Episode 141 · April 23, 2024
Tracy Spears is Supporting Leaders all around the World
with Tracy Spears, Founder, Exceptional Leaders Lab; author, TEDx & keynote speaker
41 min
Tracy Spears is Supporting Leaders all around the World
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In this episode
In this episode I sit down with Tracy Spears, founder of the Exceptional Leaders Lab, best-selling author, TEDx speaker, and host of the Shift Out Loud podcast. Tracy grew up in a trailer park in Tulsa, and she has built a career supporting leaders all around the world. What I love is that she never leaves Tulsa without driving past that last row of the trailer park — a way of staying grounded and grateful for where it all started.
We get raw and vulnerable in this conversation. Tracy shares what it meant to be disowned by her parents in her early twenties when they found out she was gay, how having no safety net shaped her relationship with work and money, and why she now describes herself as a "learned optimist" rather than a natural one. She also opens up about a season of choosing to do less — to be more of the lighthouse and stop chasing every boat.
Along the way we dig into how people play small, why impostor syndrome can actually be a useful tool, and the shift that changes everything: anchoring yourself to what you do want and looking for evidence it could be true. If you've been carrying a quiet fear about stepping into your God-given gifts and talents, this one is for you. Keep going.
Key takeaways
- Optimism can be learned. Tracy describes herself as a 'learned optimist' — she watched two very different parents and chose which energy to carry forward, then built resilience by getting to the other side of hard things.
- Anchor to what you DO want. Instead of dwelling on what you don't want, name what you want and start looking for evidence it could be true — Tracy calls this a game changer.
- People play small when they're on autopilot. Not investigating your own thoughts, not being intentional, and adopting someone else's beliefs without question all keep you small.
- Surround yourself with people who interrupt limiting thoughts. Build an ecosystem that says 'I don't think that's true' when you count yourself out — and be that person for others.
- Impostor syndrome isn't the enemy. It's a signal of self-awareness and a sign you're growing — but you have to integrate the progress and step into your own body of knowledge instead of shrinking.
- When impostor syndrome shows up and the evidence doesn't match the feeling, you're too self-focused. Shift your attention to the person or audience in front of you.
- Judgment reveals more about the judge than the judged. Knowing this frees you from defending yourself — you can simply say, 'I see that differently.'
- Growth can mean doing less. Tracy's version of growing is getting more aligned with what brings her energy and being the lighthouse rather than chasing every boat.
“When you can anchor yourself to what you do want and start to look for evidence that it could be true, that's a game changer.”
“Sometimes you learn what you don't want to be.”
“The lighthouse doesn't chase the boats — sometimes the power's in standing still.”
“Whatever you defend, you make real.”
“My growth is that I'm trying to do more by doing less.”
Resources mentioned
About Tracy
Founder, Exceptional Leaders Lab; author, TEDx & keynote speaker
Tracy Spears is the founder of the Exceptional Leaders Lab, a leadership training company offering executive coaching, online courses, and keynotes. A best-selling author, TEDx speaker, and host of the Shift Out Loud podcast, she grew up in a trailer park in Tulsa and now supports developing leaders all around the world — championing those who don't want to play small.
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