Lead without Losing Yourself
A framework for empathetic leaders who struggle speaking up around authority.
You're confident with your peers. But put you in a room with senior leaders, and your voice disappears.
You're not broken. The rooms are broken.
I've spent 10+ years helping empathetic leaders build Authentic Authority—and I want to give you the framework I use with all my clients, completely free.
You’re really good at what you do.
In conversations with your team, you’re clear, thoughtful, in your element.
But put you in a room with senior leaders or dominant personalities, and something shifts.
Your heart races.
Your mind goes blank.
The clarity you had disappears.
Here’s what you need to know:
This isn’t a communication issue.
You communicate perfectly when you’re comfortable.
The struggle is Status Anxiety.
It’s situational and systemic. In certain rooms, you defer to authority even though you have the expertise.
And the worst part is, the harder you work to be a “better” communicator, the worse it gets because you’re splintering your attention between your perception and your presence.
Feel like you’re stuck in an endless cycle of over-preparing and still freezing when it matters?
You’re not alone. Does this sound familiar?
You script every word for meetings with senior leaders, but can’t access any of it when put on the spot.
You’re confident doing the work, but lose yourself when you have to talk about it.
You watch less experienced colleagues get recognition because they "sound more polished"—meanwhile, you're doing the actual work and staying invisible.
The worst part?
You believe your communication is holding your career back.
You’re not hearing back after job interviews. You lost out on a recent promotion.
You’ve gotten feedback that you need more “executive presence” but that just makes you less present.
You’ve read all the books and listened to all the podcasts but more tools just make you more confused.
Most communication training teaches you to perform confidence (which doesn’t work).
The PresentVoices framework walks you through:
How to get present
Anchor your attention in your body instead of your anxiety.
How to channel your empathy
Use it as a focusing tool, not a distraction.
How to express your expertise
Speak with authority without performing dominance.
Presence, not perfection. That's the shift.
The result?
A framework you can personalize for any moment of communication: important meetings, interviews, presentations, challenging conversations, networking, or speaking up when it matters most.
This work gives you tools, not scripts. Presence, not performance.
I created this framework as the playbook I wish I had.
I've been through the overwhelm, the endless preparation, and the fear that my voice would never be enough.
I was confident doing the work. But the moment I had to talk about myself or present to senior leaders, I'd freeze.
Then I realized: perfectionism was making it impossible for me to be present. The moment I stopped trying to "fix" my voice, I could speak fully and freely.
When I gave my TEDx talk, I had no nerves on stage (and have tools to manage anxiety when it does show up). I’m no longer afraid of speaking up. Most importantly, I trust my voice in every room I enter.
I built this framework from the work I've done supporting thousands of empathetic leaders over a decade.
And I want you to have it so you are heard right now.
AS SEEN IN
What Shifts When You Trust Your Voice
More Respect & Authority
Stop proving yourself and start being recognized as the leader you already are.
Your expertise lands because you show up grounded, not performative.
“I never realized how much the fear of public speaking hindered my professional growth. After this work, so many doors and opportunities opened up for me. I wish I could go back and tell my younger self to jump on the chance to work with them earlier.”
— Chief Wellness Officer
Promotions & Career Growth
Step into senior leadership by confidently articulating your value and vision in the rooms where decisions happen—no games, just grounded presence.
“Before my work with PresentVoices, I was convinced something was 'wrong' with me and that I was a 'bad communicator.' Lee helped me learn to trust myself and my voice."
— Psychotherapist
Ease Instead of Exhaustion
Stop over-preparing, over-thinking, and over-performing.
Show up to meetings and presentations with clarity and calm, not dread.
“I thought I had to change who I was to garner respect in corporate culture, but Lee gave me the toolkit to craft my own personal communication style that is uniquely mine.”
— Entrepreneur Ops Lead