Speaking With Confidence

Leadership with Heart: Restoring Balance and Purpose Without Burning Out

• Tim Newman • Season 1 • Episode 85

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Have you ever wondered what it really takes to lead with clarity, courage, and impact, without burning out or losing yourself in the process? In this episode of Speaking with Confidence, we dive deep into that question and explore the real-life challenges and mindset shifts required to build a fulfilling, sustainable leadership journey.

I’m Tim Newman, your host and a recovering college professor turned communication coach. Today, I’m joined by an inspiring guest: Rachael Edmondson-Clarke. Rachael brings an extraordinary wealth of experience from her years as a senior corporate leader to her current role running Elevar, her own leadership consultancy. Over the past decade, she's helped countless high-performing leaders and teams show up bravely, with clarity and authenticity, even in challenging environments. Rachael is also a former regional Vice President and President of the Professional Speaking Association in the UK and Ireland, and a sought-after speaker, coach, and consultant. She’s the perfect person to help us unpack the realities of leadership, personal growth, and balance in a fast-paced world.

In our conversation, Rachael opens up about what it was like climbing the corporate ladder before facing a sudden, life-changing wake-up call—a moment that forced her to reevaluate everything she thought she wanted. She describes the intense pressure of trying to “push through,” the toll it took on her health and relationships, and how it ultimately led to her collapsing in her office. Most importantly, she shares how she rebuilt her life and career from that moment of crisis, moving from survival mode to creating a business that aligns with her values, energy, and mission.


Other highlights include:

  • The hidden costs of always being “on” and why biology can’t be outsmarted by mindset alone
  • Practical approaches for restoring your energy and avoiding the traps of toxic productivity culture
  • How organizational culture and unaddressed emotional needs impact team engagement, trust, and retention
  • Tips for effective boundary-setting, especially in meeting-heavy, high-pressure environments
  • The importance of honest, direct feedback from mentors and creating an inner circle that pushes you to grow—and how “fierce empathy” is the balance between tough love and real support
  • A free tool from Rachael (The Pause) to cut through overwhelm and help you lead from truth, not fear
  • Why the real value of personal development isn’t just your own growth, but how you show up as the leader the world needs

If you’re ready to step out of survival mode and into leadership that’s both impactful and sustainable—whether in your organization, your community, or your own household—this episode is packed with insights you’ll want to put into action right away.

As always, you can find resources and Rachael’s free download in the show notes. And don’t forget to grab your free copy of my Top 21 Challenges for Public Speakers, or check out our public speaking course at speakingwithconfidencepodcast.com.

Remember, your voice has power. Use it well, and you can change the world.

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Tim Newman:

Welcome back to Speaking with Confidence. Podcast that helps you build the soft skills that lead to real results. Communication, storytelling, public speaking, and showing up with confidence in every conversation that counts. I'm Tim Newman, a recovering college professor turned communication coach, and I'm thrilled to guide you on your journey to becoming a powerful communicator. Today's guest is Rachel Edmondson Clark. Rachel brings a powerful blend of boardroom experience and entrepreneurial insight. She is a former senior leader in the corporate world who spent the last 10 years running her own leadership consultancy, Elivar. She works with high-performing leaders and teams who want to lead with clarity, courage, and impact without burning out or losing who they are in the process. Mrs. Clark is also the former regional vice president and president of the Professional Speaking Association in the UK and Ireland and a sought-after speaker, coach, and consultant. Welcome, Rachel. Rachel, welcome to the show. I'm really excited to have you and have this conversation. I've been looking forward to it for a while.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Awesome. I am delighted to be here. I'm well done with all of my names. If we'd actually add it in the DeVinia and Tamara, which are my middle names, it gets to be quite a mouthful. Honestly, despite despite appearances and the double barreled name, I am not that partial. And I'm definitely, as you probably hear from the accent, I'm from a place in uh in England called Nottingham or Nottingham, as we might say. So yeah, no, very down to earth, Bath and not it's Bath, not Bath in my house, um, despite all of those names. Anyway, I'm delighted to be here. I've been super excited too. I have um been looking forward to this since we had our original planning session for the show.

Tim Newman:

And someone I don't know if I told you this, but um I spent some time in Manchester and Stockport when I was a kid. Um when uh when Charles and Diana got married, I was actually over there. We uh uh uh we were on a lacrosse tour. So I was I was 13 years old and we spent probably we probably spent a month in, you know, my host family was in Manchester, and we probably spent a month traveling around uh the United Kingdom playing lacrosse against different different lacrosse clubs. And um I I I vividly remember the party that we had at my host family's house when Prince Charles and Prince Diana got married.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Oh my goodness. 1981, I think.

