Edition 2025.08.07
In this issue: If you’ve been taught to minimize emotion in leadership, you’re leaving power on the table. This week, learn how emotion—consciously used—sharpens insight, builds trust, and multiplies your impact.
Featuring insights from Judith, Bob, and the LiveWright Team.
The emotions you've been told to minimize are often your greatest gifts. Reclaiming them sharpens your vision, deepens your intuition, and unlocks your leadership edge.
I can’t count how many women I’ve coached who were told they were “too much”—too intense, too sensitive, too passionate.
So they toned themselves down. Smiled through conflict. Softened their truth. Minimized their power.
That’s exactly what one of our clients experienced.
She spent most of her career hearing that she was “intimidating” because she cared too deeply. That her passion made others uncomfortable.
So, like so many, she tried to hold herself back. To blend in. To become smaller. But shrinking herself didn’t create peace—it created disconnection.
In our work together, she began to shift. Instead of resisting her emotional intensity, she learned to listen to it. She began to notice the signals within: when she felt anger, it often pointed to a value being violated. When she felt sadness, it revealed a deeper yearning for purpose or impact. And when she felt joy? That was a signal, too—that she was in alignment.
And the result? Her team began to rise with her. Her passion wasn’t too much—it was contagious. Her willingness to feel more openly gave others permission to do the same. Together, they found a new kind of momentum—one rooted not in emotional suppression, but in emotional power.
Emotion, consciously used, becomes direction. It reveals what matters. It sharpens intuition. It inspires trust. Emotion is not the enemy—it’s the edge.
Try This: Power Retrieval Practice
1. Recall a moment this week when you felt “too much.”
2. Ask: What truth was that emotion pointing me to?
3. Reframe it: If this is power—not a problem—how would I express it?
When you honor your emotional truth, your voice deepens, your leadership expands—and your impact multiplies.
Want to stop apologizing for your intensity and start using it with purpose? Schedule your clarity call here.
One More Thought:
Because when you stop shrinking to fit, you stop leading from fear—and start leading from truth. And truth, fueled by passion, doesn’t just move people. It moves mountains.
LiveWright, with emotional fluency and fierce authority,
Dr. Judith Wright
Emotional intensity isn't a flaw—it's an engine. When you stop managing emotion and start integrating it, you accelerate clarity, connection, and impact.
I once coached a senior executive who said, “I keep my emotions out of the boardroom—I’m here to drive results.” But he was also driving away trust, alignment, and innovation.
Another leader we worked with had the opposite problem: her emotions weren’t hidden—they were visible. Too visible, according to the feedback. She’d been told her passion was overwhelming, that she cared “too much,” and that it made others uncomfortable.
So she did what many high-achieving women do—she tried to quiet it. Dampen it. Fit the mold. But trying to contain her fire only burned her out. It also disconnected her from her team.
In our work, she started asking new questions: What am I really feeling? What is this emotion trying to tell me? And that’s where the shift happened.
Her emotion became a compass. Frustration revealed misalignment. Excitement became a clue to her team’s potential. Even the moments of overwhelm carried insights—not about her weakness, but about her values.
As she tuned in, her leadership transformed. She didn’t explode or implode—she channeled. Her passion became purposeful. Her team didn’t shrink back—they stepped forward, inspired. Emotion became a force multiplier.
Emotion is not a disruption to results—it’s a catalyst for better ones. When a leader learns to work with their emotions—especially the intense ones—they stop reacting and start responding. They move from managing behavior to transforming culture.
At LiveWright, we see this again and again: Emotion is the fuel of real-time insight. The edge that helps a founder pivot fast. The signal that prevents a toxic hire. The heat that forges a bolder vision.
Try This: From Emotion to Execution
1. Identify one emotion you’ve recently labeled as “too much.”
2. Ask: What’s the signal here? What wisdom is this emotion offering me?
3. Channel it into aligned action. What could I do today to move from emotion to aligned execution?
When you practice this consistently, you’ll begin making sharper, faster decisions—because you’re no longer working against yourself. You’ll also notice more trust from your team, as your emotional clarity makes you easier to follow and harder to shake.
Ready to unlock the edge that emotion gives elite leaders? Book a discovery call.
Remember: the leaders who know how to turn feeling into forward motion aren’t just reacting to change—they’re shaping it.
LiveWright, where emotion becomes acceleration,
Dr. Bob Wright
The best teams aren’t just operationally sound—they’re emotionally intelligent. When emotion is welcomed, teams innovate faster, connect deeper, and lead from purpose.
In high-performance cultures, there’s a subtle myth that emotion is optional—or even a liability.
But what we’ve seen is that leaders who embrace their emotional awareness open the door for their teams to do the same. One client shared how, after years of trying to “hold it together” at work, she finally decided to name what she was really feeling. Frustration. Disappointment. Fierce hope.
Not only did she notice how her emotions pointed to misalignment in her own work—she started recognizing emotional signals in others, too. She began validating her team’s frustrations, not ignoring them. She gave space for their creativity and passion—not just their productivity.
That shift changed everything. Meetings became real. Ideas got braver. Collaboration deepened. Why? Because she had the courage to lead emotionally—and the team rose to meet her there.
The research is clear, and our decades of work affirm it: Teams with high emotional intelligence outperform. Period.
Try This: Team Emotion Integration Ritual
In your next meeting, ask each person to share:
1. One emotion they’re feeling this week at work.
2. One insight or action it’s prompting.
You’ll be amazed how fast honesty creates alignment—and how emotion sharpens execution.
We’re gathering participants for our next LiveMORE cohort, which will start this fall. If you’d like to join us, email hello@livewright.com, or visit livewright.com/LiveMORE to learn more.
Final Thought: Emotions don’t cloud leadership—they clarify it. Feel fully. Lead wisely. That’s your edge.
LiveWright, where your edge is emotional, and your power is integrated,
Dr. Bob, Dr. Judith, and the whole LiveWright Team