Stress isn't the price of success—it's the thing getting in the way of it.

On this episode, Amy shares five practical actions leaders, teams, and organizations can take right now to reduce workplace stress and create the conditions for greater joy, engagement, and performance.

Drawing on insights from her national State of Stress and Joy at Work research study, Amy explains why overwhelmed teams struggle, how stress spreads through organizations, and what leaders can do to create healthier, more sustainable workplaces.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Why Stress Wins

00:56 Where to Start With Change

02:02 Protect Capacity Not Overload

03:38 Address Stress Together

05:33 Real Joy Over Forced Positivity

09:15 Redesign Work and Find Clarity

11:29 Five-Step Recap and Sendoff

On This Episode

• Why protecting capacity is essential for performance
• How stress spreads through teams and organizations
• The hidden cost of forced positivity at work
• What the Stockdale Paradox teaches us about leadership
• Why younger workers experience higher levels of workplace stress
• How to distinguish between what's urgent and what's important

Key Takeaways

1. Stop overwhelming people and start protecting capacity.
2. Stop ignoring stress and start addressing it together.
3. Stop faking positivity and start creating conditions for real joy.
4. Stop blaming generations and start redesigning work.
5. Stop confusing urgent with important and start pausing for clarity.

Resources Mentioned

• The State of Stress and Joy at Work Research Study
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• Good to Great by Jim Collins

Connect with Amy

Visit Amy's website to learn more, download the research study, and access additional resources.

Stress isn’t the price of success. According to Amy Leneker’s latest national research study, it may actually be the thing stealing success from us.

On this episode, Amy breaks down the top drivers of workplace stress and the biggest contributors to joy at work — and why both ripple far beyond the office into our homes, relationships, and communities.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Big Myth

00:56 Research and Ripple Effects

02:51 Why Joy Matters at Work

05:03 Top Joy Busters

08:22 Top Joy Builders and Wrap

You’ll discover:

• The top 5 workplace “joy busters”
• The top 5 “joy builders”
• Why feeling valued matters so deeply
• How overwhelming workloads fuel burnout
• Why purpose and progress are essential for thriving at work
• The connection between joy and high performance

Amy also shares a surprising story about a CEO who claimed he wasn’t “into joy” — and what the data reveals about why joy is critical for doing our best work.

Get the State of Stress & Joy report here: amyleneker.com/research

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/amyleneker

What if one of the biggest sources of stress at work is everything you keep fixing that was never yours to carry?

On this episode of Less Stress, More Joy, Amy Leneker explores Quadrant 4 of the Un-Stressing Matrix: stressors that are within your control, but not actually important for you to solve. Through a personal story about boundaries, leadership, and people-pleasing, Amy unpacks why “just because you can” doesn’t always mean you should.

On this podcast for leaders navigating stress and burnout at work, Amy also shares 6 key benefits of learning to accept without fixing:

• Frees up mental energy
• Reduces unnecessary stress
• Saves time for what matters most
• Models healthy boundaries
• Builds resilience to discomfort
• Strengthens relationships

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to Less Stress

00:44 Unstressing Method Recap

01:52 Quadrant Four Explained

02:58 Sharpie Toddler Metaphor

04:30 Boundary Break Story

11:08 People Pleasing Caveat

14:17 Six Benefits of Letting Go

23:54 Practical Steps and Wrap Up

You’ll walk away with practical ways to recognize unhealthy fixing patterns, protect your energy, and create healthier boundaries at work and in life.

If this episode resonates with you, follow the show and share it with someone who needs a little less stress and a little more joy this week.

Learn more: amyleneker.com

#StressAtWork #Leadership #Burnout #PeoplePleasing #WorkplaceStress #AmyLeneker #LessStressMoreJoy #LeadershipDevelopment #Boundaries #MentalHealthAtWork

When was the last time you asked for help? Not offered it. Not powered through on your own. But actually paused and said, “I need support.” On this episode, Amy explores why asking for help feels so difficult—even for high-performing, self-aware leaders—and what the research says about how to do it more effectively.