Tim Newman:

I'm old, Rachel. I'm old.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

1981 they got married. What? Oh my goodness. And Manchester is a wonderful, wonderful city. I was I was there only a couple of weeks ago working with one of my clients, and um, yeah, it's a great city to be in. I love staying up there when I'm there. Um it's really vibrant, lots of lots of good, lots of good stuff to be said. And um, and Tim, what I was also just saying around just um it is such a pleasure and such a delight to be here. You are one of um you are such a warm-hearted, genuine um host, and I'm just delighted to have this conversation with you. So thank you for having one.

Tim Newman:

Thank you. You're making me blush. I you know, I I'm an introvert, I'm a screaming introvert, and you know, I you know, I I always try and direct the the the attention away from me and on to the guests. Um I I actually had a conversation yesterday with somebody, and um he he asked, you know, you know, awards, this, that, and the other thing, and and I said, look, man, it's that's not me. It's not it's not who I am. I I'm I consider myself a connector, not a climber, right? My what I do is I connect people to and and help put them in places for them to be successful. And that I'm very happy doing that. I I like doing that. And and to me, it's it's more service and value is what drives me than any awards or or accolades or things of that nature. So thank you.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

No, and it's really clear. It's really clear from meeting you and the way that you prepare and plan and um welcome your hosts to the show. So thank you.

Tim Newman:

Well well, let's talk about you. Um let's talk about your journey. You know, you and and I think that you know your your journey really is isn't too uncommon. You you went you went to university, you graduated, and you started climbing that corporate ladder. And you know, take it from there and and walk us through how you got to where you are now. Because I I think is I think your story is really important for people to understand um some mindset shifts that we we as a society need to start making.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Of course. So you're absolutely right. I thought I was very clear on what I wanted. I went to college, university, I started off in the corporate world and climbed that ladder to some senior roles in both sales and marketing. And I can still vividly remember the afternoon that all of that came crumbling down. I was in my glass-fronted office and I was preparing to go into the boardroom, and instead of walking out that door, I found myself lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling tiles. I had collapsed. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe in that moment, and it was a really low and scary, scary moment for me. Um, and what had led me to that point had been months and if not even years, of disrespecting my body, of ignoring the most important relationships in my life, and of pushing through thinking that I knew all the mindset stuff. I knew how to regulate how I was feeling, and if I just kept working harder and harder, or if I could just get to the next weekend or through this next project, that things would get better. And in the end, my body went time out. And I was able to get myself up off the floor. I needed to because nobody could quickly see what had happened to me. Um so I I did manage to get enough breath to get me back on, you know, kind of at least just sat in my in my office. And I often describe that moment a bit like being slapped around the face with a wetch, you know, kind of like I remember I remember that it was like this real realization with myself, you can't do this anymore. Like this is a stop, like this is an something must change. And um a day or two after that, I had arranged to speak with my my director. Uh, we had a very honest conversation, and uh eventually we restructured the team, and I went instead of heading up the team, I moved into the team as part of the team, and I helped to recruit somebody of with with greater experience that could do that role that I had been doing for the last of 18 months, two years. Um and it was that was tough. That was really tough. I went from having that glass-fronted office to moving out of that glass-fronted. So all the senior leaders had those these glass-fronted off around a big open plan office for you know everyone else. Um, it was just the way the building had been designed. And I had to, I came out of that office and sat back in the open plan area outside of what had been my office to watch someone else walk in, as you can imagine. That was um that that was tough. I felt guilt, I felt shame, I felt a lot of things. And over the course of what was really about a three-year period um following that moment, um I really reassessed and revalued what was most important to me. There was another there was another moment that I remember specifically. I was um getting ready for work one morning and I was stood in the shower, and it was like there was a it was like there was a whisper on my heart that I couldn't hear or make out what the whisper was saying. And I that morning I decided to turn to that whisper inside of me and go, what what are you saying? What are you saying to me? Let me try and listen, let me try and hear. And essentially it was saying, You're made for more than this. And I was like, but what? But like, but what? I I don't know what that is. And although the answer didn't come there and then, I remember stepping out of the shower and my feet touching the bath mat. And at that point, I'd made a decision that I no longer wanted a job or a career, but I wanted a life's mission, a work that I could feel like I could jump out of bed for every day. And that's what I then spent the next three years kind of exploring with excitement and possibility what that could be and what that could look like, and following my heart and what was lighting what was lighting me up.

