Lead Well, Live Well: Women Leaders, Wellness and Purpose with Margaret Andrews

Written By LInda Misegadis

Episode Spotlight: Manage Yourself to Lead Others — A Conversation with Margaret C. Andrews

We had the pleasure of talking with Margaret C. Andrews on Her Resources Podcast, exploring what it really means to lead starting from self-understanding. Whether you're stepping into leadership for the first time or you're a seasoned pro, Margaret’s insights are sharp, practical, and deeply human.

🎥 Watch the Episode

Catch the full conversation here:
▶ Margaret Andrews on Manage Yourself to Lead Others

🔗 How to Connect with Margaret C. Andrews

  • Website: MargaretAndrews.com — her home base with information about speaking, coaching, and the MYLO Center.

  • LinkedIn: Connect with Margaret C. Andrews to follow her leadership insights, Harvard teachings, and community engagements.

  • Book: Manage Yourself to Lead Others: Why Great Leadership Begins with Self‑Understanding, released September 16, 2025. Available to order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and more.

📚 About Manage Yourself to Lead Others

Margaret’s new book builds on her popular Harvard courses and executive programs. Here's what the book promises and delivers:

  • It helps you identify how your background, values, and life experiences shape your leadership style—and how to lean into those to lead more authentically.

  • Offers frameworks and reflection prompts to notice and shift behavioral patterns that may be limiting your leadership growth.

  • Provides guidance on not just leading others, but also managing relationships with your own boss, making decisions, and working through organisational culture challenges.

🌱 Key Takeaways from Margaret’s Work for Leaders

Here are some of the most powerful ideas we discussed from Margaret’s episode and her book — things you can start doing now:

  1. Start with Self-Awareness
    Before you lead others well, you have to understand what shapes you. What are your default responses under stress? What values guide the decisions you make unconsciously? Leadership becomes much more grounded when these are clear.

  2. Observe Where Patterns Hold You Back
    Many leaders are great in technical or strategic skills, yet get tripped up by emotional reactions, misalignment between values and behavior, or blind spots. Margaret encourages leaders to look for those personally and within their organizations.

  3. Develop Emotional Composure
    The book emphasizes that leadership under pressure requires the ability to stay grounded even when things feel chaotic or uncertain. Practicing composure isn't about suppressing emotion, but about knowing what to do with the emotional energy so it doesn’t unintentionally lead to behaviors you later regret.

  4. Role of Culture & Relationships
    Leadership doesn’t happen in a vacuum. How you relate upward (to your boss), sideways (to peers), and downward (to your team) matters. Also, the organizational culture you inhabit either supports growth or works against it. Margaret’s work gives tools for navigating that well.

  5. Lead with Intention, Not Just Strategy
    Intentional leadership means clarifying who you want to be as a leader—not just what goals to hit. When you know your leadership identity (grounded in your values), you make decisions more consistently and with greater authenticity.

🤔 Why This Episode Should Be on Your Radar Now

In turbulent times—economic uncertainty, shifting work norms, evolving expectations of leaders—the internal legwork Margaret describes is more important than ever. Her approach helps you:

  • Build credibility and trust (within your team, peers, and up the chain)

  • Navigate change and ambiguity with clarity

  • Avoid burnout by aligning what you do with who you are

👥 Join the Conversation

We’d love to hear from you:

  • Which part of Margaret’s message hit home for you? Self-awareness, composure, culture, or something else?

  • Have you ever noticed a leadership behavior in yourself that doesn’t align with your values? How did you address it?

  • What small practices could you implement now to strengthen your ability to manage yourself—so you can lead others more intentionally?

Drop us a comment, connect with Margaret via her website or LinkedIn, or share your reflections on social media. Let’s grow together.

With respect, clarity, and intention,
Linda & Cyndi
Co‑Hosts, Her Resources Podcast

LInda Misegadis
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Lead Well, Live Well: Women Leaders, Wellness and Purpose with Cyndi Manuel