Brave Women at Work

In the earlier stages of my podcast, I often found guests on LinkedIn. Then, I found podcasts through public relations firms and placement agencies. Now, I find them through other podcasters, former guests, friends, and colleagues in the personal development space. I am so excited about the evolution of the show and plan to continue to bring you powerful guests, like my guest, Alicia Zielinski Straub, today.

Alicia and I met through former podcast guest, colleague, and somatic breathwork teacher, Nicole Smith Levay. Alicia and I have been on a breathwork journey together, and now we are taking a meditation and breathwork mentorship (certification together)! It has been wonderful to get to know Alicia, and I am happy to have her as a guest on the show.

During my conversation with Alicia, we chatted about:

1. Her experience many years ago with Hurricane Sandy, and how it cracked her wide open and started her healing journey.
2. Alicia’s vision for her life and how she suggests other women go about finding their own bigger vision for their life and career.
3. The idea of not knowing and how we can be as calm as possible in the middle of that phase of transformation.
4. How we soften into our hearts when we are on a healing or change journey.
5. The advice Alicia would have for any woman who is looking to tap into herself, find stillness, and get prepared for transformation.

Have you ever heard the phrase, “If I had a nickel every time someone did (fill in the blank), I’d be rich?” My guest, Andie Kramer, might say, “If I had a nickel for every story of workplace bias against women, I’d be rich.”

I feel incredibly fortunate to have Andie join me on Brave Women at Work to tackle such an important and timely topic. Reflecting on my own career, I can clearly see moments where I experienced bias—whether it was someone else taking credit for my ideas in a meeting or being passed over for a promotion in favor of a male colleague, despite having all the qualifications.

As I always say, this isn’t about man-bashing—I love the men in my life. But on this show, my goal is to help you take braver, bolder actions in your career. Sometimes that means addressing tough topics like breaking bias, understanding why women, especially women of color, face more challenges in their careers, and—most importantly—exploring what we can do to create a better future for our daughters.

In this episode, Andie and I dive into:

• What inspired Andie and her husband, Al, to focus on breaking gender bias in the workplace
• The types of bias that women encounter at work and how they manifest
• Practical steps we can take to break through bias and build thriving careers
• Andie and Al’s PATH program and how it helps address bias in organizations
• Why women sometimes struggle with other women in the workplace
• The crucial role men play in helping to eliminate workplace bias

Well, I’ve just met another sister from another mister in Jenny Mitchell. The other funny thing is that I have another dear friend named Jenny Mitchell, so this is going to get confusing. True story!

Jenny and I chat today about the concept of embracing our ambition and not stepping away or being afraid of it. Jenny and I had such a fun time during this conversation, and I am sure you are going to enjoy it as well.

During my conversation with Jenny, we chatted about:

1. What embracing ambition means to Jenny.
2. What prompted her to write her book, Embracing Ambition: Empowering Women to Step Out, Be Seen, & Lead.
3. How she built a unique experience for all participating authors in the book.
4. How we can lean into our ambition without burning out.

The great story behind Jenny’s company, Chavender.

Happy November! It’s starting to get cold outside here in Chicago. And guess what? I love it! Yes, I’m one of those people that loves fall and even cooler temperatures. I feel like I come alive when everything begins to hibernate. Maybe my clocks are off. Or maybe that’s just me.

Well, today, I have found another wonderful guest, Anne Shoemaker, who loves sports metaphors as much as I do. You may or may not know that one of my favorite movies is Rocky. I’m starting to date myself because the Rocky series of movies began in 1976. Wowzer! 1976.

Well, I’d like to share my favorite quote from the Rocky series to get us kicked off:

“The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place, and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done."

During my conversation with Anne, we chatted about:

1. Her time in sports and how it shaped and defined her.
2. How she learned to let go of all things feminine and her voice became a whisper in the wind.
3. She also shares some of her top tips and tools to level up professionally, including how we can save up to 150 minutes per day, how we can level up our game on LinkedIn, and the top questions to ask during our next performance review.
4. Anne also shares her career fulfillment score assessment and how she works to help women reach their professional goals.

If you have been a longtime Brave Women at Work listener, you know that I have a soft spot for discussing burnout. If you are joining the podcast for the first time or just a few episodes here and there, I personally experienced burnout in 2019 and have faced some health issues as a result.

I’ve said on the show and with my clients, that if I can help one woman prevent or recover from burnout, then I’ve done my job for the day. I don’t want any other women or men for that matter to go through this. It’s scary, lonely and in my case, even confusing. I didn’t know I was about to hit the wall of burnout until it already happened. I crashed into the wall and was forced to recover.

My guest today, Hannah Tackett, has had her own experience with burnout and is also passionate about helping women in this area. Hannah really “gets it”, and I feel fortunate we have met, and she was available for this show.

During our conversation, Hannah and I talked about:

1. What serene success means to Hannah
2. What the success traps are and when they go from helping to hurting us – what is the tipping point
3. Hannah’s PEACE Method as part of her Serene Success Program
4. How we protect our energy so we can continue to produce at a high level without falling apart physically, mentally, and emotionally

It’s been a season of transitions, with both endings and new beginnings. I’ve been fortunate to travel all over the world this year, including Greece, Croatia, Portugal, Ireland, and Aruba. After a period of constant movement, it feels good to know that I’ll be home for most of the time moving forward. The crazy travel is coming to an end, at least for now. My birthday just passed, marking my 47th trip around the sun. 47 years old! Another new beginning. Wow! Remember when that used to feel old? Well, not anymore. There have also been some significant beginnings and endings in my corporate work. While I won’t dive into the details, I’ve found that transitions in work can stir up emotions too. I’m sharing this because it’s important to acknowledge that we bring our whole selves to work. When things are in a state of flux, it’s okay to feel excited, sad, worried, frustrated—whatever feels right for you at the moment.

