Meet Barbara Ellen Leicht

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Barbara Ellen Leicht a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Barbara Ellen, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

Confidence and self-esteem don’t always come naturally, and that’s okay! Both can be built. This is especially good to know if you’ve ever been bullied, marginalized, or are recovering from trauma. (All relatable.) Here are 3 core steps I take to build and nourish confidence and self-esteem:

1. Mindset: As a Mindset Career Coach for 10+ years, I’ve found and firmly believe that everything starts with Mindset. Often times, confidence is a choice. The mantra, “Fake it until you make it,” doesn’t always work for me. There may be a mindset conflict with my authenticity-value. (You can absolutely still be authentic in practicing the above mantra, it simply doesn’t track for me.) Instead, I’ve learned to choose confidence. Going into a specific situation, I’ll mindfully choose the tone, vibe, and mantra I want to embody. Then, I write down a short mantra or affirmation to empower me. Even if temporal, just for that situation, this builds confidence long-term too because it builds self-efficacy.

2. Self-Efficacy: often times, efficacy is the building-block of self-esteem. Essentially, self-efficacy increases by tracking our “wins” to create a bank of previous references. The—I’ve done it before, I can do it again or did it better!—mindset. For instance, I’m still in my 1st year of business and am a 1st time solo-preneur. Additionally, I began my business at a time of overcoming pervasive gaslighting! So one of the first actions I took was to create a “wins” list. Weekly, and now monthly, I list all of my wins + accomplishments. The tiniest ones count the most!! This lends a lot of perspective, energy, + empowerment. Especially when things have felt off. It’s genuinely built my self-esteem overall. Combine that with a daily practice: you genuinely create super sturdy and empowering foundations.

3. Credit Journal: this is my 3rd practice, and I do it every single day since pre-covid. (You can practice as little or as much as you please.) Being a super quick journal practice, it is very sustainable. I developed 3 prompts leveraging evidenced-based techniques, but I’ll tell you the background first! One day in a previous role, following a morning of client appointments and workshops, I found myself draining precious energy while walking through the halls asking —Was I? Was I professional? Was I personable? Was I a leader? Instead of celebrating my wins, affirming myself, or thinking of something fun + nourishing: I was draining energy and doubting myself. Suddenly, like a spark of light, it occurred to me: I Was. I was all of these things, that’s why clients benefit from + gravitate toward my services. I Was became I Am. Now daily, either to overcome self-doubt or even to celebrate wins, I create a quick I Am list by listing my strengths.

To support in career coaching and take a trauma-informed approach overall, I also developed 2 more prompts. “I Did” and “How I Know.” The Credit Journal Worksheet is available for digital download on my website and has genuinely helped me overcome Imposter Syndrome and gaslighting.

I Did unearths your strengths. This prompt is like a reverse to-do list where you note your daily tasks. Visually, this reveals all you’ve accomplished, often even without realizing it! This is especially excellent for unearthing STAR + SCAR stories related to interview and resume prep.

How I Know combats imposter syndrome + gaslighting. This harnesses your skills of observation + intuition. Identify how you know something went well (or not-so-well) through a quick list. Strengthen your self-trust, particularly when pushing-back-against gaslighting + imposter syndrome. My typical How I Know list consists of: feel, flow, vibe, rapport, eye contact, smiling, energy, reciprocity, etc.

Hoping any of the above 3 techniques help to nourish + empower you!!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am a Former Teacher, Forever Educator; Trauma Survivor turned Thriver; and Mindset Career Coach. My practice—where I specialize in career pivots and micro-small business coaching as well as mindset + career, self-care, + empowerment-focused Corporate Trainings + Speaking—is called BE Career Development. Be Excellent • Be Energized • Be Endlessly You! For quality work, with quality fit, + quality-of-life … because career investments make a difference! Growing up the daughter of a working, full-time-student mom whose mom and dad turned less into more-than-enough, I firsthand experienced the value career development brings to the table. You deserve to experience this value, too. Leveraging my Master’s in Education (MSEd) from Nazareth University with studies at Teachers College Columbia University, New York University (NYU), + University of Pittsburgh: I blend a person-centered, strengths-based, inclusive approach. This energizes + empowers, authentically, by reflecting-back-to-you a “truth mirror” of your greatest strengths and assets. Having transformed my own invisible disabilities into superpowers, I help empower people to unearth their superpowers and transform any perceived obstacles into strengths.

