We’re looking forward to introducing you to Pamela Benson Owens. Check out our conversation below.
Pamela, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
The first 90 minutes of my day always look the same, no matter where in the world I happen to be. It’s movement, spiritual meditation, caffeine, and reflection.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi there! I’m Pamela Benson Owens.
I like to say that I’m in the business of helping people lead, live, and love better—starting with themselves. I’m the CEO of Edge of Your Seat Consulting, and my work sits right at the intersection of leadership, culture, and humanity. I spend my days helping people and organizations have the real, sometimes hard, but always necessary conversations that lead to healthy organizational cultures, growth, and change.
What makes my work a little different is that I don’t believe in cookie-cutter solutions. I blend storytelling, humor, and straight talk to help folks get honest about who they are and how they show up. I’ve learned that leadership isn’t about perfection — it’s about being willing to do the work, own your story, and extend grace (to yourself and others) along the way.
Right now, I’m even more focused on creating spaces and experiences that invite deeper reflection and connection—whether through workshops, my online community, Leadership Lounge, keynotes, moderating conversations, podcasts, or small group conversations. I’m passionate about helping people move from awareness to action and from fear to freedom. I’ve learned that sometimes not only do you have to do it scared, but you also have to do it without all the details fully formed. The most recent instance of facing fear was when I published my first book of poetry.
At the end of the day, I just want to remind folks that they already have what it takes—they just need to be brave enough to use it.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I grew up in a healthy, loving home, and there are so many moments that shaped me. But the moments that changed everything were the births of my children. In those rooms, I learned the real difference between what’s urgent and what’s important. Urgent was the monitor beeping, the nurses moving, and the breath-by-breath now. Important was the sacredness of presence, the steadying hand, and the quiet promise to show up again tomorrow and the day after that.
I learned what unconditional love feels like—not the poetic version, but the kind that rearranges your priorities in an instant and asks you to grow bigger than your comfort. I felt the weight of responsibility for other human beings settle on my shoulders—not heavy in a burdensome way, but holy, like being trusted with something irreplaceable.
Those births also made me examine my belief system. What do I want to pass on? What do I need to unlearn? What does my faith look like when it’s tested at 3 a.m.? And perhaps most transformative, I started seeing the world through their eyes—how ordinary things become miraculous, how curiosity is a compass, how fairness matters, and how brave it is to say, “I don’t know; let’s find out.”
That is the lens I carry into my work and my life: people before performance, presence before perfection, and love as the strategy. My children didn’t just make me a mother; they made me more honest, more grounded, and more awake to what really matters.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Be present. Put down the need to keep up and pick up what matters right now. The best parts of your life won’t shout; they’ll whisper—listen, and you don’t have to earn your worth by hurrying and being all things to all people.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I truly believe that otherwise smart people are getting it wrong by confusing complexity for wisdom, treating “being right” the same as “being effective,” and rejecting the beauty of paradox instead of dancing with it. I see this last one most often with leaders. Real transformational leaders embrace paradox with a fresh perspective. A new puppy can be both a nuisance due to its lack of potty training and a delight because of its affectionate and adorable demeanor. The competitive edge is not choosing between opposites but integrating them. The competitive edge lies in balancing freedom and responsibility, confidence and doubt, justice and mercy, profit and purpose. The solution lies in addressing the root cause. There are leaders who are firmly stuck in linear either/or thinking, while innovative, transformational, and courageous leaders cultivate and saturate themselves in the both/and.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
People may one day look back and misread the stillness of this season in my life. They might think I stepped back, slowed down, or somehow stopped contributing because I wasn’t filling the room with my voice, my title, or my résumé. What they won’t always see is that I’ve shifted from making an impression to making room.
I no longer feel the need to prove that I belong — I built that belonging years ago. I’m not here to take up space; I’m here to create it. My leadership today doesn’t shout, it stewards. It clears paths, blocks unnecessary noise, and lets others find their footing with confidence.
Yes, some have mistaken my restraint for disinterest or my quiet presence for a lack of contribution. But that’s because our culture still celebrates the loudest person in the room instead of the person who keeps the room whole. My work now is not to convince or compete—it’s to cultivate.
My legacy won’t be measured in how many times I spoke, but in how many people I made space for. It won’t be about the spotlight moments, but the unseen ones—the times I defended someone who wasn’t in the room or reset a tough situation with grace instead of ego. It will be about how many younger women stood taller because I refused to shrink them with my shadow.
This is the season of strategic quiet, of helping others block and tackle, of planting trees whose shade I may never sit under. I am not trying to change the world by force anymore. I’m shaping it through steadiness, presence, and integrity—through the unseen architecture of community and opportunity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pamelabensonowens.com
- Instagram: @pamelabensonowens
- Linkedin: Pamela Benson Owens
- Facebook: Pamela Benson Owens
- Youtube: Rooted Podcast with PBO
