Leadership & Career Development Podcast for Women Since 2007 with Executive Coach Sabrina Braham MA MFT PCC2026-11-03T15:28:28-06:00

Welcome to the Women’s Leadership Podcast

Do you want to expand your potential and achieve great success? You have come to the right place. The Women’s Leadership podcast was created to help you. For over 30 years, I have been involved in research & cutting-edge practices that have helped thousands of people get promoted and become top leaders.

In this one-of-a-kind women’s leadership podcast, you will get actionable advice and tips and hear stories from over 170 top female (and men) thought leaders to help you be a better leader, advance your career, increase your income, help you have more influence and have a better quality of life in work and play.

This Women’s Leadership podcast is ideal for you if you are a new supervisor, manager, existing C-Suite, seasoned entrepreneur leader, or aspire to be one.

How to Use Women’s Leadership Podcast to Excel in Your Leadership, Career, and Income

Women’s Leadership Podcast with Sabrina Braham

Executive Leadership Coach Sabrina Braham MA MFT PCC

To find a specific topic to help you succeed, use the Women’s Leadership Podcast “Topics” category search on the right-hand sidebar, or the search magnifying glass on the top navigation bar. Also, on the lower right-hand sidebar, check out some of the “Most Popular Shows” of the Women’s Leadership Success podcasts, where we are some of the most popular authors, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders dedicated to helping you enhance your leadership.

The results I have had with my clients inspired me to launch and develop this Women’s Leadership podcast to give you that same opportunity to excel in your leadership & career by sharing my expertise and interviewing top leaders in business to discover the secrets to their great success.

Women's Leadership Success | Listen Notes

We have produced this Women’s Leadership Podcast since 2007, have had over 1,000,000 downloads, and have ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide. We are so happy and excited to hear from many listeners that this podcast for women has helped them.

Women's Leadership Success Podcast: hits 1MM downloads & worldwide 1.5% ranking

We know the advice and wisdom in this Women’s Leadership Podcast will change you…if you listen and implement the actions that are suggested in these programs.

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Women’s Leadership Executive Coach Sabrina Braham MA MFT PCC

Thank you for listening to one of the first women’s leadership podcasts ever. May I ask you a favor?

Please give us a quick rating and review in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast platform and share this special leadership podcast for women with others so that we can help more women succeed together.

I want to hear from you too. Please post your thoughts and questions in the “Leave a Comment” box below each show.

Wishing you great success, Sabrina Braham MA MFT PCC

Successful but Unfulfilled? 5 Hidden Forces Keeping High Achievers Stuck, and How to Break Free

Successful but Unfulfilled? 5 Hidden Forces Keeping High Achievers Stuck, and How to Break Free

Last updated: October 27, 2026

Trusted by leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, MGM Grand Resorts, and Farmers Insurance

Executive Summary

If you feel successful but unfulfilled, you are not alone: 60% of senior women report frequent burnout (Women in the Workplace, 2025). Former McKinsey partner Ashish Kothari reveals five hidden forces that keep high achievers stuck and shares three practical steps to find more meaning in your success.

Quick Takeaways

  • Feeling successful but unfulfilled is a signal, not a personal failure or weakness.
  • Five hidden forces hold you in place: identity, worthiness, routines, relationships, and expertise.
  • Your body often registers misalignment before your mind can explain it.
  • A one-week “field diary” reveals what energizes and drains you, hour by hour.
  • Ten to twenty people can show you strengths you cannot see yourself.

The Hidden Cost of Success: Why High Achievers Feel Successful but Unfulfilled

As an executive leadership coach with more than 30 years of experience (MA, MFT, PCC) and host of the Women’s Leadership Success Podcast, ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide with 57,000+ monthly downloads, I hear one quiet confession more than almost any other: “I have everything I worked for. So why do I feel successful but unfulfilled?”

This is not a private problem. In the most recent Women in the Workplace report (McKinsey & LeanIn.Org, 2025), about 60% of senior-level women said they frequently felt burned out, compared with 50% of senior men. That is the highest level in five years, and many are recalculating whether the climb is worth it.