My newest endeavor is Corporate Speaking + Training. This past year I was an accepted speaker for DisruptHR ROC! 20/10 would recommend. After my 1st time applying to deliver a 5 minute presentation on Self-Care at Work with an AI Twist, I was honored to be accepted!! Our Rochester chapter runs an amazing program where you receive coaching and a beautifully curated speaker-reel upon finishing. They are 5 minute talks synched to 20 slides that auto-rotate every 15 seconds. It was amazing! The community. The experience. Speaking in front of 100+ people at an innovative + gorgeous venue.

I also had the honor to present at Pro-ROC’s Annual Talent Acquisition Conference in June 2024, to excellent + affirming feedback and results. This is our local affiliate to the National Human Resources Association (NHRA), and it was a superbly coordinated event.

My presentations are research-backed, empowerment-driven and always very interactive and engaging. Following the TA Conference, I received several inquiries and clients and am fortunate enough to continue Corporate Speaking + Training. All content is customized exactly to your audiences + needs. Because I have my Masters specifically in Inclusive Adolescent Education, and have worked with adults the past 12 years, I blend a unique approach based in educational psychology and Universal Design Learning (UDL) techniques that resonate with a very diverse audience. It’s a true passion + joy!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Three qualities or skills + areas most impactful to my journey are the following:

1. Self-Care: and having my own definition for this
2. Therapy: I’ve been privileged enough to do CBT, parts of DBT, + EMDR
3. Mentorship: find your people!!

Self-Care became essential to me in 2017 and 2018. In fact, it’s always been essential I just never knew that. Both years were critical life-saving years for me. I won’t go into all of that, but I will say I finally learned that I need to create my own definition of self-care. My self-care pillars were born. They are:

* Healthy Boundaries
* Assertive Communication
* Constructive Relationship Building
* Healthy Coping
* Nature + Nutrition

Nutrition is defined by you and/or anyone else you invite into this space. These self-care pillars both saved my life and have enhanced it to the point where I am now truly thriving, and have been for quite some time.

Therapy is something I proactively put myself into in high school. No huge red flags, I simply come from a very mental-health and wellness progressive family and knew it was safe for me to peruse this. For half my life, I’ve had the privilege to engage in CBT, parts of DBT, and most recently, EMDR. The latter has profoundly transformed my life. If you engage in any therapy, please make sure you have a qualified therapist who you trust and who can help you navigate side-effects. Absolutely interview your therapists + only work with who and what works best for you.

Mentorship is one of the best personal and career development skills you can nourish! Find your people. Older, younger, or peer-aged. Find the people who can help champion, guide, connect, grow, + empower you. Be it in social spheres or volunteer opportunities, be it on-the-job or through a formal program, be it via networking: find your people. And let yourself become a mentor too.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

The most impactful things my parents did was:

1. Champion us
2. Do family therapy
3. Value teamwork + celebrations

I’ll start w #2. Yes in high school, I proactively put myself into therapy. And … the roots of this began long before. I believe I was around kindergarten-age when my family engaged in family therapy. I loved it!!! As a kiddo, I also saw constructive changes as a result. Going back to #1, none of this would matter if it weren’t for both of my parents being our strongest cheerleaders.

They intentionally raised us by believing you can never say – I love you – too much. We hear it regularly. And they championed everything we did. Getting A’s was not the priority (I put that pressure on myself). Trying your hardest + growth mindset was: making progress was celebrated. Any career we wanted or pivot we made was supported. Deciding to marry or not, have kids or not, is supported. They truly champion us living our own + living our best lives. That, in combination with them always being transparent with my 2 brothers + me, with healthy boundaries (most of the time!), has created a very trusting relationship. Both my parents are some of my best friends … with healthy boundaries!

Finally, teamwork + celebrations. When my mom earned an opportunity to go back to college and attend University of Rochester on full-scholarship as a Chemical Engineer in the early 1990’s: she took it!! That meant my dad assumed a huge caretaker roll, while also working full-time. Especially when, one-week after admittance: my mom found-out she was pregnant with her 3rd! At a time when we did not have extra money … and she had to maintain a 3.0 GPA. Inspired + inspiring.

“Teamwork!” followed by a high-five, was one of the main things I remember my parents doing in my childhood. I’ve now carried that into my own marriage. My husband + I are are a ture team. Go Team!!! Celebrations are also super important to my family, as well as my husband + me, so all holidays and birthdays are celebrated with gusto. Food. Decor. Festivities. Traditions. Heritage. So much love. Sometimes chaos, mostly love.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://BECareerDevelopment.com
• Instagram: @becareerdevelopment
• Linkedin: https://LinkedIn.com/in/barbaraellenleicht

Image Credits

Wedding Photos: Mindy Hulett

The Homemade HQ: Photos Sara Lolo, Founder of Phenomenal Growth, – photos w balloons