13.1 Finding Your Leadership Vision and Purpose Without Having All the Answers| create your own vision, personal vision statement, owning your vision, reclaim your dreams, people don’t understand my vision
- E13
- 12:15
- November 1st 2025
Feeling paralyzed when someone asks about your five-year plan? You're managing back-to-back meetings, family logistics, and career decisions — but clarity on your vision and purpose feels impossible to find.
In this episode, we're talking about seeking clarity on your vision and purpose as a female leader. You'll discover how to develop skills that help you know the difference between divine direction and distraction, plus what to do when you don't have all the answers yet.
You don't need to see the whole staircase to take the first step. Learn how to pick apart your existing vision, incorporate what matters most to you, create a life-stress test for your goals, and choose the right people to guide you. This episode gives you permission to not have all the answers while still moving forward with purpose and clarity.
Ready to take your leadership to the next level? Subscribe to the Prioritize Wellbeing for Female Leaders podcast, leave us a review, and book a complimentary 15-minute session here to discuss your leadership goals.
The Prioritizing Wellbeing for Female Leaders Podcast with Gayleen Swiggum | holistic leadership, leadership wellbeing, military leadership, leadership development, faith-based leadership
Do you push through exhaustion because your team needs you?
Do you wonder how to take care of yourself while taking care of everyone else?
Are you tired of feeling like you have to choose between being a good leader and protecting your wellbeing?
As a leader forged in military culture, I was taught that a leader's wellbeing was second to that of their people. After almost 10 years of leading teams around the globe in the world's greatest Air Force, I realized how untrue that teaching really is. Six months into my corporate transition from active duty service, I found myself in uncontrollable tears on the dingy carpet of my apartment floor. I thought I would finally be a part of an organization that would give me the time to take care of me because they cared about my wellbeing beyond what I could produce for them. I realized other than the title and the company, nothing had really changed. I was still working 12+ hour days, still fighting a system that put its goals before its people, and still expected to answer my boss at all hours of the night.
Then it hit me – I didn't understand how to tend to my own wellbeing. I never made the time. I didn’t know how. I didn't understand something I was expecting others to do for me. The crying stopped. I sat up, wiped the tears from my face, took a deep breath and let out a sigh of determination. I knew what I needed to do next. That's when I embarked on the toughest journey during the darkest time of my life. I had to figure out how to lead a team and heal myself at the same time – truly heal, not just the quick recovery that gets you through the next week.
It was in these two plus years of stepping back to understand myself again that I recognized how much better I became as a leader. I had a different perspective in understanding others, connecting with others, and leading more effectively. When we understand ourselves – intentionally and completely – we become the impactful leaders our world needs.
That experience gave me the skills to create an environment of trust and empowerment that I'd never been able to create before – not only for my team, but my co-workers and managers as well. I'm grateful to still experience the power of that impact almost a year after leaving the corporate arena. It was during those two years of healing and leading that I discovered two truths:
- Balance is overrated. Harmony is how we were meant to live.
- Simple is more effective than doing 'all the things,' but that doesn't mean it will be easy.
On this podcast, I share real stories and solutions from my 20+ years of leadership experience, taking care of my wellbeing the wrong way, and learning how to heal while leading an amazing team. If you're a driven female leader who struggles with perfectionism, burnout, and self-sabotage more than you'd like to admit, join me to learn simple solutions that help you prioritize your wellbeing so you can truly lead by example.
Learn more: gayleenswiggum.com
Let’s connect: [email protected]
Schedule your complimentary discovery call: https://link.lsaglobal.net/widget/booking/D6EuDrj4oaea68pt5AoE
Schedule your coaching call: https://link.lsaglobal.net/widget/booking/yYwzEA4R6YwDtHS4DA2x
Share: https://pod.co/prioritize-wellbeing-for-female-leaders