Embracing Enough

For years, I thought my work was about confidence. I built programs around it. I coached women through it. I spoke on stages about it. And over and over again, I found myself returning to the same question: Why do so many brilliant, accomplished women still struggle to believe they're enough? But during my time in Goldman Sachs' Black Women in Business program, something unexpected happene...

What if loneliness isn't a sign that something is wrong with you? What if it's a signal pointing you toward something you deeply need? In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Dina sits down with trauma-informed therapist, speaker, and author Dr. Sylvia Kalicinski to explore the hidden reality of loneliness - especially the kind that exists beneath achievement, competence, leadership, an...

No one is coming to tell you you’re ready. And honestly? That might be the most freeing thing you hear today. In this episode of Embracing Enough , we’re getting into the quiet, invisible pattern that keeps so many brilliant women stuck - not lack of capability, but the habit of waiting. Waiting to be chosen. Waiting to be validated. Waiting for someone to say, “It’s your turn.” In this episode, D...

What if confidence was never something women lacked; but something that was interrupted? In this conversation, I sit down with Jess Weiner - cultural expert, author of A Very Hungry Girl , and longtime advisor to brands like Dove and Barbie - to unpack the deeper story behind how women learn to see themselves, lead, and show up in the world. We go beyond surface-level “confidence” talk and get int...

What if the very thing you’ve been praised for… is the exact thing slowing your leadership down? In this episode of Embracing Enough , we’re getting honest about a pattern too many high-performing women know intimately - but rarely say out loud. Because most women weren’t actually taught leadership. We were taught how to be manageable. Easy to work with. Easy to direct. Easy to overlook. And while...

Season 7 of Embracing Enough is about saying what’salready being said in the group chat - out loud. And today? We’re talking to the woman who has done all the work . Therapy? Check. Books? Highlighted. Podcasts? Saved. Breathwork app? Downloaded. You know the language. You can explain nervous system regulation in a meeting. You’ve taught other people about boundaries. And you are still tired. Not...

Season 7 is about saying what the group chat already knows - out loud. And today’s truth? You are not “low confidence.” You are high-functioning and hypervigilant. This episode is for the woman who leads the meeting. The one with the title. The one people describe as “so confident.” And then the Zoom ends… the door shuts… and the spiral begins. Did I talk too much? Was that too direct? Did I look...

In this episode, Dina sits down with Sophia Mikelionis, founder of Gearing Together, to say the part out loud: You can do everything “right”… and still feel completely drained. Sophia’s résumé checks every box. BBA in Finance from Howard. MBA from Syracuse. Climbed the corporate ladder. Delivered. Performed. Excelled. On paper? Thriving. Behind the scenes? Exhausted. Running on deadlines, pressure...

Let’s say what the group chat already knows: Boundaries don’t feel hard because you’re confused. They feel hard because the minute you set one… the temperature in the room changes. This episode is for the woman who: Knows how to say no; but still explains it for three minutes. Knows she’s overextended; but keeps picking up the extra lift. Knows she’s capable; but still manages the room like it’s h...

What if the reason you feel “inconsistent” has nothing to dowith your willpower… and everything to do with self-betrayal? In this episode of Embracing Enough , Dina sits downwith Courtney Townley , author of The Consistency Code and host of the Grace and Grit podcast , for a leadership truth-telling conversation about the lie women have been sold about discipline. High-achieving women are taught t...

You’ve been told you’re exceptional. Dependable. The one they can count on. And you are. But what if the very trait that made you indispensable… is the thing quietly capping your authority? This episode is not about time management. It’s not about delegation hacks or color-coding your calendar. It’s about identity. Specifically, the identity of being “the reliable one” - and why that role feels po...

In the opening episode of Season 7 of Embracing Enough , host Dina Scippa pulls back the curtain on what women in leadership are actually carrying - and why so many are exhausted despite doing everything “right.” This episode isn’t about fixing confidence or pushing resilience harder. It’s about naming the deeper, systemic patterns that make leadership feel heavy, isolating, and emotionally taxing...

