Episode Description
In this special 2025 EOY solo episode of The Space In Between, host Leigh Morgan reflects on the lessons of 2025—both her personal insights as well as key lessons from 55 podcast episodes this year. She explores the “quiet shift” that’s happening across workplaces, families, and communities: everyday people choosing nuance, integrity, and aliveness over disconnection and certainty. She explores why high agency is the expressed form of aliveness—less about controlling outcomes and more about choosing how we meet the moment—then offers three grounded lessons for 2026: clarity matters more than certainty, courage doesn’t need theatrics, and connection is a practice. She shares personal stories and specific practices that have helped her navigate an incredibly fulfilling – and sometimes unpredictable – year.
The practices she describes are mainstays for staying grounded and choiceful even amidst a polarized world: know your boiling points, seek other seekers, and tell stories. Join us for another great show, and please leave a review and share if you feel moved!
Show Notes
In This End-of-Year Solo, Leigh Reflects On:
- Holding two truths at once: there is real global fracture and it’s been a deeply fulfilling personal year. She hears similar things from her guests.
- A “quiet reorientation” she’s noticing in how people lead and show up—with more nuance and less performative certainty.
- Why high agency isn’t about fixing the world—it’s about choosing how you meet it. This is the essence of ALIVENESS
- How agency grows through clarity, grounded courage, and practiced connection
- Three, enduring practices that stand out from the podcasts; practices that can steady us all: know your boiling points, seek other seekers, and tell stories.
The Core Theme
High Agency = Aliveness in Action
Leigh describes agency as something that lives inside us, can be cultivated, and becomes even more powerful when strengthened in community. It’s what helps us stay present in complexity—without abandoning values or checking out.
Three Lessons Leigh Is taking from 2025
- Clarity matters more than certainty
- Trustworthy leaders stay tethered to values and accountability—even when answers are incomplete.
- Referenced: Leigh’s conversation with Everett Harper on leading through COVID and the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder.
- Courage doesn’t need theatrics
- Some of the steadiest leadership is quiet: restraint without self-erasure, presence in tense moments, and decisions made without needing applause.
- Connection isn’t just a feeling—it’s a practice
- Connection takes choosing openness again and again—especially when righteousness feels easier than curiosity.
A Personal Moment: Agency When the World Feels Unstable
Leigh shares a moment of feeling overwhelmed when visas were revoked or delayed for Afghans connected to U.S. efforts—especially poignant given her mentoring relationship with a Shia Hazara Afghan young woman and her family. Her mentees bear the brunt of the stress related to shifting dynamics of immigration and the scapegoating of Afghan refugees by the current administration. Leigh shares her approach to staying grounded while trying to support her friends and finds concrete ways to support and connect with advocates—remembering that agency remains available even when circumstances don’t change.
Three Practices to Strengthen Agency and Aliveness
- Know your boiling points
Notice the cues that your nervous system is “driving”—less listening, less curiosity, more black-and-white thinking. Agency begins with awareness. - Seek other seekers
Choose people with real questions, authentic curiosity, and integrity over winning.- Suggested listen: Leigh’s episode with Lemon Price (different worldview, real friendship, shared seeking).
- Tell stories—not arguments
Stories create human-to-human connection and soften edges without erasing disagreement.- Suggested listen: Leigh references Mei Ma Fox (from early 2024) on the power of storytelling and deep listening.
Memorable Lines
- “High agency isn’t about fixing the world—it’s about choosing how we meet it.”
- “Clarity matters more than certainty.”
- “Courage doesn’t need theatrics.”
- “Connection isn’t just a feeling—it’s a practice.”
- “Agency is a doorway into the space in between.”
Reflection Prompts
- Where am I reaching for certainty when what I really need is clarity?
- What does “quiet courage” look like in my life—without performance?
- What’s one relationship or conversation where I can practice story over position this week?
- What are my boiling point signals, and what helps me cool down?
Mentioned in This Episode
- Everett Harper (leadership, accountability, clarity in uncertainty)
- Lemon Price (seeking across difference)
- Mei Ma Fox (storytelling as a bridge)
Call to Action
If this episode resonates, follow the show, leave a rating/review, and share it with one person who’s navigating uncertainty right now. You can also leave Leigh a message via thespaceinbetween.com.
