UNSHAKEABLE HER: Real-World Leadership, Influence and Promotion for Ambitious Women.

What do you do in the 60 seconds before a meeting when your confidence has dropped, and the room still needs you at your full size?

This episode is for the woman who has done the preparation, knows her material, and still feels herself shrinking right before the moment that matters. Caroline closes the week with a practical reset for those corridor, car park, and loo-cubicle moments when self-trust wobbles and you need something small, fast, and effective to bring you back to yourself.

• You’ll learn a simple 60-second sequence to interrupt the imposter spiral before a high-stakes moment
• You’ll discover how breath, evidence, and one true sentence can calm your nervous system and sharpen your self-trust
• You’ll leave with a practical confidence ritual you can use before presentations, difficult conversations, and important meetings

Play this episode before your next big meeting to reset your nervous system, reconnect to your preparation, and walk in as the version of you who’s ready.

Contact

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Or email me [email protected] with 'Rachel' in the subject line, and I'll send you the full 90-second pre-performance sequence from Friday's episode as a printable card you can keep in your bag. Small enough to fit. Powerful enough to change what happens before your next big moment.

New episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.

And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.

Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.

Have you ever received one piece of feedback before a big meeting and suddenly stopped trusting your own judgment?

This episode explains what is actually happening inside your brain when critical feedback lands at the worst possible moment. If you’re a capable woman in leadership who tends to soften, over-edit, or second-guess yourself before high-stakes moments, this conversation will help you understand why that response is not weakness, but a predictable mix of biology, conditioning, and workplace dynamics.

• You’ll understand the neuroscience behind why feedback can trigger a threat response right before an important moment
• You’ll learn why highly capable women are often more vulnerable to self-doubt, not less
• You’ll walk away with three practical moves to help you stay grounded, evaluate feedback clearly, and return to your prepared, capable self

Play this episode to understand your threat response, stop shrinking under pressure, and walk into your next big moment with your full voice intact.

References

Brene Brown, vulnerability and high achievement research.

Carol Gilligan, In A Different Voice (1982). Jean Baker Miller, Toward A New Psychology Of Women (1976). 

Victoria Brescoll, Yale (2011).

Lieberman et al. (2007) UCLA affect labelling study. 

Carol Dweck, Mindset (2006). 

Ethan Kross, Chatter (2021). Pete Walker, Complex PTSD (2013). 

Valerie Young, The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women (2011).

Contact

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Or email me [email protected] with 'Rachel' in the subject line, and I'll send you the full 90-second pre-performance sequence from Friday's episode as a printable card you can keep in your bag. Small enough to fit. Powerful enough to change what happens before your next big moment.

New episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.

And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.

Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.

Have you ever received one piece of feedback right before an important meeting and suddenly stopped trusting your own judgment?

This episode, the story of Rachel and her big presentation, will feel painfully familiar if you’re a capable woman in leadership who can prepare brilliantly, think clearly, and still unravel the moment someone questions your approach. It gets to the heart of why high-achieving women can mistake self-protection for professionalism and dilute their strongest thinking right when visibility matters most.

 You will :

• Understand why this is not simply a confidence problem
• Recognise the hidden pattern that causes you to soften, edit, and second-guess yourself under pressure
• Leave reflecting more honestly on how you respond to critical feedback before high-stakes moments

Play this episode to spot the exact moment self-trust slips and start protecting your best thinking when it matters most.

Connect

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Or email me [email protected] with 'Rachel' in the subject line, and I'll send you the full 90-second pre-performance sequence from Friday's episode as a printable card you can keep in your bag. Small enough to fit. Powerful enough to change what happens before your next big moment.

New episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.

And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.

Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.

Jocelyn told us she plays hip hop on big project launch days. Something with beats that make her feel excited. Something that pumps her up.

This week's song is for her. And for every woman who has been quietly, consistently, almost accidentally extraordinary — and hasn't yet decided to let that be seen.

This week's anchor track is Superstar by Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos. It asks one question: if you are what you say you are — have no fear, the camera is here. That is an invitation, not a demand. And the science behind why music changes your physiological state before a high-stakes moment is more compelling than you might think.

Plus, we have for you three quickfire career moves that bring together everything from this bonus trilogy — the brag folder Jocelyn swears by, the visibility move from Wednesday's science, and the capacity check that stops the little voice in its tracks.

These moves are small enough to do before Monday morning. Powerful enough to change what Monday feels like.

This is the last episode before the new season begins. Rachel is waiting. And she is going to feel very familiar.

Key Takeaways

1. This week's anchor track. 

2. The Brag Folder. 

3. One proactive share. 

4. The Capacity Check. 

5. The question. 

Music Featured

Superstar — Lupe Fiasco ft. Matthew Santos (2007, 1st and 15th / Atlantic Records). Available on all streaming platforms. Add it to your Little Moves playlist.

