Brave Women at Work

Does the idea of quitting something make you cringe? Do you equate it with failure or doing something wrong? I'm sheepishly raising my hand over here. I struggle with quitting anything, sometimes even when it doesn't serve me anymore. This is an interesting feeling, especially when millions of Americans have been quitting during The Great Resignation. During today's show, I'm exploring the concept...

I’m pumped about our guest today, Andrea Holyfield. Andrea and I met like many of my other guests, on LinkedIn. Andrea is different than almost all my guests because she’s allowed the “woo” to enter her career and it’s part of her business. And for those that know me, they know I’m all over the woo. So, what am I talking about? The woo simply means unconventional beliefs related to spirituality, m...

Let's welcome Melanie Pump back to Brave Women at Work! I asked Melanie to come back on to talk with me about the mean girl's environment. You know the one. It's when a fellow female colleague says something backbiting in a meeting or doesn't support you if you get a promotion or if something great happens at work? I don't know about you, but I have personally experienced this before and it stinks...

As we continue to navigate the Great Resignation, I thought it would be great to speak with a career coach on the Brave Women at Work. After all, when we’re applying for jobs, we know that our resume or online application can just go to the bottom of a long list of candidates, especially now with so much movement in almost every industry. My guest today, Lisa Virtue, is a career coach, speaker, an...

Hi Everyone! I have to tell you, I’m really excited about our guest today! Claire Wasserman, author, speaker, and entrepreneur, is talking about something that women don’t talk about enough. Are you ready for it? It’s M-O-N-E-Y. We’re all taught not to talk about money because it’s rude, right? Wrong. Women need to learn more about the way they feel about money, their foundational stories with mon...

With the Great Resignation, everyone is talking about leaving their jobs and finding a new job that better aligns with their values, is in a better work environment, is higher-paying, has more flexibility, or offers better benefits. What I’m not hearing much about is what happens once you get to the new job. You start at this new, shiny job, and then what? Does the magical feeling wear off after t...

Have you ever felt like you’ve made a mess of things? Or that you can’t possibly turn things around because of your past mistakes? I’ve been there. Well, I’m here to tell you that my guest today is living proof that you can turn your personal or professional mess into your message. Christie Ruffino, my guest, has had her share of ups and downs in her life, like we all have. One of Christie’s super...

As this episode airs, you may already be feeling the dragging feeling of winter, especially if you’re in the north of the US like me. Well, I’m super excited for today’s guest because this conversation will be a pick-me-up in your day. It will supercharge you! Marisa Santoro is one of the many podcast guests that I've met on LinkedIn. She has a book, Own Your Authority, which we dive into during o...

I absolutely love today’s guest and she’s the closest person I have to a sister. I asked my friend, Pamela Fierst-Walsh, to come on Brave Women at Work. Pam and I talked about how our friendship has supported us professionally over the years, what a Personal Board of Advisors is and why you may want to consider having one, and why friends often can’t be on your board because they tell you what you...

As you know, I find a lot of people to interview for Brave Women at Work either in my personal network or via LinkedIn. Megan Witherspoon, my guest today, is no exception. The interesting thing about Megan is that she is similar to you listening to the show. She doesn’t have a book or a business. She’s still working a “normal” 9-to-5 job. She’s a working mom. The one big difference is that she mad...

Have you ever met someone and immediately connected with them? When I met my guest for this episode that's exactly what happened! Dion Johnson, AKA the Womanologist, has an amazing story of struggle and triumph that I'm excited for you to hear.  Do you stay in a job or a relationship because it's just comfortable or safer to stay? So many of us struggle with wearing masks and not letting our...

My guest today, Janet Fouts, is an expert on taking care of ourselves and others. Janet and I talked about her new book, Micro Dosed Mindfulness (the book isn't out yet, but soon!), and how we can apply small techniques throughout our day to increase our awareness, lower our stress and increase our productivity. Unlike many of my guests, Janet and I did not meet on LinkedIn. I was introduced to Ja...

