Introductory Episode

Annotated Outline

Episode Overview

This introductory episode situates the podcast The Feeling Leader within the context of

social work leadership, nonprofit leadership, and human-serving organizations. The episode

introduces the central themes of the podcast, including neuroscience, relational safety, and

psychological safety, and explains how leadership environments influence the emotional and

neurological experiences of people within organizations.

The episode also establishes the podcast as the capstone deliverable for a Doctor of

Social Work (DSW) project, designed to translate interdisciplinary research into an accessible

format for leaders working in social work, nonprofit, and human-serving sectors. A key emphasis

of the episode is the use of podcasting as a non-hierarchical and accessible mode of knowledge

sharing that can help bridge gaps between research, leadership practice, and lived experience.

The majority of the episode centers on the host’s positionality statement, which situates the

host’s social identities, professional background, and lived experiences within the broader

context of leadership, knowledge production, and systems of power. Drawing on social work

traditions of reflexivity, the episode highlights how leaders’ identities and social locations shape

how they interpret environments, make decisions, and influence relational dynamics within

organizations.

The episode concludes by emphasizing the importance of positionality and reflexivity in

social work leadership and introduces the broader goals of the podcast: to create a space for

reflective leadership conversations grounded in neuroscience, relational dynamics, and the

realities of human-serving systems.

Episode Annotation

This episode serves as the “start here” introduction to The Feeling Leader podcast. The

discussion establishes the intellectual foundation of the podcast by outlining its focus on

neuroscience-informed leadership, relational safety, and psychological safety within social work,

nonprofit, and human-serving organizations. The host introduces the podcast as both an

academic capstone project and an accessible learning platform intended to bridge research,

practice, and lived experience in leadership contexts.

The episode also foregrounds the role of positionality in leadership. By sharing her own

positionality statement, the host models reflexive leadership practice and highlights how

identities, lived experiences, and social context shape leadership perspectives and

decision-making. The goal of the episode is to orient listeners to the purpose and values of the

podcast while establishing a reflective leadership lens that will guide future discussions.

Talking Areas

● Introduction to The Feeling Leader and its focus on leadership in social work, nonprofit,

and human-serving systems

● Neuroscience, relational safety, and psychological safety in leadership environments

● Podcast as a Doctor of Social Work capstone and an accessible leadership learning space

● Host positionality statement and first-generation academic pathway

● Positionality and reflexivity in social work leadership