Podcast
Women's Leadership Success
Hosted by Sabrina Braham MA MFT PPC · EN
Since 1989, Women Business Leadership Skills and Career Development Advice. Interviews with Successful Women CEOs, Managers and Entrepreneurs to Help You Influence People, Improve Performance, Get Promoted, Increase Earnings and Enhance Your Job/Life Balance
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Leading Before You’re Ready: Women Leaders Guide 2026
3w agoTap to summarizeWomen's Leadership Success Podcast — Episode 161Executive Summary: In 2026's era of mass layoffs and rapid restructuring, talented women leaders are being thrust into expanded roles before they feel ready. Executive coach Sabrina Braham reveals the 3-move framework — drawn from 30+ years of client breakthroughs — that transforms overwhelm into executive presence and lasting confidence.Quick Takeaways:75% of executive women have experienced imposter syndrome — even after earning their seat (KPMG).The skills that made you successful at your last level often stop working at the next one.Confidence is not certainty — it's steadiness while uncertainty still exists.Silence creates anxiety; even imperfect clarity helps teams move forward.Leadership doesn't begin when confidence arrives — it begins when you decide to move anyway.The Role Just Got Bigger. Your Confidence Hasn't Caught Up. Now What?You didn't plan for this. The promotion path you imagined — deliberate, supported, well-timed — isn't what happened. Instead, a reorganization happened. Layoffs happened. Two managers left in the same week. And suddenly, you're carrying responsibilities that didn't exist in your job description six months ago, with a team looking to you for answers you're not sure you have yet.If this sounds familiar, you're not behind. You're right on time.I'm Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC — executive leadership coach with over 30 years of experience helping senior women leaders step into bigger roles with confidence and clarity. The Women's Leadership Success Podcast has surpassed 900,000 downloads and is ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts globally. Clients include leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, and companies of all sizes — from high-growth startups to global enterprises.In Episode 161, my husband and co-producer Tim Warren turns the microphone around and interviews me — because over the past year, one challenge has shown up in virtually every coaching engagement I've had: talented, proven leaders being asked to lead roles that expanded faster than their confidence. This episode — and this guide — is for you.The 2026 Reality: Forced Expansion Is the New Normal for Women LeadersWhat's happening in the workplace right now isn't a temporary disruption. It's a structural shift — and it's disproportionately landing on the shoulders of high-performing women.Grant Thornton's 2026 Women in Business research found that women's representation in senior U.S. leadership dropped from 35% to 31% in just two years — precisely as layoffs consolidated organizational structures and eliminated the middle-management layers that once served as leadership on-ramps. Fewer women are getting promoted through deliberate paths, and more are being pulled into expanded roles through organizational necessity.Meanwhile, a March 2026 Stanton Chase study of 132 women executives across 45 countries found that the single most consistent piece of advice from women who had reached the C-suite? Move before you feel ready. More than 50 of the 132 respondents — independently, across industries and continents — said some version of: "Don't wait until you feel 100% prepared."And yet KPMG research shows that 75% of executive women have personally experienced imposter syndrome — even those who have objectively succeeded at the highest levels. That gap between external achievement and internal confidence isn't a character flaw. It's a predictable psychological pattern — and one you can navigate strategically.What "Forced Expansion" Actually Looks LikeForced expansion is what I call the pattern where leaders aren't stepping into bigger roles through a thoughtful promotion path — they're being pulled into them. Someone leaves. A division gets cut. Departments combine. Budgets tighten. And suddenly, one capable leader is carrying the work of two or three.One of my clients last week illustrates this perfectly: an engineer was hired at a top company into a manager role. On his third day, the two other managers in his division quit — and he went from overseeing one section to overseeing all of them. That's not an edge case anymore. That's Tuesday.Another client — a leader in manufacturing — inherited a second, highly technical department she had never led, after a round of layoffs. Her first instinct was: I need to know everything before I speak with confidence. That belief was slowing her down. We changed the model. She stopped trying to be the smartest person in every room. Instead, she began asking sharper questions, clarified priorities, built accountability, and used the expertise already around her. Within months, executives stopped seeing someone who was overwhelmed — and saw someone who was expanding. That changed