Lonely at the Top

When you’re searching for direction, rather than seeking outside guidance or reading other people's advice books, sometimes what you need is to slow down, listen deeply, and learn the language of your own inner guidance. In this solo episode, host and Soul Medic Rachel Alexandria explores what it's like to trust yourself, especially when you’ve been conditioned not to. Drawing from her work with high-level leaders and her background in psychology and spirituality, she unpacks the difference between fear and intuitive knowing, how spirit communicates without urgency, and why clarity requires your active participation. Through personal reflections and a powerful story of receiving unexpected guidance, Rachel offers a grounded, nuanced perspective on how to partner with the unseen while staying rooted in your own sovereignty. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode of Lonely at the Top, Rachel sits down with Sorby Grant, President and CEO of Climb Hire, an equity-focused workforce development nonprofit supporting underemployed adults in accessing real economic mobility.Sorby reflects on the emotional cost of being the decision-maker, the pressure of stewarding a mission rooted in justice and opportunity, and the quiet exhaustion that can make it hard to recognize success while you’re living it.A central thread of the conversation is social capital — how access to relationships, trust, and informal networks determines who gets opportunities and who stays stuck. Sorby unpacks why talent alone is rarely enough, how the “hidden job market” really works, and why teaching people how to build professional relationships is a critical equity intervention.She also opens up about her own leadership evolution: stepping into the CEO role after working closely inside the organization, navigating the shadow of a founder with a very different leadership style, and learning to claim her own authority without losing the heart of the mission.Connect with Sorby:https://climbhire.co/Sorby@climbhire.co ★ Support this podcast ★

In this deeply transformational episode, international teacher and healer Zach Rehder explores what happens on the other side of loneliness.Zach shares how, despite years of seeking, studying, and gathering spiritual knowledge, he still suffered loneliness until an unexpected flood of despair in a Chipotle parking lot forced him into surrender. What he found on the other side wasn’t destruction, but liberation.Zach reframes stress and anxiety as friends, signals that we’ve left presence. He explains how resistance to our feelings — not the emotion itself — is what creates suffering, and how embracing the fullness of human experience allows leaders to access deeper clarity, compassion, and inner spaciousness.✨ Episode Highlights• Stress and anxiety as alliesZach explains why these sensations are not failures, but friends guiding us back to presence.• The awakening in the Chipotle parking lotA sudden wave of despair becomes the doorway to one of Zach’s most profound transformations from resisting emotions to finding their inherent beauty.• The real cause of sufferingIt’s never the sadness, loneliness, or anxiety that is the villain, it’s our resistance, judgment, and fear of the sensations themselves.• Rachel shares her own awakening visionDuring one of Zach’s breathwork workshops, Rachel saw herself joined by other light-bearers — a moment that dissolved the illusion of isolation in her path.• The limits of knowledgeZach describes spending decades devouring spiritual information, only to realize that understanding doesn’t create transformation, presence does.• Why leaders overwork, overperform, and overrun their bodiesRachel reflects on how high achievers use productivity as a socially acceptable form of emotional avoidance until the body can no longer sustain it.• The invitation to stop fighting yourselfZach’s core message: all the emotions we fear are simply energy and when we stop resisting them, they become pathways to clarity and freedom.Connect with Zachhttps://www.zachrehder.com/ ★ Support this podcast ★

Dee Meacham, Senior Vice President of People Solutions, has built her career at the intersection of technology and humanity. From being one of only four women in her engineering class to leading global transformation initiatives, Dee has learned to thrive in the gray—where systems meet people and innovation meets tradition. In this conversation with host Rachel Alexandria, Dee shares how she built a career that bridges human insight and technical precision, what it means to lead through paradox, and how she’s cultivated connection and resilience in spaces where few peers truly understand the path she walks.💡 Episode HighlightsBridging people and systems: Dee reflects on her unique career spanning engineering, technology, and HR—and how she’s built fluency in both logic and empathy.From Disney to the boardroom: How a spontaneous job application reshaped her career and taught her to say yes to surprising opportunities.Leading through paradox: The delicate balance between data and intuition, detail and big picture, and why leaders must hold both truths at once.The human factor in innovation: Why successful transformation depends less on tools and more on the people who adopt them.Connection by design: How Dee proactively builds networks and mentors to counteract the isolation of high-level leadership.Resilience in constant change: Lessons from decades of working in environments defined by disruption—and how to keep growing without burning out.Connect with DeeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deemeacham/Dee Recommendshttps://gogiftedones.org/ ★ Support this podcast ★

