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The Leadership Sovereignty Podcast, hosted by Ralph E. Owens II and co-hosted by Terry Baylor, is a career acceleration platform
Leadership isn’t just a skill — it’s a career strategy for professionals seeking growth, influence, and promotion.
Hosted by Ralph Owens, Chief Information Officer, and Terry Baylor, CEO of a healthcare technology startup, the podcast delivers practical, real-world leadership strategies you can apply immediately. Each episode focuses on increasing visibility, navigating corporate dynamics, preparing for promotion, and leading beyond your title.
Expect short, high-impact conversations designed to help you think, act, and position yourself like a senior leader before you’re given the title.
You’re not just an employee. You’re the CEO of your career.
New episodes are released bi-weekly.
Ralph Owens (00:00)
Staying too long can quietly cost you more than leaving.
Terry Baylor (00:04)
he told me verbatim, he said, I just stayed too long. I should have left.
Ralph Owens (00:07)
Some of the reflections she gave, was, I didn't feel empty. I just knew when my season was over,
Oh man, it's good. It's good. It's It's good. Okay, let's jump to the next one. This is one of the more powerful ones. Your purpose is not your title. Brenda Battle. We'll talk about it, Terry. What did that do for you?
Terry Baylor (00:46)
I'm tell you man, was one, there was, Brenda said so much, but I'll tell you the most impactful thing that Brenda said ⁓ for me is when she crystallized and confirmed, and I believe I'm saying this verbatim, what you guys are doing is needed. You're doing the work of the Lord.
Ralph Owens (01:00)
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Terry Baylor (01:17)
I mean,
that was such a heavy statement, right? Cause it goes back again to purpose. Who am I? Why am I doing this? Am I doing this for likes? ⁓ Am I doing this for views? No, Ralph, this started in a coffee shop. You and I talking. How can we share?
Ralph Owens (01:20)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, right.
Mm-hmm.
Terry Baylor (01:42)
The lessons, because here's the deal, right? To be honest with you, this wasn't born out of joy.
Ralph Owens (01:49)
No, no, no, a lot of pain. Yeah, a lot of pain. Man, man, so many times. I go back to our first boss together. I'm not going to call his name. I remember he had a personal issue and he disappeared on us for like months, man.
Terry Baylor (01:54)
Woo, we were like, bro, we didn't see that coming.
Yes. Gone. Ghost. It
was mutts. It was mutts. Figure it out. Figure it out. Yes.
Ralph Owens (02:17)
And we were left to just figure it out.
Right? But
you know what? That's when we came together. We was like, hey, that's the one thing that's, I won't say is unique just to us only, but definitely, you know, I see in both of us was our fortitude to be successful was non-negotiable. That we weren't just going to go point the finger. Nah, mm-mm, nah, we're going to get in there. We're going to figure it out and make it happen. Right? You know, but, ⁓ you know, going all way back to then, right? The lessons that we learned and being able to share that, you know, and give it away because
Terry Baylor (02:37)
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. It wasn't depending on nobody. Yeah, no, no, no. We're not gonna do that. Yes, yes.
Ralph Owens (02:51)
I think that's a progression of life that once you get older, you want to give this stuff away. It's not about hoarding it all to yourself and, you know, I can be more successful. Nah, man, freely it was given, you know, to me, you know, freely I give to others. So yeah, yeah.
Terry Baylor (02:57)
Yes.
Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Yes. But
that I think from so that the weight of that and to have someone of her statue who've been in so many rooms, who've seen so many things to say that we're filling a void, right? We're creating a place where people can come and be made whole. can. ⁓
Ralph Owens (03:21)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Terry Baylor (03:33)
you know, be elevated, they can be uplifted, they can be encouraged, they can be empowered, they can be taught, educated, ⁓ you know, made, you know, better. Cause here's what's happening. In the end, we just talked about this before we started the recording. The hidden gem is bro, I'm being changed right along with everybody else.
Ralph Owens (03:36)
Bye. Yes.
Yes,
yes, yes, yes, yes.