everything.Why High Performers Struggle Most When Roles ExpandHere's the uncomfortable truth that most leadership advice doesn't address directly: what made you successful at your last level often stops working at the next one.High performers are rewarded for execution, reliability, doing more, and fixing problems personally. But senior leadership rewards something different: direction, judgment, influence, composure, and decision-making without certainty. Many smart leaders try to win the next level using the habits from the last level — and that creates burnout fast.You may recognize yourself in any of these:More responsibility, but less clarity on what success looks likeGreater visibility with senior leaders — with bigger expectations and fewer instructionsPressure to lead confidently while still learning the terrainFeeling capable, but not fully readyWondering how to be seen as promotion-ready when you're still figuring out the new scopeBeing strong technically, but stretched strategicallyIf any of this feels familiar, you are not behind. You are in the exact transition where careers accelerate — or stall. And how you navigate it determines which direction yours goes.The Trap: Waiting for Internal PermissionThe most common behavior I see in leaders experiencing forced expansion is what I call waiting for internal permission. They over-prepare. They hesitate. They second-guess. They believe, somewhere deep down, that they need to know everything before they can speak with confidence.That belief is expensive. It costs you time, opportunity, and the trust of the team waiting for you to lead.The mindset shift that changes everything: stop trying to prove you deserve the role. Start acting like you belong in it. Presence is built in motion. Confidence grows through reps. You become ready by leading.The 3-Move Framework for Leading Before You're ReadyWhen I work with leaders navigating forced expansion, these three moves consistently separate the ones who rise from the ones who stall.Move 1: Define Success ClearlyGet a vivid picture in your mind of what it looks like when you're truly succeeding in this role — not performing, not surviving, but succeeding. What decisions are you making? How is your team showing up? What are senior leaders saying about your impact?Write it down. Specificity is power here. And remember: not everything matters equally. Forced expansion often means 10 priorities land at once — but only two or three actually move the needle right now. Identify those and protect your focus fiercely.Try This Now (10 minutes): Open a blank document and write your answer to this question: "If I'm wildly successful in this expanded role 90 days from now, what is true?" Don't edit. Don't filter. Let yourself see it clearly first.Move 2: Build an Advisory CircleLeadership is not a solo performance. One of the most powerful things you can do in a stretch role is identify the people — inside and outside your organization — who have the expertise, context, and candor to help you navigate.This is not about admitting weakness. It's about operating strategically. The executives who rise fastest in times of organizational change are the ones who mobilize the intelligence around them, not the ones who try to contain every answer personally.Your advisory circle might include: a peer in another department who knows the terrain you've newly inherited; a mentor who has navigated similar transitions; a coach who can help you build your next-level skillset; and experts on your own team whose knowledge you can leverage while you're learning.The Stanton Chase 2026 study found that securing sponsors — people who advocate for you behind closed doors — is the second most consistent differentiator for women who reach the C-suite. A mentor advises you. A sponsor walks into a room where your name isn't being mentioned and makes sure it is.Move 3: Communicate Often — Even Without All the AnswersSilence creates anxiety. Clarity creates momentum. Even imperfect clarity helps teams move.Your team doesn't need you to have all the answers. They need to know someone is navigating — that there is direction, even if the path is still forming. The strongest leaders I know can say: "We don't know everything yet. Here's our next move. We'll adjust as we learn."That kind of leadership doesn't weaken trust. It builds it. Establish a communication rhythm immediately: weekly team check-ins, regular updates to your senior leadership, brief touchpoints with stakeholders in areas you've newly inherited. Don't wait for perfect information. Communicate your thinking, your priorities, and your progress — and invite input along the way. Coming Soon — Free for Early AccessLeading Before You're ReadyA premium leadership playbook by Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCCThis is the playbook Sabrina created for every high performer navigating more visibility, bigger expectations, and faster timelines — a practical, structured guide for what actually changes at the next level of leadership.? Lead with greater confidence and clarity — right now, not someday? Increase your visibility with the decision-makers who determine your next opportunity? Build executive trust faster in new and expanded roles?...