Tim Newman:

Right.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

And ultimately that led me to oh over 10 years ago now, launching my business, Elevar, um, where we help leaders to lead better, live better, and love what they do.

Tim Newman:

Yeah, it that it's such a powerful story to to go from you know doing what we think everybody wants us to do, and like you said, trying to get to the next weekend or trying to just get through this project. And you know what, if I just get through it, every it's gonna be so much better. I'll be able to relax, I'll be able to relax. But no, because you start working on the next project before you even that project is finished, and then well, okay, I'll just you know what, I just have to get to July. And and then it's just I just have to get to the end of the year, and then it it it never ends. And it's that it's that inner talk that we give that we have ourselves. If we don't do it, then we're gonna let we're letting somebody down, we're letting our balls down, we're letting our team down, letting my family down. Um, and you know, I I I've kind of been there, you know. What you know, if I was at work, I was my mind was at home. If I was at home, my mind was at work, and I wasn't helping anybody either, right? You know, so you're you're you're you're you're stuck, and it's that constant, I'm like you say, the guilt of I'm not I'm not helping anybody, I'm letting everybody down. Nothing's getting done at the level that we want it to get done at. And it's the pressure that we're putting on ourselves to um to fulfill something that we think somebody else wants.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Yeah, absolutely. And when when we're regulating ourselves, because that's essentially what we're doing. We're regulating how we're feeling, we're, you know, suppressing perhaps how we are feeling. I think that was one of the biggest lessons I learned from that whole time, which was that mindset isn't everything. I had been a I'm I'm gonna say healthily obsessed with practical psychology and what makes us successful, happy, and fulfilled, and how we can uh manage and direct our moods and emotions. And I had been obsessed with that for you know 10 years, kind of running up to this time when I collapsed, and I had forgotten my biology, like the psychology is great, but actually you also need the biology, and yeah, uh and and it it sounds so simple when I say it now. We know that our minds and our bodies they're not separate things, right? Um, but I I was so convinced that well, I you know, I've just got to get better at managing this, or I can reframe this, or I can uh uh up until the point that my body eventually went back.

Tim Newman:

It shuts down. It it it shuts down. And and that's that's the the the the biggest problem that that I think we we we don't ever connect the two, right? You know, because again, being I started having health issues. You know, I mean and j you know uh you know physical internal uh health issues and uh and and it it it changed that because of those health issues it it had we had to change lifestyle because I couldn't do I physically couldn't do the things that I wanted to do or or used to be able to do. And that made things even worse because I would I would I would get frustrated and mad about well why I should still be able to do these things and not knowing what was truly happening, you know, biologically and and psych psychologically, tying it all back to, you know, again, who I was trying to be, right? For for other people.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Absolutely is crazy. Absolutely. You know, it's it and and it's sometimes it's it's even in the little things, you know. I could be the first I'd be the first to switch the lights on in the office in the morning, I'd be the last to switch the lights off at night. I would walk around and and if I was gonna get lunch, I can remember walking around like shoveling food in my mouth. I was walking to different people's desks to go and to go and catch up with them. Meeting cultures can be um incredibly difficult because we get into cultures in organizations where it's back-to-back meetings, and actually the etiquette behind those meetings is not necessarily great practice.

Tim Newman:

Right.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

And where is then the time for us to do our work? And we and and we're not establishing our boundaries and saying, you know, do I really need to be in this? And like does this really need to be half an hour? All of those good things that means we create time within the day, not only to be able to restore ourselves, um, but also to be able to do our work and to be able to do our best work to, you know, to to to that. So um yeah, that was a that that was a a a huge a huge lesson. And there has been times when, you know, I can I have felt myself move back towards that even, you know, just to say that it's not always it's not always perfect. It wasn't like a once and then okay, that's it. Because I think there is I think particularly with people who are driven to achieve great things, when when when we achieve that project, when we get that thing done, or when we deliver that speech, or whatever it is, that that comes with it, some of that high and dopamine kick dopamine, that's right. Quite addictive to kind of be chasing that next that next thing. And that's that then within that is where there's been much more nuance, I think, that I've learned in the 10 years since this. At times when I felt myself kind of coming towards that burnout again, is checking in, checking myself, and recognizing actually that my best work comes when I'm in flow, when I am energized, when I have restored well, and that those things that restore us good food, sleep, nature, daylight, movement, hydration, you know, those those things that restore us, they aren't the reward for the work. They're a critical input to be able to do our best work and bring our best selves to whatever it is that we're doing.