Terry Baylor (03:56)
You know, so it's
a, a, it's a, it's a, don't take it lightly. And so it just, it really, it was just like, wow. Okay. Alrighty. All right, God, we okay. All right. We in it now. Let's do it. Yeah.
Ralph Owens (04:08)
Yeah. Yeah. It definitely validated. It validated
for us that there is an audience for what we have to say. And she, she, definitely validated that for me that just keep going. Right. You know, I have a lot of people right now, you know, following you and all that kind of stuff, but keep going because people need to hear it. So that helped me. That helped me a lot. ⁓ But I love specifically on her, her show, she really dove into recognizing
Terry Baylor (04:22)
Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Ralph Owens (04:37)
when a season has ended, right? And you can only speak on that as a seasoned executive, a seasoned person, right? Most people who are young in their career, they haven't been, ⁓ yeah, yeah, yeah, they just haven't had that opportunity yet, right? So being able to recognize when a season has ended and when it's time to move on ⁓ and ⁓ being in alignment on when it's time to leave and not just running from burnout, right? So many times, ⁓
Terry Baylor (04:39)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah. Yeah.
We don't know.
Yeah.
Ralph Owens (05:08)
I talked to young folks who are in the workforce and they want to run away all the time. this person talking to me like this, I'm gone. I'm going to just go to another job. And what you learn after doing that is, I really, this goes back to something that one of my mentors told me, a big shout out to JP Okuri, because he was the one that helped me to understand this concept. He said, every job,
Terry Baylor (05:18)
Yeah.
Yes.
Ralph Owens (05:37)
change that you make is being added to a story that one day in the future you're going to have to explain. You have to be in tune to the story that you want to tell about your career and make sure that every job move you make is telling that story. Right? So if you, know, 10, five years from now, 10 years from now, want to be able to say, yes, I worked in the entertainment industry for 20 years and
I've ⁓ managed successful artists who've done this and done that, done this and done that, then you can't jump up and just go into the ⁓ oil and gas industry from the entertainment industry and think that you're going to be able to tell that story. You have to not run away from burnout or difficult situations. You got to learn how to deal with those and move on when your season is up. I thought that was heavy, man. It was really heavy.
Terry Baylor (06:22)
Right.
Yeah, yes.
Well, I think too, right? One of the things I took from Brenda is that at a certain point in her career, she stopped being a people pleaser, but really trying to solve the issue and the problem. Right? There are a few things that she talked about around like, you know, like for instance, hey, at six o'clock on Friday, I'm done. Because I understand that I need that time to rejuvenate.
Ralph Owens (06:49)
Mmm, it's good.
Mm-hmm.
Terry Baylor (07:04)
Now granted, every role is gonna demand a different level of responsiveness and whatnot. So you gotta determine what that is. But when you create that boundary for your rejuvenation, then you have to do that. So I believe those are things that, and these are things that she shared that after being, no, she didn't really get to some of that till she was in a senior role, right?
Ralph Owens (07:15)
Yeah.
Right,
right.
Terry Baylor (07:29)
understanding how to create those boundaries. she, what she said is when I created the boundary, I realized, ⁓ okay, I needed it, but they respect it. And then she built in other, other tools like, okay, well, if I'm on vacation, here's my husband's number. I remember that. And if you really need me, call.
Ralph Owens (07:35)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Yeah, that was a good one. Call him.
And nobody ever called.
Terry Baylor (07:51)
It must wasn't that important. You figured it out. Basically, because here's the deal, right? People are, I shared this with someone earlier this week, people are like water, right? Water, look, water is gonna find the ⁓ space in the easiest way, right? Right, so if you keep answering, then they gonna keep calling. Simple as that. So, yeah, but I think to your point, understanding where she was in her career and where she wanted to be,
Ralph Owens (07:53)
Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
He's his way. Yeah. Yeah.
That's right.
⁓ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Detaching the identity from the title in their position, right? Being a human first. You said that, Terry. Being a human first. Get over yourself, right? Nobody really cares about your title. ⁓ See, nobody cares how much you know. They only care how much you care, right? You know, being a human first, know, detaching yourself from the title. And then ⁓ career transitions without crisis, again.