You’ll learn:

• Why we associate asking for help with weakness or incompetence
• How psychological safety and vulnerability shape our behavior
• The difference between autonomous and dependent help-seeking
• A simple 4-step framework (HELP) to make asking easier and more effective

Amy also shares practical ways to:

• Ask for help without damaging trust
• Build stronger support systems at work
• Create team cultures where asking for help is normalized

Key Takeaways:

• Asking for help is hard—and it’s also a critical leadership skill
• The way you ask determines how people respond
• Connection—not isolation—is the path to less stress and more joy

Resources Mentioned:

• Research on psychological safety (Amy Edmondson)
• Work on vulnerability (Brené Brown)
• Help-seeking research (London School of Economics)
• Insights from Dr. Vivek Murthy on connection and community

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to Less Stress

00:41 Why Asking Feels Hard

02:25 Unstressing Matrix Basics

07:03 Stories and Research

11:06 Autonomous vs Dependent

14:56 HELP Framework Steps

25:34 Build a Help Culture

30:29 Key Takeaways and Goodbye

This episode is for anyone interested in asking for help, how to ask for help, why asking for help is hard, leadership skills, workplace communication, psychological safety, vulnerability at work, stress management, burnout prevention, emotional intelligence, workplace stress, leadership development, productivity at work, teamwork and collaboration, asking for support, help seeking behavior, autonomous help seeking, dependent help seeking, build trust at work, professional growth, career development, workplace culture, manager training, team communication, overcoming fear of judgment, confidence at work, mental health at work, connection and community, reduce stress at work, less stress more joy, unstressing method, help framework, leadership coaching, personal development, or work life balance.

Comparison doesn’t just “steal joy”—it actively increases stress and keeps you stuck. On this episode, Amy shares a personal story of rejection (including her latest pitch to Harvard Business Review) and the simple, practical method she’s using to move through comparison and rejection without spiraling.

If you’ve ever felt behind, not good enough, or stuck measuring yourself against others—this episode gives you a way out.

Chapters

00:00 Comparison Steals Joy

00:44 Harvard Rejection Story

03:56 Step One Self Compassion

07:23 Step Two Celebrate Others

12:53 Try It and Wrap Up

What You’ll Learn

• Why comparison and rejection feel so painful (and so human)
• The difference between eustress (helpful) and distress (harmful)
• A 2-step method to move through rejection quickly and authentically
• How self-compassion changes your experience of stress
• Why celebrating others only works after you support yourself first

Key Takeaways

• You can’t feel true joy while actively comparing yourself to others
• Avoiding rejection also means avoiding opportunity
• Growth lives in the uncomfortable “not knowing” space
• Self-compassion isn’t soft—it’s a performance strategy
• You’re not behind—you’re in the process 

Links & Resources

• Amy’s book: Cheers to Monday
• Self-compassion assessment (via Kristin Neff)
• Contact: amy@amyleneker.com

Amy's new book, national bestseller 'Cheers to Monday' was selected by the The Next Big Idea Club as one of their must reads, and they invited Amy on their podcast to talk about her big takeaways from the book.

This week's episode of 'Less Stress, More Joy' is a feed drop of Amy's episode on 'The Next Big Idea Club Daily' podcast. Amy shares a practical, research-backed framework to help you rethink stress, redesign your work, and create space for more joy.

You’ll learn:

• Why modern work is designed to create stress (and what to do about it).
• The hidden “stress stories” shaping your behavior at work.
• How to use the Stress Ruler to quickly assess what’s really going on.
• The 5 types of work stress (and why treating them the same doesn’t work).
• A simple 3-step method to reduce stress without overthinking or burnout.

If you’re a leader, manager, or high performer feeling stretched too thin, this episode will help you shift from survival mode to sustainable success.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Big News

00:58 Why Mondays Feel Heavy

02:52 Work Is Broken

05:43 Stress Stories

09:20 The Stress Ruler

12:47 Types of Stress and How to Un-Stress

18:26 Wrap Up and Next Steps

Share this episode with anyone interested in stress awareness month, leadership coaching for women, work stress, leadership coaching, burnout recovery, workplace stress, stress management, employee wellbeing, leadership development, productivity, mental health at work, burnout prevention, workplace culture, stress and performance, joy at work, Cheers to Monday, or nonfiction authors.

Order 'Cheers to Monday' here: https://www.amyleneker.com/book

What if your stress at work isn’t just about your workload—but a misalignment with your values?

On this episode of Less Stress, More Joy, Amy Leneker explores how identifying and aligning with your core values can transform how you experience stress, conflict, and joy at work. Drawing from leadership coaching, workplace mediation experience, and research featured in her bestselling book Cheers to Monday, Amy shares a practical framework to help leaders and teams reduce stress without pretending it disappears.

You’ll learn why stress and joy are not opposites, how high stress pulls you out of your values, and how reconnecting with those values can improve decision-making, workplace relationships, and overall well-being.

This episode is especially valuable for leaders, managers, and professionals navigating workplace conflict, burnout, and team dynamics. Through real-world examples—including leadership coaching insights and conflict mediation cases—you’ll see how values like collaboration, autonomy, integrity, and honesty shape team culture and communication.

