Ambition Without Compromise by Monique R. Shields

September 10, 2025 68 | Becoming the Kind of Leader These Times Require

⚡️Click Here To Text Monique!

In this deeply personal episode, Monique opens up about her recent struggles with visibility, purpose, and the weight of societal turmoil. After a series of engaging guest interviews, she reflects on her own journey, feeling speechless and overwhelmed by the state of the world. Monique shares her experiences of grappling with inner turmoil while maintaining her coaching practice and supporting her family.

As she confronts feelings of anxiety and the pressures of capitalism, Monique explores what it means to embrace change and vulnerability. She discusses the importance of community, the necessity of being honest about one’s struggles, and the transformative power of pain. Through her candid storytelling, Monique invites us to reflect on our own journeys and consider how we can show up authentically in times of uncertainty.

Join in for an honest conversation about vulnerability, resilience, and the journey of self-discovery. Don't miss this opportunity to connect and find strength in our shared experiences. Tune in now!

GEMS DROPPED

“I am loved. I am love. No matter what… No matter what.”

“I feel like, especially as someone from a marginalized community, we keep talking about the unknown, the unknown. And I think what we're actually scared of is not the unknown, I think that we're scared of what we know is to come and how we're gonna cope with it.”

“Pain is a part of life, and you can handle pain. It's just pain. It comes and it goes, and you're still here… you're fine. And for the things that are worth it… the pain required to get to the other side is not only okay, but can be really worth it.”

“I hope that this offers somebody who is listening and trying to keep it together, and also recognizing that this season, or the seasons to come are asking you to submit to changes, to submit to inevitabilities that feel like they're going to invite some painful things, some scary things that it doesn't serve us to focus on how fearful we are of the pain, that there is possibility in releasing that tension as best you can.”

“You can show up honestly in the midst of the mess, fully admitting that you don't have the answers.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].

32 min

August 27, 2025 67 | More Than Getting By: How I Resourced Myself and Reclaimed My Career

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In this week's episode, join Monique as she shares her inspiring journey from side hustler to executive coach.

Monique takes us on a journey through her recent conversation with Nicaila Matthews Okome on the Side Hustle Pro podcast. Together, they dive into Monique's career trajectory, from her time at Spelman College to her evolution as an executive coach, and the lessons learned along the way.

Tune in to gain insights into the significance of resourcing oneself, the power of community, and the necessity of setting high standards for personal and professional growth.

GUEST INFO

Nicaila Matthews Okome, host of Side Hustle Pro Podcast | Website | Instagram | YouTube

MENTIONED

59 | You Don’t Need More Time — You Need a New Identity

GEMS DROPPED

“ When we feel connected with the truth of who we are and how we actually feel, and then we get to know what we actually think and what our imaginations can bring us to, we get to dream forward.” - Monique R. Shields

“Corporate spaces are not designed for anybody to be their full authentic selves. You have to decide what pieces of you are safe here, what pieces of you are advantageous to share here. You have to kind of design yourself a certain way. It's just what it is.” - Monique R. Shields

“Instead of shaming ourselves for decisions we have made or are about to make, remember a lot of these decisions are rooted in survival. And you need to do what you need to do in that moment or in this moment to put your survival first. Right. However, when you do have space and time to be able to think beyond surviving to thriving, this is the conversation…”- Nicaila Matthews Okome

“If you're still feeling on the fence about things, I think it's good to listen to that survival instinct in you, that gut check and remember that just because something's high ticket doesn't mean it's going to be valuable. You must vet the business and make sure it's what's really going to help you to move the needle in your business. Emphasis on your.”- Nicaila Matthews Okome

“A lot of us actually need to start to dismantle some of the identities we've taken on unknowingly.” - Nicaila Matthews Okome

“We’re walking around with a lot of invisible I ams and I'm nots and it's about doing the work to make those things a lot more visible to you so that you can see the one's holding you back or the one's keeping you stuck.” -Monique R. Shields

“Whatever it is that you're facing down next, whatever challenge it is that you're trying to take on or figure out, you don't need more. You're not deficient in anything. There's no deficit within you. You don't need to take on anything new. Tack on anything new. Build yourself up more. Usually you need to release, so focus on what you need to let go and let that be your energy. Let yourself be released.” -Monique R. Shields

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].

1 hr 12 min

August 13, 2025 66 | Why Ambitious Women Are So Lonely — with Danielle Bayard Jackson

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In this week's episode, Monique welcomes Danielle Bayard Jackson, a relational health educator, to discuss the complexities of female friendships, particularly for ambitious women of color.

