Create Psychological Safety From the Inside Out
In episode 157 of The Empowered & Embodied Show, hosts Kim Romain and Louise Neil are joined by trauma educator and embodied leadership facilitator Deborah Lee to explore one of the most important—and most misunderstood—topics in leadership today: psychological safety.
But here’s the twist: This conversation isn’t about workplace policies or team dynamics. It’s about coming back to the most essential place where safety begins—your own body.
Together, Kim, Louise, and Deborah unpack what it means to lead from a grounded, embodied place, how trauma and societal conditioning disconnect us from ourselves, and why nervous system awareness is the foundation for true leadership.
This episode is a beautiful, bold invitation to reconnect with yourself—so you can show up with authenticity, presence, and resilience in any space.
Reclaiming Safety Through the Body
At the core of this episode is a revolutionary idea: psychological safety isn’t something you wait for or create outside yourself. It starts within.
Deborah shares how learning to recognize the signals of our bodies can be the most empowering form of leadership development—and why disconnection from our bodies is one of the most overlooked results of trauma and conditioning.
Key Points:
“Your body is your business.” This powerful reframe encourages us to listen to the messages our bodies send and respond with compassion—not control.
Self-regulation = leadership. Deborah teaches simple somatic practices (some as short as 30 seconds) that help reset the nervous system—no app, no fancy tech, just your breath and presence.
Somatic Tools for Real-Time Leadership Support
Throughout the episode, Deborah guides Kim and Louise (and the audience) through gentle, grounding exercises that demonstrate how movement, breath, and self-touch can shift our inner state in real time.
Whether you're a founder, a people leader, or simply trying to hold yourself together during uncertain times, this episode reminds us that:
You don’t have to earn your right to rest.
Gentle is powerful.
You’re allowed to feel safe in your own skin.
Key Points:
The self-hug practice. A moment of self-soothing that can shift you out of overwhelm and into connection, wherever you are.
Reconnecting with your breath. Even when the world feels out of control, your breath is always with you—an anchor in the storm.
Navigating Trauma, Leadership, and the Messiness in Between
Deborah doesn’t hold back when sharing her own story of surviving domestic violence and discovering that what she was experiencing wasn’t just pain—it was heartbreak. Through that lens, she explains how trauma shows up in leadership spaces, why people often feel “speechless” under pressure, and how healing begins with naming what we feel.
Key Points:
Embodiment isn’t optional—it’s essential. Without connection to our bodies, we lead from performance, not presence
Pendulation. The gentle process of dipping into sensation and returning to safety helps expand our capacity for emotional regulation over time.
Redefining Strength, Success, and What It Means to Be Safe
Key Takeaways:
Psychological safety starts with you. Before we can create safe environments for others, we must first cultivate that safety within.
Embodied leadership is trauma-informed leadership. The way we hold space for ourselves determines how we hold space for others.
Connection creates capacity. Self-connection expands your ability to show up with grace and groundedness in high-stakes, high-stress moments.
You are the resource. No gadgets needed. Your body already holds the wisdom and the tools.
“Your body is your business. Pay attention to the signals it’s sending you. That’s how you create psychological safety—from the inside out.”
When we allow ourselves to feel, to pause, and to move from presence rather than pressure—we don’t just become better leaders. We become more fully ourselves.
Key Take Aways
Leadership is about creating space for authenticity, not performance
Psychological safety is foundational to effective, healthy workplaces
Self-awareness and nervous system regulation are core leadership skills
Every emotion is valid and offers insight
Authenticity fosters trust, connection, and relational safety
You don’t have to know it all to lead well, you just have to start with knowing yourself
Key Moments
00:00 – Welcome and intro
02:22 – Introducing body-based leadership work
04:50 – A hard truth: “Leadership is not the same as masking”
06:31 – Changing leadership culture when the system resists authenticity
07:32 – The loneliness of leadership and the limits of transparency
12:16 – Why psychological safety must start in your own body
18:48 – What is pendulation and why it matters for emotional regulation
23:34 – A nervous system reset you can do in under 30 seconds
29:01 – Stuck energy, speechless terror, and how trauma blocks communication
35:06 – Heartbreak and healing from domestic violence
39:30 – Reconnecting with your body as a source of truth and safety
41:21 – Explanation of somatic terminology (pendulation, titration, interoception)
44:04 – Why people shut down around money—and how embodiment helps
46:04 – The longing for presence, truth, and real connection
49:04 – It’s okay not to know: how we’re all learning as adults
51:53 – Final takeaways
CONNECT WITH DEBORAH
Website: http://www.creaturae.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leeydeborah
Instagram: @creaturae7
Join a circle of changemakers committed to leading with purpose, presence and ease inside Kim's Rising Visionaries community and mentorship program.
Reclaim your career and confidence during midlife through Louise's Rise & Redefine program.