Amy also dives into:

• How to identify your top core values
• Why values are critical in leadership coaching and decision-making
• How workplace conflict is often rooted in misaligned values
• The connection between stress, burnout, and values misalignment
• How to build trust, compassion, stability, and hope in teams
• Why including yourself in your values is essential to avoid burnout

Whether you're a leader, team member, or entrepreneur, this episode will help you lead with clarity, reduce stress, and create more joy—without toxic positivity.

🎧 Perfect for:

leadership coaching for women, workplace conflict resolution, stress management at work, burnout recovery, emotional intelligence, team leadership, organizational culture, values-based leadership, and personal development.

Chapters:

00:00 Why Values Matter

02:34 Joy and Stress Aren’t Opposites

05:11 Find Your Top Values

07:30 Values in Workplace Conflict

12:05 When Values Shift

16:43 Include Yourself in Values

21:20 Connection and Hope at Work

Stress is not just a personal problem — and joy is not just a nice-to-have.

On this episode, recorded live during the "Cheers to Monday" book launch, Amy Leneker shares the Un-Stressing Method, a simple but powerful framework for understanding stress, responding with compassion, and creating more joy at work and in life. Drawing from national research on stress and joy in the American workforce, Amy walks through the five types of work stress, the three drivers of joy, and the barriers that get in the way.

She also explains how to use the Un-Stressing Matrix to move from overwhelm to action, why compassion is the highest level of connection, and how one unforgettable story from her 13th birthday shows what compassion in action really looks like.

If you’ve been feeling overloaded, disconnected, or stuck, this episode offers a practical way forward.

On this episode, Amy covers:

• The Un-Stressing Method
• How to see, sort, and solve stress
• The Stress Ruler and stress matrix
• The 5 types of work stress: schedule, suspense, social, sudden, and system
• The 3 drivers of joy: meaning, mattering, and momentum
• The 5 barriers to joy at work
• The 4-quadrant action plan
• Why compassion is more powerful than pity, sympathy, or empathy alone
• The big idea: stress thrives in isolation, and relief comes through connection

Stress thrives in isolation, and relief is gonna come through connection.

Chapters

00:00 One Good Thing

01:07 Stress and Joy Research

02:06 Step One See Stress

05:40 Step Two Sort Stress

13:57 Step Three Solve It

24:37 Compassion Connection Ladder

26:34 Birthday Story and Wrap

The RIGHT Questions: Acting on the Next Right Thing at Work

What if the biggest thing we’ve been taught about success at work is wrong?

This week on Less Stress, More Joy, Amy Leneker challenges the belief that stress is simply the price we pay for achievement. Instead, she argues that stress is often a signal that something in the system needs to change.

Amy shares a personal leadership story she still regrets: answering a work request just 48 hours after coming home from the hospital with her newborn daughter — a moment that led her to work through most of her maternity leave.

From that experience, she developed the RIGHT Questions Framework, a simple tool leaders can use when facing stressors they care about and have the power to influence.

The RIGHT Questions help leaders pause and act with intention by asking:

• How can I Reframe this stressor from a threat to a challenge?
• What is my role in this moment?
• How can I ground my decision in my values?
• How do I hold myself accountable?
• What is the next aligned action?

Amy also explores how our decisions ripple outward — shaping team trust, workplace culture, and the signals we send about what leadership actually requires.

This episode is for leaders, parents, and professionals who want to break the cycle of chronic workplace stress and lead differently.

Less stress. More joy. Zero toxic positivity.

• Order Cheers to Monday: www.amyleneker.com/book
• Unstressing Method: katiecouric.com/lifestyle/workplace/how-to-stop-stress-at-work/

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Work Stress Lie

01:03 The Right Questions Framework

01:47 Maternity Leave Regret Story

03:59 R I G H T Steps Explained

09:37 Impact, Power Dynamics, and Wrap-Up

Why are younger generations experiencing more stress at work than everyone else?

On this episode of Less Stress, More Joy, leadership coach Amy Leneker shares new insights from her national study on stress and joy at work — including why Generation Z is experiencing significantly more workplace stress than older generations.

Amy explains the five types of work stress that affect employees, why sudden stress and schedule stress are hitting Gen Z the hardest, and what leaders can do to create healthier workplaces across generations.

If you lead a team, work with younger employees, or simply want to understand how stress impacts today’s workforce, this episode offers practical ideas for creating workplaces with less stress, more joy, and zero toxic positivity.

