In this episode, Cindy Esliger explores the difference between acceptance and resignation. When career roadblocks present themselves, there’s a temptation to throw up our hands in despair and resign ourselves to defeat. But a better option is acceptance. Cindy explains how acceptance means seeing the situation for what it is and guides us on how to make the most of it.   

The differences between resignation and acceptance are the differences between giving up and channeling our frustration into something productive. When we’re passed over for a promotion or someone else takes credit for our idea, it’s unfair and annoying but resignation is about giving up in despair. It gets us nowhere. Instead, acceptance allows us to say that life isn’t fair but allows us to brainstorm our next move forward. It keeps us productive. 

Cindy shares three tips for maintaining career goals and ambitions while still calling out bad behavior when warranted: 1) Pick our battles, 2) Build a support system, and 3) Protect our energy. Cindy delves into how each step can assist with processing our feelings of frustration and anger without giving in to them. She instructs us on how to turn that disappointment into action with a properly measured response. Acceptance is not giving up. It’s what keeps us moving despite roadblocks.   

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Turning Roadblocks into Resilience
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email

In this episode, Cindy Esliger talks about how the lone wolf mentality of handling everything ourselves can backfire and hold us back. In toxic situations, it can even be used against us. Refusing to collaborate and work with others is self-imposed isolation that keeps us from valuable insights and promotes burnout. Cindy explains how we can learn to open ourselves up and work with others.    

While Cindy isn’t suggesting opening the floodgates to allow everyone to weigh on every decision, she is advocating for understanding the value others bring to our work at key moments. She provides four reasons why it’s valuable: 1) Fresh perspectives mean better solutions, 2) Collaboration sparks creativity, 3) Shared workload means less burnout, and 4) Stronger relationships and better influence. 

Inviting others into our work isn’t just helpful but strategic. It’s not admitting weakness. Cindy explains how insights from others are like an expansion of our knowledge. It also increases our visibility within the organization and can be an advantage. How we approach obtaining collaboration and responses is key to how effective that input will be. Cindy has very specific advice for ensuring the collaboration benefits all parties and keeps us thriving and not retreating back into a lone wolf mindset.   

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Inviting Collaboration
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email

In this episode, Cindy Esliger addresses one of the frustrating aspects of collaborative work: when not every person involved is as invested in pulling their weight and getting the job done as you are. While it might be tempting to go it alone, that isn’t the solution. The reality of collaborative work can feel like herding cats. Cindy dives into how to navigate the minefield of disengagement, obstruction, and conflicting ideas with teamwork intact and without losing sanity.   

Why is every person involved in a project not equally invested or competent? That’s simply the reality of workplaces and collaborative interaction. Cindy identifies the four main types of people we’re likely to encounter and how they operate. 1) the Doers, 2) the Observers, 3) the Drainers, and 4) the Saboteurs. She then offers three tips for handling everyone on a team, regardless of which type they are. 1) Set clear expectations from the start, 2) Encourage accountability, and 3) Use influence.

Cindy explores how to identify our own tendencies in a group project. It’s possible that we are actually disengaged or indifferent. If so, we need to find a way to contribute meaningfully. She lays out how effective communication works and points out how to avoid simply identifying problems without working toward solutions. Observers can be turned into active contributors using careful strategies, and saboteurs can be redirected without a showdown. This episode is key to learning exactly how to navigate group projects effectively when each team member operates differently. 

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Navigating Team Dynamics
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email

In this episode, Cindy Esliger talks about how the flurry of our everyday workplace conversations can lead to misunderstandings and confusion. When we are part of work conversations at the coffee machine or in email threads that overlap other conversations, how do we know what to follow up on? We miss out on clarifying the next steps, deadlines, and each person’s responsibilities. So how do we mitigate this problem? How do we make sure we complete our conversations? 

