Not the material.
Not the grades.
Not the lectures they crammed for.

Being noticed.
This isn’t really about teaching.
It’s about leadership. 

Or maybe it’s about what leadership looks like when all the extras fall away.
If you manage people, build things, mentor someone, the impact you have usually shows up later.

In trust.
In who sticks around.
In moments you never planned for.

That’s the part people carry with them.

🎥 Video credit: Brain Nourishment, IG
♻️ If you believe in kindness, pass it on.

Perspective arbitrage is worth 30% more revenue.
Research on cultural adaptation found this pattern.

Companies that adjust products and messaging see higher revenue growth than those that don’t.

Most companies already have this advantage.
They just don’t see it.

What is perspective arbitrage?

The ability to profit from insights others can't access because you think in multiple cultural contexts.

Inside organizations, this ability is often treated as translation.

I’ve seen the cost of that mistake.

A company planned to enter a new market.
The discussion centered on translation and launch timing.
One person raised a different concern.

The product story didn’t match how customers in that market judged value.
That observation changed the launch plan.
Projected revenue increased threefold.

Nothing new was added.
The decision changed.

So why does this keep getting overlooked?

1/ It gets framed as language
“I can help translate.”
Instead of: “This won’t work the way we expect.”

2/ Differences get set aside
Teams aim for speed and miss context.

3/ Observations don’t carry forward
Adjustments get made in meetings,
then disappear once the decision is done.

When insight isn’t named, it doesn’t influence the next choice.
Seeing across cultures isn’t a soft skill.
It’s how blind spots get caught early.

Many bilingual professionals are hired for language.
The ones who advance earn trust for how they think.

Perspective arbitrage isn’t a personal advantage.
It’s how companies avoid making the wrong call.

Your cultural lens isn't just heritage.
It's a business advantage.

🔁 Share if you've used cultural insights to drive business results
➕ Follow me IZA MONTALVO 🧲 for more

Founder | Top 1% Creator | Journalist | Former U.S. Congress Communications Director | 50M Views

Intelligence opens doors. 
Adaptability keeps you moving.

Someone with less experience just got promoted 
over 5 people who'd been there longer.

Same role. 
Same manager.
Happened over 18 months.

The difference wasn't talent.
It was how they responded when things changed.

When feedback came, they didn't defend it. 

They listened. 
Took notes. 
Applied it without ego.

When a new system rolled out, they learned it first. 
While others complained, they were already fluent.

They copied what worked. 
Emails. 
Meetings. 
How to handle pushback. 

Same personality. 
Upgraded execution.

They admitted gaps early. 

"I haven't used this before. 
I'll learn it this week." 
Speed beats pretending.

They systemized mistakes. 

What went wrong. 
Why it happened. 
What changes next time. 

Fix once. 
Avoid forever.

Research shows 64% of senior leaders say: 
a growth mindset enhances productivity and performance. 
Source (TalentLMS)
and 94% of employees would stay at a company longer 
if it invested in their career development.  
Source (LinkedIn)

The pattern is clear: 
Internal promotions happen 20% faster than external hires 

PS: What's one habit you picked up from watching someone else work?
♻️ Share with your network of high-performers

Most leadership misses one simple truth:
Connection isn’t one-size-fits-all.

My 9-year old son’s teacher proves this every morning.
At the classroom door, she gives her students five ways to be greeted:

High-five
Hug
Fist bump
Smile and nod
“Good morning”

That’s it.

No pressure.
No forcing energy.
Just choice.

What matters isn’t the options themselves
it’s what they mean.

👉 You get to decide how you want to be seen today.

Some mornings kids want closeness.
Some mornings they want space.
Some mornings they just want acknowledgment without attention.

And every choice is respected.

That small moment does something powerful:
It gives students agency before the day even starts.

When people are acknowledged in ways that work for them, engagement follows.

They participate more.
They take risks.
They trust.

It made me think about leadership.

How often do we decide for people how connection should look?
How often do we mistake our preference for a universal rule?
The best leaders don’t demand sameness.

They design for difference.
Because confidence doesn’t grow from being managed.
It grows from being met where you are.

♻️ Worth sharing with someone who leads people.

Some fires don’t burn you all at once.
They warm you first 🔥 

You stand close.
You tell yourself it’s manageable.

You adjust instead of stepping back.

Until one day you realize...
you’re not tired.
You’re scorched.

I used to stay near things that were silently burning me.
I thought endurance was a virtue.
It isn’t.

There’s research that backs this up.

Studies on chronic stress show the body reacts before the mind does: 
elevated cortisol, muscle tension, sleep disruption, long before people consciously label a situation as “toxic” or unsustainable.

That’s why logic rarely gets you out first.
Your nervous system tries to.

What finally changed things wasn’t a conversation.
Or closure.
Or an apology.

