Shedding the Corporate Bitch

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Your success as a leader isn’t determined by how well you talk—it’s determined by how well you connect. And nowhere is that more critical than when the stakes are high and emotions are running hot.

Episode Overview:
In this episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch, I sit down with Dr. Amber Johnson—leadership consultant, high-stakes communication expert, and truth-teller on why most leaders fail in conflict.

We dig into the hidden reasons leaders struggle to get communication right—especially under pressure—and why avoiding tough conversations is costing you trust, performance, and top talent.

Challenges We Tackle:

• Why “being nice” is sabotaging your leadership effectiveness
• How busyness kills connection and erodes team trust
• The gap between leaders’ “open door” intentions and employees’ real experiences
• Why avoidance turns small problems into reputation-damaging crises

What You’ll Learn:

• The difference between kindness and niceness—and why it matters for results
• How to lead without having all the answers by mastering the art of powerful questions
• Simple techniques to keep conversations future-focused and defuse defensiveness
• How to recognize when your “open door” is actually closed
• Strategies to address issues early—before they turn into patterns or cultural problems

Key Takeaways:

• Kindness is truth delivered with care; niceness is a performance that avoids discomfort.
• The conversation IS the relationship—avoid it and the relationship weakens.
• If no one has given you hard feedback lately, your team doesn’t feel safe enough to tell you the truth.

Your Next Step:
Don’t let communication blind spots limit your leadership impact.
🎧 Listen now and discover the tools to lead with clarity, connection, and confidence—even when conflict knocks at your door.

👉 Download the episode here: balloffirecoaching.com/podcast
📌 Follow me on LinkedIn: Bernadette Boas
📌 Take the Powerhouse Communication Assessment: balloffirecoaching.com/opt-in

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction: The Importance of Tough Conversations
00:21 Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch
00:56 Meet Dr. Amber Johnson
01:16 Challenges in Leadership Communication
02:57 Amber's Background and Personal Insights
04:22 Strategies for Effective Communication
10:42 The Power of Asking Questions
15:56 Creating a Safe and Open Environment
20:11 Handling Difficult Bosses
29:39 Avoidance in Leadership
31:39 Final Thoughts and Takeaways
33:57 Closing Remarks and Resources

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What if the biggest threat to your workplace isn’t external—but staring back at you in the mirror?

In this powerful episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch, Bernadette Boas dives deep into the hidden signs of toxic leadership, team behavior, and culture. You’ll learn how to identify red flags before they cost you your best people, and discover proven strategies to transform a dysfunctional team into a powerhouse culture that thrives.

Whether you’re a corporate leader, HR professional, or aspiring change agent, this episode will challenge your thinking, sharpen your awareness, and equip you with actionable steps to create a high-performing, healthy team environment.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• The silent killers of team trust and performance
• How leaders unintentionally feed toxic cultures
• Strategies for confronting and eradicating toxic behaviors
• Why culture change starts with inner work, not policy
• The essential steps to build a team that’s engaged, empowered, and loyal

Timestamps / Chapters:

0:00 – Introduction: The hidden threat of toxic leadership
 1:15 – My own wake-up call: Realizing I was the problem
 2:30 – What “toxic behavior” really means in the workplace
 5:00 – Key questions every leader must ask themselves
 6:20 – Hidden signs of a toxic individual or team
 21:00 – Identifying and addressing one key toxic behavior
 33:00 – The hallmarks of a high-functioning culture
 36:10 – Why real change takes time and persistence
 37:00 – Call to action: Start the conversation and lead boldly

Call to Action:

If you’re ready to become a powerhouse change agent, share this episode with your team, colleagues, and HR partners. Start the brave conversations that will transform your workplace into one where people love to contribute, grow, and thrive.

📌 Free Discovery Call: https://coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall
📌 Past Episodes including HR: The Superpower You're Ignoring - https://balloffirecoaching.com/podcast

SUBSCRIBE, FOLLOW, and RATE the show on Apple Podcast, Spotify and YouTube 

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What if the most underused resource in your company isn’t money or talent — but your HR team?

