13.2 How to Define Your Vision and Stand Firm When Others Don't Understand| create your own vision, owning your vision, how to stop living someone else’s life, leadership vision, female leadership
- E13
- 18:21
- November 16th 2025
Sharing your vision with someone you trust only to have them tear it down? You're not alone. Many leaders struggle with knowing when to protect their dreams and when to defend them.
In this episode, discover the practical questions to ask yourself before defending your vision. Learn how to reclaim your dreams from people who don't understand where you're headed. You'll walk away knowing exactly when someone deserves access to your vision and when protecting it is the wiser choice.
This isn't about making perfect decisions. It's about owning your vision with confidence and making choices you're proud of, regardless of the outcome.
You'll learn:
✓ Who deserves to hear your vision in the first place
✓ The difference between protecting and defending your dreams
✓ How to defend your vision without damaging relationships
✓ What to do when people you love can't see what you see
If you're ready to stop giving everyone access to your dreams and start leading with clarity, this episode is for you.
Ready to take your leadership to the next level?
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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]
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