Leanne Shear (that’s me!) and my colleague Helaine Knapp hosting ourStep Into Next podcast about navigating the messy middle of business transitions and entrepreneurship.
Step Into Next: A Podcast About Transition, Pivots, and What Comes Next
I’ve been in the space “in between” - or what I like to call the liminal space - more times than I can count. And I know so many people, especially women, can relate.
I’ve also been more willing than most to accept, or even embrace, change, but it can be hard even when you know you're ready for it and when you're confident you can move on and thrive in some other situation.
Step Into Next is a podcast about the space between what was and what's next: the in-between that nobody really prepares you for. The time when you're no longer defined by the one thing you built or were part of, but not yet clear on what comes next. Helaine and I (and our amazing guests) leave no stone unturned when it comes to transition, pivots, being blocked, wondering where to go next.
Yes, it can be uncomfortable. But take it from me - it can also be really magical if you let it! So let’s get in step - because everything is better together.
The Messy Middle - Normalizing the Struggle
Self-doubt is loud. Burnout is real. Rejection stings. And yet we keep going anyway. In this episode Helaine and I pull back the curtain on what the struggle actually looks like in real life and in business, and why the most important thing we can do on this podcast is refuse to pretend it is not there.
Our Secret Sauce - The Process for Writing and Working Together
What really happens when two ambitious women decide to build something together? Not the highlight reel version. The real one. In this episode Helaine and I pull back the curtain on the messy, funny, and unexpectedly healing process behind writing Making Waves, setting real boundaries, surviving burnout, and choosing collaboration over competition every single time.
Our Origin Story - How Two Entrepreneurs Became Unlikely Writing Partners
What happens when one big chapter ends, and you are still figuring out who you are in the middle of it? Leanne Shear and Helaine Knapp go back to the beginning. How ambition, burnout, and trust brought them together. And how a collaboration that neither of them planned became the bridge to everything that came next.
How did we get into the world of podcasting?
Helaine Knapp and I are former founders, longtime collaborators, friends, and now co-hosts. After co-writing her book Making Waves together, we realized our regular catch-ups - 90-minute conversations about the discomfort, the uncertainty, the excitement, and what's in my insane snack bag - were actually the thing we should be sharing with the world! So here we are.
What to Expect
Honest conversations about chapters that have ended - career, business, relationship, phases of life - and navigating into the next phase. Or just the time it takes you to get to that next phase and how you use that time (or not, as the case may be).
We're not pretending to have it figured out, and we're certainly not offering a blueprint for how things should be. Because frankly, we don't think there is one:
There's no single path! It's about walking YOUR labyrinth: saying no to some things, yes to others, and not knowing but still putting one foot in front of the other, step by step.
Listen and Watch:
Listen on Apple Podcasts
Listen on Spotify
Listen / Watch on YouTube