In this powerhouse episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch, Bernadette Boas pulls back the curtain on a dangerous blind spot in leadership: the failure to partner with HR proactively and strategically.

🚫 HR isn’t a compliance cop.
 ⚡ HR is your culture driver, succession strategist, performance coach, and leadership ally — if you let them be.

Whether you're a corporate executive trying to build high-performing teams or an HR leader tired of being left out of the room, this episode is your wake-up call (and your blueprint).

🔥 In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why most managers only engage HR when it's too late — and the cost of that delay
• How treating HR as an “afterthought” kills performance, morale, and retention
• The four mindset shifts corporate leaders must make to unlock HR’s full value
• Tangible steps HR professionals can take to claim their strategic seat at the table
• How to build real alignment between business goals and people strategies

💡 If you want to lead boldly, retain talent, and build a people-first culture that actually performs, this episode is for you.

👂 Listen Now On:

🔹 Apple Podcasts
🔹 Spotify
🔹 YouTube (@ShedTheCorpBitchTV)
🔹 balloffirecoaching.com/podcast

📩 Ready to unleash the powerhouse leader in you or your team? Book a discovery call with Bernadette at coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall

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Are you underpaid — or undervaluing yourself?
In this power-packed episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch, I sit down with John Gates, former Fortune 500 head of recruiting and founder of Salary Coach, to dismantle the myths, fears, and bad advice surrounding salary negotiation.

💥 Spoiler alert: If you’re not negotiating, you're not just leaving money on the table — you're leaving opportunity, freedom, and leadership credibility behind.

👊 In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why 80% of professionals never negotiate — and how that’s costing you 5–6 figures
• The #1 fear that keeps women silent in comp conversations (and how to conquer it)
• How to shift negotiation from confrontation to collaboration
• Why lowballing yourself screams desperation — and kills your perceived value
• What to say instead of making demands
• How to uncover “hidden money” and benefits most people miss
• Why silence during an offer is NOT power — and what to say instead
• How to build confidence and control in high-stakes pay discussions

🎯 Whether you’re aiming for a promotion, a new role, or just more money for what you already do — this episode will change how you see your value and your voice.

💼 ABOUT JOHN GATES

John Gates is the founder of Salary Coach and the author of Act Your Wage. With decades of experience as a recruiter for top global corporations, John now helps professionals and executives master the art and strategy of compensation negotiation — without fear, conflict, or guesswork.
👉 Learn more at https://salary.coach

📣 CONNECT WITH BERNADETTE

💻 Website: https://balloffirecoaching.com
📲 Instagram: @shedthecorpbitch
🎥 YouTube: Shedding the Corporate Bitch TV
🔗 LinkedIn: Bernadette Boas

🔔 LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE

If you're ready to shed the self-doubt, stop settling, and start asking for exactly what you're worth — subscribe now and never miss an episode that fuels your rise as a powerhouse leader.

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In this episode, host Bernadette Boas sits down with world-class leadership communications coach and auctioneer Dia Bondi to explore the bold truth behind powerful leadership: your voice isn't just a tool—it's your greatest asset.

Whether you’re an executive, founder, HR leader, or people manager, this conversation will challenge you to rethink how you communicate, what you ask for, and why you're not being heard the way you should be.

Dia shares powerful insights from two decades of coaching C-suite leaders and venture-backed founders, revealing how to:

• Use your origin story to build executive presence
• Make bold asks that test your limits—and open new doors
• Develop a leadership voice that commands attention and drives results
• Avoid becoming “technically perfect but strategically invisible”
• Align purpose with presence to inspire and influence at every level

If your leaders are playing small or your teams are struggling to articulate their vision, this episode is a must-listen for building high-impact communicators across your organization.

Dia Bondi is a Communications Catalyst helping high-impact leaders and founders speak powerfully to win decisions and resources and carve a path for their future. She’s the author of Ask Like an Auctioneer and has worked with brands like Google X, Dropbox, and Salesforce—and even helped Rio land the 2016 Olympics.

🎯 Perfect for: Corporate professionals, HR executives, leadership development pros, and high-potential leaders ready to use their voice to lead with confidence and conviction.

