UNSHAKEABLE HER: Get Promoted by Building Leadership, Influence and Confidence (For Women Done Being Overlooked)

Are you doing brilliant work at your job but still being overlooked for bigger opportunities? This episode explores why confidence and technical expertise are not always the real differentiators in career growth. For women navigating corporate leadership, the real advantage often comes from understanding the wider business context, spotting patterns, and connecting daily work to strategic outcomes...

International Women’s Day can spark great conversations… and then Monday arrives and everything snaps back to “busy.” This episode is the follow-through. If you manage people, this is your practical guide to turning fairness from a once-a-year moment into decision hygiene : the everyday habits that shape who gets seen, backed, and promoted. In this episode, you’ll learn Why most workplaces don’t h...

International Women’s Day is a moment - but leadership is what happens on a random Tuesday when nobody’s watching. This episode is for managers and senior leaders who genuinely want fairer outcomes… and who are ready to stop relying on good intentions and start using better habits. We’re using the IWD 2026 theme Give To Gain to break down the four “gives” that change careers in real life: credit,...

Are you leading a hybrid team and quietly wondering whether you’re creating clarity or just managing chaos? Hybrid working promises flexibility, but for many leaders it often feels fragmented, messy, and harder than it should. In this episode, Caroline Esterson explores why hybrid leadership can feel especially challenging for new leaders and shares practical ways to make it work better for both y...

Stepping into leadership can feel exciting… and quietly overwhelming. In this reflective episode of Little Moves, Big Careers , Caroline pulls together the key lessons from four powerful career conversations - each revealing what leadership really looks like behind the scenes. From curiosity over certainty to identity over perfection, this episode explores the truths nobody spells out when you fir...

Discipline isn’t about willpower. It’s about trade-offs. In this episode of Little Moves, Big Careers , Caroline chats with Dr. Keith Dorsey about the habits that quietly shape extraordinary careers - from martial arts at six years old, to the US Air Force, to leading major corporate turnarounds and serving on boards. They explore: Why discipline is a muscle; not a personality trait The leadership...

What if leadership isn’t about having the answers at all? In this episode, I’m joined by leadership coach and former senior police leader Zoe Thompson , whose 20-year career in policing offers some of the most honest, grounded lessons I’ve heard about trust, ego, and what leadership really looks like when the pressure is on. We talk about leading people who know more than you, being comfortable sa...

Careers don’t follow straight lines. They zig, they stall, they fall over… and sometimes they completely reinvent themselves. In Part 2 of my conversation with the brilliant Sonia Allen, we dig into the transferable skills that future-proof your career , how to bounce back from big professional knockbacks , and why sometimes the scenic route turns out to be the smartest one. From walking away from...

Ordinary choices, extraordinary resilience and a career built with courage, curiosity and a lot of grit. What does real resilience actually look like over a lifetime (not just in the highlight reel)? In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Caroline sits down with her lifelong friend Sonia Allen to explore a career built on grit, curiosity, and bold decisions (even when the odds were sta...

This is a very special episode of the podcast. Today’s conversation is with Jon Turner, Managing Director of Siemens Electrification & Automation in the UK and Ireland AND the very first person I interviewed for the book research that sparked this whole project. It was in this conversation that the “little moves” pattern first became impossible to ignore. Jon’s career was shaped by sliding-doo...

Before we dive into real-life career stories, let’s talk about something seriously underrated: noticing . Big career changes rarely start with big decisions.  They start with small signals we almost ignore. In this short, punchy bridge episode, Caroline shares a personal story and explains why the moments that don’t look like turning points often matter most. You’ll learn Why your emotional reacti...

2025 wasn’t dramatic in one big way; it was heavy in lots of small ones. In this episode, Caroline Esterson reflects on what last year really taught us about work, careers, and ourselves AND how to move into 2026 with more clarity, energy, and intention. From isolation and hybrid working, to AI overload, budget cuts, and collective exhaustion, this isn’t about predictions or platitudes. It’s about...

A quieter, gentler story to close the series. Ellie, home on Boxing Day, surrounded by cold stuffing, rogue Brussels sprouts, and the sudden realisation that she can’t keep shrinking at work. No big drama. No catastrophe. Just an honest, still moment - the kind that changes a life quietly. In this episode you’ll hear: Why identity beats resolutions Why quiet decisions stick longer than loud declar...