On this episode you'll learn:

• Why Gen Z experiences more stress at work

• The five types of workplace stress affecting teams

• Why sudden stress has the biggest negative impact

• How schedule stress and meetings increase workplace pressure

• How leaders can reduce stress and remove barriers to joy

Because joy at work isn’t a luxury — it’s what helps people do their best work.

Chapters:

00:00 Gen Z Stress Preview

00:51 Study Setup and Generations

02:24 Two Big Takeaways

05:34 Five Types of Work Stress

07:56 Fix Sudden and Schedule Stress

13:15 Talk About Impact Without Stereotypes

17:09 Barriers to Joy and Wrap Up

Pre-order: Cheers to Monday, The Surprisingly Simple Strategy to Lead & Live With Less Stress & More Joy everywhere books are sold. Questions?  amy@amyleneker.com.

The State of Stress & Joy at Work 2026

On this episode of Less Stress, More Joy, Amy Leneker unpacks one of the most well-intentioned — and most damaging — leadership habits in modern workplaces: toxic positivity.

From “good vibes only” messaging to cringe-worthy icebreakers, forced joy often increases stress, reduces trust, and disconnects teams.

Drawing from her national study, The State of Stress and Joy at Work, Amy shares powerful data on what’s actually exhausting employees — and what truly creates sustainable joy.

You’ll learn:

• Why forced positivity increases burnout
• The connection between authenticity and trust
• The top 5 barriers to joy at work
• The top 5 drivers of real workplace joy
• How to create connection without the cringe

Chapters:

00:00 Why Good Vibes Backfire

03:01 Icebreaker Cringe Story

05:13 Connection Without Weird

08:09 The Data on Exhaustion

10:49 Top Barriers and Drivers

13:40 Stop Toxic Positivity

Pre-order Amy’s new book:

Cheers to Monday: The Surprisingly Simple Strategy to Lead & Live With Less Stress & More Joy at amyleneker.com/book

Have a question for a future episode?

Email: amy@amyleneker.com

Less stress. More joy. Zero toxic positivity. That’s the joyful rebellion.

How do you lead high-stakes, no-fail work without burning out yourself or your team?

On this episode of Less Stress, More Joy, Amy sits down with Shelley McDermott, President of FirstRule Group, to explore leadership, stress management, boundaries at work, and building a high-retention team culture.

Shelley leads complex public sector consulting projects — from retirement systems to opioid response initiatives — where the stakes are high and failure isn’t an option. Yet her team thrives.

Her secret? She calls it being a “diplomatic hostess.”

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• How to reduce burnout on high-performing teams
• Why psychological safety lowers workplace stress
• The leadership power of “wiggle room” in conflict
• How clarity (roles & responsibilities) reduces overwhelm
• Practical breathing techniques to reset in stressful moments
• Why comparison fuels anxiety — and how to stop it
• How servant leadership builds loyalty and retention
• The importance of boundaries without sacrificing ambition

If you’re a leader, manager, public sector professional, or high achiever navigating workplace stress, this episode offers actionable tools for stress reduction, sustainable leadership, and creating a people-first culture.

Because you can build a wildly successful career without sacrificing your health, your family, or your joy.

Less stress. More joy. And maybe even… cheers to Monday. Order Amy's book 'Cheers to Monday' amyleneker.com/book

Chapters:

00:06 Meet Shelley McDermott & the “Diplomatic Hostess” Superpower

02:41 Leading High-Stakes, No-Fail Work With More Joy

05:08 People-First Culture

08:12 Leadership Lessons

12:58 Team Stressors

19:03 Service as Success + Practical Stress Tips

Shelley McDermott is the President of FirstRule Group — a small, woman-owned business consulting firm headquartered in Olympia, Washington. Everyone at FirstRule has a superpower and Shelley is known as the Diplomatic Hostess — a nod to her leadership style and her love of cooking. Shelley and her business partner Stacy Steck started the firm in 2019 because they wanted to create a different kind of company where they could "hire great people and then love and care for them" knowing that if the consultants felt supported, they would provide great service for clients. You can read more about FirstRule Group at firstrulegroup.com. Shelley and Stacy would love to connect, you can reach them at ShelleyMcDermott@firstrulegroup.com or StacySteck@firstrulegroup.com. Shelley lives in Olympia with her husband, eats at local restaurants, and deeply values being of service.

On this episode of Less Stress, More Joy, leadership coach Amy Leneker explores why feedback conversations so often go wrong — not because of bad intent, but because they activate deep psychological triggers tied to trust, identity, and belonging.

If you care about building high-trust teams, creating psychological safety at work, and leading with both clarity and compassion, this episode will resonate.