My own story started in a very different place. I grew up poor, with food insecurity, and nobody expected much of me. I still ended up with anxiety after I “made it.” That taught me something I now share with every client: achievement cannot fill an emptiness that only meaning can fill. When you understand that, you stop chasing the next title to fix how you feel, and you start building a career that actually feeds you.

That is why I invited Ashish Kothari to the show. Ashish spent 17 years at McKinsey & Company, made partner in six years, and walked away from a seven-figure role to found Happiness Squad. He is the author of Hardwired for Happiness: 9 Proven Practices to Overcome Stress and Live Your Best Life and host of the Flourishing Edge podcast. In Part 1 of our conversation, he explains why so many high achievers feel successful but unfulfilled, and exactly how to change it.

Hardwired for Happiness book cover by Ashish Kothari: 9 Proven Practices to Overcome Stress and Live Your Best Life
Hardwired for Happiness by Ashish Kothari

When I asked Ashish what listeners could expect if they applied his advice, he did not hesitate:

“I think they can go from being miserably successful to joyfully significant.” — Ashish Kothari

“Perfection Is the Price”: How the Climb Begins

Ashish’s drive started with a story he told himself at age seven. He came home with 97 out of 100 on a math test. His mother, a PhD gold medalist in calculus, praised him and then pointed out the three questions she knew he could have answered. Next time, she said, check your work so you can get to 100.

Her love never depended on his grades. But the seven-year-old inside him concluded something else.

“The story was: perfection is the price I had to pay to be loved.” — Ashish Kothari

That story fueled him through IBM and a McKinsey partnership. Then, at 42, he began waking up anxious, though his health, marriage, and finances were fine. “My body knew it before my head knew it,” he told me. The work mattered to clients, but not to what he personally cared about.

He wasn’t burned out in the classic sense. He rarely worked weekends and took real vacations. That’s the part high achievers miss: you can have a balanced calendar and still feel successful but unfulfilled, because balanced hours are not aligned purpose.

Coach’s Note

Many clients name their own “seven-year-old story” early, such as “I have to be the one who never drops the ball.” Naming it lets you choose whether it still serves you. If anxiety persists, please also talk with a licensed health professional.

The 5 Hidden Forces That Keep You Successful but Unfulfilled

Ashish is building a nine-month fellowship called Escape Velocity for leaders in their 40s and 50s who have reached the top and cannot break away. The name comes from his framework: five forces, or “gravities,” that hold high achievers in place long after the work stops feeding them.

5 hidden forces that keep high achievers successful but unfulfilled: identity, worthiness, routines, relationships, expertise
The 5 hidden forces that keep high achievers stuck

1. The Gravity of Identity

“If I’m not a partner, if I’m not a CFO, who am I?” When your title becomes your identity, you cannot imagine anything else. Ashish’s reminder is simple: you were not born a CFO, marketer, or banker. You chose that path in your early 20s. Just because it defined who you are today does not have to define who you become.

2. The Gravity of Worthiness

Our culture ties worth to output. Step back, and you worry what others, and you, will think. It’s especially strong for women taught to over-deliver to be taken seriously.

3. The Gravity of Routines

The house, the school tuition, the club, the vacations. Everything you built to set you free can quietly become a prison. You get through each week instead of enjoying it.

4. The Gravity of Relationships

We have real commitments to family, colleagues, and clients. Yet, as Bronnie Ware found in her work with the dying, the top regret is not living a life true to oneself.

5. The Gravity of Expertise

“I’ve spent 20 years mastering this.” Expertise feels too valuable to leave, even when you no longer enjoy it. Yet you spend most of your waking hours at work. As Ashish asks, why would you not want to flourish there?

Most people only escape these gravities after a disruption: a layoff, a divorce, an illness, a loss. Ashish’s invitation is to stop waiting for a crisis to give you permission. If you feel successful but unfulfilled right now, that feeling is your early warning system.

Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC, executive leadership coach for individuals and leadership teams

Successful but unfulfilled? You don’t have to map your next chapter alone.