New Season Preview
Season One begins Monday. Three episodes a week — story, science and song. You'll meet Rachel. She's on the 8.47 to Victoria. She has an email in her inbox she doesn't want to open. And by the end of the week you're going to understand something about your own brain that you might not have had the language for before.

Subscribe now so you don't miss her.

And, if you know a woman who has been quietly brilliant and hasn't quite noticed yet — send her this episode. She doesn't have to stay in the 'wait, what' moment. And she's going to want that brag folder.

New episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.

And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.

Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.

On Monday, Jocelyn (VP of Global Brand & Comms, working mum, quietly extraordinary human), said two things that resonated powerfully.

The first: that early in her career, she believed doing brilliant work would be enough. And then she quickly realised it wasn't. The second: that returning from maternity leave felt like operating at a lower level, and that she had to remind herself, repeatedly, that she was still capable.

In this episode, I'm bringing the science to both of those moments.

First, the visibility problem. Why the most competent women are systematically underrecognised, what organisational research tells us about how careers actually advance, and the single question that changes how you think about your professional reputation forever.

Second, capability versus capacity. The four words that I believe are the most important distinction in this show. Why women consistently confuse the two, what cognitive load theory tells us about performance under pressure, and how to stop the little voice from lying to you about what is actually happening.

Eight minutes. Two ideas. Both from Jocelyn's conversation. Both with the science to back them up.

This is the episode you'll want to send to every woman you know who has ever said: I'm just not performing the way I used to.

Key Takeaways
1. Capability vs capacity. 

2. The visibility problem is structural, not personal. 

3. Weak ties drive careers forward. 

4. The capacity check.

5. One proactive share. 

Research References

Herminia Ibarra — Act Like A Leader, Think Like A Leader (2015). 

Mark Granovetter — The Strength of Weak Ties (1973). Landmark research on how career opportunities actually move through networks.

John Sweller — Cognitive Load Theory (1988). Research on working memory capacity and performance under pressure.

You can connect with Caroline here

and email her [email protected]

Action

If you know a woman who has ever said I'm just not performing the way I used to - send her this episode. She's probably not performing differently. She's probably just carrying more. There's a difference. And now she'll know it.

New episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.

And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.

Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.

What does it look like when a woman is quietly, consistently, almost accidentally extraordinary (and genuinely the last person in any room to have noticed)?

It looks like Jocelyn Lo, VP Global Brand and Comms for Seedtag.

In less than a year since returning to work after maternity leave, Jocelyn led a full company rebrand, shot a commercial in a closed-down subway station in Georgia, launched an AI product, and was promoted to VP. When someone pointed all of this out to her, her response was: wait, what?

In this conversation, Jocelyn talks about:

• The unspoken rules of corporate life that nobody tells you when you start out, 
• How she coaches her team to present their own work and take up the space they've earned, 
• What it was actually like to return from maternity leave into a promotion she hadn't expected, and 
• The one tool she uses to remind herself of everything she has accomplished on the days when the little voice gets loud.

That tool is A brag folder.

This episode is for every woman who has ever done brilliant work, held everything together, and still gone home wondering if she's really good enough. (Yes, she is)

Key Takeaways

1. The brag folder. A private, honest, running record of everything you have done well, however small. Not a CV, but instead evidence for yourself on the days when you need it most.

2. The visibility question. Can people speak to your work when you are not in the room? If the answer is not a confident yes, that is where your energy goes next — not into doing more work, but into making sure the right people can see what you are already doing.

3. Capability vs capacity. Capacity is the only thing that changes when life gets fuller. Your capability is still exactly where it was. Do not let the little voice confuse the two.

4. The zigzag is the point. There is no straight line for a career path. The sideways moves, the pivots, the unexpected turns — these are not detours. They are the making of you.

5. Start before you are ready. Ask to present your own work. Send the proactive email. Share the idea before it is perfect. The opportunity will not always come to you.

This Week's Trilogy

Wednesday: The Science: Two things Jocelyn said that deserve the research behind them. The neuroscience of capability vs capacity, and the visibility problem — why the most competent people are systematically underrecognised and what the research says about changing that.

Friday: The Song: Jocelyn's anchor track for this week, chosen specifically for a woman who does her best creative work when the beats are right. Plus three quickfire moves to carry into Season One.

Action

If you heard something in this conversation that sounded like someone you know — a colleague, a friend, a woman on your team who is quietly holding everything up and hasn't quite noticed — send it to her.

She doesn't have to stay in the wait, what moment.

You can connect with Jocelyn here

You can connect with Caroline here

New episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.

And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.

Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.

