Your Working Life

If you can tell a good story, you can persuade someone of something. That's the premise of strategic storytelling expert Sally Perkins's new book, From Story to Action. In this episode, Sally and Caroline talk about how neuroscience research shows well-told stories literally sync the brains of listeners with the storyteller—creating shared experiences that drive decisions and inspire action.

More from Sally Perkins:

Order Sally's book and read more about her work at sallyperkins.net.

More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins:

Head to carolinedowdhiggins.com to book Caroline as your next keynote speaker, check out her books or get in touch.

In this episode, Caroline interviews Eveline Shen, a social change strategist who teaches leaders how to navigate oppression, adversity, and complex challenges without compromising their values or burning out. In her new book, Choosing to Lead Against the Current: The Courageous Operating System for Changemakers, Shen shares her revolutionary framework for helping leaders cultivate sustainable power, turn setbacks into sources of strength, and redefine success on their own terms.

More from Eveline Shen:

Order her book and learn more about her work at her website leadingcourageously.com.

More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins:

Head to carolinedowdhiggins.com to book Caroline as your next keynote speaker, check out her books or get in touch.

After Steph Wagner experienced financial devastation following an unexpected divorce—despite being financially savvy person—she transformed her pain into purpose, dedicating her career to ensuring other women never feel financially powerless.

In her new book, FLY! A Woman's Guide to Financial Freedom and Building a Life You Love, Wagner tackles a sobering reality: 80% of women will manage their finances alone at some point, yet half still defer financial planning to partners. Drawing from both her professional expertise and personal journey, she offers women an empowering, tools-based approach to conquering their fears about money and taking control of their financial futures. Whether you're navigating a life transition, part of the sandwich generation, or simply want to feel more prepared for the unexpected, Wagner's honest and empathetic guidance will help you build the confidence to live life on your own terms.

More from Steph Wagner:

Order Steph's book and learn more about her work at her website stephlwagner.com.

Connect with Steph on LinkedIn.

More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins:

Head to carolinedowdhiggins.com to book Caroline as your next keynote speaker, check out her books or get in touch.

Music credits for episode:

Kumaon Foothills by Scanglobe from Free Music Archive. CC BY-NC-SA

Kate Lowry is a CEO coach, venture capitalist, and author who has made it her mission to help people not just survive but thrive under toxic leadership. In this episode, Caroline interviews Kate about her new book, Unbreakable: How to Thrive Under Fear-Based Leaders, where Lowry explains why domineering, manipulative leadership is making a troubling comeback—and offers tactical strategies for maintaining your autonomy when working under such leaders.

Drawing from her own experience growing up in a hierarchical family and working in high-pressure environments at McKinsey, Meta, and Insight Partners, she's developed a powerful methodology for understanding and navigating fear-based leaders.

More from Kate Lowry:

Order Kate's book and learn more about her work at her website, katelowry.com.

Connect with Kate on LinkedIn and Substack.

More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins:

Head to carolinedowdhiggins.com to book Caroline as your next keynote speaker, check out her books or get in touch.

What if the key to sparking real innovation isn't unlimited freedom—but strategic constraints?

In this episode, Caroline sits down with Sheri Jacobs, author and innovation strategist, to explore this counterintuitive fact: boundaries don't stifle creativity, they fuel it.

In her latest book, The Unexpected Power of Boundaries: Rethinking the Rules, Risks, and Real Drivers of Innovation, Sheri challenges conventional wisdom about creativity and shares practical strategies for making innovation a repeatable habit rather than a lucky accident. Through stories from Pixar to polar expeditions, she shows how the right structure actually nourishes ideas and empowers people to take smarter risks.

More from Sheri Jacobs

Order Sheri's book at learn more about her work at her website: sherijacobs.com.

Connect with her on Instagram and LinkedIn.

More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins:

Head to carolinedowdhiggins.com to book Caroline as your next keynote speaker, check out her books or get in touch.