Relief came the moment I stepped out of the burn radius.

That’s emotional intelligence.
Not reading the room
reading the heat in your own body.

Those Sunday night knots?
That’s not anxiety.
That’s information.

Psychologists call it somatic signaling, the body flagging prolonged threat when the mind is still negotiating.

Signs you’re standing in the fire:

🚩 You explain it more than you enjoy it
🚩 You’re depleted, not restored
🚩 You don’t recognize who you’re becoming
🚩 Every interaction feels like careful movement
🚩 You’re giving fuel, getting smoke back

Leaving doesn’t mean you failed to control it.
It means you stopped pretending you could.

Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do 
is walk away and chose yourself.

♻️ Repost to share this message with your network.

Ranked #1 in Branding & Positioning | AI Strategist for High-Stakes Communications | I Help You Attract Premium Clients, Stages & Global Media

Your biggest limit isn’t skill. 
It’s self-perception.

Before effort.
Before chances.
Before experience.

I didn’t apply for leadership roles
because I didn’t see myself there yet.

That took me longer to admit than I’d like.

You don’t try everything you can do.
You try what feels right for someone like you.

That starts early.

The jobs you apply for.
The roles you raise your hand for.
The rooms you expect to be in.

Over time, this view becomes familiar.

You learn what you’re known for.
You learn what people come to you for.
You learn what feels normal to reach for.

Then something bigger shows up.

A role with more responsibility.
A chance to lead instead of help.
An opportunity that could change things.

You pause.
You read it twice.
You tell yourself to wait.
You think you need more time.

So you stay where you are.
The work stays busy.
The results stay good.

But nothing really changes.

While that view stayed the same:

Skills stayed boxed
Growth slowed
Opportunities passed you by

Nothing broke.
Nothing failed.
That’s how limits work.

They don’t stop you.
They guide what you try.

People who move ahead see themselves doing more.

They apply sooner.
They speak up earlier.
They step into roles they grow into later.

That starts with how they see themselves.

Different view.
Different actions.
Different results.

Change how you see yourself,
and the line moves.

Little by little.
You reach higher.
You stay in the room.

You try things that once felt out of reach.
That’s how limits lift.

PS: What’s one limit you’re ready to question?
♻️ Share this with someone who needs it.

A bad boss makes weekdays hell. 
A great one gives you Sundays off. 

I’ve worked for managers who made me dread Mondays.
And managers who made me want to take on things I didn’t feel ready for.

The difference wasn’t title or tenure.

7 signs you’re working with a great manager:

They remember what you told them weeks ago.
They ask how it turned out without checking notes.

When you mess up, the first question is:
“What do you need to fix this?”

They back you in rooms you’re not in.
You hear about it later, casually, from someone else.

Bad news doesn’t trigger panic.
It starts with: “Walk me through what happened.”

They give you work that makes you pause before saying yes.
The kind that forces you to rise.

Their one-on-ones aren’t updates.
They’re honest conversations about what’s stuck and what’s next.

When they’re wrong, they say it.
Out loud in front of others.
Then they move on.

The best managers don’t just manage work.
They change what you think you can do.

If you've got one, appreciate them. 
If you don't, become one. 

PS: What’s one thing a great manager did that you still remember?
♻️ Share if you believe good leaders deserve recognition.

5 mindsets I see in every successful person 
(you’re not born with this)

95% of people want to be high performers.
Only 5% install the mindset required to sustain it.

The difference isn’t effort.
It’s how they interpret pressure, failure, and time.

I’ve had to consciously rewire these myself, especially after hitting plateaus where “working harder” stopped working.

Here are 5 mindset reframes that separate winners from everyone else:

Reframe #1: Failure
Every setback is data.
Every obstacle reveals something.

❌ "I'm afraid of making mistakes."
✅ "Mistakes show me what to fix."

Reframe #2: Discipline
Pressure isn't the enemy.
Avoidance is.

❌ "I don't feel like doing it."
✅ "I do what needs to be done."


Reframe #3: Time
You don't find time.
You protect it.

❌ "I don't have time."
✅ "I protect what matters most."


Reframe #4: Success
Success isn't motivation.
It's repetition.

❌ "I hope this works."
✅ "I make it work through action."


Reframe #5: Opportunity
Momentum beats timing.
Action beats waiting.

❌ "I'll start when it's right."
✅ "I start now."

Your mindset determines your ceiling.
Reframe how you think.
Change what you achieve.

♻️ Repost this if it helped.

>>5 MINDSET REFRAMES OF HIGH-PERFORMERS<<

The best KPI no one talks about 👇🏽
because you can’t measure it

It’s how your team feels on Monday morning.
You won’t find it in a dashboard.
It won’t show up in a report.

But you notice it straight away.
It’s there when people walk in.
In the energy they bring.

