Elena Donskaya had the career, the title, the team, the family, and everything that looked like success from the outside. But inside, something felt off.

In this episode, Elena opens up about the moment she realized her “first mountain” wasn’t fulfilling what it had promised, how she began listening to the whispers of her intuition, and what eventually led her from Wall Street into coaching women through burnout, identity shifts, and self-reconnection.

We also talk about what a feminine energy coach actually does, why so many high-achieving women feel numb or disconnected, how overthinking fuels burnout, and why clarity often starts with slowing down enough to hear yourself again.

This conversation is for anyone who has ever thought: I did everything right… so why doesn’t this feel right?

In this episode, we cover:

• Elena’s breaking point after achieving the “dream” on paper
• Why success doesn’t always equal fulfillment
• What feminine energy coaching means in practice
• How intuition can show up in everyday life
• The role of stress, burnout, and disconnection in high-achieving women
• Why identity shifts matter more than just changing habits
• How to tell when it may be time for a pivot
• Why clarity comes from space, stillness, and self-trust

Connect with Elena:

• Instagram: @elenavisionary 
• LinkedIn: Elena Donskaya, MBA 
• Skool community: Awakened Woman Academy

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Have you ever opened LinkedIn, seen someone announce a new job, and immediately started rethinking your entire life? Or had a normal Tuesday and one email made you think: maybe I should become a florist. If that’s you, welcome to career clarity and pivoting—the Work Besties way.

Jess & Claude break down how to stop making decisions in panic after one bad meeting and start gathering real data about what’s actually going on. You’ll get:

• A Stay / Shift / Go decision framework
• A 5-factor scorecard to stop arguing with yourself
• Several clarity experiments you can try this week 
• A Work Besties Clarity Sprint you can do with a trusted friend in 12 minutes
• Our March Community Challenge: Your Ideal Day 

This month is all about momentum, not mayhem—so instead of waiting for clarity to arrive, we’re helping you move a little so clarity can follow.

Clarity comes from action: use small experiments to generate data 

Books cited:

What Color is Your Parachute

Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies For Reinventing Your Career by Herminia Ibarra

PIVOT: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next Move by Jenny Blake

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Work Besties! Theme Song Written by Ralph Lentini @therallyband

In this episode of Work Besties Who Podcast, Jess and Claude sit down with executive coach and leadership strategist Kathryn Booker-Veloz to answer the question so many professionals struggle with: How do you show up authentically—without oversharing and regretting it later?

Kathryn breaks down what real workplace authenticity looks like (hint: it’s not perfection, and it’s not bringing every personal detail to work). You’ll learn a simple “intent vs. impact” check before you speak up in a meeting or post on LinkedIn, how to “read the room,” and how to build trust while still keeping healthy boundaries. Plus, Kathryn shares how leaders can create “breathing points” for their teams and why younger generations are demanding more humanity at work.

What you’ll learn

• What “authentic” actually means at work (and why perfectionism backfires)
• The difference between being real and oversharing
• Kathryn’s 10-second visibility check: intent vs. impact
• How to share stories that build trust (without crossing personal boundaries)
• What to post (and not post) on LinkedIn
• How leaders can create psychological safety—without losing credibility
• How to find (or become) a “work bestie” when trust feels risky

Guest

Kathryn Booker-Veloz — Executive coach & leadership strategist, founder of Influence Leadership Lab. She has coached 300+ leaders in high-stakes environments where visibility, power, and reputation matter.

Work with Kathryn

Kathryn is offering a complimentary 1-hour coaching call to help you work through a real challenge in real time.
Website: kathrynexecutive.com

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If you’ve ever been the person who “just handles it,” this episode is for you. Jess and Claude sit down with leadership coach Ronni Landeck to talk about authenticity at work that’s rooted in alignment (not performance), boundaries that protect your time without sounding difficult, and communication that doesn’t come with a side of apology.

They kick off with a powerful distinction: being a high performer is being great at your job — becoming “the default” is being great at everyone else’s job too. From there, Ronni shares how to stay authentic within real workplace dynamics, how to pause with executive presence when you’re put on the spot, and how to build sustainable success without burning out.

You’ll also hear Ronni’s SOURCE framework — a practical guide for staying grounded under pressure — plus a simple way to reframe imposter syndrome using self-compassion and “power phrases” that help you show up with clarity and confidence.

What we cover in this episode

• The difference between being a high performer vs. becoming “the default”
• What authenticity at work actually means (and what people get wrong)
• Boundaries that strengthen executive presence
• A clear script to use when new work gets added to your plate
• Confidence, imposter syndrome, and why self-compassion matters
• Ronni’s SOURCE framework for sustainable performance and personal growth

The sentence to use when someone hands you work that isn’t yours
 “Right now, my top three priorities are A, B, and C — where would you like this new task prioritized?”

Memorable moments

• “Hope isn’t a strategy.”
• “Self-compassion is a muscle—you build it.”
• “Action brings clarity and confidence.”

Resources mentioned

• How to Win Friends and Influence People — Dale Carnegie
• Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors — Janina Fisher
• Self-compassion research — Kristin Neff
• Rumi: “As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.”

