Workplace reputation plays a direct role in career advancement, promotions, and the opportunities you're considered for long before any formal conversation happens. In this episode, career coach and strategic career consultant Julia Toothacre breaks down how reputation at work actually forms and why it often matters more than your performance.

If you're doing strong work but not getting promoted or pulled into bigger opportunities, your reputation may not reflect the level you're operating at.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How workplace reputation is built through repeated behavior

• Why promotion decisions are shaped before formal conversations happen

• The gap between your intention and how others experience you

• How culture, leadership preferences, and bias influence your reputation

• Internal vs external reputation and why both matter

Julia also addresses the reality that reputation is not fully within your control and how to navigate environments where bias or culture may be influencing how you're perceived.

If you've ever felt overlooked, misunderstood, or unsure why opportunities aren't coming your way, this episode will help you identify what's really happening and what you can do about it.

Read the blog: https://ridethetidecollective.com/2026/04/28/workplace-reputation-career-advancement/

Explore all episodes: https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/

Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/

FREE Career Resources: https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

Building trust with leaders at work is what drives career growth, influence, and access to more responsibility.

In this episode of Control Your Career, career strategist Julia Toothacre breaks down the five skills that build trust with leaders and shape how you're perceived at work.

You can be reliable, do good work, and still not be the person leaders turn to when it matters. That's because trust isn't built through execution alone, but through how you think, how you communicate, and how you make decisions.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How judgment influences trust and decision-making

• Why clear communication changes how leaders see you

• How business awareness connects your work to strategy

• The role of pattern recognition in anticipating problems

• Why strategic execution matters more than staying busy

These are the skills that determine who gets asked for input, who is included in bigger conversations, and who is seen as ready for more.

Read the blog:

https://ridethetidecollective.com/2026/04/14/career-skills-that-increase-trust-and-influence/

Explore all episodes: https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/

Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/

FREE Career Resources: https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

If you are navigating a leadership change, reorganization, strategy shift, or internal restructure, you are probably wondering how to manage yourself during organizational change without damaging your reputation. This episode breaks down how to stand out at work during uncertainty, how to build influence inside your company, and how to grow your career without waiting for a promotion.

Organizational change creates instability when your reporting lines shift, priorities change, and projects lose owners. In those moments, most professionals focus on frustration or job security. Fewer people think strategically about how to get noticed at work, how to expand their role without a title change, and how to build career leverage when responsibilities are unclear.

In this episode, career expert, Julia Toothacre covers:

• How to position yourself during leadership change

• What to do during a reorganization at work

• How to stand out at work when roles are unclear

• How to build influence inside your organization

• Why career growth inside your company often happens during uncertainty

• The difference between execution and strategic positioning

• How emotional regulation impacts your reputation during change

You will learn how career leverage forms when responsibility is up in the air, why transitions accelerate reputation-building, and how to move from task execution to higher-level problem-solving within your current organization.

If you are trying to grow in your company, get promoted internally, or expand your influence at work without changing jobs, this episode will help you think differently about organizational change and leadership transitions.

Read the blog: https://ridethetidecollective.com/2026/03/31/season13episode3/

Explore all episodes: https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/

Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/

FREE Career Resources: https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

If you want to get promoted, create more career options, and stop feeling stuck at work, you need more than strong performance. In this episode of Control Your Career, Julia Toothacre breaks down how to position yourself for promotion by building real career leverage.

Promotion decisions are rarely based on effort alone. Leaders evaluate trust, visibility, judgment, and risk. This episode explains how to build the five forms of career leverage that determine whether you are seen as promotable or simply dependable in your current role.

You'll learn how to strengthen:

• Skill range that expands beyond your job description

• Professional reputation inside your organization

• Market visibility outside your company

• Financial flexibility that supports better career decisions

• Decision discipline when evaluating promotions or lateral moves

If your career only advances when you apply for roles or push for recognition, you may still be operating in execution mode. This conversation will help you understand how to create positioning that leads to more career control, more influence, and stronger long-term growth.

In the next episode, we go inside your organization and examine where promotion leverage is built day to day.

Read the blog: https://ridethetidecollective.com/2026/03/17/season13episode2/

Explore all episodes: https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/

Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/

Career resources: https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

Why do high performers get stuck in their careers? If you feel like you are working hard but not getting promoted, you may be experiencing a mid-career plateau. In this first episode of Season 13, Julia Toothacre explores why performance alone stops driving career growth and what actually moves professionals forward.

