Shameless Leadership

Monica Froese is a digital product coach for women business owners and host of the popular podcast, Empowered Business. She has an MBA degree in finance and marketing and runs two brands Redefining Mom, a site for helping women thrive in both motherhood and business, and Empowered Business, where she’s committed to empowering 1000 women to earn $100,000 through digital products. She spent 11 years...

I might have had too much fun with this…  The truth is I can geek out talking about business all day long. Why, you ask? Because stepping into my identity as a business owner and entrepreneur has allowed me to step into my role as a leader. Before I had a business, I did not see myself as a leader.  A loudmouth? Maybe.  Outspoken? For sure. But a leader? Nope.  When I started owning that I was, in...

Featured in The New York Times and The Washington Post, Christine Michel Carter is the #1 global voice for working moms⁣. She is also the bestselling author of children’s book Can Mommy Go To Work? and adult novel MOM AF. In 2015, Christine created the first national mommy and me professional development networking event called Mompreneur and Me, which was featured in Adweek and Entrepreneur⁣. She...

“Sara, how do you run your business??”  Well, let me tell you…. I get asked business questions pretty much every single day. Everything from the nitty gritty on how to produce a podcast to how to support clients with varying needs to how to stay inspired and pumped up year after year to what kinds of software to use. SO MANY QUESTIONS!  While members of Tenacious Mamas, my business and leadership...

Elena Joy Thurston is an inspirational LGBTQ+ speaker, trainer, and founder of the nonprofit Pride and Joy Foundation. A Mormon mom of four who lost her marriage, her church, and her community when she came out as a lesbian, Elena’s viral TEDx talk on surviving conversion therapy has been viewed 40,000+ times and landed her media and speaking opportunities with ABC, CBS, Logitech, Penn State, and...

I’ve been watching the ones who say yes over the past couple years. The ones who say yes when others won’t. The ones who say yes even when they aren’t certain they’ll be successful. The ones who say yes because they see possibility and potential.  Sometimes the ones who say yes are my mentors. Sometimes they are my clients. Sometimes they are my friends.  I’m always in awe. When you say yes, it in...

Hitha Palepu is a woman of multitudes, which is what I loved most about her the first time she came on the show. She is a feminist, a lifelong politics enthusiast, a daughter of immigrants, and a mother raising feminist sons. These multitudes spill into her multi-hyphenated career as an entrepreneur, investor, writer, and speaker. Hitha’s passion for the news and politics is captured in #5SmartRea...

Do you catch yourself ruminating on why things are so hard, or spiraling into endless descents of negative self talk, or taking on a constant attitude of, “of course this isn’t going to work out the way I wanted it to”?  I’m wondering if, over the course of your journey through motherhood, and layering in the last 20 months of a pandemic, you’ve fallen into a pattern of letting doubt become your d...

Jasmine Bradshaw is a researcher, anti-racist educator, and podcaster who truly believes that creating a more loving, inclusive, and just society starts within the sacred walls of our homes. Her podcast, First Name Basis, exists to give parents and caregivers the tools they need to raise anti-racist families. Each week we wrestle with hard questions and use the answers to create the world we want....

I’ve been sitting on this episode for awhile because it feels like a big responsibility to open up this conversation. The longer I sat on this topic, the more content I came up with - to the point that it seemed there might be no end to my list of “Reasons Why Moms Make Better Leaders At Work.”  I am releasing this list today while fully acknowledging that this is probably just the beginning of th...

Dr. Traci Baxley is a mother of five, consultant, educator and coach dedicated to supporting families, organizations and corporations in developing diversity & inclusion practices that lead to meaningful relationships, genuine belonging and high productivity. She is also the creator of Social Justice Parenting®, a philosophy that moves families from fear-based parenting to creating spaces of belon...

Everyday you have the chance to show up for yourself, your family and your community in a myriad of ways. On hard days, showing up feels nearly impossible. Heck, some days it is impossible.   As we endure the most relentless of seasons, there are a number of ways you can show up, one small step at a time - to keep up your drive, your sense of self, and a bit of momentum. Showing up in small ways o...

