Lead to Soar

What do you do when your career hits a standstill? When the next move isn’t obvious. When every option feels compromised. When staying feels wrong, but leaving feels risky. In this episode, Mel Butcher and Michelle Redfern tackle one of the most common moments women leaders face: the career crossroads. This is not about motivation or mindset hacks. It’s about decision-making when information is in...

Succession planning is often treated as a paperwork exercise. Or worse, a private conversation about who feels “ready”. That’s a problem. In this episode, Mel Butcher and Michelle Redfern tackle succession planning as a core leadership responsibility and a critical lever for gender and racial equity. They ask the uncomfortable questions many leaders avoid: Who is really being developed for the nex...

Job hunting is rarely taught properly. Most people are left to figure it out through trial, error, and a lot of unnecessary self-doubt. In this episode, Michelle Redfern is joined by job hunting coach and podcast host Renata Bernarde for a practical, grounded conversation about how women can approach job searching strategically, not reactively. Renata walks through the ABCs of job hunting and expl...

Season 4 opens with a clear message: women’s networks and employee resource groups are not social clubs. Done well, they are leadership engines and change levers inside organisations. In this episode, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher discuss why industry networks, workplace women’s networks, and ERGs matter for women who want to progress and for organisations that are serious about closing the lea...

As Season 3 wraps, Michelle Redfern, Mel Butcher and the other hosts of the Lead to Soar Network reflect on what the so-called “Great Resignation” revealed about women’s careers. Rather than treating it as a trend, this episode examines why many women reassessed loyalty, ambition, and career direction, and what leaders continue to misunderstand about retention, motivation, and commitment. This epi...

A poor boss affects decision-making, energy, confidence, and career momentum. In this episode, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher focus on how women leaders think clearly and act deliberately when leadership above them is failing. The conversation covers: How to recognise when behaviour is no longer tolerable or workable What to consider before escalating concerns or staying put The professional ris...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher tackle a pattern many women recognise instantly but are rarely taught how to manage. They explain what “emotional vampires” look like at work, how to spot the behaviours early, and why these dynamics often land hardest on capable, conscientious women. The conversation moves beyond pop psychology and into practical leader...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern is joined by Amal Yusuf for a grounded conversation about what inclusive leadership looks like in practice. Amal shares her journey from immigrant to senior leader at Delta Air Lines , and reflects on how identity, power, and organisational norms shape who is heard, who is trusted, and who has to work harder to belong. This is not a dis...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern is joined by Dr Jen Frahm , a global authority on organisational change, transformation, and executive leadership. Together, they examine the difference between managing change and being a change leader . This is not a technical conversation about frameworks or spreadsheets. It is about how leaders think, behave, and respond when uncert...

In this Lead to Soar Podcast episode, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher focus on strategic networking as a core career capability, not a personality trait. They walk through five networking fundamentals that consistently shape career progression for women, particularly in systems where access, sponsorship, and informal influence matter as much as performance. The conversation covers: Why networking...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern is joined by Renata Bernarde , executive coach and host of The Job Hunting Podcast , for a grounded conversation about fear of success and imposter syndrome. Rather than treating imposter syndrome as a personal flaw, Renata reframes it as a predictable response to transition, visibility, and risk. Together, she and Michelle examine what...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher tackle one of the most misunderstood areas of leadership and career development: feedback. They challenge the idea that all feedback is a gift and examine why women so often receive guidance that is incomplete, vague, or disconnected from what actually drives progression. This episode is not about being nicer or more pos...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher focus on what it actually means to lead with agility. They examine the role of emotional intelligence in leadership and why effective leaders do not rely on a single default style. Instead, they use different leadership approaches deliberately, based on context, people, and outcomes. The conversation covers: Why emotiona...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern sits down with Jo Thomas , Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute of Business . Jo shares her career journey, including how she came to build her life and career in Australia, and the leadership judgment required to progress through multiple C-suite roles. This is not a linear success story. It is a conversation about scope...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar podcast, Susan Colantuono , Michelle Redfern, and Mel Butcher take a hard look at executive presence —what it actually is, why it matters, and why so much advice aimed at women misses the mark. Executive presence is often framed as polish, confidence, or style. This conversation reframes it as something far more substantive: how leaders are perceived when decisi...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher examine a pattern that shows up across industries and seniority levels: women being relied on to do work that keeps organisations running but does nothing for career progression. They focus on office housework and non-promotable tasks — the organising, note-taking, smoothing, fixing, and emotional labour that benefits te...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern speaks with Alicia Scott , Senior Director of People, Culture and DEI at onsemi . Alicia shares her career journey across more than two decades in the semiconductor industry, one of the most male-dominated and technically demanding sectors. She reflects on what it means to advance as a woman of colour in STEM, how power and credibility...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher focus on one of the most persistent barriers to women’s career progression: financial acumen. They challenge the idea that being “not good with numbers” is a fixed trait and explain why understanding the business's financial story is essential for credibility, influence, and advancement. This is not accounting training....

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher introduce a practical career tool: the “I Don’t” List . This is not about doing less for the sake of it. It is about exercising judgment over what you say yes to, and recognising that every commitment you accept signals how your leadership is positioned and valued. Michelle and Mel explore: Why capable women are often ov...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern is joined by Sheila Flavell , Chief Operating Officer of FDM Group . Sheila reflects on more than three decades in the global technology sector and the leadership judgment required to move from operational excellence to enterprise accountability. She shares her role in FDM’s growth from flotation through to an FTSE 250 listing, and the...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher focus on one of the most practical and confronting questions in leadership: what do you cause? The conversation examines emotional intelligence not as a soft skill, but as a core leadership capability that shapes culture, performance, and trust. Michelle and Mel explore how leaders’ behaviours, reactions, and patterns cr...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher focus on salary negotiation as a strategic career skill. They walk through practical steps women can take to prepare for a pay conversation with their current employer, including how to ground the discussion in value, outcomes, and market context rather than hope or goodwill. The conversation covers: Why preparation matt...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern is joined by Peta Sitcheff for a candid conversation about burnout, pressure, and sustainability in demanding work environments. Peta reflects on her career in sales and customer-facing leadership, and on her lived experience of burnout in male-dominated environments where performance expectations are high and support is often thin. Thi...

In this episode of the Lead to Soar Podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher focus on networking as a strategic leadership skill, not a popularity exercise. They move beyond surface-level advice and examine how intentionally maintained networks create access to information, opportunities, sponsorship, and career protection over time. This is not about working the room or performing with confidenc...

This episode challenges the idea that women can or should “have it all.” It reframes ambition around conscious trade-offs, career seasons, and success defined on your own terms rather than external expectations. Go further If this episode was useful, there are three simple ways to continue. Subscribe on Substack This is now the home of the Lead to Soar podcast. Subscribers receive new episodes, cu...