Tim Newman:

Yeah, absolutely. And and I I kind of think it's from a generational perspective, you know, how we have viewed work and the idea of of work-life balance. Um, I tell uh tell the story of you know, my my youngest daughter. She's a lot like me, type A personality, very driven, very smart, very I just call myself smart. Um very very I didn't mean it.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

I'm quite quite right too, quite right. This is your daughter that came back from kindergarten day one and was like upset that they hadn't taught her to read already.

Tim Newman:

No, this is this is the other one. This is the younger one. Yeah, the the yeah, so it wants in the family too. But I I trust me, my my kids are so and and this is weird for me. I I think kids today, and now my my youngest is 31, but kids today are so much smarter than we were at that age, or I was at that age. Um, like my five-year-old is so much smarter than my kids when they were five. And for what for whatever reason, I I can't figure out why that is. Um, but what they what they know, you know, their speech patterns, the words that they use, I mean, it's to me it's it's insane.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Um it's interesting, isn't it? Because I think in in some ways, um the world is exponentially better um at the moment, you know, think about life expectancy or the technology and the connectivity that we have. I mean, I was reminding myself the other day that to have even just a two or three minute call with someone across the pond like you are, Tim, like 20 years ago would have cost us an arm and a leg for me to make this call. And here we are, we're doing it with beautiful clarity and video, and it's uh all good. Um, anyway, um, things are getting exponentially better, but at the same time, I think, perhaps paradoxically, things are getting exponentially worse as well, you know, and we look at some of the issues facing the world, you know, and climate, climate change. Um the even coming back to that connectivity point, yes, we are more connected to one another in many senses.

Tim Newman:

But less connected.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Perhaps we lost connection with ourselves, because I think this is what we're talking about here, with perhaps our families, because you were also talking about that, and and and perhaps with nature, maybe as as well. I think it's easy in the what is a very fast-paced world today to lose connection with those things that are really important for grounding us.

Tim Newman:

Yeah, and such good points. And I and I think, you know, just take climate change as as a for example, how how things aren't necessarily necessarily better. You know, I I think what we've done is we've taken these issues. Do you know anybody who wants dirty water? Have you ever heard somebody say, you know what, let me go get a glass a glass of nice dirty water. Let me breathe some some horrible polluted air, right? Uh I think everybody I've never met anybody who said that. Uh and we've we demonize people or the media has allowed us to demonize people who um may maybe agree, maybe disagree, but say, well, if you don't agree with this piece of it, you're the worst person in the world. What instead of saying, you know what, we all want this. Yeah. How we get to that maybe a little bit nuanced. Let's let's instead of demonizing those other people, why don't we try and work together and find a a better solution than calling this person over here horrible or this person over here a liar, but whatever it is. Okay, do you want clean air yet? Do you want clean water? Yeah, do you do you want you want to clean up the oceans? Absolutely. Do you I mean all those nobody says that they don't want those things. Let's let's let's start from where we agree and work forward as opposed to, well, you you disagree and you're the worst person in the world, so we can't even talk about it. You know, and I think I think that's a big, big problem.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

And and and this is a big part of the work that I do and the leaders that I work with, is we have we are facing a time of unprecedented um change, uncertainty, and overlapping and interconnected challenges. And that can feel overwhelming. And so I feel part of my role is how do I make sure that and how do I work with leaders so that they can show up with the clarity, with the calm, with the compassion that enables those around them to bring their best work as well. Because as a as a human race, I think when we come together and we work as you've been describing, we we have tremendous ability to adapt and do wonderful things. Yes, but it does take us coming together together with that, yeah.

Tim Newman:

And and and treating people with love, respect, and kindness, you know.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Absolutely, and it starts with ourselves, that's not that's not separate, and that can be really hard for leaders to get because they are very often putting other people before themselves, and you you know, it or maybe it almost feels selfish or counterintuitive that I put myself, I you know, I I put myself or my the the you know age old one with chlorine oxygen mask on first, you know?

