Elaine zitner

12/12/2025

🎁

12/03/2025

“The 90’s called and wants its dial-up modem back…”

It also wants to know why you’re still running your life on the same settings you did then.

You likely got on a bus in your late teens or early 20’s and… just stayed on.

You followed the route that made sense, hit some interesting stops, collected a few good stories… and now you’re sitting there thinking:

“Wait a minute. Where do I actually want to go next?”

You’re looking around like..

“Huhhhh… here I am. I didn’t exactly plan to land here. It’s fine… but also a bit meh.”

You reach for the map to see where to go next only to realize…
you dropped it 17 stops ago.

And now you feel a bit lost. Nothing is wrong per se, but something feels off.

Maybe you haven’t asked yourself what you actually want in years.
Maybe it feels awkward not to know where to start.
Maybe you’re too busy and it feels daunting at this stage.
So… if YOU were driving the bus, where would you go?
And if your mind goes blank, start here:

✨What feels energizing right now even in tiny ways?
✨What have you been tolerating that you’re ready to drop?
✨If you trusted yourself fully, what’s the next turn you’d make?

This isn’t about a full reroute, it’s about getting you back in the driver seat, steering the bus of your life one turn at a time.

11/04/2025

Why do I turn into a robot every time I create something here?? Oh. It’s just an overdeveloped part from the 90’s trying to stay relevant.

10/17/2025

This client came to me with big goals:

👉 Speak up with confidence
👉 Have the tough conversations
👉 Stay calm when power dynamics heat up

We met the Judge - the inner critic replaying every word to keep her “safe.”

But beneath that voice was a deeper truth: the Judge valued relationships.

When she learned to invite more of her parts - Ali, Véronique, and Lucy Locket into the room, she stopped overthinking and started leading like herself, the ripple effect was pure magic!

Who’s leading you today?

10/15/2025

For a long time, I thought my drive for efficiency and my love of freedom and magic were pulling in opposite directions.

I looove efficiency, checklists, process improvement, PDCA (plan, do, check, act), and DMAIC for life. I even have a Black Belt in Lean Methodology, and once went to Japan to study the origins.📋

This part of me values results. She wants to be a bazillionaire, grow a huge audience, and make a massive impact.

I also looove space and magic and the power of the unseen. This is the part that studied Chinese Medicine and did Yoga Teacher Training✨

This part values joy, play, and connection. She’d rather sit by the ocean, watch birds and walk in the forest.

For years, they felt like opposites, how could I “be” both?? Like I had to choose.

Now I see they’ve both been trying to take care of me, just in different ways.

These days, I choose which one leads, instead of running on autopilot.

Does anyone else have inner parts that feel like opposites? What do they value?

10/14/2025

Great news you’ll always be the best at being you, you can stop trying to be like your boss, your friend, or your colleague. You’ll never be as good as them at being them.

Some parts of you have gotten all the attention.
Some only come out on weekends.
You can be confident and kind.
Creative and professional.
Fun and serious.

In fact… you can be all of whoever you are.
That’s what it means to Lead Like You.

Join me for Lead Like You, a free 90-minute workshop on October 23 at 10 AM PST to meet your inner crew and let them work together.

10/14/2025

Might as well do it myself, Frank never does it the right way and it takes waaaayyy too long” - Me

“Why is she always doing my stuff??? Am I doing it the wrong way? Does she want something different? It’s so weird, maybe she’s insecure or has control issues” - Frank

Ahhhhh yes, the over-functioning dance no one meant to start and everyone’s frustrated by but not talking about begins.

You’re exhausted, carrying the weight of things that aren’t meant to be yours.

They’re confused, walking on eggshells and wondering why you don’t trust them.

Truly you both want the same thing: to feel competent, trusted, and part of a team.

And for you it’s not about control deep down it’s about safety.

That hyper-competent part of you learned that doing it yourself meant fewer mistakes, less risk, and more predictability.

She helped you build a career and now she’s the reason your shoulders look like they’re going to eat your ears, she might need a small vacation.

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In the Lead Like You workshop, we get curious about that part and the others you’ve kept on the sidelines so you can lead (and live) with more joy, connection and freedom.

✨ 90 minutes, some “aha” moments and maybe, just maybe… someone else can finally take a seat at the head of the table for a little while.

🔗Comment “Persona” or DM and I’ll send you the link

10/14/2025

Family can be super weird and messy and and and and...
My sisters ( ) are the best. Really.

Our mom has had a heck of time medically over the last few years.
Just when things start to settle, something else pops up.

We have the usual sister dynamics and things can feel complicated sometimes. I think that’s common with anyone you’ve had a lifetime with.

And I’m deeply grateful for them. During the most recent health scare, we worked seamlessly as a team to support our mom and each other.

I could turn this post into something about team effectiveness, or “from the darkness comes light” or something about “coal and diamonds” .....but mostly I just want to share publicly how incredibly grateful I am to get to be on a sister-team with them.

Pics of me and Miriam Zitner having our best time while Hannah Zitner was coordinating all the logistic remotely.

Love you sisters.

10/09/2025

If I had a megaphone, I’d yell into it with the full force of my 5’2” body:

YOU CAN DO IT YOUR WAY.

Stop trying to be like your boss. You’ll never be as good at being them as they are. You aren’t meant to be.

I see it all the time with clients, trying to match someone else’s tone, pace, approach, confidence. Thinking they need to do it the same way.

Your credibility and confidence doesn’t come from imitation, it comes from bringing more of you - when your actions, words, and instincts align with who you are.

Hard things feel easier when you stop performing leadership and start living it.

So next time you catch yourself comparing, try this:
✨ Pause.
✨ Remember a moment when you felt most like yourself.
✨ See it like a movie scene.
✨ Feel that version of you in your body.
✨ Ask: “What would she do?”
✨ Then… do that.

That’s the version of you your team, your work, and your world actually need.

09/25/2025

Raise your hand if you’ve ever snapped, withdrawn or people pleased on autopilot ....only to feel that sinking pit in your stomach after.

Regret?? Maybe
Wishing you’d done “it” differently? Likely.

Yup, me too. Me too. And here’s the picture proof.
(And wooowwza, yes, that sure is a close-up. Oh well.😉)

That is all. Carry on. ✨

********************

PS. More on autopilot vs. choice coming soon. It’s one of my favorite leadership & life topics.

09/22/2025

We’ve all been there. The eye roll in the meeting. The report that never comes.
The “dumb idea” no one challenges until they get to the water cooler.

Silence feels safer. But avoidance doesn’t protect you.
It ruins confidence, careers, and connection.

If you’re stuck in avoidance send me a message, let’s work through it together!

10/08/2024