Restless Excellence

Restless Excellence is a reflective leadership podcast for people who care deeply about impact but refuse to lose themselves in the process.

Hosted by Tonya Richards, this podcast is part leadership journal, part thinking-out-loud space. Episodes are intentionally unpolished; rooted in real-time reflection, lived experience, and the questions leaders rarely get to say out loud.

Each episode explores the unseen work of leadership:

Emotional labor and decision fatigue
Values that are tested
Boundaries, burnout, and sustainable excellence
Power, integrity, and what it means to lead while still becoming

This isn’t a podcast about having all the answers. It’s about slowing down long enough to think clearly, lead responsibly, and choose alignment over optics.

If you’re navigating leadership, change, or a season of growth, and you’re willing to reflect honestly, Restless Excellence is for you.

Contributors

Host

Tonya Richards

Tonya Richards is the host of Restless Excellence, a podcast for high-performing leaders who are tired of confusing burnout with success. With over 20 years of experience in healthcare human resources, organizational development, and equity-centered leadership, Tonya explores what it really takes to lead well; without sacrificing people, purpose, or sustainability.

Through candid conversations and reflective solo episodes, Restless Excellence challenges hustle culture and invites listeners to build capacity, not just endurance. Tonya brings a practitioner’s lens, a systems mindset, and a deep respect for the human cost of work; creating space for leaders to pause, recalibrate, and lead with intention.

Tonya is of Caribbean heritage, a wife, mom of 3, and lives in NY.

http://linkedin.com/in/tonya-richards-maison-phr-shrm-cp-chhr-cdp-idi-qa-6649382