🔹 Learn more about Dia Bondi: https://www.diabondi.com

FOLLOW, SUBSCRIBE, and LIKE the show at www.balloffirecoaching.com/podcast

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What if the key to becoming a bold, breakthrough leader isn’t solving problems—but creating them?

In this powerhouse episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch, host Bernadette Boas sits down with Ted Santos, CEO of Turnaround Investment Partners, to deliver a radical shift in how corporate professionals approach leadership.

Ted shares his personal transformation—from witnessing his mother run on two broken legs to leading organizations through chaos—and reveals the Leadership Disruptor’s Playbook that challenges conventional management at every level.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• Why the best leaders create problems to fuel innovation
• How to “coach up” your team—even when they’re not ready
• The importance of delegating strategically to free your calendar
• How to lead through chaos using a breakthrough mindset
• Why most leaders operate from blind spots—and how to eliminate them
• How personal disruption can unlock your professional superpower

If you’re an executive, team leader, HR partner, or high-performing professional ready to ignite real change and stop managing from the middle, this episode will give you the mindset, tools, and courage to lead differently.

Don’t just solve problems. Be the problem creator your company needs.

Website: www.turnaroundip.com
LinkedIn: Ted Santos
Book: Here’s Why You Can’t Find Love

✅ Subscribe, rate, and review the show to keep climbing with us.
📌 Visit www.balloffirecoaching.com/podcast
📲 Book your free discovery session at www.coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall

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Is your team checked out, avoiding accountability, or silently resisting your leadership?

You're not alone—and you're not powerless.

In this episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch, Bernadette Boas reveals the 5 critical functions of a high-performing team, and why trust is the foundation that everything else depends on. Whether you're a senior leader, HR executive, or rising manager, this conversation will challenge you to take an honest look at your team dynamics—and your own leadership behaviors.

You'll learn:

✅ Why dysfunction stems from more than just “difficult people”
 ✅ What healthy conflict really looks like—and why it leads to results
 ✅ How to create a culture where accountability isn’t feared
 ✅ A step-by-step strategy to start transforming your team (and yourself)
 ✅ The real reason your employees aren't listening—and how to shift that immediately

This is your wake-up call: If your team isn’t functioning, your results will never be sustainable. But with clarity, courage, and the right leadership habits, you can create a team that is loyal, aligned, and driven to win.

🛠️ Mentioned In This Episode:

• The Five Behaviors by Wiley & Sons – Research cited on trust and team dysfunction
• CoachMeBernadette.com/DiscoveryCall – Book a free strategy session with Bernadette

💬 Connect With Bernadette Boas:

• Website: https://balloffirecoaching.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bernadetteboas
• Instagram: @balloffirebernadette
• YouTube: Shedding the Corporate Bitch® Channel
• Discovery Call: https://coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall

📌 Timestamps (Optional for YouTube or podcast blog post):

00:00 – Why trust is the starting point for any high-functioning team
 03:00 – The stats that reveal just how broken most teams are
 06:30 – Commitment vs. consensus: What your team actually needs
 10:00 – Accountability without conflict
 14:00 – Defining the team culture you want as a leader
22:00 – Step-by-step: How to rebuild trust and performance
28:00 – The personal transformation every leader must go through
35:00 – Final call to action and next steps

🎧 Subscribe & Listen:

Never miss an episode of bold leadership advice.
 🎙️ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

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Over the last several episodes, we have outlined 1) how best to write powerful reviews and 2) how to define results oriented action plans. Now, we'll revisit how best to give and receive feedback that will align you and your team member(s) to elevate ones success. 

In this high-impact encore episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch, executive coach  powerhouse trainer, Bernadette Boas, pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to give and receive performance feedback that drives results—not resentment.

Whether you’re a seasoned executive, HR professional, or a corporate manager navigating your first review cycle, this episode offers a bold new approach to turning feedback into a year-round leadership advantage.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How to reframe feedback as a gift, not a threat
• Why most performance reviews fail—and how to make yours matter
• A simple framework (SBI: Situation, Behavior, Impact) to deliver impactful feedback
• How to prepare for reviews with clarity, confidence, and collaboration
• Powerful tips to eliminate vagueness, bias, and blind spots in your evaluations
• The #1 mindset shift you need before entering any feedback conversation
• How to transform reviews into continuous career development conversations

💡 Bonus: Bernadette also shares her top coaching tips on how to ask more questions than you make statements, build trust through transparency, and create a feedback culture that fuels team performance—not fear.

