We're told to keep pushing. To keep up. To perform like nothing is changing, even as our entire body undergoes a systemic transformation.

This week I'm joined by Blessing Uchendu, a leadership coach and somatic therapist, for a conversation on something so many women in their 40s and 50s are navigating quietly and often alone: perimenopause, and what it asks of us as leaders, as women, and as humans.

We talk about why this transition is so much more than hot flashes and night sweats. It's a full-system rewiring, and the strategies that carried you through the first half of your life, the over-functioning, the reading the room before you read yourself, the pushing through, start to fall away. Not because something is wrong with you, but because your body is asking for a different way.

Here's what we get into:

• Why somatics, connecting to the body, is the foundation of how we lead, not a nice-to-have
• The reframe that changes everything: your body is going through a reorg, and it deserves the same grace
• Why the strategies that got you here stop working, and what that's actually inviting
• How to find safety within yourself when the world around you isn't built to support this transition
• Releasing the shame we've been taught to carry around our bodies, from our first period to now
• Why this season is not a deficit to your leadership, it's an expansion of it

This one is honest, warm, and full of permission. Because perimenopause was never meant to be something we hide. It's a coming home to ourselves.

___

ABOUT BLESSING

Blessing Uchendu is a leadership coach and somatic therapist who helps driven, high-achieving women expand their capacity to lead from a grounded, embodied place. A licensed clinical social worker with nearly two decades of experience, she bridges deep clinical insight with somatic and leadership work to support women navigating stress, transition, and the demands of senior roles. 

You can find Blessing on LinkedIn under Blessing Uchendu, where she shares her work and offers one-to-one somatic leadership coaching.

___________

Want more of these types of convos?
 Sign up for Jessica's Weekly Newsletter: Join my Weekly Newsletter
Follow along: LinkedIn | Instagram

You have been told to be more confident. To speak up. To be more strategic, less emotional, less nice. As if the friction you feel at work is something in you that needs fixing.

My guest this week spent years being told exactly that, until she realized the problem was never her. And more importantly, she figured out what to actually do about it.

Michelle McDaid spent more than twenty-five years leading engineering teams in tech, including a role as the first female director of engineering at her company. Today she is the founder of The Leading Place, where she helps women own their voice and lead as themselves, and helps organizations build cultures that actually keep the women they work so hard to hire.

This conversation is honest, fired up, and full of practical, do-this-now wisdom that only comes from decades inside the room.

We get into:

• What to do instead of just trying to "be more confident"
• Small, no-budget changes that transform who applies for a role and who stays
• The difference between being mentored and being sponsored, and why sponsorship is what actually moves your career forward
• How to make your work visible without feeling like you're bragging
• How to lead from your strengths, including the ones you've been told are weaknesses
• What the research says about the leadership style that actually works best
• How to move from fear and shrinking into action, even in an uncertain job market
• Why real change requires men to be part of the conversation

Whether you are still inside the system, thinking about leaving it, or building something of your own, this one will leave you with real tools and a new way of seeing your own leadership.

___

ABOUT MICHELLE

Michelle McDaid is the founder of The Leading Place, a purpose-driven startup helping organisations reimagine leadership and build cultures where both people and performance thrive.

Michelle is a qualified and accredited coach and mentor (Advanced Diploma in Executive Coaching, Kingstown College; EMCC EIA Practitioner accreditation) and is a Chartered Member of CIPD. Through The Leading Place, Michelle supports organisations with leadership development, communication, strategy, and culture change.

Michelle has been recognised as a finalist in the 2026 Newstalk Changemaker Awards (Inclusive Workplace and Workplace Wellbeing categories), Everywoman in Tech Awards (Leaders category, 2022) and Women in Tech Awards (Trailblazer category, 2019); listed in Diversein's 133 Women Who Change the World (2023); included in CTO Craft 100; and featured in Focus on Diversity's Irish female-founded companies who empower females in Ireland and abroad (IWD 2025 and 2026). Her thought leadership has been featured by CTO Craft, Electronic Specifier, Irish Examiner, Business Post, and Silicon Republic. She is a frequent speaker at conferences, podcasts, and panels.