Tim Newman:

Yeah, so I I I give blood every time that I I'm able to, I go I go and I give blood, right? And so it that time for me was like maybe a week ago. And it was 11 30 in the morning, I was supposed to go, and up to that point, I I'd been aggravated. One thing happened, it would aggravate me. The next thing would happen, it would aggravate, aggravate, aggravate. So I go in and they take my blood pressure and my blood pressure is high. And she said, Is it normally high? I said, No, I'm just I've been aggravated all day. And I'm just I'm me when I go in, I'm I'm nice to people, you know, make them laugh. And I saw when I said that, I saw her, I saw the nurse step back, I said, I'm not aggravated with you. I, you know, you know, and and and I had to to to bring her back and say, you know, unl unless you were, you know, part of the conspiracy to to aggravate me all day, it's it has nothing to do with you. And it kind of made her laugh, but that reminded me that we can't bring our baggage into any other situation. Because number one, we don't know what that other person is dealing with at all. And a smile could help. And it's it's not fair to those other people for us to bring our our baggage, our aggravation, our upsetness, whatever it is, and and place it on them. That's for us to deal with with the people that have were the situations that have that have caused those things. Yes. And that's so I think that's so important for other for leaders to to understand as well, because if let's just say, you know, mid-level manager goes in to senior level manager, and uh senior level manager is saying, Look, you you you're not getting it done, you've got to cut budgets, you've got to cut positions, this, that, and the other thing, and they then they go and they talk to their team and they start berating their team, it's not the team's fault. I mean, he's got to deal with those types of things and figure out ways to inspire and motivate that team to to get back to wherever it is that they need to be. And and coming in aggravate is not going to get it done.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

No, and incredibly difficult in those kind of situations and circumstances. And um, I mean, just you know, coming back to how um things can emotionally impact us and impact our biology and our ability to be able to perform well. Um, I do a lot of work with um a company called CHX Performance. Their co-founder is Professor Chris Beattie, and he is a professor of evolutionary anthropology and cognition and neuroscience at both Oxford and Kent University. And he will often talk about as human beings, we're very social creatures.

Tim Newman:

Yes.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Um, and essentially we have five social or mammal needs that you know they will have, they will vary in their degree of importance to us in any given time of our lives, but these are really important, and when they are triggered, that if those needs are not being met, that's going to cause significant emotional dysregulation. And if that's not being dealt with or you know, being resolved, as you said, with either the something or someone that's caused that, then if we're not very careful, that's clinically predictive of certain outcomes and risks, like disengagement from work, like um increase in negative bias, uh, mental and physical health problems, which we've both talked about, um, departure and burnout, which we've obviously been talking about. And I I, you know, you you've got a story to share perhaps about your daughter here as well. And it's kind of actually if we're not resolving those uh those emotions and seeing those emotional uh those emotions as useful signals, I think sometimes it's very easy for us to think these emotions are getting in the way. Just like push them to the back or to the side or wherever. They are actually incredibly useful signals. And when we can see them as that and understand what they are what they are telling us, and we can have open, honest, and constructive conversations if it is somebody that is that is is is causing that, um that's what leads to teams that can be more trusting of one another, can be more inclusive of one another, uh, will be more engaged. And um so far from being annoying things, these feelings are absolutely critical to individual performance and cultures within our days.

Tim Newman:

Yeah, I in in in culture culture is so important, and I and I think it's uh I think it's uh often too uh uh o overlooked to its to its detriment. Um you know, when when you if you've just say, for example, you have somebody who is um a naysayer not not uh not buying in not buying into uh the the culture of of the organization, that can that can have uh d delirious effects on on productivity and and the team, because uh you know person B over here is gonna say, well, this person over here is isn't buying in, so why should I do it? And then and then it just becomes a cancer. And uh it you know, we've got to find ways to either you know get that person on board or have them understand that maybe it's time for them to move on. And again, that's okay, right?

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Yeah, it's it it it is, it is okay. And I I I I know because I've had this very that uh very real example with a very senior individual and a senior leadership team in an organization, and you you have to ask the question, how long are you gonna let that rotten apple stay in the barrel and be affecting all of those other apples?

Tim Newman:

Right.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Um yeah, and and uh some of these conversations to resolve the emotional dysregulation are not comfortable or easy conversations to necessarily have, but so critically important.

Tim Newman:

And and you know you you you got to see some of these types of conversations when you were really young. Um your mom owned a large uh hair salon and and you you worked in there and you you worked the front desk. So you were the first person that that the clients came in to see. How did how did that really kind of shape your um communication strategy, your your mindset, your business strategy, and and and how did that kind of evolve?

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

I wouldn't have said this at the time, but looking back, the fact that we had 300 clients a week coming in through those doors, and I was very often the first person that they would see. I had two telephone lines coming in, and I would need to assess very, very quickly from their body language how they were looking, moving, breathing, what they were saying, exactly where they were at, so that I could meet them with where they were at and have the most influential and positive impact on that communication that I had with them. And so I so I I one of the things that I take away master. And I've worked there from the age of 12 to 21. So one of the things that I think I really took away from that was this how do we communicate, how do we read people? And um and therefore how do we adapt our communication styles so that we can have positive outcomes and be implementing positively with them. Yeah.

