Episode Description:

Great leaders don’t avoid discomfort—they learn to follow it.

In this episode of Mission Driven You, Will sits down with Arielle Lechner, an executive coach and startup strategist who works with high-growth founders and senior leaders to turn complexity into clarity. Arielle brings a rare blend of operational insight, emotional intelligence, and no-nonsense coaching to the art of building strong leadership and culture inside fast-moving companies.

Together, they unpack what it means to treat leadership like an experiment, why most leaders aren’t as clear as they think they are, and how to use discomfort as a directional signal instead of something to escape. Arielle also shares her "Lift and Thrust" model for understanding team dynamics, and what makes a founder not just successful—but coachable.

If you’re leading something big—or thinking about what’s next—this episode offers practical tools and deeper insight for becoming the kind of leader people trust, follow, and remember.

🧠 What You’ll Learn:

• Why leadership and culture-building are better approached as experiments, not formulas
• What the “Lift and Thrust” model can reveal about your team’s dynamics
• How to stop outsourcing culture to perks and start diagnosing the real forces at play
• Why discomfort is often a compass pointing to your next area of growth
• The difference between clarity and overexplanation—and why repetition is leadership
• What makes a founder coachable, and why it matters for long-term impact
• How to lead through high-stakes decisions (like fundraising or scaling) without losing your center

💬 Quotes to Remember:

“If you’re not repeating yourself like a broken record, you’re probably not being clear enough.”

“What’s being avoided is often what most needs attention.”

“Everything is an experiment. Leadership. Culture. Team building. You don’t need to get it right—you need to stay curious.”

“Discomfort is not danger. It’s data.”

✨ Reflection Questions:

• Where in your leadership are you performing clarity—but not actually being clear?
• What conversations are you avoiding that might unlock growth for you or your team?
• How could you reframe your next challenge as an experiment instead of a test?

🔗 Resources & Links:

• Arielle Lechner
• Website: ariellelechner.com
• LinkedIn: Arielle Lechner
• Connect with Will:
• Substack: drwillsamson.substack.com
• LinkedIn: Will Samson

💡 Final Takeaway:

“Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating space for the right questions—and staying present long enough to listen.”

Let me know if you'd like a condensed version for Apple/Spotify upload or a pull quote for social media!

Mentioned in this episode:

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