#8 The Power of Emotional Language in Parenting and Leadership

Summary: What would you have loved to know as a child that you know now?For Linda, the answer came quickly: the language. The language to name what she was feeling. The language to ask for what she needed. The language to understand that being emotional wasn't a flaw, it was information.In this conversation, Linda and Charlotte Balfour-Poole explore what happens when we have words for what we feel, and what we lose when we don't. They talk about raising children with emotional maturity in a turbulent world, what it means to lead with care and compassion, and why naming our emotions might be one of the most powerful things we can do, at any age.This one gets personal. We hope something in it lands for you.About Charlotte: Charlotte is a leadership coach and consultant who works with people and organisations to lead with more courage and compassion. She brings warmth, rigour, and a rare ability to hold space for the conversations that actually matter.Connect with Charlotte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-balfour-poole/Chapters:00:00 Introduction00:52 Raising children with emotional maturity07:39 Values, kindness, and what schools get right09:12 The cost of "don't be so emotional"11:45 The language to say what you need13:31 Linda's story: her dad, her sister, and the words that changed things17:55 What children show us about how we want to be22:46 Leading with values, what it really means27:48 When a whole team burns out33:52 What was your biggest failure?Resources mentioned:Bessel van der Kolk: The Body Keeps the Score: https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748John Adair's Action-Centred Leadership Model: https://www.businessballs.com/leadership-styles/action-centred-leadership-john-adair/Join Our Community:If this conversation sparked something in you, there's a space where conversations like this happen every month.Purposeful Futures is a values-led leadership community run by Linda and Aga; a vibrant community of people who believe that how we lead and how we live are the same question. Each month, we go deep on a topic that matters: purpose, identity, courage, belonging, and more. It's not a webinar. It's not a course. It's a genuine conversation with people who show up to think together.25 CHF a month. No commitment. Come for one session and see.👉 Join here: https://go.touchingdistance.com/purposeful-futures-membershipConnect: If something landed for you in this episode, a moment you recognised yourself in, a question it stirred, something you want to sit with, we'd love to hear from you.Find Linda on LinkedIn or drop a comment wherever you're listening.