I coach executives and leadership teams to turn hard-won success into work that feels meaningful again, and gets noticed at the highest levels.

Individual Executive Coaching

  • Name what’s holding you in place and loosen its grip
  • Clarify the strengths others already see in you
  • Build a clear plan for your next role or chapter

Leadership Team Coaching

  • Align your leaders around shared purpose and strengths
  • Reduce quiet cracking before it costs you top talent
  • Build a culture where high performers stay and thrive

DM Sabrina “NEXT” on LinkedIn

Ready to go deeper? Book a 1-hour coaching and discovery session on Zoom ($499, 100% credited toward coaching if we’re a fit).

Trusted by leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, and Farmers Insurance.

It Wasn’t Courage. It Was a Calling.

When Ashish left McKinsey, he was working about 36 hours a week, traveling one night a week, and earning seven figures. People called him courageous. He corrects them.

“It wasn’t courage that set me free. It was my calling.” — Ashish Kothari

His calling, helping people flourish at work, had more pull than all five gravities combined. As Viktor Frankl taught, life asks us what it means. You find the answer by creating space to listen.

The Retreat That Changed Everything

For Ashish, the space came in 2016 at a week-long leadership retreat in a centuries-old Portuguese monastery, run in partnership with Mobius. Phones off. Families told not to call. Three things happened:

  • He found his essence. Relationships. He sent 850 handwritten holiday cards a year and assumed everyone did, so he couldn’t see his own gift.
  • His anxiety lifted. On day three, after 18 months of anxious mornings, he woke up calm. His body had resolved the gap between what he cared about and what he was doing.
  • He saw he wasn’t alone. Thirty accomplished leaders were all carrying private struggles.

As Ashish reframes it, a retreat is not retreating from life. It is “re-treating” yourself.

3 Steps to Find Your Authentic Path (Even If You Feel Successful but Unfulfilled)

I asked Ashish what listeners can start doing right now. He gave three steps. I have added the coaching lens I use with clients who feel successful but unfulfilled.

Three steps for high achievers who feel successful but unfulfilled: write your story, keep a field diary, ask about your best self
Three steps to find more meaning in your success

Step 1: Write Your Story as a Timeline

Draw a line from your birth to today. Mark your high points and low points. Then ask of each one: how did this shape who I am now? Patterns appear quickly. You will often find the same strengths showing up in your hardest moments and your proudest ones.

Step 2: Become an Anthropologist of Your Own Life

For one week, set a 30-minute alarm. Each time it goes off, jot down what you are doing, your mood, and your energy. Note what you learned, what drained you, and which relationships drew you in. Even the first thing you do on waking counts. If you reach for your phone, what does that do to you?

This “field diary” turns vague dissatisfaction into data.

Step 3: Ask 10 to 20 People What You’re Like at Your Best

Ask colleagues, friends, and former teammates: What am I like at my best? What do you value most about working with me? How do I enrich your life? Ashish recommends the Reflected Best Self Exercise from the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations, which collects these as stories.

As a CliftonStrengths coach, I love assessments like CliftonStrengths and the VIA Character Strengths survey. But stories show you what shines through to other people, which no assessment can fully capture.

Try This Now (5 Minutes)

Text three people you trust: “Quick question for a project I’m doing: when have you seen me at my absolute best?” Save every answer in one note. You now have the start of your Reflected Best Self file.

Put It Together: Your Personal Ikigai

With your timeline, field diary, and feedback in hand, Ashish suggests mapping a version of ikigai, the Japanese concept that combines what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what it will pay for. That is where your next chapter starts to take shape.

Ashish’s ideal is a weekend away to reflect. For busy leaders, I suggest starting with 5 to 15 minutes a day, and Ashish added a smart refinement: use your field diary to find your most creative window and protect it. Reflection at 9 p.m., when you’re depleted, won’t give you the gold.

