Aligned Ambition with Pooja V.

Tomorrow (Feb 18), executive coach Megan Porter and I kick off a three-part series for the HBS Women’s Association called Charting Your Course to the C-Suite . Register here: www.hbswa.org/csuiteFeb2026 But before you get busy charting your course to the C-suite… I want you to make sure that you actually want to be there. And so, this week’s podcast episode is all about 5 TERRIBLE reasons to aim f...

Okay, one thing I want to tell you before I let you loose to listen to this week’s podcast episode. This episode is just the tip of the iceberg. If you want to hear from two women who have actually done this… Come to my workshop: Intergenerational Wisdom for High Achieving Moms It’s a fireside chat featuring my mom (senior leader at a Wall St bank for 20+ years) and Kelly Huang (HBS MBA, board lea...

This week’s podcast episode is about ambition — and what happens when the things you want to be ambitious about no longer fit into a narrow, career-only definition. I talk about: Why ambition doesn’t disappear when you stop wanting the corner office and the C-suite job How to redirect ambition instead of abandoning it A simple thought exercise for making this concept come to life in your brain and...

This episode is about why it’s so hard to get clear on what you actually want, especially as a high achiever. I talk about: How subtle peer pressure distorts your true desires Two questions that help you separate what you want from what looks impressive How to work with status consciously instead of pretending it doesn’t matter If you’ve ever felt unsure whether you genuinely want to be on the pat...

You don’t see the world as it is. You filter reality through the state of your nervous system. That’s why this week’s podcast episode zooms in on stress. I talk about: Why the headspace you’re in is more important than what you do The two broad categories your thoughts & emotions fall into – stress and flow How to build a personal playbook you can use to reliably shift out of fight-or-flight a...

In this episode, I talk about the productivity and performance side of aligned ambition. Specifically, I introduce a distinction that comes up all the time in my work with clients – and that I use constantly in my own life: Me Problem vs. Process Problem This distinction matters any time something doesn’t go the way you wanted it to. A meeting doesn’t land A project doesn’t get the result you expe...

A few big things that are changing around here! First, I’m changing how I’m putting out content across all my platforms. And second, as you may have noticed, I’ve retitled the podcast Aligned Ambition. Today’s podcast episode explains both of those shifts. I talk about: Why I’m moving to a podcast-first approach this year What I mean by Aligned Ambition and why it’s the perfect umbrella term to en...

1 question you MUST include when evaluating yourself That you are definitely not asking now Book a free consult call here: https://poojavcoaching.com/contact ——— What my clients have to say… “I would recommend Pooja to anyone who feels like there is a part of their life where they feel stuck — either stuck in a vicious thought cycle, or stuck at work, or stuck in some sort of unhealthy personal re...

You’re already living your worst case scenario. Book a free consult call here: https://poojavcoaching.com/contact ——— What my clients have to say… “Everything in the world is about feelings.  At the end of the day, that’s the reality of the human condition.  And so to get to this level of analytical rigor around my feelings is just so helpful.” —Client | CEO, PE-backed company Read more client tes...

This is my only sports metaphor ⚾️ Book a free consult call here: https://poojavcoaching.com/contact ——— What my clients have to say… “Pooja has a really good balance of validating your emotions but also giving feedback and being upfront like, ‘Hey, I’ve seen this pattern in you.’ That made me trust her and her frameworks — she is really looking out long term for the client’s best interest.” —Cli...

How to spend more time in flow All it takes is a simple conversation with yourself. Book a free consult call here: https://poojavcoaching.com/contact ——— What my clients have to say… “Some weeks, I have a very specific thing that is troubling me, and I’m excited to talk about it. And there are other times where I came in and I didn’t quite know what I wanted to talk about, and those were the sessi...

Your self-criticism isn't helping you It's like trying to run a race with a broken leg Book a free consult call here: https://poojavcoaching.com/contact ——— What my clients have to say… “I have a healthier internal monologue. I still have an internal monologue, but it’s a positive one. And there are moments where I slip back into some of the negative thought cycles I used to be in, and it’...

What matters ≠ which strategy you pick. What matters = what you think about yourself when that strategy stops working. Book a free consult call here: https://poojavcoaching.com/contact ——— What my clients have to say… “It’s honestly fun.  You’re working on the most important thing in your life — your goals and your aspirations.  And you’re doing it in a manner that is not harsh or strict.  It’s li...

That you can ask yourself too :) Book a free consult call here: https://poojavcoaching.com/contact ——— What my clients have to say… “I realized that I wasn’t alone in a lot of my situations. In fact, what I was going through was very common. And that there were tools that I could use to get out of this, and that I wasn’t the first person in the world to go through and I’m not going to be the last....

It’s not achieve thing ➡️ feel better. It’s feel better ➡️ achieve thing. Book a free consult call here: https://poojavcoaching.com/contact ——— What my clients have to say… “I would in particular recommend Pooja to this specific phenotype of high achievers. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and the outside world might never understand that our lives are not as perfect as they seem, or that we...

A little exercise for you to do today Let's just notice 🤔💭 Book a free consult call here: https://poojavcoaching.com/contact ——— What my clients have to say… “I realized that you can learn just as much from your wins as from your losses.  When you have aspirations and big ambitions, it’s really easy to be harsh on yourself. What changed the game for me was realizing that being mean to yourse...

3 ways to think about doing something "different" in your career And kill the compare and despair Book a free consult call here: https://poojavcoaching.com/contact

Register for my workshop, Surviving (And Maybe Even Enjoying) The Holidays here: https://partiful.com/e/iql7IdUvmdxmdBmH4Jbw I can’t wait to see you there! :)

Register for my workshop, Surviving (And Maybe Even Enjoying) The Holidays, here: https://partiful.com/e/iql7IdUvmdxmdBmH4Jbw

You’ll probably relate to this 🫢 And if you do, come to my workshop: Surviving (And Maybe Even Enjoying) The Holidays Register here: https://partiful.com/e/iql7IdUvmdxmdBmH4Jbw

The best stress-fighting duo in the biz 💥 Register for our workshop, Surviving (And Maybe Even Enjoying) The Holidays today! https://partiful.com/e/iql7IdUvmdxmdBmH4Jbw?

I know it sounds unsexy, un-magical, and all too corporate, but… I know you. You THRIVE with a plan, some structure, and clear targets to aim for. So let’s just put those in place. We only need an hour to do it. Because that’s what we’re going to do in the Surviving (And Maybe Even Enjoying) The Holidays workshop next week. Register here! https://partiful.com/e/iql7IdUvmdxmdBmH4Jbw?

here's what I'm up to! And register now for the Surviving (And Maybe Even Enjoying) The Holidays workshop: https://partiful.com/e/iql7IdUvmdxmdBmH4Jbw You’re going to walk away with Want Mode activated and your Holiday Magic plan in place :) (And don’t worry if you can’t make it live – we’ll be sending a replay to everyone who registers. So register today!)

and btw it’s my bday tomorrow :) Register for the Surviving (And Maybe Even Enjoying) The Holidays workshop here! https://partiful.com/e/iql7IdUvmdxmdBmH4Jbw And if you’re wondering what I decided to do for my birthday, anchored 100% in Wants, not Should’s… I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow :) Subscribe to my email newsletter so you don’t miss a thing: https://poojav.substack.com/

The holidays are billed as the happiest time of year – but for many of us, they’re also the most stressful. Join me and Harvard-educated therapist Margaret Wang, LMFT, for a practical workshop designed for high achievers and overthinkers. You’ll learn simple, evidence-based tools to manage overwhelm, redefine success, and bring more calm, intention, and even joy. Register here and tell your friend...