Mindful Leadership

05/04/2026

It’s Mindful Monday… and May the 4th be with you!

I’m Angie Chaplin, Certified Master Facilitator, LPI® Coach, and proud Founding Member of TLC Alliance, a global association dedicated to preserving, promoting, and advancing the leadership development profession.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and as someone who speaks openly about my own mental health journey, I’m an advocate for mental health in action. Not surprisingly, I often find myself thinking about mental health through the lens of The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership from The Leadership Challenge.

We tend to think of Challenge the Process as something external, like innovation, systems, change initiatives. Yet some of the most important processes we can ever challenge are our own.

A good place to start are the patterns we default to under pressure — overworking, avoiding difficult conversations, saying yes when we don’t want to, ignoring our bodies and violating our boundaries.

For a while, it works… until it doesn’t. And when it doesn’t, the impact isn’t contained to us. It shapes the experience of everyone around us.

The way we show up under pressure isn’t neutral.

A recent global study (UKG, 2023) found that nearly 7 in 10 people say their manager impacts their mental health as much as their spouse.

If we aren’t willing to challenge our own processes when they are no longer serving us, our organizations, or the people we care about, those processes will eventually challenge us.

But leadership doesn’t stop with Challenge the Process to enhance our own awareness. It extends to Enable Others to Act by creating conditions where people can show up with clarity, steadiness, and intention by building trust, inviting input, and offering a genuine sense of choice in how they move forward.

Here’s something to carry into your day (and continue throughout the month):

Before your next conversation or meeting, take a moment to pause. Notice what you’re bringing into the space and what might be driving your response.

Because challenging the process isn’t always about changing what’s around you. Sometimes it’s about changing what’s within you.

Leadership is what you do.
And it’s what others experience because of you.

01/19/2026

No slides. No Canva. No social media. No AI. Just presence, conviction, and truth.

When you find 17 minutes today, this is worth all of them. Watch the whole thing. Listen to how real communication sounds and notice what it stirs in your mind, body, and soul.

If you’ve been with me in a Leadership Academy, The Leadership Challenge Workshop, or an academic class, you’ve probably seen this before... and it’s worth watching again.

https://youtu.be/OTwVbUJbQxk?si=UgY4GbkYe79PnqYa

What resonated with you then? And what resonates with you now?

Hate cannot drown out hate, only love can do that!Join us as we commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s powerful "I Have a Dream" speech, a pivotal moment ...

02/28/2025

A timely reminder...

"Leadership is mobilizing others to want to struggle for shared aspirations, and this means that, fundamentally, leadership is a relationship. Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow.” - Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner, The Leadership Challenge

01/24/2025

Are you a trainer, facilitator, consultant, or coach eager to bring The Leadership Challenge to your networks? Imagine working 1:1 with a Certified Master & Coach who tailors the training experience to your unique skills, talents, and strengths.

Individualized facilitator training offers a personalized approach to help you:

✅ Develop a certification pathway that align with your expertise, experiences, and environments you envision working with;

✅ Build confidence in delivering The Leadership Challenge workshops in a variety of settings; and

✅ Maximize your impact with customized strategies and ideas that expand your reach to broader audiences.

Here's your invitation to work with me (limited spots available!) and create a flexible training and certification process that starts where you are and leads to where you want to take The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.

📩 Ready to get started? Message me for details!

09/23/2024

👻 Have you met the ghosts of Leadership PAST or Leadership FUTURE? They can be sneaky and scary, but there are ways to avoid their ghastly influences.

Too often, these ghosts tell stories about times when our leadership skills fell short or didn't meet expectations. Sometimes they create spin-off stories to cause worry, fear, or excessive rumination about situations that haven't happened.

The title of this event is what resonated when Hollie Tometich mentioned the opportunity to speak on The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership from The Leadership Challenge.

The spirit of staying present - Leadership NOW - helps us keep the ghosts quiet, and I'm thrilled to be part of this spectacular (or, should I say, spook-tacular) event on Oct. 30.

Grab your ticket while you can at https://lnkd.in/diRmRvag. 👻

Angie Chaplin
Session: Lead Yourself First- Five Proven Practices for Self-Empowered Leadership
Angie is bringing the power of proven practices to lead yourself first.

Get Your Ticket Today: https://givebutter.com/LeadershipNOW2024

07/19/2024

🌟 Exciting Announcement! 🌟

Start your week off right with a mindful Monday by joining Iowa Nonprofit Alliance and Brave Leadership NPO for "Taming the Monkey Mind," an engaging and practical online workshop designed to equip you with essential mindfulness skills to enhance focus, reduce stress, and improve overall well-being.

Why you should attend:

• Learn practical techniques to manage your "monkeys gone wild" mind.

• Gain insights from a credentialed mindfulness educator with real-life relevance of everyday mindfulness strategies.

• Share tips and techniques with other participants to build your mindfulness toolbox.

Whether you're new to mindfulness or looking to deepen your practice, this workshop offers valuable tools to help you navigate daily challenges with greater ease and clarity.

📝 Register Now: https://iowanonprofitalliance.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1863003

Let's embark on this journey together to tame our monkey minds and foster a more mindful, balanced life. See you there!

Tame your monkey mind and join us on July 22 at 12 PM CT for a mindfulness workshop where you'll learn to shift from mind full to mindful. 🙏 Through guided exercises, group discussions, and gentle movement, you'll gain practical tools to cultivate mindfulness and improve your mental health, relationships, and work-life balance. 🌟

Led by INA Business Ally and internationally respected speaker and mindfulness teacher Angie Chaplin.

Register today!

https://iowanonprofitalliance.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1863003&group=

07/16/2024

07/16/2024

COMING SOON... The Leadership Challenge Certified Practitioner training, a new blended learning approach to build your expertise for developing and delivering The Leadership Challenge curriculum!

Comment below if you'd like a sneak peek, and I'll share the details.

07/01/2024

The Japanese concept of "ikigai" is one I shared at You Conferences in March 2022. Since then, I have learned it's both an art and science to find the convergence of four elements:

1. What you love (your passion)
2. What the world needs (your mission)
3. What you are good at (your vocation)
4. What you can get paid for (your profession)

These four questions guided me on a path toward social entrepreneurship that led to starting Brave Leadership, and the exploration of ikigai fits into the August 28th event, Unsung Heroes Summit - West Branch, IA.

Where are you on your ikigai journey? What supports do you need along the way?

So, how do you find your Ikigai? It requires thought, preparation, and reflection. Here are five steps you can take to find it.

05/22/2024

During last week's TLC Rally with Jim Kouzes, Barry Posner, and The Leadership Challenge Community, I shared a session about "Leading Mindfully.” As part of programming for Mindful Leadership and Brave Leadership NPO, these guided meditations link practical mindfulness skills with real-life leadership behaviors.

Feedback following the session inspired me to further develop other guided meditations, and one for each of The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership is now available on You Tube.

Each meditation features not only the practice itself, but also integrates two commitments and six specific leadership behaviors. You don't need familiarity with The Leadership Challenge to benefit from these meditations, but if you'd like to learn more, please reach out.

As Mental Health Awareness Month continues, I'm highlighting each of the guided meditations in coming days to invite and support your mindful leadership practices. Please enjoy this guided meditation on Model the Way, and share your feedback.

https://youtu.be/eFID90qpkoc?si=CW_k_oTv3tjXfq0x

Welcome to Brave Leadership's guided meditation designed to help you embody the practice of "Model the Way" from The Leadership Challenge by Jim Kouzes and B...