Transcribe →The Perfectionism Trap: Why Fear Is Hiding Your Leadership Brand (And the Neuroscience to Break Free) | WLS 160
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Transcribe →Stop Being the Best-Kept Secret in Your Company: Executive Personal Branding in 2026
Mar 2500:32:52Tap to summarizeExecutive SummaryGravitas drives 67% of executive presence—yet most high-performing leaders are invisible outside their immediate team. Branding strategist Howie Chan reveals why executive personal branding is a career survival tool in 2026, how the C.A.R.E. framework builds the credibility that gets leaders referred, and why thought leadership—not harder work—is the primary currency for promotion. Quick Takeaways Gravitas drives 67% of executive presence—confidence, decisiveness under pressure, and EQ are what decision-makers evaluate first. Executive personal branding in 2026 has shifted from self-promotion to stewardship and thought leadership. Your LinkedIn profile is a professional vault—every post builds a body of work recruiters and executives review before any interview. The C.A.R.E. Framework (Competence, Authenticity, Reliability, Empathy) is the proven path from visibility to trust to referral. The best time to start was years ago. The second-best time is right now. You Work Hard. You Deliver Results. So Why Doesn't Anyone Know Your Name? I'm Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC—executive leadership coach with over 30 years of experience, and host of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast, ranked in the top 1.5% globally with more than 950,000 downloads. In nearly three decades of coaching senior leaders, I have seen one pattern repeat itself again and again: the most talented professional in the room is frequently the least visible one. In a March 2026 interview on this podcast, branding strategist Howie Chan—former managing director of brand strategy, now one of LinkedIn's most recognized voices on executive personal branding—laid out exactly why that invisibility happens and what to do about it. His story begins on March 31st, 2022. A Friday afternoon calendar invite. His manager and an HR person on the Zoom call. After nearly nine years as managing director, he was laid off. His first thought wasn't strategy—it was shame. He had painters in his house that day. What would they think? "There's no such thing as loyalty to you. It's a business, so people get let go all the time. That's what led me to help executives become known outside the four walls of their company—before a crisis forces the issue." — Howie Chan, Professional Brand Strategist In 2026, that mission has never been more urgent. Executive search firms and hiring committees now evaluate digital presence as seriously as a résumé. The professionals landing opportunities fastest are not the most credentialed—they are the most visible and the most strategically positioned. Want the complete framework? Download our FREE Women's Leadership Branding Blueprint Accelerator — used by 250+ senior leaders to accelerate their visibility and get promoted faster. Download Free Why Executive Personal Branding Is No Longer Optional Most high-performing leaders were taught a lie: put your head down, do exceptional work, and the right people will notice. Current research defines executive presence as the "ability to win the confidence of those around you"—and gravitas, which includes confidence, decisiveness under pressure, and emotional intelligence, accounts for a dominant 67% of that equation. But gravitas cannot win confidence from people who have never encountered you. Executive branding in 2026 has shifted decisively from self-promotion toward stewardship and thought leadership. The leaders gaining traction are not the loudest voices—they are the most consistent, most authentic, and most strategic about who they serve. "You might say, 'my colleagues know me,'" Howie told me. "But there will be a time you will leave your company—and what happens then?" The Hidden Cost of Being Invisible Think about what happens when your name appears in a decision-maker's inbox. What comes to mind for them? "I need to take this call—this person can help me with X"? Or do they scroll past because they have no mental model of who you are? "That's essentially what brand is—the story someone tells themselves about you when you're not in the room." — Howie Chan In my coaching practice, I see this constantly: high-achieving leaders going up for promotion, being passed over—not because of performance, but because the decision-makers above them do not know their story. No brand equals no promotion. The correlation is that direct. Executive Personal Branding vs. Self-Promotion: The Critical Difference One of the most liberating reframes Howie offers is the distinction between personal branding (how people perceive your personality) and professional branding (who you serve and what problems you solve). "When you hear 'personal brand,' people think it means talking about your life or your experiences," he explained. "But from a professional standpoint, it starts with who: Who are you helping? What problems are you solving?" This shifts the entire frame from bragging about yourself to making your value legible to the people who need it. There is even neuroscience behind why high-performers resist doing this. Howie cited the lesser-known inverse of the Dunning-Kruger effect: while low-ability individuals overestimate their competence, those with genuine expertise tend to undervalue it. The better you are, the more you assume everyone already knows what you know—so you stop communicating it. Your silence reads as absence. 