Leadership isn't about getting the right people in the room; it's about making sure they thrive once they're there. Angela Tait, leadership strategist and founder of Tait Consulting, shares how to build high-performing, people-first organizations without burning yourself or your team out in the process.

From hiring and onboarding to creating cultures that support working mothers, Angela unpacks the hidden challenges women face navigating leadership, family, and identity. She's also the host of the Mom-Me Podcast, where she talks candidly with entrepreneurs and corporate leaders about making it work when you're trying to do it all.

In this episode, we explore:

• The biggest mistakes leaders make when hiring and onboarding new team members

• Why companies still fail to support working mothers (and what needs to change)

• The generational gap: moving past outdated workplace norms

• How ambition and motherhood can coexist beautifully

• The power of knowing you're enough, exactly as you are

• Why working moms are actually better leaders (and better mothers)

• The integration of work and life that brings real peace

Whether you're building a team, navigating motherhood and career, or questioning how to show up fully in both spaces, Angela offers practical wisdom and permission to be multifaceted.

Links and Resources

Learn more about Angela Tait: https://angelatait.com/

Listen to the Mom-Me Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mom-me/id1777676831

Follow Angela on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tait_consulting/

Connect with Angela on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelatait/

Follow Influential Women

Website: ⁠https://influentialwomen.com/⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠Influential Women⁠

Instagram: ⁠@influential_women_official⁠

Facebook:⁠ Influential Women⁠

Support the Show

Your feedback helps us reach and empower more incredible women. Take a moment to share your thoughts, rate the show, and let us know which episode inspired you most. Every review supports our mission to uplift and celebrate women who lead with confidence, courage, and heart.

• ⁠ Rate Us on Spotify⁠
• ⁠Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

Women in corporate leadership often feel alone. They climb the ladder in silence, internalize criticism, and question their voice. Stacey Ryan, President of School of Rock, knows this feeling intimately. Instead of accepting it, she created FrontWomen, a quarterly leadership initiative connecting women across her industry to share real challenges, debunk imposter syndrome, and advocate for themselves unapologetically. 

In this episode, Stacey opens up about navigating male-dominated boardrooms, the microaggressions that sparked her mission, and how creating community became her most strategic move. You'll learn how to stop shrinking yourself, mentor others into their power, and lead with both integrity and empathy.

This episode is perfect for women ready to stop waiting for permission and start creating their own opportunities.

In this empowering episode, you’ll learn:

• How to navigate leadership in male dominated environments

• Why authenticity is essential to strong leadership

• How mentorship and sponsorship change career trajectories

• Why vulnerability is a leadership strength not a weakness

• How community helps women lead with confidence and clarity

If you have ever questioned your place at the table, struggled with confidence in leadership or felt isolated on your career path, this episode will remind you that your voice matters. Stacey’s honesty and courage offer a powerful blueprint for leading with integrity while lifting other women along the way.

Links and Resources

• Learn more about School of Rock:https://www.schoolofrock.com

• Explore the Front Women community:https://www.frontwomen.org

• Connect with Stacey Ryan on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceyryan27/

Follow Influential Women

Website: https://influentialwomen.com/

LinkedIn: Influential Women

Instagram: @influential_women_official

Facebook: Influential Women

Support the Show

Your feedback helps us reach and empower more incredible women. Take a moment to share your thoughts, rate the show, and let us know which episode inspired you most. Every review supports our mission to uplift and celebrate women who lead with confidence, courage, and heart.

•  Rate Us on Spotify
• Leave a Review on Apple Podcasts

Welcome to The Influential Women Podcast where we empower, connect and inspire women who are leading, creating and redefining what is possible.

In this powerful and deeply thoughtful episode, host Jodie O’Brien is joined by Neha Kumar, co founder and co CEO of Full Glass Wine, a platform she helped scale into a 200 million dollar business in just 17 months through strategic acquisitions and disciplined execution.

Neha shares her non linear journey through banking, entrepreneurship, education and investing and explains why no experience is ever wasted. She opens up about using acquisitions as a long term strategy, the importance of discipline over motivation and why resilience is one of the most critical skills for entrepreneurs and leaders.