Connect with Michelle:

LinkedIn (personal): https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleamcdaid
The Leading Place on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-leading-place/
Website: https://theleadingplace.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theleadingplace
Book a meeting: https://calendly.com/michelle-theleadingplace/30min
The Illuminated Path newsletter: https://www.theleadingplace.com/#newsletter

___________

Want more of these types of convos?
Sign up for Jessica's Weekly Newsletter: Join my Weekly Newsletter
Follow along: LinkedIn | Instagram

You keep saying you need more space. More time to breathe. More room to think. More moments where no one needs anything from you.

The real reason space feels so hard to create usually isn't about time at all.

In this solo episode, Jess breaks down the two types of space we need to truly live lighter: the external space around us and the internal space within us. She gets into why so many high-achieving women instinctively fill every open pocket in their day, why slowing down can actually feel uncomfortable, and how our nervous systems can learn to experience space as safety instead of a threat.

You'll walk away with a simple way to start creating more space right now, not once everything finally slows down.

Space isn't the reward you get once everything is done. It's what makes everything else possible.

------------

Work with Jessica:

→ Golden Era Mentorship: My signature 1:1 mentorship for the woman ready to do the deep work.

→ Join my Weekly Newsletter

Follow along:
→ LinkedIn | Instagram

Content note: this episode includes discussion of birth trauma and a life-threatening medical experience. Come to it when you have the space to.

This episode is unlike any I have recorded. Because the bravest thing my guest does is not in the story she tells. It is the fact that she is telling it at all.

Ashley Graham spent years in PR helping other people share their stories. This is the first time she is telling her own. And she is not speaking from the tidy other side of her healing. She is speaking from the middle of it, still finding the words, still learning to trust the very voice she is using to speak.

After two miscarriages and a hard-won pregnancy, Ashley's birth became an emergency that put both her life and her baby's on the line. And in the days that followed, a quiet voice inside her kept saying something was still wrong, while a louder, more familiar voice told her she was overreacting. That it was just postpartum anxiety. That she did not want to be too much.

She silenced it. And what followed changed the course of her life.

This conversation is about what happens in the space between those two voices. It is about the birth of her daughter, and the birth of Ashley coming home to her own knowing. And it is a living example of the exact work I do with women every day: learning to trust the quiet voice inside, the one so many of us were taught to silence.

In this episode we get into:

• The birth experience that changed her relationship with her own mortality
• The inner voice that knew something was wrong, and the conditioning that told her to ignore it
• Why choosing to be seen and share your story can feel as vulnerable as the experience itself
• What it looks like to use your voice before you feel ready
• The courage it takes to tell your story from the middle, not the tidy end

Ashley is not speaking from the finish line. She is speaking from inside it. And that is exactly what makes this so powerful.

If you have ever felt a quiet knowing you talked yourself out of, or a story you have been too afraid to tell, this one is for you. Your voice matters. You are not too much.

Links:

Ashley's Website: https://simplyashleygraham.com/

Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simplyashleygraham/

Follow Ashley on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SimplyAshleyGraham/

Listen to Ashley's Podcast: https://pod.link/1667617698

_________________________________________________

Work with Jessica: Golden Era Mentorship - 1:1 mentorship

Sign up for Jessica's Weekly Newsletter: Join my Weekly Newsletter

Follow along: LinkedIn | Instagram

You are not the problem. The system is.

For decades, women have been handed the same advice: lean in, speak up, be more confident, adapt. As if the discomfort we feel at work is a personal shortcoming to fix rather than a structural problem we were dropped into.

My guest this week spent thirty years inside male-dominated industries, from research science in remote Alaska all the way up to CEO of an international nonprofit, believing for years that the friction she kept running into was her fault. Until she realized it was never her. It was a system that was never built for women in the first place.

Dr. Tina Yerkes is an executive coach and the author of the new book Change the Systems, Not the Women. In this conversation we get into what actually keeps women constrained at work, why the conditioning starts far earlier than you would ever guess, and what real change looks like, both from the top down and from within.