Throughout the conversation, they unpack the three affinities that strengthen female friendships: symmetry, support, and secrecy. Danielle emphasizes the importance of reciprocity and vulnerability, encouraging listeners to embrace their needs and foster deeper connections. Monique and Danielle also address the impact of competition within friendships and how it can create barriers to intimacy.

If you are an ambitious woman feeling isolated in your friendships, press play to discover how to cultivate deeper connections and break the cycle of loneliness.

GUEST INFO

GEMS DROPPED

“I think a lot of people would be surprised to know that most of the women I work with are high achieving women. They're not women who don't have social skills or don't know how to have a conversation. These are women who are charismatic, who are extroverted. They have no shortage of social connections, but it's just that they feel so deeply unsatisfied with the connections they have. And of course, this is something that they are harboring secretly because to publicly announce that you are having challenges with what other people think should come so naturally bring some sort of shame. And it also detracts from this image of self-sufficiency that an ambitious woman would like to project.” - Danielle Bayard Jackson

“On one hand, you feel the weight of the expectations that we place on each other. But on the other hand, it's like, yes. And it's partially for really good reason, because there's so much available when we can reach that depth with one another and then navigate the times where inevitably conflict strikes.“ - Monique R. Shields

“There are so many things I think we overlook when it comes to building close relationships. I think we think of sharing secrets and being vulnerable. And that's all true, but it's other surprising things, like navigating healthy conflicts or receiving help. The research finds that that's a prerequisite to platonic intimacy.” - Danielle Bayard Jackson

“You do have to shift your beliefs to shift your behaviors. And if you can get yourself into this practice of checking in on your values. We can all recall a time where we had the good feels for being able to show up for somebody else, and it is robbing your friends of that experience. It's a gift to let somebody give to you.” - Monique R. Shields

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].

42 min

July 30, 2025 65 | Reimagining Success from the Inside Out: Personal Style, Presence, and Possibility — with Pamela Shepard

⚡️Click Here To Text Monique!

How do you dress for the life and legacy you actually want?

In this powerful and personal episode, Monique is joined by costume designer, educator, and style visionary Pamela Shepherd, as they unpack what it really means to show up in your full presence. From dressing bodies to shaping identities, Pamela reveals how style becomes a strategy for visibility, authority, and self-reinvention, especially for Black women in leadership.

Tune in to hear how Pamela navigated her leap from tech to fashion, what it takes to embrace your own definition of “executive presence,” and why asking for help is the real flex. Together, they explore fashion as liberation, style as storytelling, and the magic of taking up space without apology.

If you’ve ever questioned your image, doubted your voice, or wrestled with how to be both authentic and visible, this episode is your call to reimagine what success looks like from the inside out.

GUEST INFO

Pamela Shepard, Costume Designer and Stylist | Website | Instagram | FlowWood Costumes (Launching soon!)

GEMS DROPPED

“For those of us who are designing our ambitions and creating futures that maybe we don't have an example for in our household. Who are you not just asking? What doors are you not just knocking on?” - Monique R. Shields

“Because I work so collaboratively, I'm often working with different groups of people. And because the work requires your expertise and your expertise and your experience and your experience and your experience, I think that it further helps me to develop the muscle when it comes to leaning on others for what I don't know. It's not indicative of weakness or lack of ability or really anything. What it's indicative of is curiosity.” - Pamela Shepard

“One way that you signal to yourself and to the world that you take yourself seriously is by asking for help, by actually leveraging the relationships that you have poured into. And it doesn't take that many. You don't have to know the world. You start with who you know, and then you, again, you don't know who they know and who those people know.” - Monique R. Shields

“If I were talking to someone about fashion, I think my first question would be, where do you spend most of your time? Is it in an office? Is it at home? Is it in transit and traveling? Like, what does the look of your life look like? Because I think that sometimes we feel compelled to have all the things. Our lives don't really call for all the things.” - Pamela Shepard

“There is part of the work that is just listening to people, checking in with people, seeing how they're doing, and listening to what they're saying, because I think that can help inform, the decisions of the pieces we're choosing and moving forward. And so just encouraging people to be brave and trying to put on the things that embody how they see themselves.” - Pamela Shepard

“Your clothes are not going to give you executive presence. They can be a reflection of the presence that you already carry, that you already exude, but the clothes can't give it to you .” - Monique R. Shields

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].

