💡 ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Natalie is joined by Julius Boatwright, founder of Still Smiling and The Black Wellness Group, for a wonderfully layered discussion on leadership. Julius has spent nearly a decade building community-based mental health support for Black residents across Allegheny County and Southwestern PA, and that work has asked him to show up in rooms that were designed to hold very different versions of him. This episode is about what happens when the version of you that built something real starts to feel like a costume.
They get into strategic vulnerability, the gaslighting pattern that shows up when you adjust to what people ask for and still get criticized for it, and what it actually looks like to decide that your full self is a privilege to extend, not a default to give. Julius also talks about keynoting Leadership Pittsburgh executives on vulnerability, why simplification is his survival strategy right now, and how he finally got to a place where rest is non-negotiable. Real conversation. No easy answers.
🎯 KEY TAKEAWAYS
Why vulnerability was Julius's superpower in the community — and a liability in the boardroom
What it feels like to go home hollow after your most successful fundraising day
The gaslighting pattern: adjust to what people ask for, get criticized for that too
Strategic vulnerability — what it is, why it's not the same as hiding
What a room full of FedEx and CMU executives did when someone finally gave them permission to be real
How Julius is leading Steel Smiling through a shifting funding landscape without losing the mission
Why he now considers rest a non-negotiable — not a reward
TOPICS
LEADERSHIP & CAREER
STRATEGIC THINKING
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
