Work Besties Who Podcast

Have you ever walked away from a difficult conversation and suddenly thought of the perfect response? There is a reason that happens. We loved Jennifer Prendergast’s explanation of the “flipped lid” in Episode 105 so much that we wanted to revisit it and give it more space in this Summer Friday Bonus. Jennifer guides us through the hand model of the brain to explain what happens when stress activa...

Because burnout does not always arrive all at once. Sometimes it starts quietly: one ignored boundary, one skipped break, one more “I’ll just handle it,” one more “I’m fine” when you are absolutely not fine. In this episode, Jess and Claude talk about the silent drain of burnout and how work besties can help us catch it before it becomes a crash. They break down what burnout is, what it is not, an...

What if your work, your ideas, and even your relationships were meant to function like ecosystems, not deadlines? In this episode, we sit down with Tigrilla Gardenia , a nature-inspired mentor and plant neurobiology expert, for one of our most surprising and thought-provoking conversations yet. Tigrilla shares her journey from music, technology, Microsoft, and Cirque du Soleil to living in a spiri...

New Summer Friday Bonus episode is live! We are back with more from Jodie Goldberg, and this time we are talking about collective intelligence, leadership, and how to bring out the wisdom already sitting inside your team. Because sometimes the leader does not need every answer — they just need to create the space for the best ideas to rise. Send us Fan Mail You can watch the full episode on Youtub...

Bad meetings are not just annoying. They are expensive. In this episode of Work Besties Who Podcast, Jess and Claude sit down with Jodie Goldberg to talk about how meetings can either build connection, clarity, and trust — or completely drain the room. Jodie shares why better meetings start with intention, not just an agenda. From setting a clear purpose to creating meeting norms, managing over-ta...

Have you ever said yes when you really wanted to say no? Or walked away from a conversation feeling drained, anxious, or unsure why it affected you so much? In this episode of Work Besties Who Podcast, Jess and Claude sit down with therapist, coach, author, and YouTube creator Shannon Petrovich to talk about toxic communication patterns, people-pleasing, narcissistic behavior, and how healthy boun...

Have you ever left a meeting thinking, “Why didn’t I just say what I really meant?” In this episode of Work Besties Who Podcast, Jess and Claude sit down with Jennifer Prendergast to talk about truth-telling at work, psychological safety, trauma-informed leadership, and why so many workplace conversations feel harder than they should. Jennifer breaks down how nervous system awareness can help us b...

What if the conversation you’re avoiding is the one you actually need? This month on Work Besties Who Podcast, we’re kicking off our Communication & Transformation theme with a big one: how to talk it out at work. In this episode, Jess and Claude talk about conflict, feedback, listening, and how to say the thing clearly without making it messy. Because silence is not always peace, and sometime...

What if allyship is not just one big brave moment — but something we practice every day? In Episode 103 of Work Besties Who Podcast, Jess and Claude welcome Sandra Coker, founder and CEO of Human Power Solutions, for a conversation about everyday allyship, people-first leadership, mentorship, and the small workplace moments that help people feel seen, supported, and able to grow. Sandra shares pra...

What if the best leaders are not the ones who had the easiest path — but the ones who know what it feels like to need support? In this episode of Work Besties Who Podcast , Jess and Claude sit down with Allie Grack , founder of Workhorse Marketing , for a powerful and honest conversation about resilience, empathy, leadership, and building teams that do not burn out. Allie shares how her early life...

Have you ever wished you had a mentor, but had no idea where to find one? This month, we’re talking about mentorship and allyship — but not just the formal, structured kind. In this episode, we’re rethinking what mentorship can look like and why the person helping you grow may already be sitting right next to you: your work bestie. We talk about peer mentorship, why work besties often give the mos...

What started as two coworkers laughing through stressful projects somehow turned into 100 episodes of Work Besties Who Podcast . In this milestone episode, Jess and Claude go back to the beginning: how they met, how their work friendship started, the stressful project that brought them closer, the matching outfits that put them “on the map,” and the chaotic little idea that eventually became this...

