Lead Louder. 2026 Starts Now!

Speaker 1: I'm Melanie [music] Bar. Welcome back to the Sheila Tip podcast, your go-to place to empower you to live the life and business that you crave. [music] I'm here to talk about everything from having the courage to make life and career leaps to the details of how to lead effectively, create successful teams, [music] implement strategies for growth, and infuse tech innovation. I'm here to celebrate your wins [music] and navigate through your challenges. I live in the city now, but I grew up in [music] a town of a thousand people. I've navigated major life leaps, a senior level corporate career, worked in professional sports, and now as a successful entrepreneur who loves business, technology, family, and making meaningful [music] connections with you and the She Built It Community. I also love a good workout and dose of [music] self-care. Magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us [music] joy. So, turn up the audio, open your favorite notes app, grab your favorite drink, and [music] here we go. Most leaders talk about the moments that shaped them. Not the moments they got passed over. Not the moments they stayed quiet when they should have spoken up. Not the moments they thought leadership saw their success only to find out no one actually knew. But those are the moments that shape careers more than any highlight reel. And as we wrap up this year and look towards 2026, the way you handle these moments will quietly determine your momentum, your confidence, and the opportunities you allow yourself to pursue. Today we're talking about leadership obstacles, but more importantly about advocating for yourself and trusting your instincts when the moment is right. Welcome back to the Shable Podcast. I'm Melanie Bar. If you're here, it's because you care about the way you lead. You care about your growth, your impact, your calling, and the people who depend on you. But leadership is not tidy. It's full of moments that test you. I want to share a story from my early corporate days that did not feel wise or strong in the moment. It felt small and it felt disappointing, but it became a turning point for how I lead today. Then we'll talk through a simple end ofear reflection so you can enter 2026 with confidence. Years ago, I was in a leadership role where I was handling large accounts, driving revenue, and doing work that I was really proud of. I remember sitting at the conference table in a room full of about 30 people with a clear moment where I should have spoken up. I had information. I had successes to share. And I had results that truly mattered to the company. But I didn't speak. Not because I wasn't prepared. Not because I didn't know my value, but because I assumed everyone already knew how well things were going. I thought my manager was advocating for me behind the scenes. I thought leadership understood the results I was producing. I thought silence was humility. Later, I learned something that hit me hard. They didn't know. My manager at the time was not advocating for me. My success was not being shared, and no one could value work that they didn't even know existed. I remember sitting at my desk later that day with this sinking feeling, not shame, just clarity. I had trusted that the room would speak for me, but that room wasn't built to do that. That moment stayed with me for years, because it taught me a truth I'll never forget. Silence is not strategy, and hoping someone else speaks up for you is not leadership. That moment is one of the reasons I built She Built It Media. I wanted women to have space where their work is recognized and not hidden. Where their voices are heard and not passed over. Where leadership is not earned quietly behind the scenes but lived out loud. Every leadership challenge is trying to show you something. Even the ones that feel uncomfortable. Even the ones you wish you'd handled differently. Ask yourself, what is this obstacle trying to show me? In my situation, the obstacle showed me. I needed to advocate for myself. I needed to trust my instincts and not silence them to blend in. For you, it might look something like a promotion you didn't get is showing you the company's ceiling. A project loss is showing you where you need more support. Obstacles are not barriers. They are direction. End of year at times has a way of making things feel heavy. Plans might not have gone the way you hoped. leadership didn't respond how you expected and the progress you imagine might not have shown up. But you always have something in your control. You control your preparation. You control your communication. You control how you follow up. You control what you build next. You control your growth. You control your boundaries. And you control your vision for 2026. You cannot control how others react. But you can decide how you show up and where you choose to put your energy. When I built she built it media, I was very aware of that old meeting. I remembered the feeling of not speaking up. The memory shaped how I show up today. It shapes the rooms I choose to be in. It shaped how I advocate for myself and encourage my clients and my team members to do the same. Your past experiences will shape you, too. If you allow them to teach you instead of shrink you, imagine yourself in 2026. a wiser version of you, a more grounded version of you, a more confident version of who has lived through 2025 and grown from it. Ask yourself, how would the future me describe what I'm facing right now? The answer might be, that moment pushed me to advocate for myself more clearly. That season showed me where I need to grow next. That obstacle became part of my confidence. That challenge was the reason I stepped into something bigger. Leadership becomes clearer when you borrow wisdom from the version of you who already survived this. As you plan for 2026, ask yourself three but simple, powerful questions. What needs to end this year? Maybe it's a habit of staying quiet. Maybe it's working without support. What do I want more of next year? More leadership opportunities, more confidence, more peace, more revenue, more alignment. What is one step I can take before this year ends? Not 10 steps, just one. One conversation, one decision, one shift in how you show up. 2026 doesn't begin in January. It begins with how you close this year. Every founder, athlete, and leader I interview has a story about a moment where they stayed quiet, doubted themselves, or felt like the door was closing. They grew anyway. Real leadership is not built on perfect choices. It's built on honest reflection and daily courage. You are not alone in the moments that feel uncomfortable. You are not behind. You are in the part of the story where things sharpen. Obstacles are not evidence of failure. They are evidence that you are in the arena. And the way you interpret this moment will influence how you step in to 2026. Thank you for joining us today. I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me at hell@ shebiltit.com on our shebuiltit website or at shebuiltit on social. [music] Thank you to my editor, Rich Duffalino, who always makes us sound good. Until next [music] time, let nothing stop you from experiencing the life and business that you crave.