Amy breaks down three powerful feedback triggers outlined in the book 'Thanks for the Feedback' by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen that derail even strong leaders:

• The Truth Trigger — when someone’s story about themselves collides with the story you’re telling

• The Relationship Trigger — how trust (or lack of it) shapes how feedback is received

• The Identity Trigger — when feedback feels like a threat to who we believe we are

Drawing on research and real workplace examples, Amy shares practical tools to help leaders give honest feedback without creating shame, defensiveness, or disconnection.

You’ll learn how to:

• Lead difficult conversations with courage and emotional intelligence

• Strengthen trust before you need it

• Separate performance from identity

• Build cultures rooted in accountability and psychological safety

• Reduce workplace stress by normalizing clear, compassionate feedback

This episode is for leaders, managers, founders, and professionals who believe that trust is the foundation of performance — and that better conversations create better cultures.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Feedback Challenges

01:18 Understanding the Truth Trigger

03:46 Navigating Relationship Triggers

07:13 Managing Identity Triggers

🔔 Subscribe for weekly leadership tools to reduce burnout, lower workplace stress, and build healthier teams.

📘 Based on Amy’s upcoming book Cheers to Monday: The Surprisingly Simple Strategy to Lead and Live with Less Stress and More Joy.

Feedback is one of the most stress-inducing parts of work — for leaders and for employees. On this episode of the Less Stress, More Joy podcast, Amy Leneker breaks down why feedback so often goes wrong and how to do it in a way that actually builds trust, connection, and performance.

Drawing on her experience as a certified mediator and workplace conflict specialist, Amy explains the three types of feedback every workplace needs, why the feedback sandwich doesn’t work, and how mixing feedback types can overwhelm the nervous system. You’ll also learn simple, practical ways to reduce stress during feedback conversations — whether you’re the one giving feedback or receiving it.

If you want feedback conversations that are clearer, calmer, and more effective, this episode gives you tools you can use immediately.

What You’ll Learn on the Episode

• Why feedback conversations are often avoided — and why that avoidance increases stress
• The three types of feedback every healthy workplace needs
• How appreciative feedback builds motivation (and when it backfires)
• Why coaching feedback takes time — and why it’s worth the investment
• How evaluative feedback works best when it’s timely and specific
• Why the feedback sandwich has been debunked by research
• How to avoid cognitive overload during feedback conversations
• When and how to pause before moving into problem-solving
• How to build feedback into regular one-on-ones so it becomes part of how you work
• Why the best feedback cultures always go both directions

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: Why Feedback Increases Stress at Work

00:39 Why Feedback Conversations Go Wrong

02:56 The Three Types of Feedback

03:53 Appreciative Feedback: What It Is — and Why It Matters

04:47 Coaching Feedback: Helping People Get Better

05:45 Evaluative Feedback: Expectations, Gaps, and Performance

06:52 Why “No News Is Good News” Doesn’t Work

09:18 When Appreciative Feedback Backfires

11:10 Common Feedback Mistakes (Including the Feedback Sandwich)

13:30 How to Use Gratitude Without Creating Confusion

15:23 Avoiding Cognitive Overload During Feedback

18:42 Building Feedback Into Regular One-on-Ones

19:46 Final Thoughts: Reducing Stress Through Better Feedback

Resources Mentioned on the Podcast

• Thanks for the Feedback by Sheila Heen and Doug Stone
• Cheers to Monday by Amy Leneker (available March 24)

If this episode was helpful, please follow the podcast, share this episode with a colleague or friend, or leave a quick review — it’s the best way to help others find the Less Stress, More Joy podcast.

Have thoughts or questions? Reach out at amy@amyleneker.com.

Stress spreads faster than we realize — and not just in person. On this short episode of the Less Stress, More Joy podcast, Amy Leneker breaks down why stress is contagious in workplaces, how it travels through emotional pathways, and what leaders and teammates can do to stop the ripple before it impacts an entire organization.

If you’ve ever walked into a meeting and felt the tension — or noticed stress spreading through emails, texts, or Slack — this episode will help you understand why that happens and how to respond differently.

Amy shares research-backed insights on emotional contagion, explains why stress itself isn’t an emotion (but still spreads), and introduces one simple, practical tool you can use today — at work or at home — to reduce stress contagion and increase calm.

On this episode, you’ll learn:

* Why stress spreads through teams like a virus

* How stress travels emotionally, even in virtual workplaces

* Why “fake calm” doesn’t work — and what does

* How leaders and peers influence stress levels in the room

* One simple way to surface and manage stress before it escalates

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction & What You’ll Learn

Amy introduces the idea of stress contagion and promises one practical tool listeners can use today—at work and outside of work.

