Lynn Horan, PhD Leadership & Life Development, Albany, NY (2026)

02/17/2026

Today begins the Year of the FIRE HORSE in Chinese astrology, and for empathetic women leaders seeking personal TRANSFORMATION and institutional change, this is significant.

Occurring once every 60 years, the Year of the Fire Horse empowers women to act with FEARLESS independence, momentum, and UNAPOLOGETIC passion, shifting from waiting and accommodating to decision-making and differentiating.

These qualities can feel threatening to those who have benefited from oppressive systems that SILENCE and discredit women. If you've been judged or criticized as “too intense" or disruptive as you pursue your goals, independence, and SELF-EXPRESSION -- this year is for YOU.

KEY THEMES for WOMEN during Year of the Fire Horse:

✨ Unapologetic Leadership: Shifting away from being cautious or accommodating, and embracing bold and authentic action.

✨ Intuitive Momentum: A year for rapid growth, where projects and personal changes move quickly because they are aligned with deep knowing.

✨ Sustainable Energy: Balancing intense passion with intentional boundaries that promote rest and self-nurture, turning creative energy into sustainable transformation.

✨ Instinctual Trust: Allowing yourself to be guided by your instincts and taking risks, even if the path is unconventional or met with resistance.

https://www.lynnhoran.com/coaching.html

02/15/2026

💙 BOOK RELEASE AUGUST 2026!💙

Excited for the upcoming release of "INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN LEADERS: The Challenges and Rewards of Religion, Spirituality, Purpose, and Calling in Leadership"

Thank you to International Leadership Association’s Transformative Women Leaders Book Series for the opportunity to share my research on EMPATHETIC WOMEN LEADERS and the process of embodied healing and reconstituting of self beyond toxic workplace culture.

To learn more visit:
https://www.lynnhoran.com/transformative-women-leaders-book-series.html

02/12/2026

My research and executive coaching specialize in workplace PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY of EMPATHETIC WOMEN leaders, particularly the process of RECONSTITUTING SELF beyond toxic elements – whether in religious institutions, higher education, healthcare, or even the ice-skating rink.

When I read French Olympic figure skater Gabriella Papadakis’ recently released memoir, Pour Ne Pas Disparaître (To Not Disappear), her description of systemic abuse and power imbalances within elite-level competitive ice skating mirrored several elements of toxic workplace culture:

➡️ Sacrificial embrace:
Overriding physical and psychological abuse due to a strong sense of purpose and calling in one’s work

➡️ Financial and employment precarity:
Remaining in an abusive workplace particularly in highly specialized fields that make professional transitions difficult.

➡️ Culturally saturated institutions:
Organizations that are deeply entrenched with specific, often exclusive and patriarchal, societal norms, which can lead to gaslighting and minimizing abuse in order to protect image, history, and tradition.

➡️ Executive derailment and “push-to-leave” forces:
Intolerable work conditions and unsustainable expectations of compliance that cause women leaders to leave without control of the exit narrative or timeline.

➡️ Professional defamation and scapegoating:
Self-differentiated women leaders who seek institutional accountability and transparency are seen as a threat to established norms and are subsequently discredited and demonized.

➡️ Reclaiming voice and agency:
A primary path of healing and recovery as women own and share their experiences, reclaim their leadership strengths, and forge new paths beyond toxic workplace culture.

More on Papadakis’ book:
https://www.vogue.com/article/gabriella-papadakis-on-the-relationship-that-ended-her-career

More on my research and coaching:
www.lynnhoran.com

02/10/2026

Mid-Winter Re-Balance complete✔️

Thanks to –

Swedish massage with Adirondack Therapeutic Touch
Full-body Reiki session with The Grounded Ginger, LLC
30-day unlimited yoga with Blooming Lotus Yoga & Wellness

I used to feel the need to JUSTIFY self-care as taking care of myself so I can take care of others. But this sends a harmful message to women that our sense of BALANCE is only valued to the extent that it helps us manage/hold/satisfy others’ needs.

