We Are in This Together, Leading Through Uncertainty with Shannon Fisher
Barbara Schindler talks with longtime colleague and friend Shannon Fisher, an organizational advisor, facilitator, and coach with more than 20 years of helping people work well together. Shannon spent over 16 years in the online coaching industry during its steep climb and helped build a multi-million dollar online company. Last year she opened a brick-and-mortar business with her husband, now her co-founder, in the same season she launched her 18-year-old daughter into the world. Barbara joins from Vermont, Shannon from the California coast.
Shannon names what she sees across her clients and fellow business owners: we're in new territory, we don't fully understand it yet, and we're struggling to adapt. Margins are tight. Clients aren't arriving the way they used to. She still calls herself a believer in great possibility, and she makes the case that abundance is being redefined right now. For her it has moved away from the material and toward the energy she brings through her body to meet whatever the day asks of her.
The conversation gets personal. Shannon woke up the morning of the recording tired and frayed after 72 hours of holding space for others, and the night before she had co-led a two-hour class with zero prep time. She told a colleague, "I can't try hard on this." Barbara shares that her centering word this year is calm, and that asking "Am I calm?" usually means she isn't. Shannon describes a daily practice that finally took hold in 2023, after years of putting her to-do list ahead of it, and the phrase that has steadied her since her late 20s: lay it down.
Key Takeaways
- Uncertainty is the current condition of business. Leaders who accept the challenge instead of fighting it think more clearly inside it.
- Abundance starts with the energy and presence you bring into a conversation, and resources follow from there.
- Over-functioning and overcompensating may have gotten you here, and they can block your intuition now.
- Humility in leadership sounds like "Let's pause and prioritize, I have a lot on my plate."
- A daily practice that looks unproductive from the outside can become the source of everything you value.
Action Steps
- Pick one word to serve as your barometer this season, and check in with it once a day.
- Before you open email tomorrow, sit for uninterrupted time in a designated space.
- The next time a new project lands, ask for a prioritization conversation before you say yes.
- When you hit heavy resistance this week, try Shannon's phrase: lay it down.
Questions to Reflect On
- Where are you trying hard when presence would serve you better?
- How would you define abundance for yourself this year?
- Are you leading or following in the dance right now?
- What do you need to let go of today to give in the way you're designed to?
Want to talk through how you lead through uncertainty without burning out?
Book a Discovery Call with Barbara: https://www.empoweringleadershipteams.com/discovery
Shannon Fisher is an organizational advisor, facilitator, and coach with over twenty years of experience helping people and teams work well together and bring their full selves to what they do.
She has trained and facilitated groups of all sizes, helped design and lead leadership programs and retreats, and coached hundreds of people through growth, change, and the everyday stress of demanding work.
Shannon practices the same nervous system and reflective tools she teaches, every day. She keeps it real, grounded, and fun while challenging people toward genuine growth in her unique way.
Connect with Shannon:
https://www.coachingtrue.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fishershannon/
