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Meditations on Leadership with Don Carpenter
Leadership begins within.
In Meditations on Leadership with Don Carpenter, author, youth development pioneer, and relational leadership coach Don Carpenter invites you into a weekly practice of deeper reflection, personal clarity, and meaningful connection.
Each episode begins with a short meditation from Don’s soon to be released book, The Inner Work of Leadership: 52 Meditations for a Life of Meaning, Courage, and Growth. From there, Don offers personal commentary and lived insights before welcoming a guest, leaders from all walks of life, to explore how that week’s theme plays out in their own professional journey. The episode closes with two powerful questions to help you pause, reflect, and grow as a leader from the inside out.
Whether you’re leading a team, a classroom, a nonprofit, or your own life, this podcast is a companion for those committed to doing the inner work that sustains courageous outer change.
Meditations on Leadership with Don Carpenter
The Courage to Face Shame
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In this episode of Meditations on Leadership, Don reflects on The Courage to Face Shame and the quiet ways shame can shape our leadership beneath the surface. Drawing from personal experience, he explores how shame often interrupts growth when it is internalized and hidden, and how awareness, honesty, and self compassion can begin to loosen its grip. The meditation invites listeners to reflect on self worth, the difference between guilt and shame, and why facing shame is an essential act of courage in leadership.
Don is joined by Dr. Catherine "Cat" Biddle, an educator and researcher focused on rural schools and communities. Together, they explore how shame shows up in individuals, organizations, and communities, often in quiet and unspoken ways. Their conversation reflects on leadership under pressure, the role of curiosity and empathy, and what helps leaders stay grounded when navigating mistakes, criticism, and uncertainty.
This episode is an invitation to lead with greater honesty and humanity, reminding us that being human is not a liability in leadership, but the place where growth begins.
To learn more about Don's work, upcoming offerings, and leadership resources, visit carpentercompanyconsulting.com
If something in today’s episode spoke to you, I hope you’ll subscribe and continue the journey with me — because leadership begins within.