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Leadership Uncensored with host Dawn Emerick, EdD
Where Real Leaders Talk About the Hard Stuff
Welcome to Leadership Uncensored—the podcast that cuts through the polished scripts and curated personas to bring you raw, real, and unfiltered conversations about what it truly means to lead in today’s world.
Hosted by Dr. Dawn Emerick, a national voice in trauma-informed leadership and systems change, this podcast goes beyond buzzwords to explore the messy, meaningful, and transformative moments of leadership. Whether you're a seasoned executive, a changemaker in the making, or someone navigating the tension between personal healing and professional growth, Leadership Uncensored is your space.
Each episode features courageous conversations with leaders across sectors—corporate, nonprofit, government, and education—who are willing to pull back the curtain. We talk burnout, breakthrough, betrayal, bias, boundaries, and becoming. No fluff. No filters. Just truth.
Leadership Uncensored with host Dawn Emerick, EdD
Season 1 Episode 4: There's No Crying in Leadership
Bravado or vulnerability? Doggedness or self-awareness? Intimidation or humility?
Most of us can visualize these terms playing out in our past/current places of employment, with our past/current leaders or even within ourselves.
On one side of the debate, some leaders believe that being smart, calculating, and competitive doesn’t equate to expressing any vulnerability, better yet crying. Leaders should convey a “professional demeanor” because anything else would be understood as being “too soft” in the public, with staff and with stakeholders.
“Don’t ever let them see you sweat”
“Keep a professional mask and only show the best parts of who we are”
On the other side of the debate, some leaders strive to become more aware of their own intentions and their impact on others. Leaders believe that by taking steps toward ownership of their emotions and creating environments for growth and learning, they will build high performing and innovative teams, mitigate destructive cultures and increase retention.
Join the next episode of LEADERSHIP UNCENSORED as we ask, "What is the prevailing thinking about a leader who cries openly?