Hard work gets you established, but it is not what grows your career long term.

Julia Toothacre introduces a more accurate model for how careers evolve once you are established. Early career rewards effort and execution, but at a certain point, advancement needs positioning, visibility, relationships, and intentional decisions that compound over time.

In this episode, Julia breaks down:

• The shift from output to leverage

• Why many professionals stay in effort mode too long

• How burnout can push you backward into execution thinking

• The difference between proving yourself and positioning yourself

• What career compounding actually means

• The five leverage buckets you will unpack this season

If you feel like you are good at what you do but something is still missing, this episode will help you understand why. You may not need more effort. You may need more leverage.

Read The Blog: https://ridethetidecollective.com/2026/03/03/season13episode1/

Explore all episodes: https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/

Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/

Visit the website: https://ridethetidecollective.com

Get career resources: https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

I'm pulling back the curtain on my book-writing journey! In this bonus episode, I'm sharing an honest update on my upcoming book based on the Control Your Career process: what I've written so far, what I've learned, and why writing a book is WAY harder than I expected.

Part 1 is for anyone curious about the book itself: what it's about, who it's for, and why I think it's different from every other career book out there. (Spoiler: it actually meets you where you are, not where some career expert thinks you should be.)

Part 2 is for my fellow writers, authors, and coaches: I'm getting real about the writing process, why I needed a writing coach to stop procrastinating, and the breakthrough that changed everything about how I approached writing the first section of my book.

Whether you're a potential reader or a writer in the trenches, this episode is for you.

FOR READERS/POTENTIAL CLIENTS:

• What the Control Your Career book is about and how it's structured (two-part format!)
• Why Stage 1 (Realistic Reality) is the foundation of everything
• How this book is different: it meets you where YOU are, not where career advice thinks you should be
• Why I'm not using AI to write (and what I AM using it for)

FOR WRITERS & AUTHORS:

• Why I wrote more in 1.5 months than I did in 8 months last year (hint: accountability)
• The content breakthrough that changed my entire writing approach
• How to balance book writing with running a business (still figuring this out!)
• Progress over perfection: why a bad first draft is better than no draft
• The role of AI in my writing process (spoiler: planning yes, writing no)

• Control Your Career Process https://ridethetidecollective.com/coaching/controlyourcareer/
• Email list for book updates https://ridethetidecollective.com/emailsignup/
• Book Editor: HeartWorks Writing Codi https://www.heartworksw.com/
• Previous podcast episodes about the Control Your Career process: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjF-DzcwKeCxqbVT8T42GEXBPMSf80Reu https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/controlyourcareer/
• Read The Blog https://ridethetidecollective.com/2026/02/17/bookupdates/

This is a transparent, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to write a book while running a business. If you're considering writing a book, working with a writing coach, or just curious about the creative process, I hope this gives you some insight (and maybe some motivation).

And if you're excited about the Control Your Career book, subscribe and stay tuned, more updates coming soon!

This bonus episode of Control Your Career is a little different, and very intentional.

Julia Toothacre is joined by financial professional and podcast host Natalie Kime for a real, grounded conversation about money, career decisions, and life transitions. This is not a tactical breakdown of investments or retirement accounts. It is a conversation about how money actually shows up in real life.

Natalie brings a deeply human perspective to financial planning, shaped not only by her professional experience, but also by her role as a caregiver to her mom. Together, Julia and Natalie talk about financial control beyond your paycheck and 401k, and why true financial confidence is about priorities, seasons of life, and flexibility.

In this episode, they discuss:

• Why financial planning is about more than numbers

• How caregiving and life changes impact financial decisions

• The connection between career choices and financial stress

• What financial control really means during uncertain seasons

• How to think about money in a way that supports your whole life

This episode is for anyone navigating career decisions while also managing real life responsibilities, changing priorities, and evolving financial goals.

Subscribe to Control Your Career for honest conversations about work, money, and life.

Guest: Natalie Kime Natalie Kime is a financial professional, podcast host, and caregiver who brings clarity, compassion, and real-life perspective to conversations about money, career, and life transitions. As the host of Chat with Nat: Conversations That Count, Natalie creates thoughtful, approachable discussions that help people feel more confident navigating complex financial and professional decisions.