Do you ever feel pressured to overdeliver, keep everyone happy, and prove yourself at work?

In this episode, Caroline explores why that pressure can quietly pull capable women away from strategic, sustainable leadership. Through her conversation with Emma, she unpacks why boundaries are not selfish, how people pleasing can drain your energy and focus, and why human skills like empathy, communication, and curiosity are becoming some of the most valuable strengths in today’s workplace.

• You’ll learn why boundaries are a vital leadership skill that help you protect your energy and make better decisions.
• You’ll discover how overdelivering and people pleasing can hold back your confidence, clarity, and long-term career growth. 
• You’ll understand why empathy, communication, curiosity, and asking better questions can help you grow faster and lead more effectively.

Play this episode to strengthen your boundaries, sharpen your leadership skills, and build a more sustainable path to career growth.

You can connect with Emma here.

You can connect with Caroline here

You can find resources to support the podcast here

New episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.

And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.

Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.

Are the right people talking about your work when you’re not in the room?

This episode unpacks a career truth many women discover too late: doing brilliant work is not always enough to move forward. Career momentum often comes through relationships, reputation, and the conversations others have about you behind closed doors. Caroline and Emma explore how genuine curiosity helps build meaningful workplace connections, why advocacy matters more than self-promotion alone, and how to tell the difference between strategic relationship-building and people pleasing.

You will:

• Understand why career opportunities often come through trust, visibility, and advocacy from others.
•  Learn how being curious about other people’s priorities can help build stronger, more strategic workplace relationships.
•  See how to create allies without slipping into over-helping, over-committing, or people pleasing.

Play this episode to learn how to build the kind of relationships that grow your reputation, expand your influence, and open doors in your career.

You can connect with Emma here.

You can connect with Caroline here

You can find resources to support the podcast here

New episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.

And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.

Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.

Are you doing brilliant work at your job but still being overlooked for bigger opportunities?

This episode explores why confidence and technical expertise are not always the real differentiators in career growth. For women navigating corporate leadership, the real advantage often comes from understanding the wider business context, spotting patterns, and connecting daily work to strategic outcomes. In a fast-moving workplace, that bigger-picture thinking is what helps you stand out, contribute more meaningfully, and be seen as leadership material.

You will:

• Learn why senior leaders look for business awareness and strategic thinking, not just strong execution.
• Discover how widening your view of the business can make you more valuable in conversations, meetings, and decisions.
• Gain a simple curiosity habit that helps you move from reactive task-doing to more intentional, strategic leadership.

Play this episode to learn how to turn your expertise into visible strategic value and position yourself for the next level in your career.

You can connect with Emma here.

You can connect with Caroline here

You can find resources to support the podcast here

New episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.

And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.

Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.

International Women’s Day can spark great conversations… and then Monday arrives and everything snaps back to “busy.”

This episode is the follow-through.

If you manage people, this is your practical guide to turning fairness from a once-a-year moment into decision hygiene: the everyday habits that shape who gets seen, backed, and promoted.

In this episode, you’ll learn

• Why most workplaces don’t have a “women problem” - they have a decision hygiene problem
• The hidden ways careers get shaped: credit, access, opportunity, clarity, protection (and why “treat everyone the same” isn’t fairness)
• The difference between confidence and confidence performance (and why “be more confident” is lazy feedback)
• How to stop rewarding “the ask” by default - without turning work into a bureaucracy festival
• A simple, repeatable leadership habit: Give Audit → Give Plan → Give Proof (15 minutes a week)

Key moments

• The uncomfortable truth: how informal decisions quietly shape progression
• Brain stuff (without the TED Talk): why “equal treatment” doesn’t create equal outcomes
• Career Quote Crime: “Just be more confident” (and what to say instead)
• Listener dilemma: “I’m being overlooked - how do I ask for support when my manager is slammed?”
• The manager-proof ask: how to request visibility and growth with clarity, not emotion
• Your weekly system: the quickest way to rebalance credit, access, and opportunity

Practical scripts you can steal

• If you’re the team member:
  “Can I grab 15 minutes? In the next 4 weeks I’d like to own one visible stretch piece and present it to [X]. I’ve got two options that would help the team - which would you back?”
• If you’re the manager (instead of ‘be more confident’):
  “I want more visibility of your thinking - let’s define what that looks like in meetings and stakeholder moments.”

Your action for this week

Book 15 minutes on Friday and run:

1. Give Audit: who got credit, access, opportunity, protection?
2. Give Plan: one deliberate “give” next week
3. Give Proof: one line you can point to (so it becomes a habit, not a hope)

If you want to go further

Try the “Create a moment” move:
A thank you is a compliment. A moment is a reputation.
Name the person, name the value, name the result - where other people can hear it.

New episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.

And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.

Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.