Have you ever been asked, “What salary are you looking for?” and suddenly forgotten every impressive thing you’ve ever done? In this episode of Work Besties Who Podcast, Jess and Claude sit down with Megan Applegate, a former recruiter and Talent Acquisition Director, to talk about one of the most stressful career conversations: salary negotiation. Megan shares what professionals often misundersta...

What does it really mean to know your worth? In this episode, Dr. Cynthia Coy joins us for an honest and empowering conversation about self-worth, confidence, boundaries, and the inner work it takes to fully recognize your value. Too often, people look for outside validation to define who they are. But true worth is not based on applause, titles, relationships, or approval from others. It comes fr...

Have you ever read the books, made the plan, and still frozen when it was finally time to ask for more? In this episode, we talk with Jennifer Kornoely about why that happens — and why confidence around money usually does not grow in silence. We explore how women are taught not to talk about money, why information alone rarely turns into action, and how trusted community can change the way women p...

Have you ever looked at your paycheck and thought, “Wait… is this it?” Or watched someone else get promoted while doing work that looks a lot like yours? This episode is all about helping you ask for more at work — whether that means salary, a promotion, better boundaries, or new opportunities. We talk through one of the biggest myths in the workplace: that if you work hard enough, someone will au...

Jess and Claude tackle one of the biggest career questions many of us quietly carry: How do you know whether to stay, shift, or go? This conversation is not just about work. It is about confidence, energy, identity, relationships, and the ways work can start following you home. Together, they unpack why awareness comes before any big career decision and why the real question is often not just “How...

How do you know when a relationship needs repair… and when it’s revealing a dealbreaker? In Episode 94, we sit down with Shelley Badayos to unpack one of the messiest questions in love, friendship, and work-bestie relationships: what is actually fixable, and what is costing you too much to keep normalizing? We talk about attachment patterns, why we repeat what feels familiar, the difference betwee...

In this episode, we sit down with David Prosper, aka The Clarity Guy , for a conversation on career pivots, overthinking, burnout, and what it really takes to move forward when you don’t have the full plan. David shares why clarity is not about knowing the entire outcome — it’s about identifying your next right step . We talk about why high performers often get stuck, how overthinking keeps people...

Elena Donskaya had the career, the title, the team, the family, and everything that looked like success from the outside. But inside, something felt off. In this episode, Elena opens up about the moment she realized her “first mountain” wasn’t fulfilling what it had promised, how she began listening to the whispers of her intuition, and what eventually led her from Wall Street into coaching women...

Have you ever opened LinkedIn, seen someone announce a new job, and immediately started rethinking your entire life? Or had a normal Tuesday and one email made you think: maybe I should become a florist. If that’s you, welcome to career clarity and pivoting —the Work Besties way. Jess & Claude break down how to stop making decisions in panic after one bad meeting and start gathering real data...

In this episode of Work Besties Who Podcast , Jess and Claude sit down with executive coach and leadership strategist Kathryn Booker-Veloz to answer the question so many professionals struggle with: How do you show up authentically—without oversharing and regretting it later? Kathryn breaks down what real workplace authenticity looks like (hint: it’s not perfection, and it’s not bringing every per...

If you’ve ever been the person who “just handles it,” this episode is for you. Jess and Claude sit down with leadership coach Ronni Landeck to talk about authenticity at work that’s rooted in alignment (not performance), boundaries that protect your time without sounding difficult, and communication that doesn’t come with a side of apology. They kick off with a powerful distinction: being a high p...

We all want to “be ourselves” at work… but many of us learned to survive by wearing masks: the high performer mask, the people-pleaser mask, the “I’m fine” mask. In this episode, Jess & Claude sit down with Adriana Vaccaro , CEO and Founder of Culture Redesigned , to unpack what masking actually is, why it happens, and how it quietly becomes your personal brand. You’ll learn how to recognize w...

Ever notice your voice goes two octaves higher in a meeting—or you rewrite the same email sentence five times because it sounds “too much like you”? In this episode, we’re exploring authenticity at work without turning it into oversharing. Because being yourself at work gets easier when someone else sees you and helps you stay aligned. This month’s commitment: we don’t punish honesty—we reward it...