Together Jodie and Neha explore powerful concepts like glass balls versus rubber balls, why failure is simply data, and how momentum is created by staying in motion even when things fall apart. Neha reflects on major career setbacks, including failed transactions, and shares how continuing to move forward ultimately led to better outcomes than she could have imagined.

Neha also talks candidly about time, aging and her decision to say yes for one year which sparked exponential growth across her career and personal life. From parenting and partnership to ambition and balance, this conversation offers a grounded and honest look at what it really takes to build something meaningful without waiting for perfection.

In this empowering episode, you’ll learn:

• Why discipline matters more than motivation

• How to identify glass balls versus rubber balls in life and business

• Why failure is a data point not an identity

• How staying in motion creates opportunity and momentum

• Why clarity comes from action not waiting

• How to think in six month seasons instead of long term overwhelm

If you have ever felt stuck, pressured to have it all figured out or afraid to take the next step, this episode will remind you that progress comes from movement not perfection. Neha’s perspective offers clarity confidence and permission to build boldly even when the path feels uncertain.

🎧 Episode page (resources + full context):

Links and Resources

• Learn more about Full Glass Wine:https://www.fullglass.wine
• Follow Full Glass Wine: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fullglasswineco
• Connect with Neha Kumar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neha-t-kumar-179b6129/

Support the Show

Rate on Spotify:

⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/0x6V5bV1hwEAD0VCHxkhI0⁠

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts:

⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/influential-women-podcast/id1850947661⁠

More from Influential Women

Podcast Hub (all episodes):

⁠https://influentialwomen.com/podcasts⁠

Influential Women Website:

⁠https://influentialwomen.com⁠

In this episode of the Influential Women Podcast, host Jodie O’Brien talks with Sheena Yap Chan, Wall Street Journal bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and founder of the Confidence Through Visibility movement, about bridging the confidence gap and becoming more visible without waiting for permission.

Sheena shares how growing up without representation shaped her mission to help women stop shrinking and start showing up fully. Together, Jodie and Sheena explore why confidence is a skill you can build, how visibility creates credibility and impact, and why imperfect action is often the fastest path to growth. They also discuss rejection, resilience, and how owning your achievements helps other women see what’s possible.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Build confidence as a daily skill (not a personality trait)

• Use visibility to close the confidence gap for women

• Reframe self-promotion as a leadership tool, not bragging

• Take imperfect action and grow through rejection

• Show up consistently even when fear is present

If you’ve ever doubted your readiness, hesitated to speak up, or felt pressure to be perfect before taking action, this episode will remind you that your voice matters now.

🎧 Episode page (resources + full context):
https://influentialwomen.com/podcasts/sheena-yap-chan-bridging-the-confidence-gap-and-becoming-visible

▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube:

Links and Resources
Follow Sheena Yap Chan on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/sheena.yap.chan/

Support the Show
Rate on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0x6V5bV1hwEAD0VCHxkhI0

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/influential-women-podcast/id1850947661

More from Influential Women
Podcast Hub (all episodes):
https://influentialwomen.com/podcasts
Influential Women Website:
https://influentialwomen.com

In this episode of the Influential Women Podcast, host Jodie O’Brien talks with AI strategist Melissa Lee about using AI today without losing what makes leaders valuable: empathy, judgment, and human connection.

They explore how AI is evolving from simple tools into agentic systems, and why understanding this shift matters for modern leaders and businesses. Melissa debunks common AI myths, explains where human insight remains irreplaceable, and shares practical ways to use AI to support growth, reduce burnout, and stay relevant without eroding trust or authenticity.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Use AI to amplify, not replace, human leadership strengths

• Understand the shift from tools to agentic AI systems

• Spot AI myths and make smarter decisions faster

• Apply AI in daily work without losing authenticity

• Protect trust, empathy, and judgment while scaling impact

🎧 Episode page (resources + full context):

▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube:

Links and Resources
Connect with Melissa Lee on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-lee-06301461

Learn more about Melissa’s AI work:
https://connex.ai/us/

Support the Show
Rate on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0x6V5bV1hwEAD0VCHxkhI0

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/influential-women-podcast/id1850947661

More from Influential Women
Podcast Hub (all episodes):
https://influentialwomen.com/podcasts
Influential Women Website:
https://influentialwomen.com

In this episode of the Influential Women Podcast, host Jodie O’Brien talks with life coach, storyteller, and Boomer Banter founder Wendy Green about aging, reinvention, and navigating life transitions with clarity and self-trust.

