Gather At The Well: Self Care vs. Collective Care - Lindsey Fuller

Oct 23

Written By Andie Murphy

Listen to this episode

Welcome to Gather at the Well, where we’re all about microdosing wellness, creating human-centered systems, and retaining our greatest asset: our people. This isn’t just a podcast—it’s a movement to reimagine how we relate to our work. Whether you're burned out, stressed, or thriving, Lindsey Fuller from The Teaching Well will guide you to reflect on your leadership, equip you with tangible tools for your team, and honor your humanity. It’s time to build work cultures we don’t have to heal from.

Overview

In this episode of Gather At The Well, Lindsey dives into what it means to embrace change leadership—moving from just talking about change to actually leading it. She opens up about her own experiences balancing self-care with taking care of her team, and how community agreements can create healthier, more authentic team dynamics. From setting healthy boundaries to managing work-life balance, this chat is full of real talk and practical tips for leaders who want to build more supportive, equitable, and resilient workplaces. We hope you enjoy ❤️

Episode Highlights

Thought leadership vs change leadership and how we can move from talking about change to actually leading it (1:00)
Somatic Pause: 10 Second Pause (3:00)
Balancing self and collective care (4:00)
Navigating the tension between individual and collective needs + how to use community agreements as a framework (6:00)
A three-part process for creating and revisiting community agreements + challenges with implementing them (8:00)
Professional authenticity and boundaries (15:00)
Somatic Pause: Tension Release Exercise (20:00)
Navigating work-life balance (25:00)
Critical Hope: We have agency to shift into a place of balance (38:00)

Journal Prompts

Is my team balancing self and collective care in healthy ways? What's my evidence?
What does it look like, sound like and feel like to be in balance?
How can I share my reflections and hear the reflections from my colleagues in intentional ways?

Affirmations

I contribute to a balance of self and collective care in my organization.
I can heal in small ways.
Professional authenticity keeps me in balance.
All of me is worthy.
I can discern what to share in ways that let me rest and not ruminate.

Resources and Helpful Links

BLOG: Creating Healthy Cultures: Living Our Agreements

Powerful Quotes

“We're really going to dive in today, and we want to talk about some of the ways in which microdosing wellness rubs up against the harmony, or frankly, the disharmony, between self and collective care.” -Lindsey

“There's a difference between thought leadership and change leadership, and I like to lean towards the latter.” -Lindsey

“What happens when we spend all of our time trying to influence others with wild ideas and not actually scaffolding that brilliance, making it actionable, teaching people the way to achieve that change? That's what I really believe is possible when we think about change leadership.” -Lindsey

“We really want our team to constantly be thinking about what they need to thrive, to grow, and to make their greatest contributions. But we also want to create that work environment that allows others to feel like they're in their creative calm, they're in their flow, their wisdom can come through easily.” -Lindsey

“Part of that is working through this internal checklist. There's three questions, and at this point, probably my team has memorized them. Does this ask impact clients? Will it impact your internal colleagues? and does it compromise the fidelity to a policy that might create an equity issue?” -Lindsey

“Start by asking yourself, do we have rules and regulations, or do we have relational guide posts?” -Lindsey

“I always tell my team, we can do hard things as long as we choose each other.” -Lindsey

“It will never be 50/50, it will ebb and flow to be responsive to self and community needs, but it's possible to share and bring yourself forward. To be truly known and valued by your colleagues. To not feel like you have to over compartmentalize every moment of every day. And we can do that in ways that allow others to feel just as valued and nourished and supported.” -Lindsey