Tim Newman:

Yeah, and and and it's I I think it's so important to learn that at a young age. And obviously you had a good role model with your mom and be and being a business owner and understanding that you know you you can't just blow it off. And it's important and it's it's it's important for any number of reasons, but you know, in in in that case, it's important to um you know, for for the bottom line for the business, it's also important for for the the customer to be able to um or the stylist to be able to communicate and w with the with the customer to give them what they wanted to get them to to relax so that they could actually give give them the the services that that they needed.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Ah, absolutely. And you know, we'd have a we'd have such a variety of different customers coming in, we'd have a solicitor that would come in and make sure that her hair was done before she was in court any time that she was going into court. She was very needed to be you know dealt with very proficiently, very very effectively, didn't want to mess around, everything you know needed to be just right, and she wanted to be in and out. And then you had people who did come in and they might be really, really nervous, people who've not had their hair cut in in years and are coming in for a restyle, and they're you know, they're they're feeling quite nervous about what that might be, and and everything in between. I I think another thing for me about working in the salon, which carries on in the work that I do today, is the way that you can really help to have a positive impact on others. I'll never forget answering the phone one day, and it was a woman who had cancer. She was having chemotherapy and she'd lost the hair. And her family had clubbed together to buy her a real hair wig to give her the confidence to be able to go out. Um, but this real hair wig was very tatty, it wasn't in any shape or style that particularly suited her, and she knew it needed to be cut. Well, unlike real hair, you cut a wig once, it's not burnt black. Right. She was saying to me, you know, I'm just very nervous about this. Like, what can I do? Or I've never been to see you before. And I said, you know, that there's one person I want to book you in to look at. And she was also very um, she she she also wanted it to be kept private as well. So she didn't be sitting, you know, in a salon with people seeing through the windows of what was being done. So we kept the salon open later that night, and she came right at the end of the day, and and my mum, of course, looked after her. Um, and the transformation in that woman and her energy and going out with her new real hair wig in a cut and a shape that just made her feel a million dollars was just incredible. And and that happened all the time, right? It wasn't that's that story stands out for me be because of it, but it that happened all the time, you know. You'd see people coming in a little bit stressed or a bit frazzled or and them going out, you know, feeling calm and refreshed and just like, oh, I feel so much better.

Tim Newman:

Right.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

And um, and and I and I and I love that that as human beings we get to be able to support one another in those kind of ways.

Tim Newman:

Yeah, and it especially in that situation, and and it and I say that, but you know, it goes for any number of just different situations where where somebody just wants to be heard, they they want they want people to to to just hear them. And it that just by by just feeling heard, you know, feeling listened to, that changes their mindset altogether. Um even if you couldn't have helped her, if you had tried and d and done those things, she would have felt so much better. But in in that situation, uh, you know, going through what she's going through, that probably, you know, that probably changed her life, honestly.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Yeah. Yeah. And I and I'm in the fortunate position that there has been many people that have changed the trajectory of my life in very positive ways. Um and I I I I know you've got some exciting news coming up in terms of the coaching and the speaking and the training that you're qualified in now as well, Tim. You perhaps tell us a bit about that in just a second. Um and uh because I really do believe in that personal development journey. And uh and let me add this that personal development journey, not just so not just so it's not about necessarily what we get or we achieve, but it's about who we become in the process and what we do with that. I think that's the thing, it's not just about the self-actualization and this, you know, that fulfillment. That's a really important part of what we're doing, but it's then how do we then show up as the leaders our world needs right now?

Tim Newman:

Right.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

And so it's it it's it's bringing that back to you know, reporting for duty with our families, with our communities, in our organizations, and being able to show up as as the best that we can. And what I was gonna say was those people that have touched my I've I've been fortunate to work with some of the best coaches in the world, and um, and I have I have three mentors that I see and speak to regularly, and that there is the the the podcasts and things, you know, this type of thing are so wonderful. And I would encourage people to be fertilizing their minds with you know, kind of good sources of information and um continuing to find courage and be brave and to operate in that amber zone, you know, so we know the green zone is that comfort zone. It's not about being in the red zone and being completely stressed and you know, but how do we spend more of our time in that amber zone where we are, you know, we are stretching, we are becoming, we are evolving who we are. And um with that view of how do we how do we better serve?