In whether ideas get shared or kept to themselves.
In how people treat each other before the meeting even starts.
That tells you more than most metrics ever will.

What tends to move that needle:

1/ Keeping people interested
Not just busy.
Not just ticking tasks.
Engaged in what they’re building.

2/ Keeping people informed
Sharing the why, not just the plan.
Letting people see the bigger picture, not just their lane.

3/ Keeping people involved
In decisions that affect their work.
In changes they’ll have to live with.
In wins they helped create.

4/ Keeping people inspired
Through trust.
Through space.
Through leadership that doesn’t rely on pressure.

You can track every number in the business
and still miss the important one.

How many people want to be here.
Look at how your team show up in the morning.
That’s the real dashboard.

Old thinking built control.
New thinking builds outcomes.

Good people don’t leave bad companies.
They leave bad leaders.

Treat people like a risk and you’ll churn talent.
Treat them like an asset and they’ll grow the business.

This isn’t a culture debate.
It shows up in revenue. 

Here's what works:

→ Hire for behavior, train for skill
→ Give people freedom to get results
→ Apply the same rules to everyone

The business owners I work with get this.
They don't build places where people count down to Friday.
They build places where people want to show up.

This change is happening now.

The best leaders aren't building better companies.
They're building places where people grow.

PS: Which shift has made the biggest difference where you work?
♻️ Share this if you agree

"If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed."
William H. McRaven

If you can’t do the small things right
You’ll never do the big things right 

That’s a Navy SEAL lesson to remember. 

Admiral William McRaven said it best in a commencement speech that has been watched over 100 million times.

It comes down to one simple idea:

Make your bed.

It sounds silly.
It isn’t.

True leadership isn’t built in big moments.
It’s built in what you do every day.

When small things slip, bigger things follow.
1/ Start with one finished task
Before email.
Before meetings.
Before anyone needs you.
Do one small thing you can complete.
You start the day with a win.

2/ Use hard moments to pull people together
In SEAL training, the toughest tasks can’t be done alone.

When something breaks:
→ Don’t avoid it
→ Don’t carry it solo
→ Bring someone in and work through it

Teams don’t bond when things are easy.
They bond when things feel challenging.

3/ Notice what others skip
Details tell the truth.
What you check shows what you care about.
People trust leaders who pay attention.

4/ Say what didn’t work
In training, failure was normal.
What mattered was owning it and learning fast.
When leaders talk about mistakes, people stop hiding.
Trust goes up.

5/ Make one person feel seen
In the hardest moments, one comment kept people from quitting.
Leadership lives here.
In checking in.
In noticing effort.
In showing up when it’s uncomfortable.

The gap between good and great isn’t talent.
It’s doing the small things.
Every day.

video credit: IG

♻️ Share this with your network of high-performers

Built your credibility face-to-face.
Keeping it offline is the bottleneck.

I analyzed 50+ leaders’ online presence last year.

Not to study content.
To see where opportunity breaks.

The pattern showed up across the same roles:

📣 Investors.
📣 Executives.
📣 Founders.

People with track records.
Very little to verify in public.

That gap creates credibility leaks.
If you’re missing deals, it’s usually coming from 1 of these 4 places:

1/ Your wins are hard to find
Media features buried
Exits never named
Board seats invisible
If someone has to work to understand your background, they won’t.

2/ Your language sounds like everyone else’s
Careful phrasing
Safe opinions
Nothing that shows judgment
You don’t look wrong.
You look replaceable.

3/ Your presence doesn’t match your level
Generic posts
Helpful tips
No authority markers
You wouldn’t hire this version of yourself.

4/ Your footprint is too light to confirm influence
Search doesn’t validate you
So decisions move on without you

Here’s what that costs in practice:

❌ Investor intros that don’t progress
❌ Board seats that go to visible peers
❌ Speaking invites that never land
 
When leaders fix this, the shift is predictable.

✅ Inbound increases.
✅ Demand rises.
✅ Opportunities start finding them.

Same experience.
Clear positioning.

If you want to close the leaks:

1 / Look yourself up like capital would
First three results only
Do they show relevance?

2 / Put proof where attention goes
Headline: the win that opens doors
About section: the track record you already have
Once a month: explain one real outcome

3 / Remove corporate or technical language
Write how you speak in closed rooms
State what you believe
Let judgment show

4 / Leave authority trails
Share how you decide
Break down calls you’ve made
Show the method behind results

Staying quiet doesn’t protect your name.
It makes it easier to pass over.

PS: Where is your credibility leaking?
♻️ Share with your network of high-achievers

taplio

The Battle

Yancy Wright

IZA MONTALVO 🧲

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreYancy Wright's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreIZA MONTALVO 🧲's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Yancy Wright

IZA MONTALVO 🧲

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);}Yancy Wright's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreIZA MONTALVO 🧲's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreYancy Wright's LinkedIn Performance