3-Step Positioning Framework Identify WHO specifically benefits from your expertise—not everyone, your right people. Define the specific PROBLEMS you solve that others in your field cannot solve as equally well. Create content and conversations that connect your experience to those problems—not your job title. The 2026 Executive Branding Framework: 5 Practices That Move the Needle Current research across executive search, leadership development, and digital strategy points to five practices that define the leaders who are breaking through in 2026: Quality Over Quantity — Strategic Content, Not Random ActsThe research-supported baseline: one original educational post per week and one short-form video per month. This simple cadence, sustained over six months, creates the compound visibility effect that sporadic posting never achieves. Howie reinforced this directly: "Whatever you write, make it short, make it memorable, make it punchy. If you can take the time to make it shorter, do." Human-First Narrative — Authenticity as Executive CurrencyAudiences and boards now seek what researchers call "unapologetic authenticity"—signature stories reflecting values, purpose, and lessons from failure. This is not vulnerability for its own sake; it is strategic humanity that builds the Connection and Charisma pillars of the 7 C's executive presence framework. Strategic Participation — Conversation, Not BroadcastingSuccessful executive brands in 2026 are built not just through publishing but through deliberate participation in "conversation hubs"—commenting on posts from industry leaders, analysts, clients, and peers. Only 1% of LinkedIn professionals post weekly; consistent participation immediately places any leader in a visible minority. Thought Leadership as CurrencyTrue thought leadership in 2026 is sharing original, experience-based insights that change how others think or behave. This differs fundamentally from curating others' content or echoing industry consensus. It establishes authority that transcends a traditional résumé. Short-Form Video — The New Business CardExecutives using short video clips under 90 seconds are seeing 3–5× higher LinkedIn reach than equivalent text posts. Production quality matters far less than consistency and authenticity. One direct, structured insight delivered on camera builds more trust than ten polished written posts. LinkedIn: Your Professional Vault (And You're Barely Using It) Howie described LinkedIn not as a job board but as a living body of work. "Every post, everything you put up there, builds a record that any recruiter, any teammate, any C-suite executive can look at and think: wow, this person knows what they're talking about." He identified two traps executives fall into most often: The Lecture Room Trap: Treating LinkedIn as a broadcast channel where you teach at people. Write scannable, short, conversational content that invites dialogue. The Follower-Count Trap: Chasing vanity metrics. 500 deeply engaged, right-fit connections outperform 50,000 passive followers. Define what you want LinkedIn to do—promotion visibility, client attraction, or authority-building—and optimize for that specific outcome. One of my clients recently wanted me to rewrite her first LinkedIn post before publishing it. My advice: publish it imperfectly. Start. Get feedback. Adjust. Executive personal branding is built through consistent iteration, not through waiting for perfection. The C.A.R.E. Framework: Building Credibility That Gets You Referred Credibility is not about how many people know your name—it is about the depth of trust you have built with the right people. The highest expression of that trust is referral: when someone stakes their own social reputation by recommending you. Howie's C.A.R.E. framework defines the four pillars of that trust: C.A.R.E. Pillar What It Means for Your Executive Brand CCompetence You are genuinely excellent at what you do. This is the non-negotiable foundation—it cannot be faked and cannot be substituted. A Authenticity You share what is real—not everything, but nothing false. Perceived inauthenticity destroys brand instantly; genuine stories build it permanently. RReliability You do what you say. You show up consistently. This is what separates trusted advisors from interesting acquaintances. E Empathy You genuinely care about the people you serve—their goals, their constraints, their full context. All content and conversation starts there. "When you have all four, you become a credible person that somebody trusts—and the biggest level of trust is when people refer you....
