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Leadership Doesn’t Have To Be Lonely with Kate Van Waes | Ep. 22 | Growthwell with Josh Byrd

Three in ten executives battle isolation, yet practical strategies exist to build meaningful connections and sustain leadership wellbeing

By Josh Byrd · January 16, 2025, 6:00 AM UTCGrowthwellJosh ByrdKate Van WaesVan Waes Consulting
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Key takeaways

01

Executives often experience loneliness in leadership roles.

02

Balancing personal well-being with professional responsibilities is crucial.

03

Purposeful decision-making and avoiding misaligned opportunities enhance personal and career growth.

As the modern workplace evolves, the challenges of leadership remain as intense as ever—especially for those at the helm. According to research by Deloitte, as many as 30% of executives feel isolated in their roles. At a time when balancing personal well-being with professional responsibility is critical, how can leaders thrive without succumbing to loneliness? Well, this is where Kate Van Waes, the CEO and founder of Van Waes Consulting, comes in.

Welcome to Growthwell. In this episode, Josh Byrd and Kate Van Waes dive into the hidden struggles faced by leaders. Together, the two explore strategies to navigate them.

The two discuss…

  • The loneliness of leadership: Kate shares her experiences advising leaders and navigating leadership roles herself, highlighting the unique challenges faced by minority leaders.
  • Balancing work and well-being: Insights into how rest and recovery fuel creativity and productivity, offering a fresh perspective on traditional hustle culture.
  • The power of purposeful decision-making: Kate explains how saying "no" to misaligned opportunities has empowered her career and personal growth.

Kate Van Waes is the founder of Van Waes Consulting, specializing in leadership coaching, strategic planning, and nonprofit board development for mission-driven organizations. With a career spanning roles as an executive director, policy director, and advisor to high-level U.S. officials, she brings expertise in crisis management, leadership development, and organizational transformation.

About the author

JB
Josh ByrdPrincipal

Experienced strategic marketing leader with a focus on strategic demand generation using data-driven techniques including Account Based Marketing (ABM), Marketing Automation, Online Advertising, Social Media, Print, and Public Relations. I love building strong teams who thrive in creatively mixing diverse marketing tactics, both traditional and modern, to realize significant revenue growth.

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About the Experts

JB
Josh Byrd

Host, Growthwell

Josh Byrd is the host of the Growthwell podcast, focusing on empowering early-stage founders and innovators. He facilitates discussions on leadership and organizational growth with industry experts.

KV
Kate Van Waes

CEO and Founder

Van Waes Consulting

Kate Van Waes is the founder of Van Waes Consulting, specializing in leadership coaching, strategic planning, and nonprofit board development for mission-driven organizations. With a career spanning roles as an executive director, policy director, and advisor to high-level U.S. officials, she brings expertise in crisis management, leadership development, and organizational transformation.