54 min

July 16, 2025 64 | When the World Hurts, Is It OK to Keep Building?

⚡️Click Here To Text Monique!

Reflecting on her time at the ROI Millionaire Summit, Monique shares the profound inspiration she gained from connecting with like-minded individuals dedicated to closing the wealth gap for marginalized communities. As she transitions from the empowering atmosphere of the summit back to the harsh realities of the world, Monique grapples with feelings of guilt and confusion about her role in the larger scheme of things.

Join in as she shares her journey of navigating these conflicting emotions and the grounding moment she had when she observed a trail of ants marching diligently across her driveway. The ants remind her to stay connected, support others, and remain focused on our collective goals.

Join in as she explores these themes and ways to find encouragement in our shared experiences.

GEMS DROPPED

“I think that's the thing that's so compelling to me about ants is that they lead these lives, each one of them has a role. There's a very specific, sort of caste system within, ant colonies where you have a specific role. Are you a soldier, protector, scouts, nurse, worker, forager? They play these very specific roles and it's like, play your role. It's like they know what lane they're in. They know what their mission is. They know what their purpose is. Like, I exist to do this, therefore I do it.”

“I hope that that's encouragement to anyone else who is feeling in any way destabilized emotionally, or otherwise by what is going on around us…to remind yourself in those moments that they are moments, they are fears, and they can come, they can pass through, but that doesn't mean you're confused about who you are. That does not mean you're confused about what you're here to do, what your purpose is, what you were literally built for. If you stop playing your role, then the colony fails, the community fails, the family fails.”

“It's such an illusion to believe that you are playing every role that you play, every position on whatever field you're trying to play, as we're out here building and, trying to advance ourselves in our communities, that you're ever supposed to do it alone and that you ever have it all covered. You don't, you don't. And that's a reason why our bodies start to suffer, our psyches start to suffer, because you were never meant to be everything, every person, playing every role for everyone. We were not actually built to do this.”

“I find so much peace and encouragement by observing nature when I feel lost in human nonsense…By observing these creatures, these animals who are still doing the same behavior, still exhibiting the same behaviors and instincts that their ancient ancestors were, because they're just being what they're supposed to be. And that helps me to be guided by an inner wiring, in a collective rhythm.”

“All this surrounds identity and who it is that every day we have to examine and decide who we are? Who are we being in every conversation and every time we show up and knowing that we're never going to get it “right”. We're never going to get it perfectly, but to stay in it. To stay in the examination of it. To stay in the curiosity around it and to do our damn best, y' all.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].

32 min

July 02, 2025 63 | Healing the Hustle: Finding Freedom in Feminine Wisdom with Dené Logan

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Tune in as Dené Logan joins Monique to explore the dynamics of feminine and masculine energy and how they impact our relationships and personal growth. They explore how these dynamics shape our identities, relationships, and ambitions in a world that often demands we suppress our true selves.

As high-achieving women, we often find ourselves caught between the demands of our professional lives and the yearning for personal fulfillment. Monique and Dené tackle the realities of motherhood, the pressure to conform to societal expectations, and the challenges of maintaining intimacy in relationships. They discuss the significance of vulnerability and the power of asking for help, emphasizing that true strength lies in embracing our feminine essence.

Don’t miss out on this enlightening conversation that encourages us all to reclaim our joy, creativity, and connection to one another.

GUEST INFO

Dené Logan Marriage and Family Therapist, a group facilitator, and an author of Sovereign Love: A Guide to Healing Relationships by Reclaiming the Masculine and Feminine Within | Website | Instagram

GEMS DROPPED

“All the things like wounded, masculine energetic quality, afraid of fear…all of those are human qualities. They're not necessarily bad, but when they become the paradigm from where we are operating from as a baseline, which I would say our culture really does value things that are sort of wounded masculine qualities or ways of being, then they become distortions. They really are us operating with our wounds versus in that conscious space of ’how do I want to respond based on what is coming up for me’ and ’what is the truth of how I want to show up in this moment?’ ” - Dené Logan

“As grateful as we all are for the modern feminist movement, I think there's a way that what we were really taught to embrace was a lot of wounded masculine energy. That, we can do everything that men can do. We can show up and work like men and make ourselves sick. Productivity at all costs. All these things that if we really think about them aren't necessarily healthy qualities for anyone. But in order for us to sort of be competitive in the workplace and feel like we have a seat at the table, so many of us were conditioned to reject what would be some of our healthy feminine characteristics like trust in life, and receptivity , and our willingness to be vulnerable. So for a lot of us, those things can be really hard for us to recalibrate into stepping into or accepting within ourselves.” - Dené Logan

“So many things in our society are just a reaction to this fear of the feminine essence. The feminine spirit and so much of what we're experiencing day to day is rooted in that fear. We're just so terrified of it.” - Monique R. Shields

“Wounded masculinity is basically a kind of a fear based state, it cuts you off from creativity and that's what the healthy feminine is all about- creativity and being in your creative mode.” - Monique R. Shields

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].