Khalilah Lyons is the founder of Answer the Moment, LLC, as well as a keynote speaker, mentor, advisory council member, thought leader. She is also a diversity, equity and inclusion leader devoted to the advocacy of the underrepresented and untapped talent in others. Through her practical approach, she integrates passion and purpose to disrupt narratives and create cultures of inclusion where peop...

I recently made a big, bold move that resulted in a pretty awesome win. I couldn’t decide if I should share this win publicly. It felt a little braggy and privileged to share a big win when so many people are struggling right now.  As I kept this win to myself over the course of a few weeks, I started to think about the consequences of not sharing.  When we don’t share our wins, we don’t get to fu...

DarNesha Weary is a Shameless Mom of 2 young adults, the owner of Black Coffee NW, a community leader, an event organizer, a culture shifter, and a change maker. I discovered DarNesha while following Black Coffee NW on social media and knew I wanted to invite her on the show. Over the last year I’ve watched her family build and rebuild their business as they have been the target of hate crimes. I’...

I recently completely lost my shit at the bank. Through a series of events that were unexpected and inconvenient, I was unable to get what I needed at my bank - on two separate occasions within the same week.  This led to a meltdown in my car on a Tuesday afternoon. Screaming and crying in the bank parking lot. If you’re imagining me red faced, slobbering and irrational - like a toddler, you would...

New York Times bestselling author Ruth Soukup is dedicated to helping women everywhere create a life they love, encouraging her more than 1 million subscribers to follow their dreams and reach their goals. She is the host of the wildly popular Do It Scared podcast, as well as the founder of the Living Well Planner® and Elite Blog Academy®, as well as the author of six books, including her newest b...

Last May, as we approached the end of Mental Health Awareness Month, I decided to share my own story around mental health and, specifically, around my diagnoses of PTSD and General Anxiety Disorder.  I heard from so many of you who could relate to my story.  A large number of those of you who reached out to say “me too” also shared that you struggled with the same diagnoses.  Given this feedback,...

Jessica Frew is a wife, ex-wife, mom, stepmom, and BOLD action taker. She has a successful podcast called “Husband in Law” that she records with her husband, Matt, and her ex-husband, Steve. Together they are sharing their stories of love, marriage, coming out, divorce, remarriage, and co-parenting to help others know they are not alone. They also co-own The BOLD Logic. A company devoted to helpin...

How often have you made yourself smaller because you didn’t want to make other people feel uncomfortable? You didn’t want to outshine someone, you didn’t want to hold someone responsible, you didn’t want to make someone take a closer look at themself? Perhaps you find yourself keeping your voice quiet and small because you are worried that your louder, bigger voice would make too much noise for an...

Nicole Lynn Lewis is a mom of 4, a social entrepreneur, and the founder of the nonprofit Generation Hope. As a teen mother, she put herself through the College of William & Mary, starting as a freshman when her daughter was just three months old. She has been named a CNN Hero and won the Roslyn S. Jaffe Award. She has appeared on CNN, NBC Nightly News, “Good Morning America,” and her journey has b...

The chaos & clutter are real. Not just in our homes, but in our heads, my friends.  As we continue to navigate the most challenging and relentless season of most of our lives, it is easy to let our minds get the best of us.  The overwhelm is real. The fear is palpable. The stress is justified.  It is in these moments that our minds tend to run away without our permission. We go to worst case scena...

Andrea Owen is the author of 3 books, a global speaker, certified life coach, and hell raiser who helps high-achieving women maximize unshakeable confidence, and master resilience. She has taught hundreds of thousands of women tools and strategies to be able to empower themselves to live their most kick-ass life through speaking, her books, coaching, and her wildly popular podcast, Make Some Noise...

How did we get here? 12 weeks ago we kicked off our Lead Like A Mother Summer Series. This was back in June when the world was full of hope and it looked like things could be really turning around in this pandemic.  12 weeks later, we are still here.  And so is the pandemic.  As we close out this series, I want to invite you to consider how the lessons of this series apply to you at any time, in a...

Abby Medcalf is a Relationship Maven, psychologist, author, podcast host, and Tedx speaker who has helped thousands of people think differently so they can create connection, ease, and joy in their relationships (especially the one with yourself)! With her unique background in both business and counseling, she brings a fresh, effective perspective to life’s struggles using humor and her direct, no...