00:45 – Why Stress Feels Contagious (Even Though It’s Not an Emotion)

Amy explains why stress spreads through teams by traveling along emotional pathways tied to frustration, overwhelm, and anxiety.

01:55 – Anxiety as “The Emotion of Community”

How stress and anxiety ripple through workplaces, teams, and organizations—and why humans instinctively pick up on each other’s stress.

03:05 – Stress Spreads Digitally, Too

Why stress doesn’t just spread in offices, but also through emails, texts, emojis, and virtual communication.

04:05 – The Stress Ripple Effect at Work

How unmanaged stress moves through teams like a virus—and why awareness is the first step to stopping it.

05:05 – Calm Is the Antidote (and It Has to Be Real)

What research shows about leaders who demonstrate genuine calm, and how it reduces stress and increases engagement.

06:05 – One Tool to Stop Stress Contagion: The Stress Ruler

How to use a simple 0–10 check-in to surface stress early and prevent it from spreading.

06:35 – Wrap-Up, Book Mention & Call to Action

Amy closes with encouragement, invites listeners to follow and share the show, and mentions Cheers to Monday.

📚 Resources & Next Steps

Explore the Stress Ruler in a previous episode of Less Stress, More Joy

Learn more in Amy’s upcoming book, Cheers to Monday (available March 24)

💬 Stay Connected

* If this episode resonated with you:

* Follow the podcast

* Share it with a colleague or friend

* Leave a quick review — it’s the best way to help others find the show

📩 Questions or thoughts? Reach out at amy@amyleneker.com

In this deeply human and hopeful conversation, Amy Leneker welcomes her very first podcast guests to Less Stress, More Joy: Dr. Lizzy Perez and Joni Goodman—both leadership coaches, certified Dare to Lead facilitators, and champions of emotional intelligence and nervous system regulation.

Together, they explore the real cost of hustle culture, the hidden stress messages many leaders inherit, and why managing stress isn’t just a wellness strategy—it’s a joy strategy. From personal stress stories and nervous system tools to hobbies, play, and the courage to slow down, this episode is an invitation to lead—and live—with less stress and more joy.

Chapters:

00:00 — Meet the Guests

Dr. Lizzy Perez & Joni Goodman join Amy Leneker

04:30 — One Good Thing

Slowing down, nervous system trust & living with intention

09:00 — Our Stress Stories

Anxiety, hustle culture & inherited stress messages

14:00 — Stress Lives in the Body

Perfectionism, burnout & nervous system regulation

18:00 — Joy Is a Strategy

Vulnerability, play & emotional safety

22:00 — Tools to Reset Stress

Grounding, cold exposure, movement & pauses

26:00 — Hobbies & Fun

Reclaiming joy, where to find the guests & closing

🌟 What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why stress is a full-body experience, not just a mindset issue
• How inherited messages about hard work and productivity fuel burnout
• The surprising link between vulnerability and joy
• What nervous system regulation really looks like in everyday life
• Simple, science-backed tools to reduce cortisol and reset your stress response
• Why play accelerates habit change and builds joy faster
• The powerful question that changed Amy’s life:
• “What are your hobbies? What do you do for fun?”
• How joy can exist alongside ambition, leadership, and meaningful work

🧠 Memorable Moments & Insights

• Dr. Lizzy Perez shares how slowing down helped her trust her nervous system—and why talking out loud about your feelings can reduce cortisol.
• Joni Goodman opens up about anxiety, people-pleasing, and the cost of being “the one who always gets it done.”
• Amy reflects on the legacy of hustle culture and the invisible timelines we place on ourselves.
• The group discusses why many adults struggle to name joyful moments—and how vulnerability is required to experience joy.
• A powerful reframing: Managing stress isn’t just about survival—it’s about creating space for joy.

🛠️ Practical Stress-to-Joy Strategies Shared

• The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise (using the five senses)
• Speaking your emotions out loud to activate the internal unloading effect
• Play as a shortcut to habit formation and joy
• Cold exposure for nervous system regulation
• Walking without electronics to avoid doom-scrolling
• Intentional pauses and breaks during facilitation and workdays
• Zumba, gardening, dancing, writing, thrifting, photography, travel, and more

💬 Call to Action

If you’ve ever answered “I don’t know” to the question “What do you do for fun?” let this episode be your invitation to rediscover joy, play, and rest—without guilt.

👥 About the Guests

Dr. Lizzy Perez

Leadership coach, facilitator, and researcher with a PhD in Leadership Studies.

Her work sits at the intersection of emotional intelligence, courage, perfectionism, and nervous system regulation.

