What happens when you’re expected to lead - while your body is grieving?
In this tender episode of Tutum Talk, we explore what it means to lead through loss - whether you’re grieving a person, a dream, a role, or a version of yourself that no longer exists. This conversation gently challenges the myth that strong leadership requires emotional distance, and instead honors the truth that real leaders feel.
This episode is an invitation to slow down, listen to your body, and lead with honesty, compassion, and care - especially in seasons when life feels heavy. If you’re navigating leadership while grieving, you are not alone. And you are not doing it wrong.
Grief doesn’t pause just because leadership responsibilities continue.
In Ep 16: Leadership in a Grieving Body, Cara speaks directly to leaders who are showing up every day - making decisions, supporting others, holding it together - while quietly carrying loss beneath the surface.
This episode creates space for the kinds of grief that often go unnamed in leadership:
- Grieving a loved one
- Grieving a dream that didn’t unfold
- Grieving a role, identity, or season of life
- Grieving the version of yourself who once had more energy, certainty, or ease
You’ll hear why grief isn’t a leadership failure - but a human response - and how unacknowledged grief can show up as exhaustion, irritability, numbness, or disconnection.
Cara explores:
- Why leaders are often praised for “pushing through” grief - and the cost of that expectation
- How grief lives in the body, not just the mind
- What leadership can look like when capacity has shifted
- Why slowing down, setting boundaries, and choosing presence are acts of strength
- How leading with honesty during grief builds psychological safety and trust
This episode also includes gentle reflection questions to help you tune into what your body may be asking for - without judgment or urgency.
If you are leading while grieving, this episode is here to remind you:
You are not broken.
You are not behind.
You are adapting to life as it is - with courage and care.
✨ If this episode resonates and you’d like support navigating leadership during a tender season, Cara offers one-on-one leadership coaching rooted in compassion, clarity, and sustainability. You’re warmly invited to reach out. Schedule time to explore coaching options
here.
Thank you for being here - and for leading with your whole self.
About Tutum Talk:
Tutum Talk with Cara Nance is a podcast for leaders who lead with heart - even when they doubt themselves. Through honest conversations about presence, intuition, courage, and connection, Cara helps listeners build leadership rooted in humanity, not perfection.
Music provided by Music_Unlimited
Episode 16