My guest today, Jennifer Mulholland, joins me for a conversation on a much-needed topic—what it means to practice Conscious Leadership. As the memes say, anyone can be a manager, but it takes radical honesty, self-awareness, a sense of responsibility for ourselves and our people, a willingness to put in the work, and so much more to truly be a leader.

During our conversation, Jennifer and I discussed:

• The story behind Jennifer co-founding Plenty Consulting
• What ThetaHealing is, and how it’s similar and different from Reiki
• How Jennifer integrates both the practical and the spiritual in her work with individual clients, groups, and corporations
• Why passion—what gets us up in the morning—is so important to Jennifer
• Her book, Leading with Light: Choosing Conscious Leadership When You’re Ready for More, and the four lights of conscious leadership
• How surrender plays a crucial role in Conscious Leadership

“Connection is why we’re here. We are hardwired to connect with others; it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it, there is suffering.” – Brené Brown

There have been times in my life when I believed the best way to handle a project or situation was to do it alone, like a lone wolf. Sometimes that approach works, but when it becomes a habit, it doesn’t.

As Brené Brown says, we are wired for human connection. According to my guest today, Jennifer K. Hill, if we are not connected to ourselves, others, and our purpose, it can lead us down a path of disconnection—potentially turning us into what Jennifer humorously refers to as a “jerk.” Just kidding… or maybe not!

In our conversation, Jennifer and I discussed:

• How Jennifer is a “recovering jerk”
• Why human connection is so important to her
• What the Golden Path of Connection is
• How we can connect with ourselves, others, and our purpose
• How her company, Optimatch, helps in understanding human connection
• Jennifer’s free resources, including her book 101 Spiritual Tools for Uncertain Times and her podcast Regarding Consciousness
• Why fun, including watching Minions, is crucial

This conversation was incredibly enjoyable—you’ll hear us laughing throughout. I hope this episode brightens your day and, more importantly, inspires you to recognize the importance of human connection and take steps on your own connection journey.

Happy 200th Episode of Brave Women at Work! Can you believe it has been 200 episodes? I can’t! What began as part of my burnout healing journey has evolved into something that brings me immense joy. I want to thank you for being here, whether this is your first episode, you’ve listened to a few here and there, or you’ve been a longtime listener—I am so grateful for you. The show has been downloaded over 70,000 times in more than 30 countries. WOW!

To celebrate the 200th episode, I’m raffling off a copy of Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership and Brave Women at Work: Stories of Resilience! All you need to do is email me at [email protected], and I’ll enter your name into a random book raffle! I’ll draw the winners’ names by 10/31/2024, so email me today for a chance to win!

I have a special guest on the show today, Dr. Ronicka Briscoe. Dr. Ronicka was a contributing author in Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership and is a welcome, wonderful addition to the Brave Women at Work community.

During our conversation, Ronicka and I discuss:

• What winning on the road means for working women.
• What prompted Ronicka to participate in Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership.
• Ronicka’s Gallup Strengths assessment compared to mine, and how rare it is for our strengths to be so similar.
• The difference between Gallup Strengths and the Myers-Briggs assessment, and how Dr. Ronicka uses them with her coaching clients.
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• Ronicka’s leadership development programs, including The Winners Circle.

I have a wonderful repeat guest today, Churni Bhattacharya. Churni and I can talk for hours, and every time I speak with her, I feel like I’m talking with an old friend.

Churni has so much wisdom to share in today’s show and her prior appearance, episode 141, which launched on August 31st, 2023. You’ll definitely want to grab a notebook and listen to both of these shows twice to catch all of the great advice and information.

During our conversation, Churni and I talked about:

1. Her journey to becoming a contributing author in the women’s anthology, “Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership.”
2. Churni’s learnings throughout the publication process.
3. How Churni has changed because of this experience.
4. What recommendations Churni has for anyone who wants to step out and try something new, whether it’s writing a book, starting a project, beginning a new job, and more.
5. Churni’s advice for other women navigating the IT/Digital Industry.
6. Her favorite book.
7. What’s on the horizon for Churni moving forward.

Have you ever thought about leadership as a recipe? Imagine adding a dash of this or a pinch of that to create your own unique leadership style. What if you could learn the perfect leadership ingredients from the leaders you encounter throughout your career?

I had never considered leadership in this way, but I love this delicious metaphor!

My guest today, Mylene Barizo, is a powerful leader, communicator, connector, and now a best-selling author of Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership. I invited Mylene to share her inspiring perspective on leadership and her key takeaways from being part of our recent book project on the topic.

In this episode, Mylene and I discuss:

●       What inspired her to contribute to Brave Women at Work: Lessons in Leadership

●       What Mylene has learned throughout the process

●       The key lessons she hopes readers will take from her chapter

●       Mylene’s concept of the Leadership Recipe and how we can identify the ingredients in our own personal leadership style

●       Insights about The Leadership Ladder, what it means to Mylene, and the services her company offers for both individuals and businesses