The Pausecast

What if a pause isn’t about taking time off, but about changing how you show up? In this solo episode, I reflect on a series of experiences that took me from San Francisco to Ireland to India, each offering a different lesson about how we navigate life and leadership. 🌍 A wedding reminded me that connection is a form of wealth. Unpredictable weather in Donegal became an unexpected perspective pau...

What if the thing missing from your leadership isn't another framework... but your body? 🌺 I reconnect with fellow former Googler Elise Birkhofer, who led Google's Women's Initiative for nine years, supporting 60,000 people across 120 countries. After losing her brother, Elise paused, got radically honest about what felt aligned, and built a new life as a love and leadership coach lea...

In Episode 254 of The Pausecast , Rachael sits down with her friend and colleague Wendy Chin, an EQ coach and executive recruiter, to unpack something many high-achieving tech leaders know all too well: the higher you rise, the less your technical expertise alone can carry you. 🧠 Wendy shares practical ways she uses the pause to regulate nerves and get grounded, from wiggling her toes in a meetin...

What if the next step in your career isn't about pushing harder... but pausing long enough to hear yourself think? 🤔 In this episode, I sit down with my former colleague Becky van der Werff to explore her journey from Google to entrepreneurship and what it really takes to navigate a career pivot with confidence. Becky said it best, “Growth begins the moment you trust yourself enough to change...

"Without the people, there is no company."   - Janice Litvin Burnout is often framed as a personal problem to solve. Practice more self-care. Set better boundaries. Become more resilient. In this conversation, burnout prevention expert, speaker, and author Janice Litvin joins me to explore why burnout is a two-way street between people and organizations. We discuss how leaders can create...

What happens when a Silver Medalist, Olympic athlete, F100 leader, women's sports advocate, and cancer survivor shares the lessons she's learned about performance, purpose, and trusting yourself through life's biggest transitions? In this inspiring conversation, I sit down with Kate Johnson, a 2004 Olympic rower, trailblazing sports marketing leader at Google, TED speaker, and breast c...

I share what it's like to go from overthinking to self-trust, and how to navigate career decisions with greater confidence. What happens when you've done everything "right" and still feel stuck? You've built a successful career. You've worked hard. You've checked the boxes. Yet when it comes to making your next big decision, whether it's a promotion, career transi...

  You may not be stuck, you may simply need more intention.  What if your next career move isn’t a promotion… but a deeper alignment with what actually energizes you? In this episode 249 of The Pausecast, I sit down with longtime tech leader, and Google Director  Monique Sanchez  , and longtime x-DoubleClicker colleague of mine for a grounded, honest conversation on navigating career growth in tod...

What if the shift you desire isn’t about DOING more, but becoming more intentional about who you are BEING as you DO? ✨ I got to sit down with former Disney animator, Hollywood producer, speaker, and host of Life of Awesome podcast, Saul Blinkoff , for a conversation on awe, purpose, and what it really means to wake up to your own life - all told in Saul's mesmerizing hollywood-esque narration us...

Networking shouldn’t feel like another task on your already full mental stack. And yet for many of us high-achieving leaders, it still does. Or worse, that dark cloudy dread sets in just thinking about it. Not because you don’t know how to do it… But because your energy is already stretched before you even walk into the room. Whether it’s a conference, a 1:1, or a virtual intro, the real shift isn...

This one is for you as a high-achieving leader who’s doing everything right on paper… and still feels that quiet disconnect underneath. In this episode 246, I share a real client moment around presence and influence. Not the performative kind. The kind where you stop carrying the emotional weight of the room, stop shrinking or posturing… and start leading from grounded authority. Because here’s th...

You’ve done everything “right.” Career milestones, promotions, accolades. And yet… something still feels off. In this episode, we dive into what it really takes to lead with purpose and stay resilient in tech without burning out. We explore why high performance alone doesn’t create fulfillment and how grounding yourself in clarity and presence changes everything. In This Episode: • What to do when...

Nine years ago, Pause was a helpful idea when the book came out April 4, 2017. Today, it’s essential. In this pause-a-versary episode, I share what's different, and what's the same over the past 9 years pause has been in the wild. I reflect on what’s changed, and why the cost of staying in overdrive is not sustainable - esp. in our era of AI, 24x7, even the trendy 996 worklife. The point i...