Ah, the office Christmas party. Less “festive joy,” more “performance review with glitter.” Nia (our quietly brilliant operations manager ) positions herself near the buffet like a tactical genius. But when Gareth from Sales knocks the cable out of the snow machine mid-brag, the night descends into festive chaos. Nia steps in with the kind of calm, grounded authority that makes real leadership obv...

Pressure: This is the big one. The call centre story. The real, messy, emotionally brilliant tale of Amina - QC Queen, calm diplomat, and unofficial backbone of the entire operation.  On December 22nd the wallboard turns red, the VIP line collapses, agents are in tears, and the CEO shows up unannounced… just in time to take a call he’s absolutely not ready for. Amina doesn’t rescue him.  She revea...

Episode 2 brings us to the Marketing department, where a mystery Christmas hamper lands on Desk 14, belonging to the formidable Margaret - patron saint of “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed.”   Cue panic, silence, and the kind of tension only a British office can generate over chutney, cheese wheels, and a questionable ribbon. A tiny moment of misplaced gifting turns into a masterclass in patte...

In Episode 1 we meet Holly - a 19-year-old Christmas temp who gets dropped into a chaotic consultancy in December… the exact moment clients start demanding miracles before close-down. Holly doesn’t shout, she doesn’t flail, she doesn’t grandstand. She notices . She organises. She builds the one thing the entire team needed and didn’t realise: a list that prevented a full-blown Christmas Eve catast...

Being the one who keeps their job sounds like relief… until the reality kicks in: guilt, fear you’re next, shaky culture, doubled workloads, and zero guidance on how to move forward. This episode is for the people who stay after a redundancy wave and are left to rebuild confidence, clarity, culture, and boundaries in the aftermath. We dig into: The emotional whiplash no one talks about Guilt, anxi...

Now we rebuild - not the old way, but smarter. This episode helps you design a career comeback plan that’s practical, intentional, and you-shaped. It’s not about getting back on the ladder; it’s about building one that actually leads somewhere you want to go. Quick Move: Map your “Next 5 Little Moves” - because small steps build big momentum. Download the Redundancy Reset Workbook - 5 power moves,...

Networking after redundancy can feel like trying to flirt after a bad breakup. But this time, we’re doing it with purpose and self-respect. You’ll learn how to reconnect, show up online, and talk about what’s next without begging for validation. Quick Move: Message three people with curiosity, not desperation. Download the Redundancy Reset Workbook - 5 power moves, the Impact Translator, the Progr...

You’ve got skills. You’ve got stories. You’ve got receipts. But can you say what you’re brilliant at without sounding desperate or cringe? We’ll fix that fast. This episode helps you reframe your experience, find your voice again, and pitch yourself like someone who knows their worth. Quick Move: Write your “Genius Soundbite” - a one-liner that captures your impact. Download the Redundancy Reset W...

When your confidence takes a hit, overthinking moves in and starts redecorating. Here’s how to kick it out and get back into action. We’ll talk micro-wins, momentum, and the sneaky science behind why movement beats motivation every time. Quick Move: One 5-minute task that reminds you you’re still a total pro. Download the Redundancy Reset Workbook - 5 power moves, the Impact Translator, the Progre...

The shock, the shame, the emotional hangover - let’s be honest, redundancy stings.  In this episode, we’ll unpack what just happened, why it feels personal (even when it isn’t), and how to stop replaying the bad bits on loop. Quick Move: Write your “Not Lost List” - the things redundancy didn’t take from you. Download the Redundancy Reset Workbook - 5 power moves, the Impact Translator, the Progre...

Ever been told you need to tone it down, stay in your lane, or “just fit in first”? This episode of Little Moves, Big Careers is your permission slip to stop sanding down your edges. Caroline dives deep into the Maverick’s Survival Guide - a bold, honest look at how people who think differently can survive (and actually thrive) inside systems that aren’t built for them. She explores what happens w...

What if excellence isn’t about working harder… but managing your energy, pride, and discipline smarter? This week, Caroline dives into the difference between commitment and compliance and why whole teams leak energy when excellence turns into exhaustion. You’ll Learn How to spot when effort has become self-harm, not self-respect Why excellence starts with calm clarity What “energy leaks” are, and...