Terry Baylor (08:21)
a big deal.
Hmm. Yes.
Yes.
Yes. ⁓ that's good. That's good.
Ralph Owens (08:49)
not running to a new job every time a difficulty comes up. You got to mature, you got to grow up. You have to learn how to deal with difficult situations because guess what? Every role you go to is going to have difficult situations and difficult people. Sometimes we get to the point where, and I'm kind of sticking on this because I've heard this so many different times, sometimes we get to the point to where we make the situation in our heads worse than it really is to give ourselves a justification to leave.
Terry Baylor (08:54)
Right.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes.
Ralph Owens (09:18)
Instead of because that's easier to do than just to take on the fortitude to say, know what? I need to grow in this area. I need to figure out how to deal with difficult people. I need to figure out how to deal with difficult situations. That is the lesson, right, that you have to learn in order to be able to move on, not, you know, running away just because something is difficult for you. Right. And being able to, like she said, ⁓ career transitions without crisis. I thought that was really good. I that was really good. ⁓
Terry Baylor (09:47)
No,
for sure. Now, I really, I really enjoyed, I just really enjoyed Brenda's insightfulness and, you know, for those leaders who are looking to, you know, you're at that stage where you're just about ready to get out of the game, right? And she talked about how to do that. I definitely want to really bring note about that, right? Because, you she talked about succession planning. She talked about
Ralph Owens (10:15)
you
Terry Baylor (10:16)
how planning for the next phase of her career, right? Because just because you retired doesn't mean your career is ending, right? You go on to, you go because purpose, here's the thing, this is so good. Purpose never ends, right? That's why the title doesn't really matter, right? That's don't get locked in the title, right? She says titles can outlast purpose if leaders aren't careful. You are so tied into this, this,
Ralph Owens (10:19)
Yeah, yeah.
That's right.
Mm, it's good. That's right. That's right.
Mmm.
Terry Baylor (10:45)
this banner, you stop doing what God put you down here to do because you don't have a banner anymore.
Ralph Owens (10:49)
Mmm, that's good.
Yeah, that's good. That's good. You lose your sense of self-worth because you don't have the banner. Mmm.
Terry Baylor (10:56)
Yeah, yeah,
come on man, were a human well before you got that banner, that label, right?
Ralph Owens (11:04)
That's right. That's right. That's right.
I think it's good, Terry, that we continue to talk about this. keeps coming up from episode to episode. Understanding your identity is a very powerful.
Terry Baylor (11:17)
It is crucial.
Ralph Owens (11:18)
Out of that drives everything. And when you realize that, you know, the identity that you've believed about yourself is incorrect, you want to align those things. And once you understand, you know, what your purpose is or what you've been called to do, ⁓ the title doesn't mean as much, right? The title, to me, what the title is, this is my temporary assignment along my journey of my purpose, right? You know, so I want to do the best that I can do there. ⁓
Terry Baylor (11:21)
everything.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Ralph Owens (11:47)
Another one she said, so good. Staying too long can quietly cost you more than leaving.
Terry Baylor (11:54)
Ooooo
Ralph Owens (11:55)
Come on man, staying too long in a road where you were supposed to already leave can actually cost you more than leaving itself. That's good man.
Terry Baylor (12:06)
So
I got a real life story on that. So I met a guy and I was back in St. Louis at the time. And I will never forget this statement. And it was one of those moments where I was like, okay, I really have to remember this because I want to make sure that I can't be in a situation like that. And so the guy explained the story. He was an executive at ⁓ one of the biggest...
technology companies in the country. And basically new leadership came in. so prior to hearing this story, I'd asked them, hey, would you mentor me? And so I remember we're sitting in the cafe, it's snowing, I'll never forget it, it's snowing. And he shared with me, he said, he shared the story with me. And he said that, I stayed too long.