What if the very thing we've been taught drives success is actually holding us back? In this episode, Caroline sits down with Ruchika T. Malhotra, founder of global inclusion strategy firm Candour and author of the groundbreaking new book UNCOMPETE: Rejecting Competition to Unlock Success.

Ruchika challenges one of the workplace's most fundamental assumptions: that competition is necessary for excellence. Drawing on her extensive work with major corporations, insights from business leaders, and cutting-edge research, she makes a compelling case that our obsession with competing is actually fueling exhaustion, anxiety, burnout, and isolation—while preventing us from reaching our true potential.

More from Ruchika:

Buy Ruchika's book and learn more about her work at www.ruchika.co.

More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins:

Head to carolinedowdhiggins.com to book Caroline as your next keynote speaker, check out her books or get in touch.

What if the very thing we've been taught drives success is actually holding us back?

In this episode, Caroline discusses how that might be true with Ruchika T. Malhotra, author of UNCOMPETE: Rejecting Competition to Unlock Success.

Ruchika challenges one of the workplace's most fundamental assumptions: that competition is necessary for excellence. Drawing on her extensive work with major corporations, insights from business leaders, and cutting-edge research, she makes a compelling case that our obsession with competing is actually fueling exhaustion, anxiety, burnout, and isolation—while preventing us from reaching our true potential.

More from Ruchika:

Follow Ruchika on LinkedIn and Instagram.

More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins:

Head to carolinedowdhiggins.com to book Caroline as your next keynote speaker, check out her books or get in touch.

Music Credit: The Soft Approach by P C III, Free Music Archive. License: CC BY

In this episode, Caroline interviews Jaime Goff about her new book The Secure Leader: Discover the Hidden Forces that Shape Your Leadership Story - and How To Change Them. Jaime argues that effective modern leadership requires more than mastering techniques—it demands deep self-understanding. Drawing on attachment theory and psychology, Goff shows how leaders' emotional blueprints shape their behaviors and offers a transformative framework for deconstructing and reauthoring their narratives to lead with authenticity and purpose. The book provides practical guidance on integrating emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and self-compassion into leadership practice, addressing the post-2020 shift where employees increasingly seek meaning, connection, and belonging at work rather than just compensation.

More from Jaime Goff:

Order The Secure Leader from Jaime's website.

Find Jaime on LinkedIn.

More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins:

Head to carolinedowdhiggins.com to book Caroline as your next keynote speaker, check out her books or get in touch.

When a woman moves into a leadership position at work, she is much more likely to burnout, be depressed and face different criticism than her male colleagues. It's something author Meghan French Dunbar experienced herself, and why she wrote her new book,This Isn't Working: How Working Women Can Overcome Stress, Guilt, and Overload to Find True Success. Meghan interviewed leaders like Eileen Fisher and former Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario to reveal why contemporary business culture disproportionately harms women and causes epidemic levels of burnout. Rather than asking women to "lean in harder," she offers a rallying cry for a better way to work and lead, providing actionable strategies for individuals and organizations to optimize performance without sacrificing well-being.

More from Meghan French-Dunbar:

Buy Meghan's book: This Isn't Working: How Working Women Can Overcome Stress, Guilt, and Overload to Find True Success

Follow Meghan French-Dunbar on LinkedIn.

More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins:

Head to carolinedowdhiggins.com to book Caroline as your next keynote speaker, check out her books or get in touch.

Muriel Wilkins is a leadership coach, Harvard Business Review podcast host, and author whose new book Leadership Unblocked tackles the unconscious beliefs that prevent leaders from reaching their full potential. Caroline and Muriel talk about the hidden "blockers"—such as "I know I'm right" and "I need to be involved"—that cause common leadership frustrations, and how leaders can recognize when the problem isn't their team or circumstances, but their own mindset.

More from Muriel Wilkins:

Buy Muriel's book: Leadership Unblocked: Break Through the Beliefs That Limit Your Potential

Follow Muriel on LinkedIn and Instagram.

More from Caroline Dowd-Higgins:

Head to carolinedowdhiggins.com to book Caroline as your next keynote speaker, check out her books or get in touch.