Today, on Notable Leaders' Radio, I dive into exploring a simple but often overlooked question:

Have you set yourself up for success, or expecting yourself to "just make it happen"?

This conversation isn't about fixing what you've done in the past or pushing harder in the year ahead. It's about approaching your goals with greater clarity, compassion, and intention—so what matters most has a real chance to take root.

In this episode, I reflect on:

• What it truly means to set yourself up for success
  Not through pressure or perfection, but through thoughtful preparation that builds confidence and capacity over time.

• How to reverse-engineer what you want to experience, create, or achieve
  Looking at daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly rhythms that support growth in a way that's sustainable and realistic.

• Why warming up matters, on and off the field
  Using a pole-vaulting metaphor to explore how gradual expansion and attention to form prepare you for new levels of leadership and impact.

• The value of pausing to distinguish desire from obligation
  Gently asking whether a goal truly reflects what you want now—or whether it's something you've been carrying out of habit or expectation.

At its heart, this episode is an invitation to replace self-demand with self-leadership, and to remember that professional success and personal fulfillment are not competing goals.

They are meant to grow together.

If you're looking to begin 2026 with greater clarity, alignment, and momentum, so better prepare yourself for celebrations at the end of the year, rather than disappointment with a list of things you did not accomplish. This podcast episode is for you.

Belinda's Bio:
Belinda is a sought-after Leadership Advisor, Coach, Consultant and Keynote speaker and a leading authority in guiding global executives, professionals and small business owners to become today's highly respected leaders. As the Founder of BelindaPruyne.com, Belinda works with such organizations as IBM, Booz Allen Hamilton, BBDO, The BAM Connection, Hilton, Leidos, Yale School of Medicine, Landis, and the Discovery Channel. Most recently, she redesigned two global internal advertising agencies for Cella, a leader in creative staffing and consulting. She is a founding C-suite and executive management coach for Chief, the fastest-growing executive women's network. Since 2020, Belinda has delivered more than 72 interviews with top-level executives and business leaders who share their inner journey to success; letting you know the truth of what it took to achieve their success in her Notable Leaders Radio podcast.

She gained a wealth of expertise in the client services industry as Executive Vice President, Global Director of Creative Management at Grey Advertising, managing 500 people around the globe. With over 20+ years of leadership development experience, she brings industry-wide recognition to the executives and companies she works with. Whether a startup, turnaround, acquisition, or global corporation, executives and companies continue to turn to Pruyne for strategic and impactful solutions in a rapidly shifting economy and marketplace.

Website: Belindapruyne.com

Email Address: hello@belindapruyne.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/belindapruyne

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NotableLeadersNetwork.BelindaPruyne/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/belindapruyne?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belindapruyne/

Today, on Notable Leaders' Radio, I am going to share the wisdom from this year's guests. I noticed a theme in the messages that the guests shared. They each spoke from their perspectives on the importance of failure and being human as key elements of their success. Not the lack of them, but rather embracing them.

In today's episode, we discuss:

• Remember that you succeed because you're human, not despite it. Give yourself permission to feel, learn, and be imperfect, self‑trust and humanity fuel far better leadership than white‑knuckled control ever will

• Commit fully to the action and loosen your grip on the outcome. When you focus on aligned effort instead of rigid results, "failure" turns into feedback, experimentation feels safer, and it becomes much easier to stay in motion.

• Let your intuition come to work. The quirks, nonlinear career steps, and hard‑won stories you're tempted to hide are often exactly what make your leadership memorable, trustworthy, and uniquely valuable.

• Build flexible "blueprints" instead of rigid scripts. Map out where you're headed, but hold the plan lightly so you can adjust to new information, opportunities, or constraints without losing your sense of direction.

• In seasons of disruption, ask: Who am I becoming? Instead of freezing or bracing for impact, use job changes, industry shifts, or personal upheavals as prompts to align more closely with the kind of leader and human you want to be.

• Normalize vulnerability as part of your leadership toolkit. Naming your struggles, asking for help, or saying "I don't know yet" builds trust, strengthens teams, and creates room for others to be honest about what they need to thrive.
  
  

Belinda's Bio:

Belinda is a sought-after Leadership Advisor, Coach, Consultant, and Keynote speaker, and a leading authority in guiding global executives, professionals, and small business owners to become today's highly respected leaders. As the Founder of BelindaPruyne.com, Belinda works with organizations such as IBM, Booz Allen Hamilton, BBDO, The BAM Connection, Hilton, Leidos, Yale School of Medicine, Landis, Portland Trail Blazers, and the Discovery Channel. Most recently, she redesigned two global internal advertising agencies for Cella, a leader in creative staffing and consulting. She is a founding C-suite and executive management coach for Chief, the fastest-growing executive women's network. Since 2020, Belinda has conducted over 120 interviews with top-level executives and business leaders, who share their personal journeys to success, revealing the truth about what it took to achieve their success on her Notable Leaders Radio podcast.

She gained a wealth of expertise in the client services industry as Executive Vice President and Global Director of Creative Management at Grey Advertising, managing over 500 people worldwide. With over 20+ years of leadership development experience, she brings industry-wide recognition to the executives and companies she works with. Whether a startup, turnaround, acquisition, or global corporation, executives and companies continue to turn to Pruyne for strategic and impactful solutions in a rapidly shifting economy and marketplace.

Website: Belindapruyne.com

Email Address: hello@belindapruyne.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/belindapruyne

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NotableLeadersNetwork.BelindaPruyne/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/belindapruyne?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belindapruyne/

• Surround yourself with experienced mentors. From public speaking training to business skills, Jourdan emphasizes that growing into leadership is a journey supported by those who have already walked the path.