Your 7-Day Action Plan

Day Action Time Success Metric
1 Name your “seven-year-old story” in one sentence 15 min One written belief you can examine
1 Send Reflected Best Self requests to 10–20 people 30 min At least 8 responses by Day 7
1–7 Keep a 30-minute field diary 1 min, every 30 min Top 3 energizers and drainers identified
3 Draw your life timeline with highs and lows 45 min Two recurring strengths spotted
5 Rate each of the 5 forces (1–10) for how hard it holds you 15 min Your strongest force named
7 Reflect in your creative window and draft an ikigai map 60 min Three possible next-chapter ideas

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Assuming Another Promotion Will Fix It

If you feel successful but unfulfilled, a bigger title usually amplifies the gap. Ashish climbed the mountain and found “no gold” at the top. Clarify what you care about first, then pursue roles that fit it.

Mistake 2: Copying Someone Else’s Path

Other leaders’ pivots inspire, but their life is not yours. Discover your own path and experiment your way into it.

Mistake 3: Going It Alone

Don’t do this alone. Find a group on a similar path who will play back your greatness.

Mistake 4: Waiting for a Crisis

Answer the question on your own terms, while you still have options.

Leadership Branding Blueprint Accelerator, complimentary guide from Sabrina Braham

Ready to define who you are beyond your title?

Download the complimentary Leadership Branding Blueprint Accelerator and discover:

  • How to articulate a leadership brand that isn’t tied to one role
  • The strengths story that positions you for your next chapter
  • A simple plan to raise your visibility with decision-makers

Get the Complimentary Blueprint

Unfulfilled vs. Fulfilled Success

Successful but Unfulfilled Successful and Fulfilled
My title defines who I am My strengths and values define who I am
Worth equals output Worth is inherent; output is a contribution
Execute someone else’s script Write your own script for the next 25 years
Wait for a crisis to change Choose change while you have options
Ignore what the body signals Treat anxiety as data worth exploring
Self-assess in isolation Ask 10–20 people to mirror your best self
Courage required to leave A clear calling makes the move natural

“Quiet Cracking” Has Replaced Quiet Quitting

The newest workplace term describes people who keep performing while quietly losing purpose. The Change Lab found 55% of workers reported it. High performers are most at risk because their output masks the problem: the successful but unfulfilled pattern.

The Midlife “Second Act” Is Going Mainstream

Leaders in their 40s and 50s may have 25 to 30 working years ahead. As Ashish puts it, that is at least half of your race left.

Engagement Keeps Falling

Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 report found global engagement fell to 20%, the lowest since 2020. Meaning at work has become a competitive advantage for the leaders who find it.

People Also Ask

Why do I feel successful but unfulfilled at work?

Usually because your achievements are disconnected from what you personally care about. Ashish Kothari calls this being “miserably successful.” Your role may be impactful for others while giving you little meaning, and your body often notices before your mind does.

What are the 5 forces that keep high achievers stuck?

Ashish Kothari identifies identity, worthiness, routines, relationships, and expertise. Each one makes leaving a familiar path feel risky, even when the path no longer fits.

How do I find my purpose in my 40s or 50s?

Start with three steps: map your life timeline, keep a one-week field diary of your energy, and ask 10 to 20 people what you’re like at your best. Then combine the patterns into an ikigai map of possible next chapters.

What is the Reflected Best Self Exercise?

It’s a feedback tool from the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations. You ask people who know you to share stories of you at your best, then look for themes that reveal strengths you may not see yourself.

Can high achievers have anxiety without burnout?

Yes. Ashish worked reasonable hours and still woke up anxious for 18 months. Anxiety can signal a gap between your work and your values, not just overwork. Persistent anxiety is also worth discussing with a licensed professional.

The Bottom Line

Feeling successful but unfulfilled is not a sign you chose wrong. It’s a sign you’re ready to choose again. Name the five forces, gather your data, ask the people who know you, and give yourself space to listen. As Ashish reminded us, you may have half your race still ahead of you. Run your own race.

Coming next: In Part 2 (WLS 172), Ashish shares his PEARL model for building high-performing teams that thrive without burning out.

Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC, executive leadership coach for individuals and leadership teams

Ready to enjoy the success you’ve worked so hard for?

Let’s talk about what’s next for you, or for your leadership team.

