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What if the biggest thing stopping you from doing your best work isn’t a lack of time — but what you’re allowing into your best thinking hours?
When your calendar is packed with meetings, messages and operational demands, strategic thinking gets pushed into whatever scraps of time remain. But becoming a more effective leader doesn’t mean squeezing even more into your day. It means protecting the conditions that allow your strategic thinking, deep work and flow to happen in the first place.
In this episode, you’ll discover how to identify the hours when your brain works at its best and start treating that time as the valuable professional resource it actually is.
You’ll learn:
Listen to discover three practical moves you can use this week to reclaim your calendar, protect your best thinking and create more space for the work that actually makes a difference.
Discover Your Power Window: Download your free worksheet here!
Find out when your brain is at its best with Caroline's free Peak & Flow worksheet. Identify your peak focus hours, recognise your energy patterns, and learn to schedule your most important work when you're at your best.
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.
When was the last time you had two uninterrupted hours to work on something important—and came out the other side feeling energized rather than exhausted?
That feeling is flow, and your workplace may be making it almost impossible to experience.
Between back-to-back meetings, notifications, interruptions, and calendars that fill themselves, your best cognitive hours can disappear before you've had the chance to use them. The result isn't necessarily more productivity—it's fragmented attention, slower work, and less opportunity to produce the work that creates real value.
In this episode, you'll explore what happens when you understand your natural performance cycles and deliberately protect the conditions your brain needs for deep, focused work.
You'll learn how to:
Ready to find your flow? Listen to the episode to discover how to protect your best thinking time, find your flow, and create more value without simply working more hours.
Want to discover when you do your best thinking and have the most energy for high-value work? Use this workbook to identify your peak working periods and start protecting them in your diary.
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 if your busiest days are actually keeping you from doing the work that gets you noticed?
If your calendar is packed with meetings, calls, emails, and constant interruptions, it can feel like you're being productive simply because you're busy. But there's a difference between activity and output—and confusing the two can leave your highest-value work sitting on your to-do list for weeks.
In this episode, you'll follow Cara as she discovers what happens when she stops waiting for an empty calendar and deliberately protects time for the work that actually moves the dial.
You’ll learn how to:
Ready to stop letting your calendar dictate your priorities? Listen to the episode and find one piece of high-value work to give your next 90-minute focus block.
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 if the thing keeping you from submitting your work isn't that it needs to be better—but that you're afraid of what happens when it's finally seen?
If you find yourself endlessly editing, rereading, or delaying work that is already good enough, Perfectionism may be doing more than raising your standards. It may be helping Imposter Syndrome keep you in a cycle where nothing ever feels finished—especially as you step into Bigger Roles.
In this episode, you'll learn practical ways to interrupt that cycle and create a healthier definition of “done.” You'll discover why the closer you get to completion, the harder it can become to release your work, and how to stop giving your inner perfectionist control over when you move forward.
You’ll learn:
The goal isn't lower standards. It's carrying a lighter shield—and learning that you can release good work without waiting for certainty.
Listen to the episode and learn how to let your work be done without letting Perfectionism and Imposter Syndrome decide when you're ready to move on.
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.
Whose standard are you actually trying to meet—and what is your Perfectionism costing you as you step into Bigger Roles?
Perfectionism can look like ambition, conscientiousness, and high standards from the outside. But for many women, it can be driven by something much more exhausting: the belief that other people are constantly evaluating whether you’re good enough.
In this episode, we unpack the research behind three types of perfectionism and explore why socially prescribed perfectionism is particularly important when you’re navigating career growth, visibility, and Bigger Roles. We also examine the connection between Perfectionism, burnout, and the internal pressure that can fuel Imposter Syndrome.
You’ll learn:
Listen to the episode to understand what’s really driving your Perfectionism—and change the relationship you have with uncertainty, approval, and stepping into Bigger Roles.
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 if the “high standards” you’re so proud of are actually perfectionism in disguise?
You care deeply about the quality of your work. You want to get things right. You’re conscientious, capable, and used to producing work you can stand behind. But there’s a point where high standards stop being useful—and perfectionism takes over.