If you’re ready to ditch the anxiety and master performance reviews that actually matter—this encore episode is your playbook.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you stream.

Check out episodes: From Performance Reviews to Action Plans to Results, and Power Plays for Writing Powerful Performance Reviews.

 ➡️ Subscribe and share it with fellow leaders who are ready to lead with intention.

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Are you doing the work… but still not getting noticed?
 Do promotion decisions happen without your name in the room?

In this powerful episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch, host Bernadette Boas sits down with executive coach and author Monique Daigneault to unlock one of the most underutilized leadership tools in corporate life: the informational interview.

Whether you're navigating layoffs, aiming for a promotion, or just tired of being the best-kept secret in your organization—this episode is your wake-up call. 🔥

Monique reveals how strategic internal networking can help you:

• Expand your visibility across departments and leadership levels
• Clarify and communicate your personal brand
• Cultivate powerful relationships before you need them
• Mentor your team to think and network like leaders
• Take control of your career trajectory—starting now

Key Takeaways:

• Why visibility is often the missing link to getting promoted
• How to structure impactful informational interviews with intention
• Common fears professionals have—and how to overcome them
• The #1 action you should take today to build your influence
• How to subtly weave your brand and accomplishments into every conversation

📘 Special Bonus:

Monique shares insights from her new book:
 "Survive and Thrive Toolkit for Leaders" – loaded with leadership strategies, personal branding tips, and a deep dive on informational interviews.

Learn more at mdconsultingglobal.com

🔗 Resources:

• Visit Monique: mdconsultingglobal.com
• Connect on LinkedIn: Monique Daigneault
• Pick up the book: Survive and Thrive Toolkit for Leaders
• Watch more powerhouse episodes: Ball of Fire Coaching Podcast

📲 Follow the Show:

Never miss an episode! Subscribe, rate, and review Shedding the Corporate Bitch on your favorite podcast platform.

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What’s the point of a performance review if nothing changes afterward?
In this power-packed episode of Shedding the Corporate Bitch, Bernadette Boas calls out the outdated review process and empowers both employees and managers to rethink how feedback is delivered, received, and transformed into measurable results.

Whether you’re a mid-level professional looking to grow or a manager committed to developing high-performing teams, this episode gives you a proven, 4-part framework for turning static performance reviews into dynamic action plans that drive clarity, confidence, and career momentum.

This episode is your wake-up call to stop checking boxes—and start building people.

What You’ll Learn:

• The 3 biggest pitfalls of performance reviews (and how to avoid them)
• How disengaged employees impact retention, morale, and ROI
• A 4-step framework for professionals to take control of their development
• A manager’s blueprint for coaching, accountability, and follow-through
• The powerful shift from managing tasks to leading people

Key Takeaways:

• Don’t wait for a roadmap—create your own and advocate for it
• Feedback isn’t the finish line—it’s the launchpad for growth
• Specificity in feedback is key to clarity and motivation
• Development is leadership’s #1 job—otherwise, you’re just managing
• Retention begins with relevance: make people feel seen, valued, and future-focused

Perfect For:

• Corporate professionals seeking growth and direction
• Managers struggling to engage and retain talent
• HR leaders rethinking their performance review strategy
• Executive coaches and leadership development professionals

Need guidance on developing, communicating, or coaching actions plans toward growth, schedule a call and let's talk - www.coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall

Visit https://balloffirecoaching.com/podcast for this and other high-impact episodes.
Don’t miss the companion episode: Power Plays for Writing Powerful Performance Reviews.

Call to Action:

➡️ Employees: Stop waiting for someone to hand you your career plan. Own it.
➡️ Managers: Shift from feedback to action. That’s real leadership.

Subscribe, rate, and review Shedding the Corporate Bitch wherever you listen!

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