We’ve touched on the topic of emotional intelligence during the podcast before, but not as the depth as today’s show. So, what is emotional intelligence or EQ for short? Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Why should we care...

I’m really excited for our guest today, Sarah Marie Liddle. Sarah is a certified life and corporate coach with a specialization in positive psychology. Positive psychology is the scientific study of human flourishing and an applied approach to optimal functioning. As part of this functioning, Sarah and I talked about finding and leveraging our strengths. We so often are focused on our weaknesses a...

What is the difference between grit and grind? I heard this concept referenced recently in a “We Can Do Hard Things” with Glennon Doyle and Brene Brown and I wanted to share my own spin on this concept. Like I’ve mentioned in this podcast before, working women have the tendency to take on all the things without thinking about how it makes us feel. So I wanted to talk about the difference between w...

I know that I feature a lot of books on the Brave Women at Work show, but the book Heart Boss by Regan Walsh really stole my heart. It's a great mix of Regan's personal stories and wisdom that get you thinking about how you can start trusting your intuition more. I know that I often get caught up with being in my head instead of my heart. And while thinking logically will take us very far, sometim...

We’re going to talk about a very important topic - living and working in diverse and equitable cultures. You may have heard about this as DEI or diversity, equity, and inclusion. DEI is a term used to describe programs and policies that encourage representation and participation of diverse groups of people, including people of different genders, races and ethnicities, abilities and disabilities, r...

So, you’re probably wondering, “What is the red thread?” A red thread is the through-line of any story. It’s the answer to why people should care. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve blurted out my ideas without fully thinking them through. The words fall out of my mouth because of habit or because I’m afraid I’m going to forget my idea if I hold onto it. Can you relate? During my conversation wi...

With many working women feeling a bit drained around this time of year, I thought it would be a good reminder for all of us to put our oxygen masks on first. So, what do I mean by this? The phrase comes from the information that flight attendants give everyone before flying. The flight attendants say to put your mask on before helping everyone else, even your children and family members. So, what...

I have a quote for today’s discussion on personal branding. It is “Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you're than you!” This quote is from Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss was right. There is no one you-er than you. And each person that you encounter has their own unique strengths and perspectives. You can call it their personal brand. Today we’re going to explore what a...

Have you ever had a situation where you shrank back and let fear win? You didn’t pursue the thing or the next step personally or professionally because you let fear or Imposter Syndrome get the best of you? Well, this story is not about fear taking center stage. This podcast is about feeling the fear and taking steps anyway. I think we can all agree that fear is a natural part of life. We all feel...

Have you ever looked in the mirror and called yourself fat or ugly? Have you felt body shame because you didn’t feel good in the body you are in? I’ve definitely been there. There were years that I felt like I wasn’t thin enough or tried to hide out in baggy clothes. I would over-exercise because I thought if I exercised more than enough, it could make up for how I felt. I’m sure I’m not alone her...

I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Maybe that was a bad idea. Does that make sense? I was just….fill in the blank. I’m sorry I bumped into you. That was good, right? I’m still policing myself for using weak language. Weak language takes us out of our power at work and puts us in a lower position of credibility. Weak words don't help us get our point across, present our ideas, sell the thing and help...

In this special episode, I'm joined by my daughter, Charlotte, to talk about what she learned from running a lemonade stand this summer. Making this episode was such a special memory for us, I call Charlotte 'little Yoda' because she is wise beyond her years!  Charlotte will tell you what motivated her to keep going even when it seemed like customers had dried up. And what makes her a brave (...

When someone asks you how you are, what do you say? Most likely, you say that you’re busy. All this busyness and this going, going, going is stacking up to a lack of sleep among most Americans, which includes us working women out there. I looked up what the average American worker gets in terms of sleep each night and it is 6.8 hours. That is less than what we need. According to the National Sleep...