In this episode, we follow Cara as she spends days tweaking work that her boss has already called “exactly what I needed.” Her story reveals the subtle form of perfectionism many high-achieving women experience: not obsessing before the work is finished, but revisiting, questioning, and quietly dismantling it after it’s already done.
The key distinction? High standards are about the quality of your work. Perfectionism is often about what you fear will happen if the work is wrong.
You’ll discover:
Listen to the episode to understand the hidden cost of perfectionism—and learn how to choose done and good over perfect and late without lowering the standards that matter to you.
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 happens when your ambition starts to feel like it's costing you the people you love?
A demanding new role can pull you into survival mode. You focus on proving yourself, carrying the load, and keeping everything moving—and before you realize it, the people closest to you may be getting whatever is left of your time and energy.
But guilt isn't the solution. The answer is learning how to have the honest conversations, renegotiate what needs to change, and protect what matters while continuing to build the career you want.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Listen to the full episode to learn how to pursue your career without letting guilt—or your work—run the rest of your life.
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 if the thing draining your capacity at work isn’t a lack of ambition, capability, or commitment—but the invisible mental load you’re carrying outside of work?
As your career accelerates, family and household demands can accelerate at exactly the same time. The result isn't simply “too much to do.” It’s the cognitive cost of constantly anticipating, planning, coordinating, deciding, and monitoring what needs to happen—and that cost can compound when you’re also trying to grow your career.
In this episode, we explore the science behind the hidden mental load, why women disproportionately carry the invisible work of anticipating and monitoring, and why guilt can be a systemic response rather than evidence that you’re doing something wrong.
You’ll also learn why asking for “more help” often doesn’t solve the problem—and what a more specific approach to renegotiating responsibility can look like.
You’ll learn how to:
Listen to the episode to understand the hidden mental load draining your capacity—and discover how to respond more resourcefully as your career accelerates.
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.
How does career success change the way you show up for the people you love—and why can that success leave you feeling guilty?
When your career finally clicks, the guilt can arrive quietly. You miss a swimming lesson, arrive late to a school performance, or realize you're physically present at home while mentally still at work. For ambitious women in leadership, the challenge isn't necessarily choosing between career and family. It's recognizing when the balance you've created no longer works—and having the courage to renegotiate it.
In this episode, you'll hear a relatable story about the moment career momentum collided with family life, and discover why ambition guilt is different from ordinary guilt. You'll also learn why trying to prove you can "manage everything" can create unnecessary pressure, burnout, and expectations nobody actually asked you to meet.
You'll learn how to:
Listen to the episode to learn how to stop treating guilt as evidence that you're failing and start using it as a signal that something needs to be renegotiated.
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 if the person who could change the trajectory of your leadership career is already around you—but you're too hesitant to make the first move?
Building meaningful professional relationships doesn't always require networking harder, being more visible, or making a big strategic move. Sometimes, it starts with something much simpler: identifying someone you trust, making an honest low-pressure ask, and being willing to build the relationship one small interaction at a time.
If you're stepping into a new leadership role and feeling isolated, or you're wondering how to develop the allies who will challenge you, support you, and tell you the truth, this episode gives you a practical way forward.
By listening, you'll learn how to:
Listen to the episode and discover the surprisingly simple leadership moves that can help you stop managing alone and start building the allies you need to move your career forward.
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.
From the publisher's feed
You're already leading. So why aren't you the one getting promoted?
UNSHAKEABLE HER is the podcast for ambitious women in leadership who want promotion, not just…
Every week we get into the real science of leadership confidence, the unwritten rules of influence, and how to build the kind of presence that makes promotion inevitable.
Hosted by Caroline Esterson, a career strategist with 30 years inside hundreds of organisations, who knows exactly why brilliant women get overlooked and what to do about it.
This podcast offers practical, repeatable ways to build influence, confidence, and career momentum.
Each week you'll learn:
· How to build the visibility and strategic positioning that gets you noticed for the
roles you want.
· How to lead with more influence without losing yourself in the process.
· The real science behind imposter syndrome in leadership, and what actually shifts it for good.
With new episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Unshakeable Her delivers stories, strategy, and insight to help you become someone nobody can shake.
https://inspireyourgenius.com/podcast