Rather than EXPLAIN self-care or view it as a LUXURY that we deserve only during times of intense stress, I help women CULTIVATE self-care as an UNAPOLOGETIC expression of what it means to be human.

Need support in this area? DM me to schedule a 75-minute Mid-Winter Re-Balance coaching session!

Learn more at
https://www.lynnhoran.com/coaching

02/08/2026

This is a very personal post, one that I’m not sure I’m even ready to share. But with the work I do advocating for women's voices and our lived experiences, if this helps even one woman, then it is worth sharing🌿

To read full blog post visit:
https://www.lynnhoran.com/blog/iud-migration-and-perforation

02/01/2026

A core element of my leadership and life coaching is supporting women as we RECALIBRATE our lives through meaningful seasonal shifts.

For many of my clients, this means TRANSITIONING out of unhealthy family dynamics and toxic workplace settings, where annual cycles are driven by corporate calendars and religious traditions, which are often at odds with our deeper SEASONAL NEEDS and longings.

Aligning our lives with nature-driven agricultural seasons enables us to tap into ancient practices that EMBRACE the divine feminine, UPHOLD our need for rest and rejuvenation, and CREATE sustainable pathways for personal growth.

Imbolc (February 1st) is one of these dynamic times of seasonal ALIGNMENT, situated halfway between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.

An ancient Celtic agricultural festival, Imbolc celebrates the earth’s WAKENING as the days begin to visibly lengthen. Meaning “in the belly,” Imbolc celebrations honor the birth of the first lambs and SURVIVAL through the harshest season.

What SUBTLE SHIFTS or seismic changes are you sensing beneath the surface of your own life? How might they be an INVITATION to acknowledge unspoken needs and reclaim deeper longings?

www.lynnhoran.com/coaching

01/25/2026

As snow falls across the U.S., a reminder about seasonal depression and its effect on women --

❄️Seasonal DEPRESSION is a very real and often INVISIBILIZED experience, especially for empathetic and CAREGIVING women.

❄️Increased feelings of hopelessness, isolation, and OVERWHELM are compounded due to societal expectations of the self-sacrificial woman as well as biological realities specifically affecting women’s physical health.

❄️ Naming these dynamics is the first step toward more AUTHENTIC and HUMANIZING narratives of women’s experiences.

www.lynnhoran.com/coaching

01/20/2026

I am honored that the Journal of Religion and Gender has accepted my article abstract for the next stage of review in their upcoming special issue “The Politics of Parenting: Reimagining Gender and Belief.”

The article is based on my work as a dance and movement therapist with the human rights organization Paz y Esperanza Peru and explores decolonizing approaches to embodied spirituality, resilience, and resistance among adolescent mothers and survivors of sexual abuse in Central Peru.

Thank you to my colleagues in Huánuco, Peru and their faithful commitment to human-centered, trauma-informed leadership, and to the Journal of Religion and Gender for supporting this important work.

Learn more:
www.lynnhoran.com

01/05/2026

Extremely grateful to be publishing my next academic journal article “Exploiting Empathetic Women Leaders and the Shadow Side of Servant Leadership” in the Journal of Management Spirituality & Religion's upcoming special issue "The Spiritual Dimensions of Love in Leadership: Critical Perspectives, Shadow Aspects, and Integral Approaches."

Special thanks to the JMSR editorial board and guest editors Dr. Mohammed Raei and Dr. Aqeel Tirmizi for embracing this work.

To learn more visit:
https://www.lynnhoran.com/journal-of-management-spirituality-and-religion.html

01/02/2026

Yesterday I drove through the backroads near our home in upstate New York and noticed the landscape had completely transformed. Thick pine boughs hovered over the roads like archways leading to Narnia, while barren cornfields now blanketed in snow were wind swept and dotted with animal tracks.

It seems like yesterday that our favorite apple orchard was brimming with hardy fruit - but now displaying rows of grey tangled branches bowing to the earth in a gesture of deep surrender.

