202 - Michelle Irving - How Health Challenges Could Turn Your Work Into Authentic Leadership

We map a clear path from medical leave to meaningful work, sharing the five-stage Career and Chronic framework and the skills that turn lived experience into authentic leadership. Practical scripts, capacity tools, and boundary strategies make work humane and sustainable.• What career means when health reshapes life• The five stages: off-ramp, on-ramp, the new, test and redesign, authentic leadership• Emotional skills for the bed-based phase• Boundaries without apology or battle• Baseline versus optimal capacity and how to communicate both• Reducing emotional labour at work and home• Why these skills create trusted, empathetic leaders• The chronic economy and the future of human capacity at workLinks:Our previous episode - the emotional map: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1835170/episodes/13541520Connect with Michelle:http://careerandchronicillness.com/ https://www.chronicillnessatwork.com/Career and Chronic Map: https://www.careerandchronic.com/career-mapThe Cocoon (when not working): https://www.careerandchronic.com/the-cocoonWork & Leadership Series  https://www.careerandchronic.com/chronicleadership (Feb 2026)Ambition Program (discussed in episode) https://www.careerandchronic.com/ambitionMessage me! (I can't reply to these messages) For more information about Long Covid Breathing courses & workshops, please check out LongCovidBreathing.com (music credit - Brock Hewitt, Rule of Life) Support the show~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Thankyou for joining me in The Recovery Room. If you found this episode useful & are able to, you can support the show by buying me a coffee or checking out the merchVisit The Recovery Room website: www.JackiesRecoveryRoom.com Follow me on social media channels: @JackiesRecoveryRoom **Disclaimer - you should not rely on any medical information contained in this Podcast and related materials in making medical, health-related or other decisions. Please consult a doctor or other health professional**