Connect with Natalie: 🎙 Podcast: https://nicklesanddimesfindingfinancialfreedom.buzzsprout.com/ 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nattykime/ 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-k-9491091/ 📰 Substack Interview: https://kmhurd.substack.com/p/building-a-financial-legacy-w-natalie-541

Explore all episodes: https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/ Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/ Visit the website: https://ridethetidecollective.com Free career resources: https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

Episode Blog: https://ridethetidecollective.com/2026/02/03/financeswithnataliekime/

You are not imagining it. This is a career podcast, and this is a bonus episode about health.

In this episode of Control Your Career, I share my own health journey from the past few years. It's personal, it's slow, and it unfolded alongside work, family, and real life. I talk through what changed, what didn't, and what I had to rethink along the way.

Health started to matter more to me because I could feel it affecting how I showed up. My energy. My confidence. My ability to make clear decisions. I knew I needed an approach that I could actually sustain, not something built on pressure, guilt, or unrealistic expectations.

This episode walks through how that approach took shape over time. How starting small mattered. Why support made a difference. And how my mindset around food, movement, and habits evolved as my life changed.

You'll hear me talk about:

• why health belongs in career conversations

• how health affects capacity and confidence at work

• what starting slow made possible

• where support changed the trajectory

• how habits developed over time

• why realistic goals mattered more than speed

If health messaging has felt overwhelming or disconnected from your reality, this episode offers a more honest perspective.

👉 Subscribe to Control Your Career for grounded conversations about work, life, habits, and growth.

Read The Blog: https://ridethetidecollective.com/2026/01/20/healthjourney/ Explore all episodes: https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/ Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/ Visit the website: https://ridethetidecollective.com Get career resources: https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

As 2026 approaches, career goal setting feels more complicated than ever. Between layoffs, AI disruption, shifting industries, and economic uncertainty, many professionals are wondering if traditional goal-setting even makes sense anymore.

In this bonus episode of Control Your Career, Julia Toothacre breaks down how to set realistic, grounded career goals for 2026 without relying on hype, hustle, or unrealistic predictions. Instead of focusing on outcomes you can't control, Julia explains how to shift your attention to goals rooted in skills, behavior, clarity, and adaptability.

This episode is designed to help you move into 2026 with confidence, not pressure.

You will learn how to:

• Understand why traditional goal setting often fails in uncertain markets

• Identify which career goals are actually within your control

• Set flexible goals that adapt as the market changes

• Focus on skills, visibility, and decision-making instead of titles

• Build career momentum without burning yourself out

👉 Subscribe to Control Your Career for practical strategies that help you stay grounded, relevant, and confident in your professional growth.

Explore all episodes: https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/ Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/ Visit the website: https://ridethetidecollective.com Get your free career tools: https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

Episode Blog Post: https://ridethetidecollective.com/2026/01/06/2026careergoals/

You are not crazy for wanting more, and you are not ungrateful for questioning if your current path still fits. Change is a natural part of career growth, but for many mid- to late-career professionals, fear and doubt make the idea of starting over feel impossible.

In this episode of Control Your Career, Julia Toothacre shares how to make a career pivot with strategy, self-awareness, and confidence, no matter how long you have been in the game. Using her five-stage Control Your Career framework, she helps you evaluate your reality, understand your values, and design an intentional plan that makes sense for your life right now.

You will learn how to:

• Identify the fears holding you back from making a change

• Redefine your professional identity without losing what you have built

• Evaluate your financial and personal realities before you leap

• Recognize the difference between reinvention and redirection

• Use realistic strategy to pivot with clarity, not chaos

It is never too late to make a change. You just need a plan that fits your stage of life and your goals.

👉 Subscribe to Control Your Career for more confidence-building strategies and career growth tools that help you take charge of your future.

Explore all episodes: https://ridethetidecollective.com/podcast/ Connect with Julia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliakrussell/ Visit the website: https://ridethetidecollective.com Get your free career tools: https://ridethetidecollective.com/free/

Episode Blog Post: https://ridethetidecollective.com/2025/12/10/season12episode14/

Get your Control Your Career Worksheet: https://ridethetidecollective.com/cycworksheet/