Connect with Ronni Landeck
 Website: https://ronnilandeck.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronni-landeck-bast/

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Work Besties! Theme Song Written by Ralph Lentini @therallyband

We all want to “be ourselves” at work… but many of us learned to survive by wearing masks: the high performer mask, the people-pleaser mask, the “I’m fine” mask. In this episode, Jess & Claude sit down with Adriana Vaccaro, CEO and Founder of Culture Redesigned, to unpack what masking actually is, why it happens, and how it quietly becomes your personal brand.

You’ll learn how to recognize when you’re masking, how psychological safety changes everything, and what leaders can do to create environments where people can show up as themselves. And we close with the question we all wonder: If unmasking feels risky, what’s the first mask you should take off without putting your job at risk?

In This Episode, We Cover

• What “masking” at work really looks like (and why it’s a brain-based defense mechanism)
• The connection between psychological safety and authenticity
• How to tell if you’re masking because something is unaligned vs unfamiliar
• Why “chameleon behavior” can feel safe—but cost you over time
• The manager’s role in shaping the emotional environment of a team
• How to build trust through consistent, clear, authentic communication
• Adriana’s safest “first unmasking step” when authenticity feels risky

Key Takeaways

• Unmasking isn’t an overnight change — it’s gradual and strategic.
• Psychological safety is the real opposite of masking.
• Your body often tells the truth first (fatigue, headaches, “the ick,” dread).
• Leaders must take responsibility for the environment they create.
• Trust grows when people experience you as consistent and authentic.
• A safe first step toward unmasking: stop people-pleasing and practice silence.

About Our Guest

Adriana Vaccaro is the CEO and Founder of Culture Redesigned. She blends behavioral science with real-world business leadership to help organizations and individuals turn values into actions that actually change outcomes.

Connect with Adriana

• Adriana Vaccaro, MBA | LinkedIn
• Culture Redesigned – Building Dream Teams

Work Besties Challenge (Try This This Week)

Pick one moment where you usually “fill the space” to keep things smooth.
 Instead, pause for 3 seconds before responding. Practice silence without over-agreeing.

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Work Besties! Theme Song Written by Ralph Lentini @therallyband

Ever notice your voice goes two octaves higher in a meeting—or you rewrite the same email sentence five times because it sounds “too much like you”? In this episode, we’re exploring authenticity at work without turning it into oversharing. Because being yourself at work gets easier when someone else sees you and helps you stay aligned.

This month’s commitment: we don’t punish honesty—we reward it with safety. And we don’t chase perfection; we practice alignment.

In this episode, we cover:

• What we mean by authenticity: consistency between your values and your behaviors
• Why authenticity isn’t “unfiltered everything” (you can be real and professional)
• The two versions of authenticity: corporate (reliability + boundaries) and creative (voice + POV)
• “Your brand is your behavior”—and how misalignment shows up (hello, “brand panic”)
• 3 “work bestie” safety signals: reflect you back kindly, protect you in rooms you’re not in, and tell you the truth without shaming you

Try this this week:
Pick one value (clarity, calm, balance, excellence, etc.) → translate it into one behavior people can see. Share it with your work bestie and ask for a gut check.

Coming up this month:

• Unmasking at Work (and why your brand is your behavior)
• Authentic Influence (boundaries that protect your brand)
• How to Stay You While You Grow

Share with your work bestie and tag us with the value + behavior you’re practicing this week.

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Ever swear you’ll “catch up on sleep this weekend”… and somehow wake up Monday still tired? Same. 😅
In this January wrap-up, Jess and Claude are making a bold claim: rest isn’t a reward — it’s a strategy.

We’re talking the real reason your habits fall apart when you’re exhausted (spoiler: your brain goes into survival mode), plus a few simple, low-pressure routines you can actually keep.

In this episode:

• The January recap: what stuck, what didn’t, and why “pressure” isn’t the move
• The Rest Ledger: an energy budget for your life (what drained you vs. what restored you)
• The Power Down Protocol: close loops → dim & distance → downshift
• The Work Bestie bedtime routine: brain → light → body
• What to do if you wake up at 2AM (without doom scrolling 😬)
• A 1-week experiment: the “no after-hours spiral” boundary

Not medical advice: If you’re dealing with chronic insomnia or severe sleep issues, please talk to a qualified clinician.

Books on Rest, Sleep & Energy

• Exhausted: How to Revitalize, Restore, and Renew Your Energy – the book Jess references in this episode
• Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
• Rest Is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
• Burnout by Emily Nagoski & Amelia Nagoski
• Essentialism by Greg McKeown
• The Sleep Solution by W. Chris Winter, MD

Podcasts for Going Deeper

• The Huberman Lab Podcast (sleep & nervous system episodes)
• Ten Percent Happier
• The Mel Robbins Podcast (rest, boundaries & burnout conversations)
• Feel Better, Live More (Dr. Rangan Chatterjee)
• The Happiness Lab

#Sleep #BurnoutRecovery #WorkLifeBalance

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Vision boards work… do they? 😅 In this episode, Jess (the believer) and Claude (the skeptic) make vision boards for 2026 and unpack what vision boards really are: not magic, not toxic positivity, but a clarity tool that helps you focus your decisions and take real action.