In this powerful conversation, Dina sits down with Leslie Forde - author of Repair with Self-Care and founder of Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs - for a truth-telling dialogue every woman leader needs to hear. Dina first heard Leslie speak in a packed room of women during her DC book tour stop, where you could feel the entire room exhale as Leslie named the invisible load so many of us have been carrying...

In this raw and deeply human episode, Dina pulls back the curtain on a year that didn’t just challenge her - it remade her. The Year I Was Broken Open isn’t a highlight reel. It’s a reckoning. A truth-telling. A look at the kind of leadership growth that doesn’t happen in conference rooms or coaching certifications, but in the messy, intimate corners of real life. Dina shares how this year cracked...

This isn’t a recap. This is a story. A story you need to listen to. In this week’s episode of Embracing Enough , I take you inside the retreat experience in Tulum - not the Instagram version, but the real one. The one where women arrive carrying more than their luggage… and leave carrying more of themselves. I’m talking about the quiet exhaustion women don’t notice until they finally stop. The tru...

What if joy wasn’t the reward for success - but the strategy that leads to it? In this episode of Embracing Enough , I pull back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood truths about leadership: joy isn’t a distraction from ambition; it’s the engine that sustains it. Drawing from deeply personal reflections and early excerpts from her upcoming book, Even Here, Joy , Dina unpacks what it really...

This episode is for every woman who’s ever silenced herself mid-sentence, dimmed her light before walking into a room, or second-guessed a bold move because of one nagging thought: What will people think? In this raw and reflective episode, I unpack my biggest lessons from a whirlwind September - training executives with BTS on authentic presence, leading a global leadership workshop for women fro...

In this powerful episode of Embracing Enough , I sit down with my friend and fellow coach, Meredith Waters - a high-performance coach, strategic consultant, and founder of Thriving at Waters Edge . With nearly two decades of leading international development projects across more than 25 countries, Meredith brings a unique blend of global perspective, hard-won wisdom, and heart-centered leadership....

In this powerful and deeply personal episode of Embracing Enough , Dina sits down with her longtime friend and powerhouse leader, Arivee Vargas, an award-winning executive coach, bestselling author of Your Time to Rise , and host of The Humble Rising Podcast . From their shared roots in small-town Massachusetts to global boardrooms and stages, Dina and Arivee unpack what it really takes to unlearn...

Every time you say yes when you mean no, you’re paying a leadership tax - one that drains your influence, erodes your credibility, and chips away at your self-worth. In this solo episode of Embracing Enough , I pull back the curtain on one of the most common traps leaders fall into: overcommitting out of a desire to be liked, prove themselves, or avoid disappointing others. I share my own hard-ear...

What if true inclusive leadership isn’t about ticking boxes—but about how you choose to show up , even when no one’s watching? In this electric and deeply honest episode of Embracing Enough , I sit down with Kendra Okposo, Director of Change, Transformation & DEI at BTS, social justice advocate, certified emotional intelligence coach, and co-founder of a dog rescue for shelter animals deemed “...

What if the most powerful thing a woman leader could do... was trust herself? In this episode of Embracing Enough , Dina Scippa sits down with Serena Williams (no, not that one - but a force of nature in her own right) for a raw, no-BS conversation about what it really takes to grow as a leader. Serena opens up about her journey through The Leadership Lab , how she faced down career upheaval, and...

Let’s get one thing straight: you were not put on this earth to be liked by everyone in your office. In this powerful solo episode, I'm diving headfirst into the tangled web of perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the trap of approval-seeking - especially how it’s playing out in the workplace for women. I gets real about my own journey of chasing gold stars and external validation, and how it l...

In this episode of  Embracing Enough , we’re digging into a truth too many women know but rarely name: what’s happening at home doesn’t stay at home. The mental load, the invisible labor, the pressure to be everything for everyone—it doesn’t just live in the kitchen or the carpool lane. It bleeds into how we lead, how we love, and how we measure our own worth. This week, Dina is joined by author K...

What if the bravest thing you could do as a leader wasn’t having the answers—but telling the truth when everything’s falling apart? In a world obsessed with optics, this episode is a gut-check and a rally cry for every leader who’s done performing and is ready to lead with radical honesty, unwavering integrity, and a heart for people over perfection. In this raw and powerful episode, host Dina Sci...