As Season 3 wraps, Michelle Redfern, Mel Butcher and the other hosts of the Lead to Soar Network reflect on what the so-called “Great Resignation” revealed about women’s careers.

Rather than treating it as a trend, this episode examines why many women reassessed loyalty, ambition, and career direction, and what leaders continue to misunderstand about retention, motivation, and commitment.

This episode closes Season 3 and sets the direction for the next phase of Lead to Soar.

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Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members get access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers. Explore

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A poor boss affects decision-making, energy, confidence, and career momentum. In this episode, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher focus on how women leaders think clearly and act deliberately when leadership above them is failing.

The conversation covers:

How to recognise when behaviour is no longer tolerable or workable

What to consider before escalating concerns or staying put

The professional risks of over-accommodating poor leadership

How to reflect on your own leadership so that harmful patterns are not repeated

This episode is about judgment, boundaries, and choice. It’s for women who want to stay in control of their career when the problem isn’t them.

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Explore the Lead to Soar Network

Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members get access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers. Explore

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In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher tackle a pattern many women recognise instantly but are rarely taught how to manage.

They explain what “emotional vampires” look like at work, how to spot the behaviours early, and why these dynamics often land hardest on capable, conscientious women. The conversation moves beyond pop psychology and into practical leadership judgment, including when to engage, when to set boundaries, and when to stop over-functioning for others.

This episode is for anyone who:

Leaves certain interactions feeling depleted or responsible for other people’s emotions

Is carrying unnecessary emotional labour at work

Wants language and strategies that protect energy, credibility, and impact

A grounded, practical listen for leaders who want to work well with others without paying the personal cost.

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This is now the home of the Lead to Soar podcast. Subscribers get new episodes, curated guidance from the back catalogue, and written insights to help you navigate leadership and career decisions with sound judgement.

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Explore the Lead to Soar Network

Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members get access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers. Explore

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In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern is joined by Amal Yusuf for a grounded conversation about what inclusive leadership looks like in practice.

Amal shares her journey from immigrant to senior leader at Delta Air Lines, and reflects on how identity, power, and organisational norms shape who is heard, who is trusted, and who has to work harder to belong. This is not a discussion about intention or value statements. It is about leadership judgment inside real systems.

Together, Michelle and Amal explore:

How lived experience informs leadership credibility and decision-making

What does leading across difference require beyond performative inclusion

Why strategic networking and relationship-building are survival skills for women navigating exclusion

How leaders can create safety and accountability without shifting the burden onto marginalised people

This episode is for leaders who want to understand inclusion as a core leadership capability, and for women navigating workplaces where difference is present but not always respected.

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Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members get access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers. Explore

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In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern is joined by Dr Jen Frahm, a global authority on organisational change, transformation, and executive leadership.

Together, they examine the difference between managing change and being a change leader. This is not a technical conversation about frameworks or spreadsheets. It is about how leaders think, behave, and respond when uncertainty, resistance, and disruption are present.

The discussion explores:

Why leading change is inseparable from emotional intelligence

How curiosity and inquiry shape better leadership decisions during change

Why data alone is insufficient, and what leaders must notice about human and bodily responses to change

The internal shifts leaders must make to sustain meaningful outcomes over time

Dr Frahm brings decades of experience designing and leading change across industries, sectors, and cultures, and challenges leaders to confront the personal work required if they expect others to adapt.

This episode is for leaders responsible for people, performance, and outcomes in environments where change is constant, and leadership behaviour matters more than process.

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Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members get access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers. Explore

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In this Lead to Soar Podcast episode, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher focus on strategic networking as a core career capability, not a personality trait.

They walk through five networking fundamentals that consistently shape career progression for women, particularly in systems where access, sponsorship, and informal influence matter as much as performance.

The conversation covers:

Why networking should be intentional, not transactional

How to build relationships that create opportunity rather than obligation

The difference between visibility, connection, and influence

How to stop over-giving and start using networks strategically

This episode reframes networking as career infrastructure and offers practical guidance women can apply immediately, without performing extroversion or adopting inauthentic tactics.

For women asking What should I do next?, and for leaders who want to understand how careers actually progress inside organisations.

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Explore the Lead to Soar Network

Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members get access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers. Explore

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In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern is joined by Renata Bernarde, executive coach and host of The Job Hunting Podcast, for a grounded conversation about fear of success and imposter syndrome.