Tim Newman:

Yeah, and that and again, that that's the key. I mean you can you can have mentors, you can take classes, you can listen to podcasts, you can do all those things, but if you don't actually put it into action, if you don't actually step outside your house and actually use that and and again connect with people and treat them with love, kindness, and respect, then what it's you you haven't done anything. You you it it's just become an abstract idea. It's it's actually doing that and touching people and and becoming who you say you want to want to actually be. It's so it's so important to actually do it.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

And coming back to what you were asking me about right at the beginning and my story, I didn't always feel like it was possible for me to become the person that I am now. If you can imagine, you know, going back to that point where I was in that corporate role. And even when I decided that I wanted to leave the corporate world and start my own business, it was shrouded in in doubt and um fear and questioning about whether I could or uh I would be capable of doing that. And and it's not even been a straight line since then.

Tim Newman:

Right.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

You know, and uh a couple of very quick stories, but I think that life does test us. Um I had decided to leave the corporate world and very fortunately had an offer of um of a redundancy situation, a settlement agreement through the through the company. They were restructuring the teams again, and my role wasn't going to exist the way that it had been existing. And um, so that was an option for me to take. And the day before I signed that paperwork, my husband and I found out that we were pregnant with our first child.

Tim Newman:

That's awesome.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

It's awesome. It's also incredibly fun, you know, kind of start a business with a baby in my arms. I'm already gonna do this. Um, and um, you know, so that was that was one challenge initially. And I think sometimes we can't always see the road ahead clearly, but to trust and take those first steps, always I always remember it feeling like I was at this edge of a misty lake. And I there were stepping stones across the lake, but all I could see was the first stepping stone, and it's I can't see where I'm going. Like, I don't know how this is gonna work, how I'm gonna have a baby and build this business and and and and somehow when you commit to that first step, more of the mist lifts, and you see with greater clarity the next step, and then the next step, and then you know, eventually it becomes clearer and clearer where you're headed and what you're doing. But sometimes you have to take that leap and that that that step forwards and trust that you're following your heart and doing the right thing. And um COVID was another time where I lost 95% of my business overnight during COVID and effectively had to rebuild again. And I've rebuilt better and stronger, and the business is doing better now than it had ever done pre-COVID. Uh, but you know, it that was a real tough 12 months, 12, 18 months, really, really tough. And you start to question, can I do this? That's where the coaches and the mentors are really important to keep it.

Tim Newman:

Really important. Because, you know, the that inner voice is you telling yourself that you can't do it or that you know you shouldn't do it because of this, that, or the other thing. And and having people within your inner circle that are in and I'm not saying that you need or should have people in your inner circle that are yes people, oh yeah, you're the greatest thing ever. Yes, you can do it, yes, you can do it. Don't worry about it, you've got this. But having people in your inner circle that you can actually trust that are going to hit you straight with whatever it is, yes, you yes, you can do it. These are the things that you need to look at, these are the things that you need to plan forward, need to approach and and and address. If you do those things, yes, you can do this. Um, it's not all gonna be, you know, red roses, right? It's it there's going to be bumps in the road. But having people in your inner circle who are gonna shoot you straight and help you get over that inner dialogue that is the one that's really keeping us down, is it's critical.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

My coach calls it fierce empathy, which I like. It's like it's it's like simultaneously I have the ability to kick you up the arse while giving you a massive hug. I'm like, yeah, you do, you do. And and I message I messaged one of my mentors earlier this week, and I was like, can you take a look at this? So it's something that I'd produced, and I was like, I want you to, I want you to tell me like where's the BS in this, right? And how can I make it even more true? And you know, uh that they are you you need you absolutely do you need that.

Tim Newman:

Yeah.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Always within my within my coaching, I will whatever I do is from a place of compassion and love. But sometimes we all need calling out.

Tim Newman:

Exactly. Oh no, absolutely. And and it's it's I I I I think you know, people get they they confuse things. They they confuse the the idea of support with telling you everything's gonna be okay when guess what? Sometimes it it may not be okay, right? But but I'm going to be there with you to help you get through it, right? There that's that extra extra step. And you know, my wife and I are very, very different people. Um she's a nurturer. I mean, she'll come and she'll rub your back and you know, tell you it's gonna be okay and we'll get you through it. And I'm just I I'm the direct person. Okay. We these are things that these are the steps that have to be taken. Let's just put your boots on, let's let's let's trudge on through trudge on through it. I'm with you, but I'm not I'm not gonna be the guy that that that's you know, ru rubbing your back. So, you know, there's there's different ways of of being that support system and and and you know helping people through it, but don't confuse the idea of um support with just telling you everything's gonna be okay, because that's not it's not being honest.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

No, no, absolutely. And this will tie into uh, you know, I know you've done a huge amount of work um with uh with John Maxwell and um and congratulations because I believe you've got a very important date coming up soon.