I helped them make the transition and I thought they would do this and that. He said, all my counterparts left. And he said, Terry, I was left with nothing. And so he was doing a job and these were the words he said to me. I'll never forget. Now he didn't stay in this space, right? Cause he did go on to do some other great things. But in that moment in life, you know what he said to me? He said, Terry, you give me significance.
Ralph Owens (13:14)
Mm.
Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.
Wow.
Terry Baylor (13:34)
Bro, that tore me up, because he was such a nice guy. But I could see the pain in his eyes, man. I could see it.
Ralph Owens (13:40)
Yeah,
yeah, yeah, that's real. That's real world,
Terry Baylor (13:44)
It
was real world and I'm like, and he told me verbatim, he said, I just stayed too long. I should have left.
Ralph Owens (13:50)
Yeah, yeah, that's it. It's so key man, because I think one of the beautiful things about what we're doing, especially with the guests is they all bring their different perspectives from the different points in their careers that they're in. know, some very advanced, you know, to the end, you know, like Brenda, you know, some who are still in the grind, but making successful movements like, you know, Sashela, right? You know, they bring this perspective that you would never think about if you're in the beginning stages of your career.
Terry Baylor (14:01)
Yes. Yeah.
Yep. Yep. Yep.
Ralph Owens (14:20)
that we all get a chance to glean from and to learn the lessons from, right? And it's gonna save us time if we adhere to them. So such a good stuff,
Terry Baylor (14:20)
Correct. Correct. Correct. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, it's
just, hey, hey, it's just like the movie, right? You get to see the trailer. You get to see the trailer, yeah.
Ralph Owens (14:31)
That's it. That's it. That's it.
That's it. That's it. That's it. That's That's it. Another key takeaway from Brenda's conversation is maturity is knowing when a chapter is complete. That's ⁓ sign of maturity, right? To know that, okay, yeah, I've done what I was called to do here, right? It's time for me to go ahead and move on, you know, to the next place that God has for me to do. Again, we all have a purpose, right? We have temporary assignments along the way of that purpose.
Terry Baylor (14:42)
Mmm.
Yes.
Yes.
Ralph Owens (15:00)
which are your job titles, right? You we want to get into those job titles, maximize, you know, our gifts and talents in that job, do what we were called to do, right? And know when it's time to move to the next one, right? You know, so that's good stuff, man. Some of the reflections that she gave, I thought were really powerful was, I didn't feel empty. I just knew when my season was over, right? You know, kind of challenging that whole thought of, you know, the only time you leave is when you feel empty.
Terry Baylor (15:12)
Yes.
Mmm.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Ralph Owens (15:29)
But that's
not necessarily true. The Bible talks about everything has a time and season. See time and harvest, right? There's a season for everything. There's a beginning and there's a middle and there's an end. Being able to understand when your season is over, sensing that, gives you the permission to move on to the next thing without having to feel like you're empty or having some type of conflict or something like that. Yeah, it's really powerful.
Terry Baylor (15:39)
Yes. Yeah.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah.
Ralph Owens (15:58)
The last thing, a guest reflection she gave was, sometimes the hardest decision isn't leaving, it's admitting that you're supposed to.
Terry Baylor (16:06)
Yeah,
it's time. It's time. I've been there, bro. I've been there. I've been, I mean, that's real. That is real. It's just time. I know it's time. It's time. Let me just... Yeah.
Ralph Owens (16:08)
Mm.
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Being able to admit that to yourself. Because how do you do that
when you on top of the game? Right. Look at, we always use sports analogies. ⁓ Look at Kevin Durant. Yeah. He was with Golden State and they was winning championship after championship. How do you tell yourself to leave that? Right. You know, when you know it's time, you know, okay, my purpose here.
Terry Baylor (16:22)
Yes.
You can look at Brian. Y'all Kevin DeBrandt? Yeah. Any of those guys.
Yeah.
Yes. Yes. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Ralph Owens (16:45)
It's completed, it's time for me to move on to the new season in my
life. Shout out to KD, here with the Houston Rockets now. Thank you for coming.
Terry Baylor (16:53)
Yes, yes sir.
That's