THE PODCAST

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Innovation | Leadership | Creativity

The podcast that helps women in tech accelerate their influence, step into their dream leadership career and break through the glass ceiling.

206: What You Really Need to Hear to Advance Your Career with Valerie Drew

Let’s talk about what you need to hear to advance your career!

In this episode, I invite the spectacular Valerie Drew, an amazing woman and tech leader at a Fortune 500 company, to share her journey of continuous promotion and the skills that made it possible. We dive into her valuable insights on taking on tough projects, learning continuously, and advocating for yourself to avoid complacency, as well as how to leverage your communication skills, learn from mistakes, and navigate gender bias to better your leadership career.

Ready for the insights, inspiration, and tools to advance your career with confidence and purpose?

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205: Vulnerability in Leadership: Breaking Down Barriers

Do you want to boost team productivity, retention, and innovation while fostering an environment where your team feels comfortable being their authentic selves?

Let’s talk about embracing vulnerability in leadership and how this openness can help you create stronger connections with your team and peers.

In this episode, I dive into the critical role of vulnerability in demonstrating a strong executive presence and fostering genuine connections within your teams. I explore what it truly means to be vulnerable, ways you can embrace more openness in your leadership, and how giving yourself and your team permission to be vulnerable will lead to a stronger work environment.

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204: Bounce-Back-Ability: Mastering the Art of Resilience as a Leader

In this episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Angie Read, a remarkable woman who spent 25 years in corporate communications, navigating the complexities of big tech and other industries. Known for her extraordinary resilience, Angie faced a life-altering challenge at 46 when she suffered a massive ischemic stroke. Despite her determination to return to work after just a few months of rehab, Angie found herself battling debilitating anxiety and depression.

Join us as Angie bravely revisits her journey through a career that lacked fulfillment, her mental health crisis after her stroke, and how she navigated being laid off. She sheds light on recognizing the signs of a physical or mental health crisis, understanding the true cost of perfectionism, and why it shouldn’t be worn as a badge of honor.

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203: Redefining Success Beyond the Quantity of Work

Do you feel you must work crazy hours to get the recognition you deserve?

It’s time to redefine success beyond the quantity of work!

In this episode, I discuss the barrier of the traditional success model, the major pitfalls of quantity over quality, and how you can shift your mindset to redefine success for yourself and your team. I dive into boundary setting, redefining success metrics, and how to escape the burnout cycle by prioritizing high-impact tasks, celebrating wins, and coaching your team to work proactively vs. reactively.

Ready to find success in the quality of your work and the impact you’re making?

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202: Hacking Your Brain: The Neuroscience of Being a Great Leader with Dr. Hayley Nelson

Let’s talk neuroscience (and leadership, of course)!

Join me for this enlightening conversation with Dr. Hayley Nelson, a passionate neuroscientist and professor, who dives deep into the intricacies of how our brains operate and the neuroscience of being a great leader.

In this episode, Dr. Hayley shares her personal journey, detailing how overcoming a traumatic experience led her to pursue a career in neuroscience, despite having other early ambitions. We discuss the difference between the brain and the mind, how to rewire our brains to change our outlook, and embracing resistance as a crucial part of creating lasting change in mindset or habits. We dive into the mindset of optimism vs. toxic positivity, instilling an effective mindset in your team, productivity insights from a neuroscience perspective, and embracing & managing neurodivergent team members.

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201: Negotiating Your Worth: Salary, Recognition, and Opportunities

It’s time to seek the rewards you deserve!

Let’s talk about negotiation – a core skill essential for your career success.

In this episode, I dive into useful strategies for negotiating your worth and how to own your value regarding salary, recognition, and advancement opportunities. I discuss my top tips for negotiating compensation, handling job offers (counter and multiple), and positioning yourself for advancement. But it’s not just the practical tools you need, we’ll dive into the mindset around owning your value, understanding your limits, and overcoming the specific negotiation challenges faced by women in tech, ensuring you can advocate effectively for the compensation and opportunities you deserve.

Ready for the actionable tips to help you reach your next salary goal or dream role? It’s time to understand your worth and master the art of negotiation.

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200: Celebrating Women in Tech, Beating the Burnout, and Letting Go of Needing to Be Like the Men in the Room with Lindsay Kulzer, Allison Williams, and Jennifer Peters

Ready to dive into the empowering journeys of three extraordinary women in tech?

In today’s episode, I invite three amazing women I have the honor of supporting to dive into their experiences, insights, and triumphs through the lens of executive coaching. Lindsay, Allison, and Jennifer candidly share their motivations for seeking executive coaching, its transformative impact on their professional development, and powerful career lessons around overcoming imposter syndrome, burnout, gender bias, and more. We explore the pivotal moments that led them to join The Lit Up Leadership Academy, the biggest successes they’ve achieved, and the one thing they wish they had known about themselves a decade ago.

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199: From Glass Ceiling to Glass Microphone: How Women Can Break Through Communication Barriers in Tech Leadership

The glass ceiling concept is well known in the world of work, especially in male-dominated fields like tech. But what about its lesser-known counterpart – the glass microphone?

Many of us have felt the frustration of not being heard or taken seriously, our ideas dismissed before we can fully express them. This glass microphone barrier can hurt our career advancement and lead to stress and burnout.

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198: Mindfulness in Leadership: Cultivating Presence

Mindful leadership is powerful leadership!

Let’s talk about the power of mindfulness and how cultivating presence in your leadership will benefit your professional journey.

In today’s episode, I dive into the important role mindfulness plays in leadership development and elevating your executive presence – and how to cultivate it! I explore how key elements of executive presence such as adaptability, strategic vision, and confident communication can be improved through mindfulness, and the practical steps you can take toward more presence in these areas to become a more mindful leader.

Ready to use mindfulness to elevate your executive presence and transform your leadership?

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197: Getting Started With Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion with Jacqui Barrett

If you’re interested in being a leader that promotes a sustainable, enjoyable, and nurturing work environment, prioritizing equity, diversity, and inclusion is a must.

In today’s episode, I invite Jacqui Barrett, CEO of Wider Thinking, to share her inspiring career journey and passion for fostering inclusive workplaces and driving organizational change. We dive into an important discussion on equity diversity and inclusion (EDI) and share actionable insights on creating nurturing work environments, implementing strategies like flexible working arrangements to promote diversity, and overcoming burnout as we strive to apply EDI in our careers.

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