Simply having the initial conversation is often not enough to ensure success. We can walk away assuming the other party is responsible for a task or not understanding a deadline. And this lack of clarity can lead to failed projects and finger-pointing. Cindy states that it’s not about holding everyone hostage to an endless meeting assigning duties, but simply ensuring that the end of every conversation includes summarizing what the next steps are, who’s doing what, and when it’s due.  

Cindy advocates for avoiding the psychological toll of incomplete conversations by employing practical strategies that tidy up lingering questions. She offers three tips for implementing this into our daily work lives. 1) Summarize before we wrap, 2) Be explicit about ownership, and 3) Set deadlines and enforce them. The goal is mutual understanding. Cindy explains how to slow down and close the conversational loop for increased workplace success. 

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Completing the Conversation
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email

In this episode, Cindy Esliger explores the shift from doing everything early in our careers to leading instead as we progress up the corporate ladder. While we start out efficiently executing tasks and cranking through work, the rules change as we achieve greater career success. The challenge of letting go of the reins to step into a leadership role becomes more important. But why? And how do we make that shift?

Clearly, there’s nothing wrong with our early ability to do tasks and be productive. But the higher we climb, the more we need to realize that doing everything ourselves must necessarily give way to leading others through the work and guiding from behind the scenes instead of acting on the front lines. This shift can be difficult and even terrifying. Cindy understands the inherent challenges we face and delves into why moving into leadership is a key shift and how to approach that shift with the right mindset. 

Cindy discusses the key components of leadership to help us clearly see what role we’re moving into. She offers four key strategies to help us build the necessary skills for the transition: 1) Improve communication skills, 2) Learn to delegate effectively, 3) Cultivate emotional intelligence, and 4) Develop coaching and mentorship skills. She also offers tips on how to make the leadership shift easier on ourselves. This episode is Cindy’s rallying call to move away from our “do everything ourselves” early career mindset so we can step into the leadership role necessary for advancement.  

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Amplifying Your Impact
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email

Cindy Esliger talks about the trap of the comfort zone and why staying challenged at work is better for long-term success in this episode. While the comfort zone and being at the top of your game feels good, staying there too long can lead to stagnation. Cindy discusses why setting goals and learning new skills is key to our career progression.  

While there’s nothing wrong with doing what we do best, just staying at that level and excelling eventually leads to some things we might not want. We shift from thriving to just maintaining the status quo. When we have too much stability, we aren’t pushed to try new things and we get complacent, even start doubting our ability to advance. Cindy points out why it’s better to be challenged and learn, especially once we reach the top of our game.

Cindy delves into the benefits of challenges, not just professionally but personally. Continuously pushing forward is what keeps us sharp. She details five ways we can mitigate career stagnation and keep pushing: 1) Focus on why, 2) Find a new challenge outside of work, 3) Stop waiting for permission, 4) Address internal barriers, and 5) Create a personal development plan. Join Cindy as she guides us through career advancement by way of constant challenge. 

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Staying Challenged and Engaged
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email

Cindy Esliger addresses what to do when incentives for recognition or advancement in our workplaces are not in alignment with how we work. Sometimes doing everything we think is right isn’t enough and we seem to be missing out on promotions or rewards. In those workplaces, the incentive structure is broken and we need to understand how to recognize the pitfalls and find alignment. This episode is a guide to how to manage this misalignment to advance to the careers we truly want. 

Cindy identifies three examples of what can go wrong if we don’t recognize and adjust to the incentive misalignment in our workplace: 1) Work ethic erodes, 2) Pressure builds, and 3) We doubt ourselves. She explores what can be done if we’re stuck in a system that doesn’t value the right things and lays out five guidelines to focus on. 1) Set personal goals, 2) Document achievements, 3) Network internally and externally, 4) Manage energy, not just time, and 5) Learn the unwritten rules.

