Episode 190: Lead from Within: Wendy Paige Sterling on Energetic Intelligence, Generational Trauma, and the Future of Women in Business
What if the leadership strategies holding you back aren’t even yours? What if the patterns keeping you stuck were handed down to you — programmed so deeply you’ve never questioned them? In this powerful episode, we bring back one of our most beloved guests, Wendy Paige, to talk about her evolution and a concept that is shifting the way we think about leadership, intuition, and identity.
Wendy is the creator of The New EI — Energetic Intelligence — and her approach is unlike anything we’ve discussed on this podcast. After a transformative trip to Egypt that cracked open unprocessed generational trauma from her Holocaust survivor grandparents, Wendy developed a seven-step DISCERN method to help leaders calibrate rooms and spaces to their energy, rather than contorting themselves to fit everyone else’s. If you are a woman in business who has ever felt the slow burn of burnout from performing a version of yourself that was never really you — this conversation is for you.
WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE
Wendy’s Evolution: From Last Time to Now. Wendy catches us up on what has shifted since her last appearance on The Pursuit of Badasserie. The short version: a lot. A trip to Egypt became the catalyst for uncovering, and ultimately healing, generational trauma that had been running her life beneath the surface. The longer version? You’ll want to hear it in her own words.
Introducing The New EI: Energetic Intelligence. Wendy reframes what we’ve been taught about emotional intelligence and introduces Energetic Intelligence — the practice of calibrating the energy of your environment to match you, rather than shrinking yourself to accommodate others. This is leadership from the inside out, and it changes everything.
The 7-Step DISCERN Method. Wendy walks us through the framework she developed to help leaders identify, understand, and release the inherited patterns blocking their growth. The DISCERN method is both strategic and deeply personal, giving listeners a tangible roadmap for doing the inner work that transforms outer results.
Signs Your Old Leadership Approach Isn’t Working. Wendy lays out the telltale signs that you’ve outgrown your current playbook: when tactics that used to work suddenly stop, when you’re outsourcing every decision to someone else, or when you feel like you’re running full speed on a hamster wheel going nowhere. These aren’t failures; they’re invitations to evolve.
The Discomfort of Identity Shifts. Growth is not always “sunshine and rainbows,” and Wendy doesn’t pretend otherwise. She teaches her clients to reframe discomfort as neutral rather than negative — and to focus on the step directly in front of them (A to B) rather than being paralyzed by the full journey (A to Z). This is one of the most immediately practical pieces of advice in the episode.
Breaking Free from Performative Leadership. We spend real time on this one. Wendy explains how society has conditioned women, and especially women in leadership, to perform a version of competence and authority that isn’t authentic. She teaches clients to identify where they physically feel performance-based stress in their bodies versus where they feel intuitive guidance. This body-awareness tool is simple, powerful, and something you can start using today.
Creating Space for Growth. Wendy shares a deeply personal story: removing her entire support team to make room for her own evolution. It felt terrifying. It led to exponential growth. The lesson? Sometimes the thing holding you back is the very structure you built to feel safe.
Intuition Isn’t Something You Use — It’s Something You Are. This line stopped us in our tracks, and we know it will stop you, too. Wendy closes the conversation with a reminder that intuition is not a skill set you develop; it’s a birthright you rediscover. She invites listeners to start noticing how their bodies respond in moments of decision-making.
Announcement: The Decisive Edge. Wendy previews her upcoming 18-part interview series, The Decisive Edge, featuring accomplished Jewish women in business. The series explores the generational stories that have shaped how these women think, decide, and lead, including the stories they’ve consciously chosen not to pass down to the next generation.
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Wendy Paige Sterling is the creator of The New EI — Energetic Intelligence — a transformational leadership framework helping women in business release inherited patterns, reclaim their intuition, and lead from their authentic power. A returning guest on The Pursuit of Badasserie, Wendy brings her background in trauma-informed leadership and her own lived experience to every conversation. She is also the host of the upcoming interview series The Decisive Edge.
Follow Wendy’s Work: [@wendypaigesterling]
CONNECT WITH US
We are Lynn & Amanda, your co-hosts and guides at The Pursuit of Badasserie. This podcast exists because we believe that the most powerful thing a woman can do is become undeniably, unapologetically herself — in business and in life. Every episode is a step in that direction.
Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube or Spotify and leave us a review!
- Like the show? LEAVE US A REVIEW wherever you listen!
- Want to work with us and watch your business grow? Join the Badass Amplifier!
- Badasserie LIVE Events
- Have a question? CONTACT US at info@thepursuitofbadasserie.com!
- Want to sponsor us? Find out how HERE.
