Dawn Whitney
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Dawn Whitney is a nationally sought-after keynote speaker, entrepreneur, leadership strategist, and Founder & CEO of ElevateX Leadership Collective, where she's challenging the way organizations develop their leaders and redefining what it means to succeed. With more than 30 years of experience building businesses and developing executive talent, Dawn founded three companies, including a multimillion-dollar organization she built from 2005 to its acquisition in 2021.
Today, she is pioneering a more human-centered approach to leadership development through ElevateX's signature Leadership Accelerator programs...immersive, transformational experiences that move beyond traditional executive coaching to build confident, resilient, influential leaders and stronger organizational cultures. A dynamic speaker at national conferences and corporate leadership events, Dawn challenges audiences to rethink hustle culture, embrace intentional leadership through nervous system regulation, and discover that extraordinary performance and personal well-being aren't mutually exclusive.
But Dawn's most powerful leadership lessons weren't learned in a boardroom. They were born from navigating profound personal adversity while trying to hold together a successful career, a family, and her own sense of self. Her son's mental health/addiction journey became the catalyst for a life-changing realization: we cannot always control what happens around us, but we can learn to change what happens inside of us. That discovery inspired "The Leadership Pause: Notice. Pause. Choose.", a practical framework rooted in mindfulness, neuroscience-informed practices, and intentional action.
Now Dawn is bringing that deeply personal message to stages and organizations across the country, inspiring people to quiet their inner critic, release the pressure to constantly prove themselves, and reclaim their agency, purpose, and joy. Her philosophy is as powerful as it is simple: "You don't have to wait for life to get better to start living better."
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:
- That hustle without self-awareness often leads to burnout, while grit creates sustainable success without abandoning yourself.
- How the Leadership Pause helps you notice triggers, interrupt automatic reactions, and choose intentional responses.
- Why your inner critic is not the truth and how to quiet the voice that keeps you proving.
- That you cannot compartmentalize being human, and mental wellness absolutely belongs in leadership development.
- How to communicate personal challenges at work with authenticity and appropriate boundaries to reduce shame.
- Why leading with compassion helps you understand what someone else is carrying before you judge their behavior.
- How to shift from proving to owning by recognizing unconscious patterns that drive over-functioning and perfectionism.
- That joy is not a reward for when everything goes right, and adversity can coexist with fulfillment.
- Why successful leaders need a nervous system reset to experience less stress and greater clarity.
- How the Notice, Pause, Choose framework builds confidence, resilience, and intentional leadership in high-stakes moments.
about the show
Women In Power is an entrepreneur TV series featuring female entrepreneurs, CEOs, founders, and industry leaders who are building companies, leading teams, and creating impact in their industries.
Each episode gives viewers a closer look at the real stories behind these women’s success, including the challenges they faced, the decisions that shaped them, and the leadership lessons they learned along the way. The series highlights women who have built businesses, broken barriers, grown brands, and created opportunities for others through their work.
Women In Power was created to spotlight female business leaders whose stories deserve to be seen and heard. From early setbacks to major breakthroughs, each episode shows the journey behind the title, the business, and the public success.
For viewers, the show offers inspiration, practical insight, and a deeper look at what it takes for women to lead, grow, and succeed in today’s business world. For featured guests, it provides a platform to share their story, build authority, and inspire the next generation of female entrepreneurs and leaders.
