ANNA LECAT

Charles Dickens was born on this day in 1812. He taught the world to have compassion for the poor and defined the spirit of generosity for generations with A Christmas Carol, yet he also tried to have his wife of twenty-two years committed to an asylum so he could be with a younger woman.

It is deeply unsettling to reconcile the man who opened our collective hearts with the man who so coldly closed his own.

We naturally want our icons to be whole because we want the person who writes beautifully about love to practice it perfectly in their kitchen, but the reality is that they usually don't.

If I am honest, I don't always either.

I facilitate workshops on deepening connections and stand on stages talking about "Loving Conflict," yet there are certainly moments at home when I withdraw or choose being right over being connected simply because I am tired.

This gap between who we are in public and who we are in private is exactly where the real work lives.

Dickens reminds me today that talent is not the same as character. Writing about goodness is infinitely easier than being good to the people we live with day in and day out. I am not interested in judging him today, but I am interested in closing that gap in myself.

It leaves me with a hard and necessary question.

Where am I preaching connection while practicing distance?


#Integrity #Authenticity #LovingConflict

1 day ago | [YT] | 1

ANNA LECAT

In the early stages of dating, we are often walking on eggshells.

We worry that bringing up a tough topic will "ruin" the connection.
We stay quiet to keep the peace. We try to be the "easy" person to date.

But in my recent conversation with Ali Jackson for the Finding Mr. Height podcast, we explored why this avoidance is actually the most dangerous thing you can do for a budding relationship.

We unpacked the idea that conflict is not a sign that things are going wrong. It is often the first real opportunity to see if things can go right.

Ali asked great questions about how to distinguish between the discomfort that leads to growth and the fundamental misalignment that won't work long-term. We talked about how to communicate needs without "blowing things up" and why the fear of uncomfortable conversations is the biggest saboteur of intimacy.

If you have ever worried that speaking your truth will scare someone away, this episode offers a different perspective.

The right connection won't be ruined by your honesty. It will be deepened by it.

I have put the link to the full episode in the comments below.

Thank you, Ali, for such a fun and grounded conversation.



#FindingMrHeight #Dating #LovingConflict #Authenticity

3 days ago | [YT] | 2

ANNA LECAT

Last winter in Paris, I sat in a small room overlooking the grey zinc rooftops of the 11th arrondissement. Two co-founders hadn't spoken properly in three weeks. Julien, the CEO, looked exhausted. He had said he was sorry three times, yet Camille wouldn't even look at him. She wasn't angry anymore. She was indifferent, which is always the harder place to come back from.

I’ve noticed a pattern in my work. We often use the words "I'm sorry" as a way to move past the discomfort quickly. We want the tension to stop so we can feel like a good partner again. But the coldness remains because the apology feels like a request for silence rather than a genuine offering of repair.

Rebuilding trust takes more than regret. It takes four specific ingredients that most of us were never taught.

Read the full version on my Substack to discover the "Three Questions" practice I use to help couples move from judgment to understanding. You will learn how to apply the "Rule of Us" to stop fighting over protocols and start deciding what respect looks like in your own home. Link in
bio.

#lovingconflict #communication #leadership #conflict #conversation

3 days ago | [YT] | 1

ANNA LECAT

We often think of conflict and love as opposites.

If we are fighting, we aren't loving. If we are selling, we aren't connecting deep down.

But my conversation with Jason Marc Campbell for the Selling with Love podcast challenged that binary.

We dove deep into the idea that conflict, when approached correctly, is actually a path to intimacy. Whether you are navigating tension in the boardroom or a misalignment at home, the ability to stay present and "love the conflict" is what transforms a battle into a bond.

Jason asked some incredible questions about how we use our bodies to sense alignment, how to make clear requests instead of complaints, and how my cross-cultural experiences from Ukraine to China to the US shaped my understanding of human connection.

We explored why avoiding difficult conversations creates distance and how leaning into them with authenticity creates trust.

It was a beautiful and wide-ranging dialogue. I am so excited to share it with you.

I have put the link to the full episode in the comments below.

Thank you, Jason, for having me. It was a joy to explore this with you.


#SellingWithLove #LovingConflict #Authenticity

4 days ago | [YT] | 1

ANNA LECAT

This week feels a bit like a revolving door in our house.

My kids are just getting back from their school ski trips, and my husband, Jerome, is returning from a week in Saudi Arabia. Just as everyone lands, I am packing my bags to head to the U.S. for a speaking tour, starting in Chicago.

We have exactly two days.

Two days where all of us are under the same roof before I head to the airport.