Here's what we get into:

• Why the conditioning between boys and girls begins at age four, and how it follows us all the way into the boardroom
• How workplaces built around men quietly constrain women from the very start, from the schedule to the dress code
• The difference between hiring women and actually letting them lead, and the "I didn't hire you to run a program, I hired you as a mouthpiece" story you won't forget
• Why so many men never even see the conditioning they're part of, and what it takes to bring them into the conversation
• How women can lead as themselves, not as a watered-down imitation of the men around them
• What it really takes to change a system, and how to support the women choosing to stay and fight for it

This one is fired up, honest, and deeply validating for any woman who has ever wondered if it was just her. It was never just you.
________________________________________

How to get more of Dr. Tina Yerkes, her wisdom & energy:

• Learn more about her book, Change the Systems, Not the Women here
• Hire Dr. Tina Yerkes for a speaking event
• See all the ways to work with her here (executive mentorship, strategic planning, org redesign, team dynamics, board advisory)

With a PhD in Zoology, executive training from Harvard and Kellogg, and 25+ years leading mission-driven organizations, Tina sits at a rare intersection: rigorous scientist, seasoned CEO, and trusted strategic advisor. She has scaled nonprofits from the ground up, secured seven-figure funding, built equity-centered programs, and guided leaders through their most complex moments, from boardrooms to frontline communities.

Her work spans environmental conservation, public health, international sustainability, and social impact — always grounded in one belief: that the right strategy, the right structure, and the right leadership can change everything.

At the heart of Tina's work is a deep commitment to equity and the advancement of women.

Motherhood isn't about getting it right all the time.

In this conversation with perinatal and infant mental health therapist Jen Burke, we unpack why so many moms live under the weight of guilt and why that guilt is often keeping us from being present.

We talk about:

•  The difference between guilt that helps us grow and guilt that turns into shame 
•  Why repair matters more than perfection 
•  How social media fuels unrealistic expectations of motherhood 
•  The identity shifts that happen after becoming a mom 
•  Why learning to care for yourself is one of the greatest gifts you can give your children 

If you've ever wondered whether you're doing enough, this episode is your reminder that you were never meant to be perfect, you were meant to be human

—

ABOUT JEN

Jen Burke, JD, LMSW, IMH-E® (she/her) is a therapist, educator, entrepreneur, and advocate for maternal mental health. She is the co-founder and co-director of Rise Wellness Collaborative, a Michigan-based therapy practice specializing in perinatal mental health, infant and early childhood mental health, and the parent-child relationship. She is also the co-founder of Bloom & Rise, a therapist-created company designing meaningful products that support mothers' mental health and early parent-child connection.

Jen holds a law degree from Columbia Law School and a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan, where she earned a Child Welfare Certificate. She is endorsed as an Infant Mental Health Specialist through the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health and teaches in the University of Michigan School of Social Work as a lecturer.

Drawing from both her professional expertise and her own experience of infertility, pregnancy loss, and motherhood, Jen is passionate about making evidence-based mental health information practical, accessible, and compassionate. Whether she's working with families in the therapy room, teaching future clinicians, or creating resources for parents, her work centers on strengthening relationships and helping caregivers feel supported, understood, and empowered.

risewellnesscollaborative.com (@risewellnesscollaborative on instagram)

bloom-and-rise.com (@bloom.and.rise on instagram)

You work hard. You show up for everyone around you. You give your time, your energy, your care, and your expertise without hesitation.

But when someone offers you help...

When you receive a compliment...

When success finally arrives...

Why does it feel so uncomfortable?

In this episode of Live Lighter, Jessica explores one of the most overlooked patterns among high-achieving women: our difficulty receiving. From childhood conditioning to nervous system responses, she unpacks why receiving often feels vulnerable, even when it's exactly what we need.

