In this episode of the Influential Women Podcast, Tracy O'Malley joins host Jodie O'Brien for a powerful conversation about self-awareness, leadership, addiction, recovery, and the internal patterns that quietly shape every decision we make.

As a performance coach, speaker, and Enneagram expert, Tracy has spent years helping entrepreneurs, executives, and leadership teams uncover the motivations driving their behavior. But this conversation goes far beyond personality assessments and leadership strategies. Tracy shares the deeply personal journey that transformed her own life—from growing up in a passionate but dysfunctional family, to becoming a young mother determined not to repeat inherited patterns, to making the life-changing decision at 40 to choose growth over familiarity.

With honesty, humor, and what she calls her "Velvet Hammer" approach, Tracy reveals why awareness alone isn't enough, how leaders unintentionally create disconnection, and why true transformation begins when we stop operating on autopilot and start leading by design.

In this episode:

• The difference between living by default and leading by design
• Why self-awareness without action can become its own trap
• The personal reckoning that led Tracy to rebuild her life at 40
• How nearly 5,000 days of sobriety transformed her leadership, family, and legacy
• The hidden motivations behind procrastination, control, burnout, and overachievement
• Why understanding your perspective is only "one-ninth of the puzzle"
• How leaders unintentionally judge and disconnect from their teams
• The leadership lesson that applies equally in the boardroom and at home
• What it means to practice radical honesty with compassion
• How understanding human behavior creates stronger teams, relationships, and cultures
• Why great leadership starts with seeking to understand rather than being right
• The legacy Tracy hopes to leave behind as a coach, mother, and mentor

Whether you're leading a company, raising a family, navigating personal transformation, or simply feeling stuck in patterns you can't seem to break, Tracy's story is a reminder that lasting change doesn't come from knowing more—it comes from having the courage to face yourself honestly and take a different path.

This conversation is a masterclass in emotional intelligence, personal responsibility, and the kind of leadership that changes not only businesses, but entire generations.