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  |  Podcast   |  Episode 14: How to Love and Lead Others Well

Episode 14: How to Love and Lead Others Well

In this episode of Courage Is Built Here, Justine opens Pathway Four, Love Others Well, with a grounded and honest conversation about what it actually looks like to care for and lead others with courage. She invites executive leader and trusted advisor Rose Thompson to reflect on how love, empathy, trust, and accountability must coexist in both personal and professional relationships.

Rose shares stories from her leadership experience that highlight the power of consistent one-to-one connection, naming expectations clearly, and holding people accountable as an act of care rather than control. Together, Justine and Rose explore why avoiding hard conversations leads to resentment, how unspoken expectations damage trust, and why boundaries are essential to loving others well.

The conversation also dives into emotional and physical boundaries at work, the grief that comes with unmet expectations, and the courage required to allow others to truly know and care for you. Rose reflects on choosing curiosity over judgment, navigating political differences with love, and how vulnerability creates connection even when it feels risky. Throughout the episode, they return to the truth that loving others well requires clarity, courage, and a willingness to stay present in discomfort.

Key Takeaways

  • Pathway Four, Love Others Well, focuses on how to relate to, live with, and lead others with care, dignity, and accountability.
  • Loving others well includes accountability and clear expectations, not avoidance or permissiveness.
  • Empathy does not remove responsibility; it can exist alongside boundaries and hard conversations.
  • One-to-one connection builds trust and creates space for accountability to be received as care.
  • Unspoken expectations often lead to resentment, judgment, and disconnection.
  • Emotional boundaries are often the first step to staying well in difficult work environments.
  • Physical boundaries may be necessary when emotional boundaries are not enough.
  • Grief is a real and necessary part of boundary setting and accepting when people cannot or will not change.
  • Transparency, including naming what is known and unknown, builds trust during times of change.
  • Loving others well also requires allowing yourself to be known and cared for, not just showing up for others.


About the guest

Rose Thompson is a seasoned executive and trusted advisor known for leading with clarity, heart, and curiosity. Throughout her career, she has guided business owners, leaders, and organizations through growth and change while remaining grounded in her core values of connection and wholehearted leadership. Rose brings a human-centered approach to leadership that emphasizes accountability, trust, and caring well for people while navigating complexity and change.

Connect with Rose

Author:

A Licensed Professional Counselor, Justine Froelker has over 25 years of experience in mental health, personal growth, and professional development. For eleven years, she was certified in Dr. Brené Brown’s work on vulnerability, courage, and empathy. Justine now shares her own curriculum, Courage is Built Here™. This transformative program empowers individuals to live and lead with self-awareness, authenticity, and resilience, building a foundation for courage-centered leadership. In addition to writing her blog since 2013, Justine is an accomplished author of thirteen books—including five Amazon bestsellers—Justine has written across genres, from children’s books to in-depth explorations of infertility, faith, grief, and leadership. She has delivered two TEDx Talks, The Permission of the And and The Donut Effect, which highlight her unique perspective on navigating life’s complexities with grace. Justine is a sought-after speaker who travels nationally and presents virtually to global audiences, delivering keynotes, workshops, retreats, and trainings on topics such as leadership, resilience, mental health, coping with burnout, courageous and curious conversations, and fostering cultures of inclusion and belonging. Justine lives in St. Louis with her husband Chad and their two dogs, Gertie and Winston. You’ll often find her volunteering at Wild Bird Rehabilitation—supporting the medical team and feeding hundreds of tiny, hungry babies during baby bird season. And during butterfly season, her home comes alive with the flutter of wings as she raises hundreds of monarch and swallowtail butterflies.

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