SHOW NOTES — Space to Lead

Stepping Into Your Power: A Conversation on Confidence, Transition, and Leadership

with Sarah Zaharia

What happens when you finally see yourself the way others have seen you all along?
In this powerful episode, Sarah joins David to explore the internal shifts, bold risks, and subtle mindset changes that helped her step into a larger, more confident version of herself—and reshape her career in the process.

Sarah opens up about leaving the public sector after nearly two decades, navigating the complexity of a major career transition, leading in a high-pressure environment, and maintaining relationships with intention and grace.

This conversation is an invitation: to challenge the beliefs that hold you back, to rethink what confidence actually looks like, and to step more fully into the leader you’re becoming.

🌟 In This Episode, We Explore:

✨ The moment Sarah realized she was underestimating herself

and how a simple reframing helped her step into a senior leadership mindset.

✨ Why language shapes leadership

—from apologetic qualifiers to declarative confidence.

✨ The hidden emotional work of transitions

and how to move from one chapter to the next with intention and integrity.

✨ How women can stop self-limiting and support each other more powerfully

including the importance of bold conversations and strong female community.

✨ Why “work-life balance” is a myth

and how to rethink balance across months (or even years).

✨ What it takes to leave a role without burning bridges

and how those relationships can fuel your success later.

✨ The surprising power of space, reflection, and self-care

(and why you can’t lead well from an empty cup).

🔥 Why This Episode Matters (and Might Hit You Hard)

This is one of those rare episodes that feels like listening in on the exact conversation you didn’t know you needed.

Sarah speaks with honesty, vulnerability, and grounded clarity about:

• The fear and excitement of reinvention
• The expectations placed on women leaders
• The tension between ambition and wellbeing
• The reality of leading through high-pressure seasons
• The courage required to say “I’m ready for more”

Whether you’re contemplating a transition, looking to reclaim your confidence, or craving leadership conversations that go deeper than buzzwords—this one is going to resonate.

🔑 Key Quotes From the Episode

💬 If You Enjoy This Episode… Share It.

Someone in your network is sitting on the edge of their next big step—and this conversation could be the permission or perspective they need.

🔍 Episode SEO Keywords :

• women in leadership
• leadership transition
• career change stories
• confidence at work
• executive coaching
• public to private sector transition
• imposter syndrome
• workplace confidence
• professional reinvention
• leadership podcast Canada
• Space to Lead podcast

🙌 Connect With Us

Host: David LeBlanc
Leadership Coach • Team Coach • Founder, LeBlanc Leadership Group
www.SpaceToLead.ca
| www.LeBlancLeadership.ca

Guest: Sarah Zaharia
Communications Leader • Infrastructure Sector

Follow Space to Lead for more conversations that create clarity, courage, and growth in leadership.

In this deeply reflective episode, David and Suzanne explore a topic rarely named in organizational life — grief at work. They discuss how leaders and teams experience grief during professional transitions such as restructures, layoffs, leadership changes, or the end of major projects. Suzanne invites leaders to see beyond the familiar language of stress and burnout, recognizing that unacknowledged loss often lies beneath.

The conversation bridges psychology, leadership, and systems thinking, linking grief to models like Kübler-Ross’s Stages of Grief, William Bridges’ Transition Model, and Sam Kaner’s Groan Zone. Together, they highlight that creating space for endings — to name, honor, and process what has been lost — allows new beginnings to emerge with clarity and trust.

💡 Key Concepts & Models Referenced

• Kübler-Ross’s Stages of Grief: Understanding emotional responses to loss — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
• Anticipatory Grief: The anxiety and emotional weight of knowing change or loss is coming before it happens.
• William Bridges’ Transition Model: Moving through endings, the neutral zone (or “messy middle”), and new beginnings.
• Kaner’s Groan Zone: The discomfort and confusion that accompany true transformation and collective sense-making.
• Space to Lead Model: The importance of slowing down, reflecting, and making intentional space for what’s true before moving forward.

🧭 Key Takeaways

• Grief is not just personal — it’s professional, collective, and systemic.
• Leaders must name and honor endings to build trust and make room for renewal.
• Anticipatory grief is common in organizations facing change and can heighten anxiety if unacknowledged.
• Doing endings well prevents unresolved emotional residue from surfacing later in team dynamics and culture.
• “Name it to tame it” — identifying loss gives people language and permission to process emotions.
• Good endings create psychological safety and pave the way for creative, clear beginnings.

🗣️ Memorable Quotes

🔗 Resources

• On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
• Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges
• Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making by Sam Kaner

🎧 Closing Reflection

Leaders are constantly navigating endings — some clear, some ambiguous. By acknowledging grief and making space for endings, we invite authenticity, integrity, and renewal into our leadership practice.

🪞 Episode Summary

What happens in that moment after someone says something that hits you wrong?
Before the judgment, before the reaction—there’s a pause. And in that pause lies the possibility for understanding.

In this episode of Space to Lead, David LeBlanc explores the power of language, how certain words—like “sissy”—carry history and emotion, and how our reactions often reveal as much about us as they do about the word itself.

This is a conversation about words as both weapons and bridges, about sensitivity and awareness, and about the practice of pausing before we decide what’s right, wrong, or off-limits.

In This Episode

• The story behind why a single word in a previous episode stayed with David
• How language carries history, identity, and emotion
• The psychology of reaction—what’s happening in your body when a word triggers you
• How to pause and reflect before judgment
• Why curiosity, not censorship, builds understanding
• What leaders, coaches, and teams can learn about communication through awareness of language

Key Takeaways

• Words are never neutral—they live in relationship and context.
• Our reactions are often shaped by memory, identity, and experience.
• The pause between stimulus and response is where reflection and growth happen.
• True inclusion isn’t just about policing language—it’s about staying open to dialogue and difference.
• When we replace judgment with curiosity, we open the door to empathy.

Reflective Prompts for Listeners

• What words have power for you?
• When you react strongly to something someone says, what might that be telling you about your story?
• How can you create more space to pause, reflect, and respond rather than react?

Connect & Explore

• 📰 Read the companion article: The Power of Words: Pausing Before We Judge – TEAMshift Magazine

• 🎧 Listen to past episodes of Space to Lead
• 🌐 Visit www.leblancleadership.ca
  for leadership and team development resources
• 💬 Join the conversation on LinkedIn — share your reflection using #SpaceToLead #TEAMshiftMagazine #LiveLearnGrow

🕊️ Episode Quote

🎵 Credits

• Host: David LeBlanc
• Produced by: LeBlanc Leadership Group – The LIVE. LEARN. GROW. Company
• Find more at: The Space to Lead Podcast