In this Ep. 243, I sit down with Sharon Salzberg, renoun author and someone known for helping the western world "learn how to meditate." We unpack what “pause” really means in the business world. Not silence, not shutting your mind off, but learning how to meet your thoughts, your stress, your inner noise with clarity and presence. If slowing down feels uncomfortable, or even a little th...

👉 It’s not just layoffs or AI—it’s an identity shift. If your role changed tomorrow… who would you be? 👀 It’s not just layoffs. It’s not even just AI. It’s the quiet question many high achieving leaders are sitting with right now: “If my role changes… or disappears… who am I?” In this episode, we go beyond surface-level career anxiety and into what’s really happening underneath...an identity shi...

" Where do you prioritize, ruthlessly prioritize, and where do you focus your time and your energy? It's about investing in meaningful relationships and creating balance. " - Alyssa Stein, Sr. Director, Cisco In this episode, VIP guest  Alyssa Stein , Senior Director at  Cisco , shares a rare, grounded look at what it  actually  takes to step into a new leadership role with confidenc...

What if you managed your career, energy, and life the same way elite engineers manage mission-critical systems? In Ep 240 of The Pausecast, I chat with Jennifer Petoff , a former PhD chemist turned SRE leader at Google , to explore how Site Reliability Engineering principles can radically change how you work—and live . This is a must-listen for anyone in tech who feels stretched thin, quietly burn...

Ever feel like your  career is moving fast , but your energy and focus aren’t keeping up? What if the secret to leading at your best isn’t  doing more , but  resetting smarter ? In episode 239 of  The Pausecast , I talk with  Kate Eckman , executive coach, performance expert, and author of  The Full Spirit Workout , about practical strategies to boost energy, focus, and resilience—without adding m...

In The Pausecast Ep. 235, Rachael O’Meara sits down with tech entrepreneur Sandra Ma for a refreshingly honest conversation about career reinvention, leaving big tech, leadership, and joy at work. Sandra shares her journey from starting out in finance, to MTV, to Google, to co-founding Jovial , a startup dedicated to helping teams build more human, joyful, and impactful workplace cultures. Togethe...

The path from humble beginnings to tech leadership isn’t linear—and it’s rarely just about working harder. In this honest conversation, I sit down with Chelsea Wierbonski , a 20+ year seasoned product leader and coach in big tech, to unpack the inner work required to lead with clarity when the pace is relentless and the pressure is real. Chelsea opens up about navigating imposter syndrome, chronic...

What if doing meaningful work isn’t enough—you also have to know how to advocate for it? In this episode of The Pausecast , I sit down with my former colleague Liz Heaney , a leader in big tech , for a powerful career conversation about impact, visibility, and resilience inside complex corporate systems. Liz shares what it’s really like to champion accessibility in big tech—the work she does and i...

What if you didn’t have to wait for your job to change… to feel better at work? 😌 This week on The Pausecast VIP , I’m joined by the legendary Marci Shimoff —#1 NYT bestselling author of Happy for No Reason and a global thought leader in personal development. I met Marci a while back at a women's business conference where she spoke, and I fell madly in love with her (and her concepts lol). I...

What if the next level of your leadership doesn’t come from pushing harder—but from pausing on purpose? In this episode of The Pausecast , I sit down with Melody Olson , former Senior Engineering Director at Google, for a refreshingly honest conversation about leadership, career evolution, and what happens when you stop following the “expected” path. After a successful, high-profile career at Goog...

In Ep. 233 of The Pausecast , I sit down with my former big tech colleague Ada Lau and we explore her journey from aspiring journalist to successful big tech leader. Ada shares how she built a career bridging technology and people, and the lessons she’s learned leading high-performing teams in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, and the challenges that she also overcame. We dive into the joys...

Yes, you read that right— AI read my book Pause and pulled out the gold. In this special episode, I share the AI Audio 17 minute synopsis by two completely digital voices as they have coffee chat about the book Pause: Harnessing the Life-Changing Power of Giving Yourself a Break - from Google’s new NotebookLM. The results? Pretty surreal. Surprising. Spot-on. Pause-worthy! Whether you're an AI ent...