Wendy shares how her work in coaching and podcasting grew from years of helping people through major change, and why so many women feel pressure to compare timelines, “race the clock,” or believe it is too late to shift direction. Together, Jodie and Wendy explore the emotional realities of aging, common myths about getting older, and how to reframe this season of life as a time for deeper confidence, purpose, and self-compassion.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Reframe aging as growth, not limitation

• Let go of timeline pressure and comparison

• Navigate career shifts, caregiving, and identity changes

• Build confidence and self-trust in a new chapter

• Move forward with grounded clarity and self-compassion

🎧 Episode page (resources + full context):

▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/RdBpAnLd8YI

Links and Resources
Wendy Green Website:
https://heyboomer.biz/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/boomerbanterpodcast/

Support the Show
Rate on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0x6V5bV1hwEAD0VCHxkhI0

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/influential-women-podcast/id1850947661

More from Influential Women

Podcast Hub (all episodes):
https://influentialwomen.com/podcasts

Influential Women Website:
https://influentialwomen.com

In this episode of the Influential Women Podcast, host Jodie O’Brien talks with PR expert, author, and Hearsay PR founder KJ Blattenbauer about visibility, personal branding, and being seen without performing.

KJ shares how she went from working behind the scenes at major PR agencies to realizing her work was everywhere while she stayed invisible, and how that turning point led her to help women step into the spotlight with clarity and confidence. Together, Jodie and KJ break down what real thought leadership looks like, why visibility builds credibility, and how to show up online with intention without oversharing or burning out.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Build visibility that feels authentic, not performative

• Strengthen your personal brand through clear messaging

• Use storytelling to support real thought leadership

• Choose the right platform for your voice and audience

• Create consistency without oversharing or burnout

🎧 Episode page:

https://influentialwomen.com/podcasts/kj-blattenbauer-the-power-of-being-seen-with-kj-blattenbauer

▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FJMDNA4iPQ

Links and Resources
KJ Blattenbauer Website:
https://hearsaypr.com

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kjblattenbauer

Book: Pitchworthy

Support the Show
Rate on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0x6V5bV1hwEAD0VCHxkhI0

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/influential-women-podcast/id1850947661

More from Influential Women

Podcast Hub (all episodes):
https://influentialwomen.com/podcasts

Influential Women Website:
https://influentialwomen.com

In this episode of the Influential Women Podcast, host Jodie O’Brien talks with leadership coach and speaker Karli Sherman about confidence, leadership communication, and owning your voice at work.

Karli shares her journey from Broadway dreams to coaching women to communicate with clarity and lead without apology. Together, they discuss how to speak up when you feel nervous, stop over-apologizing, and share your achievements with confidence.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Speak up with confidence even when you feel nervous

• Stop over-apologizing and communicate with presence

• Share your wins without minimizing yourself

• Build confidence through everyday practice

• Lead authentically and trust your voice

🎧 Episode page : https://influentialwomen.com/podcasts/karli-sherman-owning-your-voice-and-leading-fearlessly▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhm0lEsLKYALinks and Resources
Karli Sherman Official Website:
https://www.karlisherman.com

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlisherman/

Book Recommendation: Think Again by Adam Grant

Support the Show
Rate on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/0x6V5bV1hwEAD0VCHxkhI0

Leave a review on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/influential-women-podcast/id1850947661

More from Influential Women
Podcast Hub (all episodes):
https://influentialwomen.com/podcasts

Influential Women Website:
https://influentialwomen.com

Welcome to the Influential Women Podcast, hosted by Jodie O’Brien.

This podcast features real and honest conversations with women who are building meaningful careers, leading with purpose, and creating impact in their fields.

Each episode explores the stories behind the achievements, including the lessons, challenges, and turning points that shaped these women’s journeys. Each episode features entrepreneurs, founders, leaders in tech, TEDx speakers, coaches, creators, and innovators who are changing the way we lead, build, and show up in the world.

Follow the show to hear thoughtful conversations with entrepreneurs, leaders, creators, and changemakers.