When you’re at the top, no one can hand you a map. The path forward is yours to navigate, and sometimes, the only compass you have is your own intuition. In this solo episode, host and Soul Medic Rachel Alexandria explores how leaders can learn to trust their inner knowing when logic and strategy fall short. Drawing from her own journey and lessons from past guests, she shares how intuition speaks through the body, why so many of us were taught to ignore it, and how reconnecting with this internal guidance becomes essential for making brave, heart-centered decisions. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode, Erin Reeves, co-founder and principal at Next Level Org, brings over 25 years of executive strategy and HR leadership to an open, grounded conversation about what it really feels like to sit at the decision-maker’s table. Erin shares how each step up the leadership ladder expands not only your view but also your sense of isolation — and how asking better questions can become a quiet act of courage. She talks about navigating self-doubt, building self-awareness, and finding outside perspectives when your inner critic grows loud. Drawing on her experience guiding organizations through mergers, restructures, and personal reinvention, Erin offers a deeply human look at how leaders can steady themselves, reconnect with purpose, and lead with both clarity and compassion — even when they feel most alone.Episode HighlightsThe shifting view: Each promotion brings a new perspective — and bigger gaps between those who’ve “been there” and those who haven’t.The power of questions: How asking thoughtful questions creates space, builds credibility, and reshapes executive conversations.Managing the inner critic: Erin shares her own internal stories of self-doubt and how leaders can reframe the question, “Is this true?”.Outside-in thinking: Why every executive needs people who can see what they can’t — mentors, coaches, or truth-tellers outside the organization.Steadying the self: How self-awareness, discipline, and vulnerability allow leaders to lead their teams with integrity, even under pressure.Redefining success: Erin’s insight that leadership isn’t about always being right — it’s about asking what needs to happen next, even when the map isn’t clear.Connect with Erin: Website - https://www.nextlevelorg.net/Email - Erin@nextlevelorg.netLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinreeves-nextlevel/ ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode, Megan Gluth, owner and CEO of Catalynt Solutions, shares her remarkable journey from attorney to industry leader in chemical distribution — and how she doubled the size of her company in just a few years while navigating the chaos of a global pandemic. Raised on food stamps in rural Iowa, Meg brings both grit and vision to her role, blending sharp business acumen with a deep commitment to what she calls human-centered capitalism. She opens up about the weight of carrying responsibility for employees, the anxiety of leading in times of uncertainty, and how sobriety, intuition, and discipline help her stay grounded as she flies through “dark roads without a map.” This candid conversation reveals what it really takes to lead with both courage and humanity at the top.Episode HighlightsOrigins & grit: Megan reflects on growing up on food stamps in rural Iowa and how that shaped her resourcefulness as a leader.Pandemic pressure: Just weeks after buying her company, the global shutdown hit, and she had to rally her team through terrifying uncertainty.Flying blind: She describes leading now as like “driving a car on a dark road you’ve never driven before” — terrifying but unavoidable.Human-centered capitalism: Why profitability is a tool for generosity, from paying 100% of employee health benefits to quietly covering strangers’ grocery bills.Sobriety & self-discipline: How practices like yoga, meditation, and careful self-care help her manage the emotional toll of leadership.The weight of leadership: Why CEOs must project steadiness even when they’re terrified, because, as she says, “I’m the driver, and everyone else in the car has to feel safe.”Connect with MegWebsite: https://www.megangluth.com/ ★ Support this podcast ★

In this conversation with Louis Fordham, Vice President of Human Resources at Engineered Floors, we explore what leadership looks like from the perspective of someone who has spent 35 years guiding executives from inside. Louis shares what it’s like to witness CEOs carry the immense weight of responsibility, why he never aspired to the top job himself, and how isolation is often built into leadership structures by nature. He also opens up about the unique challenges of being an introverted leader, the importance of self-awareness in building strong teams, and the cultural barriers that keep many executives from seeking outside support. With honesty and clarity, Louis brings wisdom from decades in HR to show how leaders can balance responsibility, presence, and humanity without losing themselves.Episode HighlightsResponsibility at the top: Why Louis believes the CEO and head of HR hold unique responsibility for every employee in an organization.Structural isolation: How the design of executive roles creates inevitable loneliness, regardless of personality.Introversion in leadership: Louis reflects on being an introvert at the leadership table and why self-awareness matters more than extroversion.The “regal” factor: His insight that sometimes employees need their CEO to project steadiness and authority, even when it feels unnatural.Boundaries in HR: A personal story of why he had to stop having a close work friendship to preserve trust and objectivity.Connect with Louis on LinkedIn ★ Support this podcast ★