Sometimes doing the right thing as a leader means disappointing someone you genuinely want to help. In this episode, Shelby and Belinda get candid about tough feedback, workplace politics, protecting your credibility, and knowing when (and when not) to use your influence on someone else’s behalf. Because the higher you go, the grayer the decisions get.

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He spent 37 years as a software engineer. Then a ruined painting changed everything.

In this bonus episode of Leadership Tea, Shelby and Belinda sit down with artist Erasto Curtis Matthews (@erastoarts) for a conversation that wasn't even supposed to happen. True to form for their 'Leading Unscripted' theme for this season. They met him by chance, minutes before recording their Season 6 premiere. Erasto shares how one destroyed canvas turned into a full-time art career, the mantra that's guided every scary decision since ("whenever something scares me, that's what I'm supposed to do next"), and his blunt advice for anyone building a legacy: get rid of fear, because fear usually gets you the exact opposite of what you want.

A quick, unscripted reminder that some of the best pivots in life start as mistakes.

🎨 Follow Erasto's work on Instagram: @erastoarts
🎙️ New episodes of Leadership Tea drop bi-weekly.

Send us a comment!

Support the show

We publish new episodes every other Wednesday.

• Subscribe to the Leadership Tea Podcast
• Subscribe to Leadership Tea on YouTube!

Follow us on Instagram @Leadership_Tea for more inspiration and insights.

Who taught you that talking about your wins is bragging?

LinkedIn strategist Portia Obeng has helped thousands of professionals and small business owners stop being the best-kept secret in their industry. She joins Belinda and Shelby for a candid, practical conversation about showing up online before you feel ready, and why playing small doesn't help anyone.

In this episode:
• The first move to make on LinkedIn when you're pivoting industries
• What Portia would do if you only had 30 minutes to fix your profile
• How to speak confidently about your expertise without sounding arrogant
• The profiles that make her hit "connect," and the ones that make her roll her eyes
• Why she's "allergic to quick chats," and what she says to people who ask for one
• Her North Star when the entrepreneurial journey gets hard

As former diplomats, Belinda and Shelby spent decades in a culture where your work was supposed to speak for itself. Portia makes the case that it won't, and that the people who need what you know are waiting to hear it from you.

Connect with Portia:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/portiaobeng/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@portia.o
Website: https://linktr.ee/portiaobeng

Send us a comment!

Support the show

We publish new episodes every other Wednesday.

• Subscribe to the Leadership Tea Podcast
• Subscribe to Leadership Tea on YouTube!

Follow us on Instagram @Leadership_Tea for more inspiration and insights.