Podcast
Season
4
Episode
1

Life Beyond the Masks: Lessons on Sovereignty & Leadership with Dion Johnson

40 min 02 sec
Guest:
Dion Johnson

Dion Johnson explores sovereignty, identity, power, and what it takes for women to lead without hiding behind inherited or professional masks.

Listen on other platforms:

In this powerful season opener, host Hristina Vaceva sits down with Dion Johnson — former midwife turned executive coach and founder of The Queen’s School — to explore what it really takes to lead as a woman in a system that wasn’t built for us.

Dion’s story is one of radical self-inquiry and transformation: from hiding behind physical and emotional masks, to discovering her sovereign voice and teaching others to do the same.

Her journey through the NHS, local government, and into entrepreneurship is not just inspiring — it’s deeply human.

Together, We Discuss

  • The emotional toll of being a Black woman in a white man’s world
  • What it means to experience a “sovereign inquiry” — and why leadership begins within
  • Rewiring the “slave girl” mindset and embracing Queen mentality instead
  • Role models, spiritual awakenings, and redefining power from the inside out
  • Balancing masculine and feminine energies in business
  • Why corporate leadership without healing often leads to burnout — and how to change that

Whether you’re leading a team, launching a business, or standing at a career crossroads, this episode is a reminder: for every woman hiding in plain sight, there's one who dares to step out of the shadow. Which one do you choose to be?

Listen now and share with someone who’s ready to change the way we lead.

Follow Dion to find out more about the Queen’s School & upcoming retreats.

LinkedIn: Dion Johnson

Follow Hristina & her latest project Business as Poetry on Instagram @business_as_poetry.

Stay in touch or send me a message — I love reading all of them.

LinkedIn: Sound of Breaking Glass

Explore More Episodes
See All
47:38
Season
4
Episode
3

The Power of Reverse Mentoring: Reinventing Leadership with Patrice Gordon

December 10, 2025
Guest:
Patrice Gordon

Patrice Gordon discusses reverse mentoring, reinvention, entrepreneurship, belonging, and building more human forms of leadership.

41:51
Season
4
Episode
5

Marijana Sommerfeld on Why Leaving Corporate Won't Fix It - And What Actually Does

February 26, 2026
Guest:
Marijana Sommerfeld

Marijana Sommerfeld discusses burnout, illness, identity, career change, and why the patterns we carry can follow us even after leaving corporate life.

28:35
Season
4
Episode
2

My Story: How I Built a Multi-Layered Creative Business from the Inside Out

November 27, 2025

Hristina shares the personal story of rebuilding her identity and work through five stages of energetic expansion.