59 min

June 18, 2025 62 | Why We're Sabotaging Our Future Selves

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What if the key to unlocking your future self lies in how you treat her today?

In this inspiring episode, Monique introduces the transformative concept of embodying your future self right now. Drawing from a powerful talk by Hal Hirschfeld, she explores the importance of developing a relationship with your future self and how this connection can guide your actions today. Monique challenges the common notion of 'winning tomorrow tonight' and instead encourages you to cultivate a mindset that prioritizes being held, healthy, and whole.

Join Monique on this journey and learn how to make choices today that honor the vibrant, successful version of yourself you aspire to be. Tune in now!

MENTIONED

55 | When You Do The Most But Expect The Least: Letting Go Of Shrinking Yourself

GEMS DROPPED

“Making tomorrow better today requires a commitment to certain rituals, certain behaviors and it's in service of an investment in the version of you that will exist tomorrow because you've set her up for success. And those things are important.”

“We are struggling to occupy our future state of ourselves because we have no relationship with her. It’s like why would I sacrifice for you? I don't know you, girl. I don't know you.”

“There's different levels to when we talk about feeling embodied. I think it's like past, present and future self embodiment. There's something here that is moving across the dimensions of our life, not just today, that's really important.”

“Sacrifices are the hard-charging things that we do–the ways that we push ourselves harder to create a better future tomorrow. Sometimes the push, the really hard push is actually a deep releasing of an attachment that we have today, or a belief that is actually holding our future self back. Sometimes the sacrifice is a gift.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].

30 min

June 04, 2025 61 | Unpacking Uncertainty And Taking Risks

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In this week's episode, Monique tackles the complex relationship between risk and ambition, especially for women of color. Through compelling stories she illustrates the emotional turmoil that can accompany the pursuit of dreams and the importance of acknowledging and processing those feelings. She also emphasizes the power of self-awareness and creativity in overcoming fear and finding clarity in uncertain times.

Join in to discover how to redefine your understanding of risk and unlock your true potential.

GEMS DROPPED

“We will use the past to try to predict the future. Right. Because this is the thing with the women that I work with, they're not just saying, ‘well, I'm scared of taking risks, so I don't even consider it’. You keep approaching the idea of taking those risks, but it's kind of torturing you because you keep approaching it, and then you keep hitting a wall. Everything feels too scary and so you're like, well, let me kind of think through my past–right? So there's this formula, and it feels like an airtight formula, and that's where we kind of get trapped, because if one or two of those variables feel off, you’re like ‘ooh, the risk of failure is now high’. That automatically shuts us down.”

“Where do you have space to actually stop and feel? You typically don't. And things are often happening fast. So you're trying to react, you're trying to think. You haven't gotten yourself any space, any room to feel what you're actually feeling. And that is what's keeping you trapped in that merry go round. There's no creativity available to you in that space because you're just trapped in cyclical, fear based thinking.”

“I challenge you, if you're sitting with this kind of indecision, this fear around risk and this story, to take a moment and see if you can, which I know you can, embrace the belief that I am someone who takes incredible risk and finds success. I am the great I am. I am someone who takes incredible risks and finds great success. What would it be like to embrace that? What are your earliest memories where that is true?”

“You cannot access creativity if the conditions that you have created for yourself to be creative have not been set.”

“Sometimes the way that we protect our imaginations is with our creativity, right? That's where it all flows from by allowing what is arising in us that is keeping us stuck…allowing it to flow through us and to inform us about any limitations that we're placing on ourselves, any lies that we're telling ourselves, any old stories that are coming up and distorting how we believe, how we believe we can exist and what we believe that we can have. That's another way of protecting our imaginations.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].

37 min

May 21, 2025 60 | Too Busy to Dream: When the Work That Made You Successful Starts Holding You Back

⚡️Click Here To Text Monique!

What if the version of leadership that got you here is the very thing keeping you stuck? It’s time to grow and expand—not so you can carry more, but so you can finally live out your dream without the weight that’s been holding you back.