Why do misaligned systems still exist? There are many reasons that Cindy explores but the fact remains that if we’re stuck in one of those systems, we need to ensure that the broken system doesn’t break us. Focus on what is in our control and take care of personal achievement and performance goals. Cindy’s advice lets us know how to be good at our jobs and also recognize what is rewarded in our specific workplace systems so we can tackle both. The better we learn strategy, the more we’re set up for future success. 

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Rethinking Workplace Success
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email

Cindy Esliger talks about the double-edged sword that niceness can be in this episode. The pressure to be nice in the corporate world can feel overwhelming but forced niceness can lead to self-sacrifice and the impression of being easily manipulated. Being kind is a far better goal than being nice and Cindy explains why that is and how to pursue kindness over being nice. 

Cindy outright states that “niceness is overrated” and then delves into why that is. Niceness often comes at the expense of being real, honest, and kind. Niceness is about appearances and is surface level. It means keeping things pleasant even when it betrays our own feelings or needs. Kindness, however, digs deeper. Kindness is showing up for people, and not just in easy moments. It’s caring enough to tell someone an uncomfortable truth. And kindness is compassionate without being a doormat. 

The vast differences between working in a culture of nice and working in a culture of kindness are explored by Cindy. Kindness is generous, fair, honest, and vulnerable. Niceness might say positive things but kindness does positive things. The difference between simply keeping things cordial at the expense of ourselves and our goals and finding kind ways to tell truths and remain true to ourselves is the point of this episode. Cindy highlights the benefits of kindness in the workplace and shares advice on how to let go of being nice and pursue kindness instead. 

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Being Kind in the Corporate World
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email

Cindy Esliger discusses the idea that following organizational norms and the well-worn path may not get us to where we want to be. Instead, we may need to carve out our own unique path that breaks from conformity and embraces action. How do we identify what to follow and when to break free? And how do we cultivate the strengths we need to trust ourselves to do it our way? In this episode, Cindy offers insight into those questions. 

In learning which of our rough edges should not be rounded off to suit the company, Cindy advises us to differentiate between being a maverick and being reckless. It’s not about going rogue, it’s about trusting our instincts and leaning into unique perspectives. She examines why failure is such an important teacher on this path and how to look for internal approval instead of external validation. 

Cindy specifically speaks to women when she debunks the myth that in order to be successful, women need to mimic male traits while minimizing their own. But playing a game designed by and for men is a losing battle. Employing confidence is the key to doing it our own way. Cindy breaks down the importance of communication, not taking things personally, and embracing our own strengths with confidence. 

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Doing It Your Way
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email

Cindy Esliger addresses those people who can’t help but thrive on chaos in today’s episode. The people who seem to always be in a state of emergency and who are addicted to drama. Perhaps it’s even us who are the drama dabblers. Why is this mindset harmful to progress and success? How do we break free from someone who is intent on staying in chaos? And if it’s us, how do we change? Cindy has advice to answer all these questions.

Why do some people thrive on creating or being involved in dramatic situations? For some, it’s a coping mechanism. Creating chaos that they can then fix is a way of feeling in control when stress levels are high or life is tough. But when they can’t break free of the need to hop from crisis to crisis, it becomes exhausting and addictive. It pulls others into a vortex of chaos. So Cindy shares three key ways to break free from that cycle.

Cindy introduces ways to distance ourselves from the perpetual drama queens that are sucking up our time. She offers insight into not rudely cutting people off but kindly protecting our own peace of mind. But what if we are the drama dabblers? Cindy shares four key ways to kick the drama addiction to the curb: 1) Acknowledge we’re the ones fuelling the drama, 2) Stop the sensory overload of negativity, 3) Identify bodily signals that we’ve had enough, and 4) Recognize that something may be missing for us. This episode is a guide on how to identify, remove, or change cycles of drama in our lives. 

Resources discussed in this episode:

• Guide to Ending Your Addiction to Drama
• Astronomic Audio
• Confidence Collective

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Contact Cindy Esliger 

Career Confidence Coaching: website | instagram | facebook | linkedin | email