People often ask me how I manage this schedule. The honest answer is that I don't "manage" it perfectly. I miss bedtimes. I FaceTime from airport lounges. I rely heavily on Jerome and my parents to hold the fort.

But I also cherish these small windows of overlap.

My kids are watching their mother pursue work she believes in. They are seeing that a family isn't just people who sit in the same room every night; it is a team that supports each other's missions, even when that mission takes us across an ocean.

For the next 48 hours, I will be fully present. Then, I will carry that love with me to Chicago.

#WorkingMother #EntrepreneurLife #FamilySupport #family #priorities

4 days ago | [YT] | 0

ANNA LECAT

Most people choose to celebrate their 50th birthday by escaping to a beach or throwing a massive party, but when I looked at the calendar for February 4th, I realized I wanted something else.

I wanted to be right in the center of what makes me come alive.

So I decided to give myself a different kind of gift. I will be spending my birthday in Chicago leading a deep-dive workshop for the CEOs of EO Chicago on how to deepen connections with the people who matter most.

To spend four hours practicing the art of "Loving Conflict" with a room full of leaders who are brave enough to do this work is my definition of a perfect celebration.
But there is a layer to this day that makes my heart absolutely burst.

My best friends Marina and Jenny are flying in just to be there with me.
They aren't just coming for a dinner or a toast.

They are coming to stand in that room and support me while I do the work I love.

Their presence is the ultimate testament to everything I practice. It proves that connection isn't just a theory I talk about on stage, but a real and tangible commitment to showing up for each other when it counts.

I am overwhelming grateful to have them by my side as I step into this next decade.

I cannot wait to see you all in Chicago.


#EOChicago #Friendship #LovingConflict

5 days ago | [YT] | 1

ANNA LECAT

I was told recently that conferences and corporate events only want celebrities now, and that people need big names to leave their houses.

I respectfully disagree.

People aren't looking for celebrities; they are looking for water.

They are starving for truth, real connection, and the kind of wisdom that is lived rather than just learned.

A celebrity might get attention for a moment, yet only authenticity holds the heart. The stars fade out eventually, while being a source for people lasts.



#Publicspeaking #Authenticity #Leadership #Conferences #Connection

6 days ago | [YT] | 1

ANNA LECAT

I sat on a hard chair at Salon Canning in Buenos Aires, watching red shoes move across the floor. In traditional tango, the rules are strict. Men scan the room for a partner. Women wait to be chosen.

My chest tightened with a heavy feeling. It was the realization that my joy depended entirely on someone else’s decision to notice me. Everyone played their part perfectly, but I felt like I couldn't breathe.

I decided to break the rule. I decided to learn to lead.

The reality was messy and often embarrassing. But as I stepped into the leader's role, I discovered something about power that I never found in a business textbook. Leading is not about control or having the loudest voice.

It is a form of service that requires an intensity of listening I hadn't practiced before.

This change altered how I handle tension in boardrooms and how I build trust with my teams today.

The full story of how I stopped waiting for permission is in my substack (link in comments).

Subscribe below and tag a friend who is ready to step onto the floor.

#lovingconflict #leadership #tango

1 week ago | [YT] | 1

ANNA LECAT

Some mornings I wake up exhausted by how divided the world feels.
Teaching people to love conflict when everyone's choosing sides. Writing a book about staying close through difference. Standing on stages talking about intimacy.

Then I get a message from someone who attended a workshop six months ago. They're talking to their estranged sister for the first time in years.

Or they had the hard conversation at work they'd been avoiding.
Or they asked their partner for what they actually need instead of hoping they'd guess.

One person at a time. One conversation at a time.
That's how change happens.
Back to work.

#lovingconflict #writerslife #intimacy

1 week ago | [YT] | 1

ANNA LECAT

When someone hurts us, we quickly reach for labels like "narcissist" or "toxic" because it makes us feel safer.

It allows us to be the hero while casting them as the villain.

However, I have learned that almost nobody wakes up in the morning with the intention of being a monster. Even a difficult partner or a cold boss is acting from their own internal logic and fears.

You certainly don't have to agree with them. Yet if you want to navigate the conflict, you must stop seeing a monster. It is much harder to be curious than to be judgmental, but that is the only way to actually solve the problem.

P.S. If you are dealing with a difficult dynamic that feels impossible to solve, I have opened a few spaces for 1:1 consulting. We don't do small talk. We go straight to the root. More about my work at the link in the comments.

#Humanity #Conflict #Perspective

1 week ago | [YT] | 1