Individual Executive Coaching

  • Turn feedback from the people who know you best into a career strategy
  • Get honest, expert support through a major transition

Leadership Team Coaching

  • Run a strengths-based team session led by a CliftonStrengths coach
  • Give your leaders a shared language for purpose and growth

DM Sabrina “NEXT” on LinkedIn

Ready to go deeper? Book a 1-hour coaching and discovery session on Zoom ($499, 100% credited toward coaching if we’re a fit).

Trusted by leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, and Farmers Insurance.

Join the conversation: Which of the five forces (identity, worthiness, routines, relationships, or expertise) has the strongest hold on you right now? Share in the comments below.

About the Expert

Ashish Kothari, founder of Happiness Squad and former McKinsey partner

Ashish Kothari is the founder and CEO of Happiness Squad and a former McKinsey & Company partner with 17 years at the firm. He is the author of Hardwired for Happiness: 9 Proven Practices to Overcome Stress and Live Your Best Life and host of the Flourishing Edge podcast. A certified ontological coach, he helps leaders and organizations make flourishing a competitive edge. Learn more at HappinessSquad.com.

About Sabrina Braham

Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC, executive leadership coach and podcast host

Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC, is an executive leadership coach and CliftonStrengths coach with 30+ years of experience. She hosts the Women’s Leadership Success Podcast, on air for 19 years and ranked in the top 1.5% worldwide with 57,000+ monthly downloads. Her clients include leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, and Farmers Insurance, with results ranging from three promotions in nine months to Director-to-VP advancement.

Continue Your Journey

Women’s Leadership Podcast & Blog

Successful but Unfulfilled? 5 Hidden Forces Keeping High Achievers Stuck, and How to Break Free

You’ve built the career you worked for, so why does it still feel like something’s missing? You’re not alone: about 60% of senior-level women say they frequently feel burned out (McKinsey & LeanIn.Org, Women in the Workplace 2025).

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC, talks with Ashish Kothari, former McKinsey & Company partner, founder of Happiness Squad, and author of Hardwired for Happiness: 9 Proven Practices to Overcome Stress and Live Your Best Life. After 17 years at McKinsey, Ashish walked away from a seven-figure role. He shares the five hidden forces that keep high achievers stuck, and practical steps to find more meaning in your success.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Feeling successful but unfulfilled is a signal, not a personal failure.
  • Ashish’s five hidden forces: identity, worthiness, routines, relationships, and expertise.
  • Your body often registers misalignment before your mind can explain it.
  • A one-week “field diary” reveals what energizes and drains you, hour by hour.
  • Ten to twenty trusted people can show you strengths you can’t see in yourself.

IN THIS EPISODE

  • 00:00 When success still leaves you anxious
  • 01:15 Sabrina’s story and introducing Ashish Kothari
  • 03:15 The cost of success for high achievers
  • 06:15 How the climb begins: “Perfection is the price”
  • 09:00 Anxiety as a McKinsey partner: “My body knew it before my head knew it”
  • 12:45 The 5 hidden forces that keep high achievers stuck
  • 18:30 It wasn’t courage. It was a calling.
  • 21:45 The retreat that revealed his true essence
  • 28:30 3 steps to find your authentic path
  • 33:15 Start with 5 to 15 minutes a day
  • 35:00 Rewrite your script for the next 25 years
  • 36:45 How to connect with Ashish

Read the full article and 7-day action plan: Successful but Unfulfilled? 5 Hidden Forces Keeping High Achievers Stuck

Get the complimentary Leading Before You’re Ready playbook to build the confidence, visibility, and executive presence for your next level: Download the playbook

Ready for your next leadership level? Connect with Sabrina about executive coaching for you or your leadership team: Message Sabrina on LinkedIn

Enjoying the show? A 5-star review helps more women leaders find us: Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

Women’s Leadership Success is ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide.

Signs of Manager Burnout: 10-Minute Fix for Leaders 2026

Your managers are hitting every deadline. So why do they look like they’re running on empty? Manager engagement dropped from 27% to 22% in a single year, and the average U.S. manager now leads 12 direct reports (Gallup, 2026).