We share the 3 questions that guide everything, how to avoid turning your board into a fantasy board, and a simple way to keep your goals visible all year.

What You’ll Learn / Key Takeaways:

• The 3 questions to ask before you cut a single picture
• Why “vision board” is really a clarity board
• How to avoid a “fantasy board” (and keep goals tangible)
• What it means when you don’t hit a goal… but you’re still on track
• Why consistency is the real secret ingredient
• Physical vs digital vision boards: pick what works for your brain
• The easiest way to actually use your board (phone wallpaper hack)

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Recording from Podfest in Orlando (yes, we’re literally on the floor 😄)
• Canva vs magazines + scissors + glue
• Building community + growing the podcast ecosystem

Action Challenge (for listeners):
Answer these three questions today:

1. How do I want work to feel in 2026?
2. What do I want less of?
3. What am I willing to do differently?

Then share ONE word, phrase, or image that represents your 2026 direction.

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“New Year, New You” can feel inspiring… until your life takes a turn you didn’t plan. In this episode, Rosamaria Mancini—author of SOS Podcasts—joins us to explore what it really means to reinvent yourself when your path changes, and how to meet that deviation with grace, empathy, and connection.

Rosamaria shares her story of leaving New York and rebuilding her identity through major transitions in Italy and later Germany. From culture shock and learning new rhythms of daily life to loneliness, motherhood, and the challenge of making friends later in adulthood, she offers an honest look at what it takes to start over—without losing yourself in the process.

A standout theme: podcasts as connection. For Rosamaria, podcast voices became a lifeline during isolated seasons—helping her feel less alone, more grounded, and still connected to the world she came from.

If your “future plan” doesn’t look the way you expected this year, this conversation is a reminder: different doesn’t mean wrong—your path can deviate and still be yours.

In this episode, we talk about:

• When Rosamaria realized she was truly an expat
• Italy vs. Germany: the emotional whiplash of switching cultures
• How slowing down can be the key to belonging
• Friendship abroad + building “chosen family”
• The “emergency contact” moment that hits expats hard
• Podcasts as a tool for comfort, learning, and connection
• The mindset shift: staying true to yourself when plans change

Guest: Rosamaria Mancini

• Website: [https://rosamariamancini.com]
• Book: SOS Podcasts

Resources mentioned

• NPR Life Kit
• The Daily (The New York Times)
• Wiser Than Me (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)

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Work Besties! Theme Song Written by Ralph Lentini @therallyband

Jess + Claude are back to kick off Season 3: Work Besties Who Grow—a realistic, micro-intentions approach to career glow-ups with fewer breakdowns (hopefully). You’ll get the full year roadmap by quarter + month, plus practical micro intentions you can start this week.

In This Episode

• Why Season 3 is about tiny steps → big change
• How we’re structuring every month: Kickoff → Guests → Work Bestie Lens
• January theme: New Year, New You (soft resets, not reinvention)
• Micro intentions you can actually stick to (with examples)
• The 5-minute weekly Work Bestie check-in (3 questions)
• Small digital detox boundaries that don’t require quitting your phone
• What’s coming up next + how to send us topic/guest requests

Episode Highlights / Key Takeaways

Micro intention ideas (pick ONE for 7 days):

1. One tiny career move (send the email, update the resume, book the coffee chat)
2. One boundary sentence (“I can get that to you by tomorrow at 3pm—unless you want me to reprioritize.”)
3. One visibility moment (speak once in a meeting, share a win with your manager, post one insight)
4. One reset ritual (1–3 minutes) (end-of-day prep, short walk between meetings, quick list rewrite)

Weekly 5-minute Work Bestie check-in (use these 3 questions):

• What felt heavy today?
• What was a win?
• How can I support you?

Small tech boundaries (choose one):

• No email before 9am or after 6pm
• No screens during meals
• Swap bedtime scrolling for a reset (book, water, short walk)

Q1: Reset + Direction (New Year, New You)

• January: Reset & Micro Intentions (tiny steps that stick)
• February: Authenticity + Personal Branding (how you want to show up)
• March: Career Clarity + Pivoting (where you are vs. where you want to go)

Q2: Skills + Confidence Building

• April: Money Moves (pay confidence, negotiation, value)
• May: Mentorship & Sponsorship (finding advocates, being one)
• June: Communication (hard convos, clarity, influence)

Q3: Boundaries + Energy Resetting

• July: Boundaries (protect your peace without the guilt)
• August: Burnout Prevention + Energy Management (systems for sustainability)
• September: Reset Rituals + Digital Detox (recharge habits that actually work)

Q4: Leadership + Systems + Mental Wellness (Finish Strong, Not Fried)

• October: Leadership (leading with or without the title)
• November: Systems (workflows, prioritization, repeatable routines)
• December: Mental Wellness + Reflection (close the year strong—not crispy)

Work Bestie Community Challenge: Pick one micro intention and commi

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Work Besties! Theme Song Written by Ralph Lentini @therallyband