You'll learn:

• Why so many women are exceptional at giving but struggle to receive
• How childhood conditioning shapes our relationship with worthiness
• Where this pattern quietly shows up in work, money, relationships, and rest
• Why receiving isn't selfish, it's a skill
• Five simple practices to begin expanding your capacity to receive

Because living lighter isn't about doing more.

Sometimes it's about allowing yourself to receive what's already trying to find you.

------------

Work with Jessica:

→ Golden Era Mentorship: My signature 1:1 mentorship for the woman ready to do the deep work.

→ Join my Weekly Newsletter

Follow along:
→ LinkedIn | Instagram

Women are leaving corporate in record numbers.

And they're not leaving to slow down. They're leaving to build something on their own terms.

I spent 18 years in corporate, the last 8 at Adobe, before I walked away from a tech salary to build something of my own. And I see this same story play out with the women I work with every single week.

Women are starting businesses at unprecedented rates, burnout among women leaders continues to rise, and more women than ever are questioning whether the traditional corporate path is still worth the cost.

In this episode I go past the surface-level conversation about burnout and flexibility and into the real root: the system itself. What it was built on. What it's become. And what it's quietly costing everyone, including the companies losing these women every single day.

Here's what we get into:

• The numbers behind the mass exodus of women from corporate
• Why this isn't a women's problem, it's a systems problem
• How the corporate structure was built by men, for men, and what that still costs us
• The way technology and modern pace have amplified all of it to unsustainable levels, for men too
• What it's costing corporate America in real dollars
• The honest tension I hold: wanting more women in leadership and refusing to tell women to stay in a system that's breaking them

This isn't about choosing a side. It's about knowing your worth and refusing to spend it somewhere that doesn't honor it.

------------

Work with Jessica:

→ Take the Survival Pattern Quiz to find out which pattern is yours.

→ Golden Era Mentorship: My signature 1:1 mentorship for the woman ready to do the deep work.

→ Join my Weekly Newsletter

Follow along:
→ LinkedIn | Instagram

For most of my life, I was terrified of death.

As a child, I can remember lying on the floor of my bedroom, overwhelmed by the realization that one day my mom would die. The fear was so intense it felt debilitating.

Then, 30 years later, my greatest fear became reality.

When my mom passed away in 2022, I expected my fear of death to grow stronger.

Instead, something unexpected happened.

In this episode, I share the story of losing my mom, the surprising relationship I've developed with death since her passing, and how what once felt terrifying has become one of the greatest sources of perspective, presence, and gratitude in my life.

This episode isn't really about death.

It's about life.
------------

Work with Jessica:

→ Take the Survival Pattern Quiz to find out which pattern is yours.

→ Golden Era Mentorship: My signature 1:1 mentorship for the woman ready to do the deep work.

→ Join my Weekly Newsletter

Follow along:
→ LinkedIn | Instagram

Every expert was once a beginner.

But most of us forget that the moment we step into something new.

We live in a world that rewards expertise, achievement, and getting it right. So when we're no longer the expert, when we're learning, fumbling, and figuring things out as we go, it can feel deeply uncomfortable.

The self-doubt gets louder. The inner critic gets stronger. And suddenly the urge to quit starts to feel very convincing.

In this episode I unpack: 

• Why being a beginner feels so uncomfortable and what's actually happening in your brain and nervous system
• Why the discomfort you're experiencing isn't proof you're not cut out for this
• The difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset and why mindset alone isn't always enough
• How nervous system regulation helps you stay in the room when things get hard
• Practical ways to quiet self-doubt and navigate the learning phase with more confidence
• How to tell the difference between something that's difficult and something that's truly not aligned

Growth isn't comfortable.

Neither is becoming someone you've never been before.

But every skill you've mastered, every life you've built, and every version of yourself you've become started with being willing to be bad at something first.

And that's where greatness begins.
______________________

Work with Jessica:

→ Take the Survival Pattern Quiz to find out which pattern is yours.

→ Golden Era Mentorship: My signature 1:1 mentorship for the woman ready to do the deep work.

→ Join my Weekly Newsletter

Follow along:
→ LinkedIn | Instagram