Rather than treating imposter syndrome as a personal flaw, Renata reframes it as a predictable response to transition, visibility, and risk. Together, she and Michelle examine what is actually happening when capable women hesitate at the point of opportunity, particularly during job searches, promotions, or career pivots.

The discussion covers:

Why fear often increases just as opportunities expand

How imposter syndrome shows up during job hunting and career transitions

The cost of asking “what could go wrong?” instead of “what could go right?”

How to make career decisions based on judgment and readiness, not self-doubt

This episode is for women navigating growth moments where confidence wobbles, credibility is tested, and the stakes feel higher. It offers practical reframes to help women move forward without minimising their capability or second-guessing their ambition.

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This is now the home of the Lead to Soar podcast. Subscribers get new episodes, curated guidance from the back catalogue, and written insights to help you navigate leadership and career decisions with sound judgement.

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Explore the Lead to Soar Network

Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members get access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers. Explore

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In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher tackle one of the most misunderstood areas of leadership and career development: feedback.

They challenge the idea that all feedback is a gift and examine why women so often receive guidance that is incomplete, vague, or disconnected from what actually drives progression. This episode is not about being nicer or more positive. It is about clarity, usefulness, and responsibility.

The conversation explores:

Why much of the feedback women receive does not help them advance

How vague, personality-based feedback undermines performance and credibility

What leaders need to do differently to give feedback that supports outcomes

How women can assess, filter, and respond to feedback without internalising unhelpful noise

Michelle and Mel draw on leadership practice and emotional intelligence research, including insights from Emotional Intelligence, to outline what good feedback actually looks like and how it should be used to lift performance, not confuse or contain it.

This episode is for people leaders who want to lead well, and for women who want career-relevant guidance rather than commentary.

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This is now the home of the Lead to Soar podcast. Subscribers receive new episodes, curated guidance from the back catalogue, and written insights to support sound judgment in leadership and career decisions.

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Explore the Lead to Soar Network

Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members have access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers.

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In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher focus on what it actually means to lead with agility.

They examine the role of emotional intelligence in leadership and why effective leaders do not rely on a single default style. Instead, they use different leadership approaches deliberately, based on context, people, and outcomes.

The conversation covers:

Why emotional intelligence is foundational to modern leadership

How leaders engage the strengths and potential of others without over-controlling

The importance of switching leadership styles rather than clinging to what feels comfortable

Five practical engagement strategies leaders can use to lift performance and motivation

Michelle and Mel also draw on Leadership That Gets Results by Daniel Goleman, exploring how different leadership styles affect climate, engagement, and results when used with intent.

This episode is for people leaders who want to move beyond one-size-fits-all leadership and build teams that perform well because they are led well.

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This is now the home of the Lead to Soar podcast. Subscribers receive new episodes, curated guidance from the back catalogue, and written insights to support sound judgment in leadership and career decisions.

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Explore the Lead to Soar Network

Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members have access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers.

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In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern sits down with Jo Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Business.

Jo shares her career journey, including how she came to build her life and career in Australia, and the leadership judgment required to progress through multiple C-suite roles. This is not a linear success story. It is a conversation about scope, accountability, execution, and what changes when responsibility moves from delivering tasks to owning outcomes.

The discussion explores:

What shifts as leaders move from functional expertise to enterprise accountability

How execution, innovation, and people leadership intersect at the CEO level

Why authentic leadership is inseparable from performance

How senior leaders balance people, process, and data to drive results

Jo brings a practical, grounded perspective on executive leadership, shaped by experience across different leadership contexts and business models. Her reflections offer insight into what senior leadership actually demands, beyond titles and optics.

This episode is for leaders considering their next step into executive responsibility, and for women navigating the transition from expert contributor to enterprise leader.

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If this episode was useful, there are three simple ways to continue.

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This is now the home of the Lead to Soar podcast. Subscribers receive new episodes, curated guidance from the back catalogue, and written insights to support sound judgment in leadership and career decisions.

Subscribe now

Explore the Lead to Soar Network

Lead to Soar is a leadership development network for ambitious women and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap. Members have access to group coaching, practical leadership tools, and a network of women actively advancing their careers.

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If this resonated, share it with a colleague, manager, or friend who might need it. Leadership is shaped by what we notice, name, and talk about.

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