What if the polished version of you is actually keeping you from real influence?

In this powerful episode, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Amos Balongo, global leadership coach and communication expert who's trained everyone from senior military commanders to Fortune 500 executives. Amos challenges one of the biggest lies in leadership culture: that you need to fake confidence until you make it.

Amos breaks down why authenticity beats polish every single time, comparing "fake it till you make it" to building a house on eggshells. He reveals that the longest distance between two points is actually a shortcut, and that real communication power comes from genuinely believing in what you're saying. This isn't about sounding good, it's about being real.

This conversation digs into why so many leaders know their stuff but still struggle to communicate clearly, the difference between confidence and performance, and why people can sense when you're not genuinely passionate about what you're talking about. Jason and Amos explore practical ways to communicate with authenticity, how to connect across generational divides in team meetings, and why asking better questions beats demanding confirmation every time.

If you've ever walked into a meeting trying to sound confident but ended up winging it with PowerPoint slides and a prayer, this episode will help you find your real voice, the one people actually trust and remember.

Links:

• Amos's website: amosbalongo.com

• Jason's coaching resources: jasonstonehouse.com
• Free growth resource: totalpackageplaybook.com

Know a leader who needs to stop performing and start connecting? Share this episode with them, and subscribe to the Calm and Confident Leader podcast for conversations that cut through the noise.

What if everything you believed about your potential was based on someone else's opinion of you?

In this powerful episode, host Jason Stonehouse sits down with Hanna Bauer, executive leadership coach and author, to unpack why so many talented leaders feel stuck living lives that don't actually fit them. Hanna reveals a truth that hits hard: most of us are operating from beliefs about ourselves that were handed to us by teachers, parents, bosses, or critics—and we never questioned whether those beliefs were actually true.

Hanna shares her own story of being told she wasn't leadership material, only to discover years later that she'd internalized a lie that shaped her entire career trajectory. She introduces the concept of "reclaiming your potential"—not finding some hidden superpower, but excavating the real you from underneath all the shoulds, supposed-tos, and other people's expectations that have been piled on top.

This conversation tackles the messy work of identifying the beliefs that are quietly running your life, why high achievers are often the most disconnected from who they really are, and how to start making decisions based on what's actually true about you rather than what you've been told. Jason and Hanna dig into practical ways to recognize when you're living someone else's script, how to get honest about what you actually want (not what you think you should want), and why reclaiming your potential might mean disappointing some people.

If you've ever felt like you're working hard at the wrong things, or wondered why success doesn't feel the way you thought it would, this episode will challenge everything you think you know about yourself.

Links:

• Hanna's book: Reclaim Your Potential (available wherever books are sold)
• Hanna's website: hannabauer.com
• Jason's coaching resources: jasonstonehouse.com
• Free growth resource: totalpackageplaybook.com

This episode could be the wake-up call someone in your life needs.

SHARE it with a leader who's ready to stop living someone else's version of success, and SUBSCRIBE to the Calm and Confident Leader podcast for conversations that dig beneath the surface.

Resisting the Drift
You can be crushing it at work while quietly falling apart inside. It rarely happens all at once. It happens slowly. Subtly. A few late nights. A few missed moments at home. A quiet slide into becoming someone you never meant to be.

Host Jason Stonehouse talks with Peter Greer, president of Hope International and author of How Leaders Lose Their Way, about the early warning signs of drift and the small, intentional steps that can bring you back before it's too late.

• Are you becoming someone you never intended to be?

• How do you know if you're drifting?

• What actually helps you reconnect with who you are?

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