Why a Quick Pause Makes People Actually Listen

Description

Unshakable doesn’t mean unbothered. In this episode of Big Swings Only, Kwame Christian sits down with Heather R. Younger, an attorney turned culture architect, Thinkers50 Radar thought leader, and author of five books, including her newest, The Unshakable Team.

They start on the stage. Heather explains why her superpower is presence, what it means to “listen at scale,” and how she learned to stop over-teaching and leave room to play. They dig into the intentional pause: why holding silence takes discipline, and why a well-placed pause almost never feels too long to the audience. Heather also shares how a challenging childhood and years of legal training in issue-spotting made her a nimble “master tactician” when deciding which big swings to take.

Then they turn to leadership. They talk about the ripple effects of our behavior on a team, why perfectionism keeps capable people on the sidelines, and how perfection differs from excellence. They also explain why consistency is often the biggest swing of all. Heather shares what 40,000 employee survey comments taught her (it isn’t rocket science) and why C-suite leaders often exclude themselves from culture work. She also gives her definition of unshakable: resilience in the moment and steadiness by design.

Connect with Heather

Contact form: https://heatheryounger.com/#contact player

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherryounger/ (she says this is her main platform) player

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heatherryoungerofficial/ player

X: https://x.com/HeatherRYounger player

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heatherryounger player

Culture consulting: https://employeefanatix.com/ player

Her podcast: Becoming Unshakable With Heather R. Younger