Tim Newman:

Yeah, we've we've I've got some some really good things coming up this this weekend, and um it it to me it's it it goes back to to mentorship and and proximity, be you know, be in having people in your inner circle that uh are of like mind, that um are doing the things that you want to do, that you can um uh go feed off of them. But again, it's it's not that I'm just sucking everything out. I also have to provide value back to them as well, right? That that's that's that's also something that I think is forgotten in terms of um coaching, networking, and mentoring. Um you still have to provide value back to those people that are providing you value. And um th this weekend for me is it's I I've been looking forward to it for about six months. Um and uh I I don't want to give too much away, but uh when so I I just put out a uh uh the episode that came out this morning, actually. So so this episode is gonna come out in in a few weeks. The episode I put out this morning, I told people in that episode that, you know, I'm gonna have a big announcement here in two weeks.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

And we're going to MyState.

Tim Newman:

That's okay. That's okay. So I'm excited about it.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

And now you'll know by the time this comes out, people will it's very exciting.

Tim Newman:

It is. And you know, it's um again, so it's things don't just happen either, right? You have to actually put in the work, and that's that's an another key distinction um that that I think some of the younger generations miss. And I'm not I'm not bashing yo some of the younger generations, but it's the the idea that there's expectations or there's um entitlement. You you have to actually do the work. You have to actually put yourself out there, do the hard things, do the things that you're uncomfortable doing, and get through it and get to the other side, and then you can look back and say, wow, number one, it wasn't that hard. Number two, I've grown so much from it. Number number three, I've learned so much from it. Number four, I can start providing people with so much more value and helping people that you know I may not have been able to help before on and on and on.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Absolutely. Are you talking about um that mentality, that go-giver mentality that you were describing there, and how important it is not just to go to networks and um people to get, but also to give. I don't know if you read this book, but um it's one that I love that's by um Bud Berg and John David Mann. It's called The Go-Giver. Great, great, not a big book. It's um it's it's a it's a little story, um, but it's all about that go-giver, I that go-giver mentality and idea. And I just I I love it. And and this is what I this is what I have applied in my 10 years of business, and it served me really, really well.

Tim Newman:

That's I just wrote that down, it's gonna be the next the the next book. That's it. Thank you so much. Rachel, we we didn't even get to half the things that we want to talk to, so um, we're gonna have to schedule more time. If if if if you have more time, um, I'd I'd love to to get you scheduled back on and and um you know finish this discussion. I I I think you and I could talk for for for days and days. Um I you know it's there's so much synergy there. And and I you again, you you bring so so much good information and value. Uh I'd again I'd love to get you back on.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Oh gosh, Tim, I would love to join you. And if anything that we've been talking about today has resonated with any of your listeners, I have got something practical that they would be able to take away. Have you got just a couple of questions?

Tim Newman:

Oh yes, ma'am, please, please share.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Yes, okay. So I have created a very simple tool called the pause. It's just five questions, but they're the kind that can cut through the noise that I was describing that can really leave you feeling overwhelmed and um and stressed out and anxious, and they can help you lead from that place of truth, not fear. So if anybody would like that, they can download it for free at l of r.co.uk. That's e-l-l-e-v-ar-r. Um, or connect with me on LinkedIn, and I'd be very happy to send that with um with anyone who wants a little more clarity and calm in the middle of what is often very chaotic. And Tim, perhaps we can also make sure that those links are with the show notes as well for people to easily find.

Tim Newman:

Yes, I'll I will make sure that those are in the show notes. Um thank you so much for for that resource. I again it's it's something that I I I know is gonna help help our listeners. And that's one of the things that that I love about our guests. You know, they they they give our listeners something that as soon as they listen to the episode, they can go and start putting into practice today. Don't wait. Put it into practice today and watch, watch how your how your life changes. What you know, what watch how your communication changes, watch how your leadership changes, watch, watch how it how it affects the people that are around you. It's it's very impactful. Thank you so much.

Rachael Edmondson-Clarke:

Tim, thank you for all you bring and all you do, and I will be delighted to come and join you again. Thank you.

Tim Newman:

Awesome. Thank you so much, and and uh we'll we'll talk soon. Be sure to visit speakingwithconfidence podcast.com to get your free ebook, Top 21 Challenges for Public Speakers and How to Overcome. You can also register for the Forum for Public Speaking Forum. Always remember your voice is a power changer. We'll talk to you next time.

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Tim Newman

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