In this episode, co-founder Tim Warren interviews Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC, executive leadership coach, about the six warning signs of manager burnout that strong results can hide. Sabrina shares the story of a director who suddenly found herself leading two teams, and the simple 10-minute Monday meeting that re-energized both.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Strong results can hide burnout. Watch for postponed one-on-ones and rushed recognition.
  • Ask a stretched manager: “What’s become harder, and what support are you missing?”
  • A 10-minute Monday meeting (wins, roadblocks, ideas, recognition) can restore team energy.
  • Coaching changes how you lead; organizations must still fix the conditions you lead in.

IN THIS EPISODE

  • 00:00:00 When strong results hide a struggling manager
  • 00:01:10 Six signs managers are running on empty
  • 00:04:40 What senior leaders expect managers to carry
  • 00:05:20 Success gives clues: what to watch for
  • 00:06:20 Martha’s story: from one team to two after downsizing
  • 00:09:10 Finding what was really draining her
  • 00:11:10 The 10-minute Monday meeting
  • 00:14:50 How to run the 10-minute meeting with your team
  • 00:15:40 The power of “How can we help you?”
  • 00:17:00 What changed for Martha
  • 00:19:20 What senior leaders must change after downsizing
  • 00:23:10 One conversation to have this week
  • 00:24:00 Why Martha ultimately moved on

Read the full article and action plan: Signs of Manager Burnout: 10-Minute Fix for Leaders

Get the complimentary Leading Before You’re Ready playbook: Download the playbook

Want support for you or your leadership team? Message Sabrina on LinkedIn

Enjoying the show? Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

Get Promoted Faster: Dolphin Strategy Guide 2026 | WLS 169

Have you ever been told you “don’t have the personality” for promotion? One of Sabrina’s coaching clients heard that for five years as a supervisor. Then he made five specific moves and rose to manager, director, and finally VP.

In this episode, Tim Warren interviews Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC, executive leadership coach, about her Dolphin Promotion Framework: how to turn vague feedback into clear behaviors, recruit allies who back you in the room, and get seen for the work you already do.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Vague feedback like “personality” isn’t a verdict. Translate it into observable behaviors.
  • Recruit “dolphins”: allies in the room who support your ideas when you speak.
  • Employees with sponsors are twice as likely to be promoted (McKinsey & LeanIn.Org, 2025).
  • Ask your manager for a 1–10 rating, then ask what earns one more half point.
  • Volunteer for visible work that decision-makers will notice.

IN THIS EPISODE

  • 00:00:00 “Good idea, Martin. Let’s do that.”
  • 00:01:10 When feedback says you’re not ready
  • 00:04:00 Martin’s story: five years stuck as a supervisor
  • 00:06:20 Decoding vague “personality” feedback
  • 00:07:40 What a “dolphin” is and why you need one
  • 00:09:40 How to find and recruit your dolphins
  • 00:10:40 Building speaking confidence
  • 00:12:00 Rehearse your one main point
  • 00:14:00 The half-point ask
  • 00:16:00 Why the half-point ask changes how leaders see you
  • 00:17:00 From supervisor to manager in six months
  • 00:17:40 The meeting that changed everything
  • 00:19:00 From director to VP
  • 00:23:00 If you relate to Martin, start here

Read the full article and action plan: Get Promoted Faster: Dolphin Strategy Guide

Get the complimentary Leading Before You’re Ready playbook: Download the playbook

Ready for your next promotion? Message Sabrina on LinkedIn

Enjoying the show? Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

By |September 28th, 2026|Categories: branding, Career, Career Development, Communications, Confidence, Continuous Improvement, How to Get Promoted, Leadership, Management, Networking, Podcast|Comments Off on Get Promoted Faster: Dolphin Strategy Guide 2026 | WLS 169

Women Leaders Psychological Safety: Real Feedback Guide

The word that stung most in her toughest feedback moment turned out to be the word that was true. What do you do when feedback hurts, and how do you lead directly without being labeled “aggressive”?