Join Monique as she speaks directly to high-achieving women like you—navigating the tension between your professional obligations and your personal ambitions. This isn’t about finding another tactic or quick fix. It’s about shifting your identity, cultivating an abundant mindset, and setting boundaries that protect your time and energy.

When you do that, you’ll start to reclaim your vision and attract the kind of opportunities that truly align with who you are becoming. Monique’s insights and strategies are here to help you break free from what’s no longer working and step boldly into the future you know is waiting for you.

GEMS DROPPED

“You've always known that where you're at right now is a stepping stone place. And it may have given you really specific important things, but it's not meant to be your forever place, and you know that.”

“Because you're on this hamster wheel every day, it diminishes your vision, and it shrinks your capacity to exist as bigger.”

“Growing your skills to the point where you can now possess the dream. That's not actually how it works. You have to grow, expand yourself so that you begin to live out the dream. You begin to attract the dream. It begins to build within you and around you because you're operating that way.”

“I honestly don't care who it is that is listening to my voice right now. If you're my girl and you're considering becoming better and expanding in your leadership, delegation is going to be a thing for you. Because we, as women, are actually socialized against delegation. We are socialized to show up for everybody in every way, for everything and so becoming better at delegating is absolutely something that we need to do. But here's the problem, getting better at delegating or delegate more is not the advice you need. What you need is the space to occupy a more abundant boss mindset.”

“This being too busy to connect with our dreams-the solving for the busyness, it does have to happen first. Like, you cannot, you're not going to connect with an authentic dream from a place that feels rushed and constrained and overwhelmed and tight. Like, that's not the place that you want to be dreaming from. So we do have to solve for this first. But what I'm trying to say is that the solve starts at the identity level. The solve does not start at the tactics and the tricks.”

“This is not about becoming better at carrying all these things that are just too much. It's about showing up in a way that protects you from more and more of the nonsense, and shifts you into a being that attracts the dream.”

EPISODES MENTIONED

Ep 15: Learning To Dream First
Ep 3: What Are You Playing For?

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].

CLAIMED is a 6-month group coaching experience for Black mothers in senior leadership ready to stop performing and start becoming. Applications for the upco

31 min

May 07, 2025 59 | You Don’t Need More Time — You Need a New Identity

⚡️Click Here To Text Monique!

👆🏾 TEXT ME for more on CLAIMED™ - Group Coaching Experience For Black Mothers in Leadership

Feeling overwhelmed by your ambitions? It's time for a mindset shift!

Join Monique as she dives into the struggles many ambitious women face as they juggle multiple responsibilities and aspirations. She explores the metaphor of spinning plates and overflowing buckets to illustrate the challenge of managing multiple identities—mother, partner, professional, and more—while yearning for growth.

In our latest episode, Monique discusses how to transform your self-concept and embrace a 10x growth approach. Press play to learn more.

GEMS DROPPED

“You cannot do all the hard things. You don't need to do all the hard things. There is a human limit on your life, okay? There are human limitations, and we can push past many of those limitations. I understand the capacity of my woman. Like, a lot of y'all, you know you're built differently. I get that…But we also cannot disregard our very human, physical, spiritual, emotional existence, and try to step past it and think that there will be no consequences, because there will.”

“Let's be clear, the capitalist society that we are enshrouded in that surrounds all of this, that drives a lot of the unnecessary pressures that we place on ourselves.and these patterns, rhythms and the pace that we are all pushed into. We can never, never erase that context from the conversation. But what I want to speak about today is where you still have some agency and power. You still have quite a bit of agency and power to shift, to make a 10x choice, to make a shift where you're not just doing a few things differently or trying to double your output in your doing, but that you get to become, that you shift the being of it all.”

“The environment, the relationships, the structure, the guidance--those things allow for a new self concept to emerge. It is one of the most powerful things that we can create space for in our lives. Because again, the situation that you are thinking about with what's the next phase of my career and how am I going to hold all of these things and what's going to happen with this or that? Like, those aren't the questions. The topic is not the topic. You are the topic. Okay. Who you consider yourself to be, how you self conceptualize, that is the topic at hand. That is how we can shift from 2x possibility, that's going to keep us overrun in old identities to a 10x possibility because we've allowed ourselves to fundamentally change, to allow ourselves to fundamentally shift.”

STAY IN TOUCH

Come and follow me on Instagram @moniquershields and I would love your feedback so send an email to [email protected].

41 min

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