Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elor (De Mayo) Shem Tov. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Elor, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

One of the most pivotal experiences in my career, and the one that most shaped me as a business owner, came during a time of deep personal and professional challenge.

I was the only woman on the executive leadership team, and I took pride in how I led: with clarity, care, and a deep commitment to empowering others. But leadership isn’t always met with applause; sometimes it’s met with resistance. One day, three of my peers blindsided me with accusations that I had created a toxic work environment. It was a calculated move, clearly intended to undermine my position.

In that moment, everything I believed about leadership was put to the test. I was flooded with emotions: disbelief, hurt, anger. But I also knew this was a defining fork in the road. Reacting from fear or defensiveness would only give my power away. So I did something radical: I paused. I observed. I created space between the trigger and my response. That space – that inner pause – is something I now teach as a cornerstone of coherent leadership.

I asked myself hard questions: What narrative am I telling myself? Where am I giving away my power? How do I want to lead through this? I stayed rooted in who I knew myself to be, not in who others said I was. I let the company conduct their investigation, but I focused on what I could control – my presence, my integrity, and my truth.

Eventually, the accusations were found to be baseless. But honestly, the outcome wasn’t even the most important part. The experience gave me something far greater: unshakable self-trust. It taught me that authentic leadership isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about holding steady when the ground beneath you shakes. It’s about choosing presence over panic, truth over reaction, and alignment over approval.

As a business owner now, that lesson stays with me every day. When challenges arise, and they always do, I return to that moment. I press pause. I listen inwardly before acting outwardly. And I remind myself that leadership, at its core, is an inside job.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m the founder and CEO of Lucid Lev, where I coach high-achieving founders and executives who have built external success but quietly feel like it’s not enough, into internal clarity, so they can lead, live, and connect from deep presence.

Beneath the nonstop pace and constant decision making, there’s often a sense of disconnection. Working with me, I help them slow down internally, clear the mental noise, and lead from a place that actually feels aligned, with more ease, authenticity, and inner peace.

For over 20 years, I’ve worked across business strategy, leadership, acting, and expressive therapy. I previously served as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of a biotech startup, where I led Operations, HR, and Finance, scaling the company from seed to Series B.

I hold a Master’s in Expressive Therapies from Lesley University, where I trained in action-based therapy and subconscious transformation. I’m also the creator of Digital Affairs, an award-winning web series exploring modern human connection.

As a speaker and coach, I integrate business acumen, psychology, philosophy, and a presence-based approach.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

It all starts with your own thoughts…

The quality of your leadership mirrors the quality of your inner world. If your mind is constantly bracing, doubting, or racing, that energy, whether spoken or not, trickles down into the team.

Managing a team and sustaining high morale doesn’t begin with tactics. It begins with awareness.
Can you notice the thoughts driving your decisions? Are they rooted in fear, control, or urgency, or in clarity, trust, and presence?

Your presence is your leadership.

When you show up centered in your groundedness, your team feels it. There’s less second-guessing, less posturing, more realness. And that’s what people want, to be led by someone who’s not performing leadership, but embodying it.

This doesn’t mean by passing conflict or sugarcoating reality. It means facing things directly, but from a clear internal place.
Calm doesn’t mean passive. Presence doesn’t mean soft. It means you’re not leading from reactivity.

So if you want to elevate morale, start by noticing your own mind. Because more than your strategies, it’s your clarity, your thought patterns, your internal tone, that shapes the culture you lead.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Honestly? The most effective strategy has been sharing what most people feel but rarely say out loud.

I speak to the internal experiences; the quiet stress behind the success, the pressure to keep it all together, the moments of disconnection even when everything looks perfect on paper.

When I started naming those things openly, without trying to fix or sell, just to reflect truthfully, I noticed something powerful: people felt seen. They reached out not because I had a “solution,” but because they felt resonance.

So for me, growth hasn’t come from traditional marketing strategies. It comes from presence, honesty, and a willingness to say the thing no one else is saying. That’s what builds trust. And that trust becomes the bridge.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elor_demayo_shemtov/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elor-demayo/

Image Credits

– Photo by bulegendut
– Headshot by Joanna DeGeneres