I soaked up the stillness of the early setting sun, having been in a postpartum haze for the past two weeks. My fourth and final baby was born amid this seasonal shift, and as I prepared to leave the hospital on the first day of winter, I marveled at the timing of all this.

The Yule season has a way of dismissing our plans and replacing them with a broader sense of purpose, patience, and preparation. For those of us who strive for predictable schedules, visible achievements, and linear progress, this season challenges us to turn inward toward the unchartered crevices of self-discovery.

I always find that my body needs this season, especially now. As I adjust to being a mom of four, I am in awe of how Mother Nature has gifted me with a slower pace, even as I manage the new demands and heightened energy of family life.

Wherever you find yourself this season, may it STRETCH you in ways that remind you of your STRENGTH, yet also usher in the kind of peace that quietly TRANSFORMS the ground beneath you.

www.lynnhoran.com

01/01/2026

My work weaves together trauma-informed research, women-centered coaching, and embodied social change in ways that challenge the very foundations of how we understand women's leadership.

Through this work, I am guided by a fundamental belief -- when women RECLAIM their agency, voice, and truth, entire systems TRANSFORM.

As I look to the new year, I'm committed to creating BRAVE spaces where women leaders can METABOLIZE family and workplace trauma, set radical boundaries, and REIMAGINE leadership one embodied insight at a time.

www.lynnhoran.com

12/31/2025

⭐Celebrating 2025⭐

As I reflect on the past year, I am extremely grateful for those who have accompanied me, inspired me, and encouraged my work to foster voice, agency, and purpose among empathetic women leaders in our varied roles and leadership spaces.

⭐2025 Highlights:

🌿 Published my doctoral research "DISMANTLED: Abusive Church Culture and the Clergy Women Who Leave," which was a #1 NEW RELEASE in Self-Help for Abuse and #2 BEST SELLER in Gender & Sexuality in Religious Studies on Amazon.
www.lynnhoran.com/dismantled

Thanks to the courageous women leaders who participated in this research, this body of work reveals the systemic issues of workplace psychological abuse and gendered scapegoating of empathetic women leaders and offers strength-based pathways of recovery and healing within and beyond toxic workplace culture.

⭐ Additional Publications:

🌿 Contributed the chapter "Activism, Performance, and Spiritual Ritual: The Roots of Embodied Social Change" in the anthology "Leadership at the Spiritual Edge: Exploring Emerging and Non-Western Concepts of Spirituality and Leadership" (Routledge), which became a TOP 20 Amazon book under Occupational & Organizational Psychology.
www.lynnhoran.com/leadership-at-the-spiritual-edge.html

🌿 Contributed the chapter “Reconstituting Self Beyond Toxic Workplace Culture,” in the International Leadership Association’s Transformative Women Leaders Book Series, coming March 2026.
www.lynnhoran.com/transformative-women-leaders-book-series.html

🌿 Journal article “Exploiting Empathetic Women Leaders and the Shadow Side of Servant Leadership” accepted for publication in the Journal of Management, Spirituality, and Religion, coming June 2026.

🌿 Served as a peer reviewer for three academic journals in gender, leadership, politics, and religion.

⭐ Coaching and Advocacy:

🌿 Received the INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY "Your Story, Your Impact" Award, which I was able to use to support my colleagues at Paz y Esperanza in central Peru and their work with survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence.

🌿 Launched and expanded GOAT WALKERS, my coaching program for empathetic, purpose-driven women navigating new thresholds and life transitions.
www.lynnhoran.com/goat-walkers.html

🌿 Presented on GENDERED SCAPEGOATING at the International Conference on Heroes in Contemporary Culture.

⭐To learn more visit: www.lynnhoran.com

Lynn Horan, PhD Leadership & Life Development

02/17/2026

02/15/2026

02/12/2026

02/10/2026

02/08/2026

02/01/2026

01/25/2026

01/20/2026

01/05/2026

01/02/2026

01/01/2026

12/31/2025

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