Holding It Both Ways

Cynthia shared her personal journey of growing up in Northern Ireland and later moving to Canada, reflecting on how both privilege and oppression shaped her leadership journey through various transitions. She discussed her spiritual and gender transitions, which broadened her perspective and deepened her empathy and courage, leading her to explore leadership in diverse contexts. Through her experi...

In this conversation, Cynthia speaks with tech founder Heera Rehman , who spent a decade leading internal communications for large, global companies before launching WorldTone AI . Together, they explore the heart of inclusive, people-first communication in rapidly shifting workplaces. Heera shares how aligning messaging with values builds trust, why diversity storytelling should not be seasonal,...

In this episode, Amanda Davie and Cynthia get specific about treating emotional intelligence as a skill you practise, not a trait you either have or lack. We talk about coaching moves any leader can use this week, the inclusive norms that make collaboration work, and how communities accelerate careers. Amanda shares lessons from co‑leading Equal Talent, building She Has No Limits, and coaching ins...

Jeanne Omlor joins Cynthia for a straight‑talk conversation about moving from hesitation to action. We explore how to build a values‑aligned business (or team) by choosing clarity over complexity, getting crystal‑clear on the offer, who it serves, and the result it creates—and then using simple, repeatable systems you will actually stick to. Jeanne shares candid lessons from building online after...

SMEs run hot: fewer people, faster decisions, and almost no safety net. In this conversation, Heather McDaniel shares how small and medium enterprises can build strong cultures without big‑company budgets. We explore the realities of “trial‑by‑fire” leadership, what to do when training is thin, and how deep listening and clear practices create psychological safety on small teams. Heather traces he...

Gifty Enright joins Cynthia to get practical about the real pressures facing working mothers—and what leaders can do beyond platitudes. We unpack why parents are the most stressed demographic, how the “good girl” social script and performance bias stack the deck against women, and why meritocracy often micro‑analyses women while macro‑analysing men. Gifty shares lessons from her own burnout and fr...

In this episode of Gender Equity Rebels , Cynthia Fortlage sits down with Professor Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas to explore the intersections of gender, power, privilege, and purpose within the global fashion industry. As a seasoned academic, a social impact leader, and the first UK winner of the prestigious Fashion Education Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Natascha bri...

In this final episode of the Gender Equity Rebels series, Cynthia Fortlage sits down with Emily Button-Ham, founder of Emily Button Coaching, to discuss the reality behind Pay Gap Day in the UK (15 November 2023). What begins as a conversation about the numbers quickly becomes something more deeply human. Emily shares her professional insights and personal reflections on what it means to navigate...

🏳️‍🌈 Gender Rebel Series: Hormones, Health, and the Workplace Inclusion isn’t just about who’s in the room—it’s also about what’s understood once we get there. In this episode of Gender Equity Rebels , I sit down with Rachel Grewal , a startup leader and recruiter, to talk about something that impacts countless women and AFAB individuals in silence: PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder). Rachel...

Dave joins Cynthia to explore what men’s mental health looks like when we move beyond stoicism toward language, curiosity, and connection. Starting from teen years shaped by anger and loss, Dave traces a path through healthcare roles into speaking and coaching. Together, we unpack how hormones, health, and gendered expectations shape behaviour and safety, and why mindfulness helps leaders respond...

Over the past few years, some of my most viewed posts have been the most personal. When I write about the messy middle of my life, people engage. When I share something raw or unresolved, the response is often overwhelming, and I’m grateful for it. But those moments aren’t the work . The work is the inclusion frameworks. The strategy. The metrics. The boardroom conversations. The mentoring that he...

When Abigail Wilmore of People Flow invited me to join her Monthly Mentoring Chat , I knew it would be more than a friendly catch-up. Abigail’s work with HR leaders and change-makers creates space for honest, practical conversations about the challenges and opportunities shaping our workplaces today. In this wide-ranging conversation, we dive into the topics that keep many of us awake at night—and...

I’ve done a lot of interviews across podcasts, panels, articles, and keynotes. Each one offers a different reflection. But one in particular has stayed with me. My conversation with Neil Hudson-Basing on his podcast Pause. And Rewind… wasn’t about my identity. It wasn’t even really about the work. It was about me . Neil’s approach is gentle, thoughtful, and deeply human. His podcast invites guests...

Over the years, I’ve done dozens—possibly hundreds—of interviews, podcasts, and panels. Each one is its own little mirror. Sometimes it reflects my identity. Sometimes my leadership. Sometimes my advocacy. Sometimes my frameworks. And the more of them I do, the more I’ve come to realise something: Interpretation is part of impact. How someone sees the work is itself part of the work. And every ver...

Sometimes people focus on my story. My identity. My journey. And I understand why—it’s visible. It’s human. It’s real. But the work I do? The leadership strategy, the inclusion frameworks, and the economic models? That often lives beneath the surface. Recently, I read a forthcoming article for which I was interviewed—it won’t publish until later this summer. But when I read the draft, I felt somet...

Welcome to the first official episode of Holding It Both Ways — a podcast about leadership, paradox, humanity, and strategy. In this opening conversation, Cynthia Fortlage and Katie Allen dig into the hard-to-name, often-unspoken realities that shape how women show up in leadership. Katie brings deep insight from her time in the male-dominated petrochemical industry, where she both challenged and...