• Website: lizzy-perez.com
• Instagram: @lizzyperezllc
• LinkedIn: Lizzy Perez (Elizabeth “Lizzy” Perez)
• Facebook: Lizzy Perez

Joni Goodman

Chief Breakthrough Officer of JDG Advisors, certified Dare to Lead facilitator, leadership catalyst, and author of Rappel.

Specializes in women’s leadership, emotional intelligence, and transformative facilitation.

• Website: jdgadvisors.com
• Book: Rappel (Available on Amazon and via her website)
• LinkedIn / Facebook / Instagram: Joni D. Goodman

📢 Stay Connected

Love this episode?

✔️ Follow the show

✔️ Share it with a friend

✔️ Leave a quick review

✔️ Pre-order Amy’s book everywhere books are sold

Reach out with thoughts or feedback—you just might hear them on the show.

Less Stress. More Joy. Zero Toxic Positivity.

What if the questions keeping you up at night as a leader are the same ones everyone else is quietly asking?

On this Q&A episode of Less Stress, More Joy, Amy Leneker answers six real questions submitted by leaders across the country — all centered on stress, burnout, relationships, and how to lead with more clarity and humanity at work.

From debunking the myth of work-life balance to navigating toxic positivity, overwhelming workloads, difficult bosses, and the fear of asking for help, Amy offers grounded, research-backed guidance leaders can actually use.

If you’re feeling stretched thin, questioning whether your job is sustainable, or trying to lead well without burning out — this episode is for you.

What You’ll Learn

• Why work-life balance isn’t real — and what to aim for instead
• How relationship tension outside your team can quietly damage trust inside your team
• Why high performers are 70% more likely to burn out when workloads aren’t managed well (according to Gallup)
• How to think clearly about a dream job with a toxic boss
• Why asking for help feels so hard — and how to do it in a way that builds trust and credibility
• The real danger of toxic positivity and why it erodes trust and engagement
• How the Stockdale Paradox can help leaders stay grounded during tough times

Key Research & Ideas Referenced

• Psychological safety research by Amy Edmondson
• Studies on asking for help from the London School of Economics
• Leadership trust insights from Brené Brown
• The Jim Stockdale Paradox: holding reality and hope at the same time

Call to Action

If something in this episode sparked a question for you, Amy wants to hear it.

📩 Email: amy@amyleneker.com

📘 Pre-order Cheers to Monday — available wherever books are sold

⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review — it helps more leaders find their way to less stress and more joy.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Less Stress Q&A

01:04 Debunking Work-Life Balance

04:36 Navigating Workplace Relationships

06:57 Managing High Workload

11:13 Dealing with a Difficult Boss

16:31 The Challenge of Asking for Help

23:15 Understanding Toxic Positivity

Stress doesn’t stay neatly at work or at home—and neither do we. On this episode of Less Stress, More Joy, Amy introduces The Stress Ruler, a simple, powerful tool you can use anywhere in your life: before a tough meeting, during a one-on-one, or even at the dinner table.

The Stress Ruler asks just one question:

How challenging has your stress been on a scale of 0–10?

And what makes it effective is what it doesn’t include:

• No definition of what “challenging” means—you decide
• No separation between work stress and life stress
• No time frame that masks what really matters

Amy shares real-world stories from leadership teams where stress scores revealed hidden disconnects, unspoken assumptions, and opportunities for trust, delegation, and better conversations. She also explains how leaders can use this tool without becoming therapists—and why simplicity matters more than ever in today’s workplace.

On this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why stress shows up before we do
• How the Stress Ruler creates safer, more honest conversations
• How to use it on your own, with your team, or in one-on-ones
• What to listen for when stress numbers don’t match perception
• How curiosity—not fixing—is the real leadership skill

🎯 Download the Stress Ruler and try it this week.

If this episode sparked a question, email Amy at amy@amyleneker.com.

And if you found it helpful, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—it helps others find their way to less stress and more joy.

📘 Pre-order Amy’s new book, Cheers to Monday, wherever books are sold.

Our mission: Less stress. More joy. Zero toxic positivity.

That’s the joyful rebellion—and you’re part of it.

Chapters:

00:00 – Workplace Stress & Life Stress Are Connected

How stress at work affects stress at home (and vice versa)

00:33 – A Stress Management Tool for Work and Life

One simple framework you can use anywhere

00:54 – What Is the Stress Ruler?