In Part 2 of this conversation, Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC, talks with Kerry Siggins, CEO of StoneAge and author of Talk With Trust: How to Own Feedback, Spark Growth, and Build Stronger Teams. Kerry shares the feedback that nearly cost her a COO, how to tell valid feedback from noise, and how women leaders can navigate the double bind.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • If feedback stings, there’s probably some truth in it worth examining.
  • Psychological safety and accountability aren’t opposites. Done right, they build each other.
  • The double bind is real: women who are direct risk being called aggressive.
  • Influence matters more than being right, and it changes how your feedback lands.

IN THIS EPISODE

  • 00:00:00 When feedback really stings
  • 00:01:20 Welcome and what’s ahead in Part 2
  • 00:05:00 Meet Kerry Siggins of StoneAge
  • 00:07:00 “You’re erratic”: the feedback from her COO
  • 00:08:50 Finding what was true in the feedback
  • 00:10:30 How to tell valuable feedback from noise
  • 00:13:40 When feedback challenges your identity
  • 00:15:10 Why asking for examples changes everything
  • 00:16:40 Why people filter what they tell leaders
  • 00:19:00 The biggest mistakes when receiving feedback
  • 00:20:50 How to respond after hard feedback
  • 00:24:00 Psychological safety and accountability together
  • 00:26:10 The double bind: direct vs. “aggressive”
  • 00:28:10 Choosing influence over being right
  • 00:33:20 One action for more honest feedback this week

Read the full article: Women Leaders Psychological Safety: Real Feedback Guide

Missed Part 1? Kerry’s framework for difficult conversations

Get the complimentary Leading Before You’re Ready playbook: Download the playbook

Enjoying the show? Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

By |September 13th, 2026|Categories: Career, Career Development, Communications, Confidence, Equality & Equity, Leadership, Leadership & Women, Management, Mindset, Podcast, Stress Reduction|Comments Off on Women Leaders Psychological Safety: Real Feedback Guide

Women Leaders Difficult Conversations: The SHARES Framework Kerry Siggins Uses to Build Trust

Most women leaders avoid difficult conversations to protect relationships. But avoidance is exactly what erodes trust, and the longer you wait, the harder the conversation gets.

In Part 1 of this conversation, Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC, talks with Kerry Siggins, CEO of StoneAge and author of Talk With Trust: How to Own Feedback, Spark Growth, and Build Stronger Teams. Kerry shares her six-step SHARES framework for difficult conversations, built after harsh feedback changed how she leads.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Difficult conversations delayed almost always get harder, not easier.
  • Kerry’s SHARES framework has six steps you can prepare in under ten minutes.
  • Wanting to “be right” is one of the biggest killers of workplace trust.
  • Feedback without a credible next step leaves people hopeless, not motivated.

IN THIS EPISODE

  • 00:00:00 The conversation you’ve been avoiding
  • 00:01:20 Welcome and introducing Kerry Siggins
  • 00:05:10 Why Kerry wrote Talk With Trust
  • 00:07:00 The SHARES framework overview
  • 00:07:30 S: Specify your ideal outcome
  • 00:09:30 H: Have your facts and feelings ready
  • 00:11:40 Timing and giving people space to react
  • 00:13:30 A: Articulate your experience
  • 00:16:10 R: Reflect with questions and dialogue
  • 00:18:20 Wanting to be right vs. wanting to be accurate
  • 00:20:20 E: Endorse a path forward
  • 00:22:00 S: Stay emotionally grounded
  • 00:23:20 How to open a difficult conversation
  • 00:25:40 Why feedback needs a credible next step
  • 00:28:30 Your first step toward the conversation you’ve postponed

Read the full article: Women Leaders Difficult Conversations: The SHARES Framework

Continue to Part 2: Psychological safety and the double bind

Get the complimentary Leading Before You’re Ready playbook: Download the playbook

Enjoying the show? Rate and review on Apple Podcasts

By |August 27th, 2026|Categories: Communications, Confidence, Continuous Improvement, Culture, How to Get Promoted, Leadership, Mindset, Negotiation, Podcast|Tags: |Comments Off on Women Leaders Difficult Conversations: The SHARES Framework Kerry Siggins Uses to Build Trust

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