Walking Through Change
Transitions, Embodied Leadership, Listening Deeply & Finding Clarity in Motion
The last few years have brought sweeping transitions to our household. Many were chosen—some joyfully—but that doesn’t mean they didn’t arrive with weight.
Change doesn’t need to be dramatic to be deeply felt. And like so many, we’ve experienced it in waves.
- A family member’s serious injury and full recovery.
- Our sons completed graduate school and relocated multiple times, following clarity and opportunity.
- My husband launched a new business.
- I published a book (Climbing the Spiral Staircase), began a new venture, and stepped back from a full-time position—while staying closely connected to the programs I continue to love and shape at the University.
- After more than two decades of being rooted in one city, we moved. Twice.
We’re now exploring what it means to lead a dual life—one on land, one on a small island—commuting from both for work as we figure out what feels like ‘home’ at this stage.
Layer in the broader tapestry of family life—births and losses, health scares and recovery—and the ever-present hum of global uncertainty, and I, like many leaders, found myself seeking grounding.
I needed to move.
Not figuratively. Literally.
The Practice of Walking It Out
Not just a stroll around the block, but long, intentional walking. Soul-clearing walking.
I’ve since learned what somatic psychology affirms: our bodies often know what our minds do not. Walking helps us process emotion, release tension, and quiet the mental noise.
That repetitive rhythm—the left, right, left of it all—settles the nervous system. It invites introspection. It unlocks creativity.
Tomorrow, I begin a portion of the Via Francigena, the Italian Camino—an ancient pilgrimage route with modern-day relevance.
Walking as a Leadership Practice
Why walk?
Because walking has become my best thinking space.
It’s where ideas percolate.
Where emotions have room to surface.
Where the future begins to take shape.
In my earlier years, I relied on Morning Pages—that daily writing ritual made famous by Julia Cameron. This feels like a physical extension of that practice.
I’m not seeking answers.
I’m creating space:
- From urgency
- From performance
- From the pressure to be “on”
Space to re-ground in purpose and perspective.
Space to remember that introspection is not an indulgence—it’s part of sustainable leadership.
The Questions We Carry
Transitions ask something of us.
They call us to pause long enough to ask:
- Who am I becoming?
- What am I ready to release?
- And what, exactly, am I walking toward?
These aren’t questions with quick answers. But they’re worthy of our attention.
For me, it starts with one step.
And then another.
And then another.
An Invitation
If you’re in a season of transition, what question is quietly walking beside you?
What space can you make to hear your own voice again?
Feel free to share—I’d love to know what you’re navigating.
– Leanne