A simple stress assessment tool for leaders and teams

01:29 – How to Measure Stress Without Judgment

Why “challenging” works better than “bothersome”

01:58 – Why You Shouldn’t Separate Work Stress and Life Stress

Understanding whole-person stress

02:21 – Why Most Stress Check-Ins Don’t Work

How time-based stress questions miss the real issue

03:00 – Leadership Mistakes That Increase Team Stress

A mediator’s perspective on missed signals

03:45 – How Leaders Should Use Stress Scores

A better way to talk about stress at work

04:08 – How to Check Your Stress Before Hard Conversations

Emotional awareness and self-regulation at work

04:56 – How Teams Can Track Stress Over Time

Using stress levels to prevent burnout

05:20 – Using Stress in One-on-One Meetings

Supporting employees without becoming their therapist

06:00 – When Leaders Underestimate Their Stress Impact

How leader stress affects team performance

06:55 – When Leaders Hide Stress From Their Team

Why over-functioning creates mistrust

08:21 – Why Talking About Stress Is Easier With Numbers

Psychological safety and stress conversations

08:43 – How to Spot Burnout Warning Signs

Recognizing stress spikes and outliers

09:02 – Teaching Kids Emotional Awareness With Stress Tools

Using the Stress Ruler at home

09:29 – Stress, Leadership, and the Joyful Rebellion

Less stress. More joy. Zero toxic positivity.

If you’ve ever woken up on a Monday already exhausted, this episode is for you. In the premiere of Less Stress, More Joy with Amy Leneker, Amy introduces the “joyful rebellion” against burnout and toxic positivity. She unpacks why stress is at an all-time high, why so many teams are stuck in chronic stress, and why the most dangerous belief in modern work culture is that stress is the price of success.

Amy breaks stress down into clear, usable categories (eustress vs. distress; acute vs. chronic), explains how chronic stress impacts health, thinking, and decision-making, and shares what she sees in thousands of high-stakes workplace conversations as a certified mediator.

This episode also calls out a common leadership trap—toxic positivity—and offers a more honest, effective alternative: holding reality and hope at the same time (the Stockdale Paradox). Finally, Amy closes with simple, practical steps you can take immediately to reduce stress and build more connection at work and at home.

What You’ll Learn

• Why “work isn’t working” and why stress can’t be ignored
• The difference between eustress (helpful) and distress (harmful)
• Acute stress vs. chronic stress—and why chronic stress is the real threat
• The four organizational impacts of chronic stress (from the U.S. Department of Labor)
• Why toxic positivity increases stress (and erodes trust)
• How stress spreads through teams via emotional contagion
• Why connection is a powerful antidote to stress
• Three practical actions you can take today

Action Steps (Try This Today)

1. Start a shared conversation about the four types of stress
2. Commit to leading without toxic positivity
3. Pay attention to connection—where you feel seen, heard, and valued

📩 Send Amy your questions (or a voice memo/video): amy@amyleneker.com

📚 Pre-order Cheers to Monday: The Surprisingly Simple Strategy to Lead and Live with Less Stress and More Joy (wherever books are sold), or here: amyleneker.com/book

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Less Stress, More Joy

00:52 Work Isn’t Working: Why We Have to Talk About Stress

03:21 Eustress vs. Distress: Not All Stress Is the Same

04:31 Acute Stress: The Kind We’re Wired For

05:09 Chronic Stress: When Fight-or-Flight Never Turns Off

07:40 What Chronic Stress Feels Like in the Body

08:00 The Workplace Cost of Chronic Stress

11:20 Naming It: What Are We Going to Do About Stress?

12:49 What We’re NOT Doing: Toxic Positivity

13:35 The Stockdale Paradox: Reality + Hope

15:55 Why Toxic Positivity Spreads Stress

16:49 Emotional Contagion: How Stress Spreads Through Teams

18:41 Authenticity Builds Trust

20:00 Choose Your Awkward: Have the Conversation

22:00 Connection Is the Antidote

23:55 Three Things You Can Do Today

26:00 When Work Stress Follows You Home

27:00 Follow, Share, Review + Pre-Order + Send Questions

Hi friend — I’m Amy Leneker, and welcome to the Less Stress, More Joy podcast. I created this podcast because I made every burnout mistake in the book… truly, all of them. If I can help even one person avoid the absolute hell I went through, this show will be a wild success.

Here’s what I know: you were meant for a joy-filled life. We spend a third of our lives at work, and you deserve to lead — and live — with less stress and more joy. In this podcast, I’ll teach you the simple three-step method that changed everything for me. We’ll talk about how to see stress differently, how to sort it so you know what to do with it, and how to solve it in a way that actually frees your time, your energy, and your life.

If you’ve ever woken up on a Monday already exhausted, you’re in the right place. Tune in every Monday, and let’s break the cycle together. You can also pre-order my book Cheers to Monday everywhere books are sold.