Stop Micromanaging, Start Leading: Your Guide to Building a Team You Trust with Ashley Cox (Part 1)

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🎧 Episode 168: Stop Micromanaging, Start Leading: Your Guide to Building a Team You Trust with Ashley Cox (Part 1)

In this episode, I sit down with Ashley Cox, founder of the Empowered Leader Experience, to unpack why so many women founders and executives feel trapped running their businesses instead of leading them. Ashley shares her own evolution from overworked “worker bee” to empowered mentor and reveals the hard truths and practical solutions that help ambitious women escape burnout, build thriving teams, and reclaim their vision.

We explore:

• The myth of “doing it all” and why it keeps leaders stuck in overwhelm
• How self-awareness and ego-checks are the non-negotiable starting points for growth
• The damaging leadership advice women are told (“Be tougher, be less emotional…”) and what actually works
• Why your team’s problems are often a mirror of your own leadership
• The control vs. growth paradox: Why you have to let go to level up
• Delegation 101: How to empower your team without handing over the keys to the kingdom
• Building a culture where people feel seen, valued, and inspired to go above and beyond
• Practical ways to stretch into letting go (without watching everything fall apart)

🔑 Key takeaways:

• When you let go of ego and listen to feedback, you unlock real leadership potential.
• Your team’s performance is a direct reflection of your leadership approach.
• Empathy and vulnerability are strengths, not weaknesses—in fact, they’re how you build high-performing, loyal teams.
• Effective delegation is about giving others a chance to grow, not abdicating responsibility.
• When leaders do the hard work of self-awareness, everyone wins: the business, the team, and the leader.

💡 Quotes to remember:

"If your team isn’t doing what you want them to do, it’s a mirror of your leadership."
"Leadership is one of the most vulnerable experiences you’ll ever have—but that’s where greatness is born."
"You don’t have to give away the keys to the kingdom to get the help you need."

Final wisdom:
Stepping back and letting go isn’t just good for your sanity, it’s the key to real growth, for you and everyone you lead.

📚 Resources mentioned:

• Ashley Cox’s Empowered Leader Experience: https://ashleycox.co/
• Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-cox-phr-shrm-cp-30565017/

A rising tide raises all ships, and I invite you along on this journey to Evoke Greatness!
Check out my website: www.evokegreatness.com
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Chapters

1. Stop Micromanaging, Start Leading: Your Guide to Building a Team You Trust with Ashley Cox (Part 1) (00:00:00)

2. Welcome to Year Three (00:00:05)

3. Are You the Bottleneck? (00:01:46)

4. Meet Ashley Cox (00:02:42)

5. The Breaking Point (00:04:26)

6. Self-Awareness in Leadership (00:11:21)

7. Letting Go of Control (00:16:32)

8. Recognizing When You're the Problem (00:22:21)

9. Part One Conclusion (00:30:50)