Transcribe →Women Leaders Continuous Improvement Culture Guide 2026 | Women’s Leadership Success 158
Mar 900:29:52Tap to summarizePart 2 of 2 | Continued from: Continuous Improvement Leadership: Women's Career Guide 2026Executive SummaryWomen leaders continuous improvement culture succeeds or fails based on one variable: the leader's personal commitment. Olaf Boettger's 27-year framework reveals the CEO's 90-day launch plan, two fatal CI mistakes, women's natural CI advantage, and the 10-minute personal Kaizen practice that compounds career results starting today.Quick Takeaways70% of CI initiatives fail — almost always due to leader behavior, not methodology (Olaf Boettger, 27 years P&G/Danaher)Women leaders continuous improvement culture succeeds because women's natural humility and collaborative style align with CI requirementsThe CEO's first 90 days: Gemba ? Top-10 Problem List ? 5 Whys ? Impact-Effort Matrix ? Daily HuddlesPersonal Kaizen takes less than 10 minutes per day and starts compounding career results immediatelyLaid-off women can apply CI directly to job search — turning a demoralizing process into a systematic, controllable oneIn Part 1 of this conversation, Olaf Boettger revealed the foundations of women leaders continuous improvement culture — Kaizen philosophy, Gemba principles, and the three capabilities that make it work: courage, humility, and discipline. But knowing the philosophy is not the same as executing it.Most organizations have heard of Kaizen. Most have tried it. Most have failed.According to Olaf, who spent 27 years at Procter & Gamble and Danaher mastering this system, the failure is rarely about the methodology. It is almost always about the leader.In Part 2 of our Women's Leadership Success Podcast interview, Olaf reveals exactly what a successful women leaders continuous improvement culture launch looks like — the CEO's first 90 days, the two fatal mistakes that kill every initiative, why women bring a genuinely underappreciated competitive advantage to this work, and the personal Kaizen practice that takes less than 10 minutes a day and starts compounding results immediately.As an executive coach with over 30 years of experience (MA, MFT, PCC) and host of a podcast ranked in the top 1.5% globally with over 750,000 downloads, I have seen this framework transform the careers of women who stopped waiting to be recognized and started building systems that made them impossible to overlook. Building a women leaders continuous improvement culture is not only a leadership strategy — it is a career survival strategy in 2026.Ready to make yourself the standout candidate in 2026's competitive market?Download our FREE Leadership Branding Blueprint Accelerator and discover:The exact 5-step system to position yourself as indispensable (not just competent)How to document CI results in a format that gets you promoted 3x fasterThe personal achievement tracker that turns invisible work into visible impactScripts for self-advocacy conversations that feel natural, not pushyDOWNLOAD FREE — womensleadershipsuccess.com/blueprintThe CEO's First 90 Days: Your Continuous Improvement Culture Launch PlanIf you are stepping into a new leadership role — or finally ready to build a women leaders continuous improvement culture in your existing organization — the first 90 days set everything. Olaf's approach is structured around a deceptively simple insight: the problems you can solve are already visible if you are willing to go look at them.Step 1: Go to Gemba — The Real Place (Days 1–30)Gemba is the Japanese term for the real place — where the work actually happens. For a CEO or senior leader, Gemba might mean riding along with a salesperson, observing operations on a floor, sitting with engineers reviewing prototypes, or speaking directly with customers about how they use your product.This is not a listening tour. It is a fact-gathering mission. The gap between what leadership believes is happening and what is actually happening is, in most organizations, enormous. The only way to close that gap is to go see for yourself.For women building a women leaders continuous improvement culture, this Gemba-first approach is especially powerful: it signals humility and curiosity before authority — the exact combination that earns trust fast in new organizations.Step 2: Build Your Top-10 Problem List (Days 15–30)After Gemba, the next move is prioritization. A former Danaher colleague of Olaf's — who became CEO of a large Anglo-American corporation — used exactly this method: he created a numbered top-10 problem list and began working through it methodically with his teams.The discipline here is critical. You are not solving all problems. You are sequencing them. Problem 1 gets your full attention and resources until it is resolved. Then Problem 2. Then Problem 3. This focus prevents the scattered, multi-initiative paralysis that kills most CI attempts before they produce results.Step 3: Apply the 5 Whys to Find Root Causes (Days 20–60)Once you have your prioritized list, the next step is diagnosis. Olaf uses the 5 Whys — a Toyota-originated technique where you ask 'why does this problem exist?' and then ask 'why?' to each answer, five levels deep. By the fifth 'why,' you are nearly always at the systemic root cause rather than a surface symptom.The difference is critical. Treating symptoms produces temporary fixes. Addressing root causes produces permanent improvement. This is why organizations that chase the first obvious solution — like a $50 million ERP system — often spend enormous resources only to discover the original problem persists.Step 4: Use the Impact-Effort Matrix to Sequence Solutions (Days 30–60)Not all solutions are equal. Olaf teaches leaders to categorize every potential solution across two dimensions: impact (does it actually solve the problem?) and effort (how much time, money, and energy does it require?).Solution CategoryPriority Action? High Impact + Low EffortDo these FIRST — quick wins that build momentum and credibility? High Impact + High EffortPlan carefully — these are your strategic projects? Low Impact + Low EffortDo only if capacity allows — don't let these consume bandwidth? Low Impact + High EffortEliminate — these drain your CI culture before it startsStep 5: Run Daily Red/Green Huddles as Your Standard Management Meeting (Days 1–90)As described in Part 1, the 15-minute daily red/green huddle is not a CI activity added on top of normal business. It IS the management meeting. Red means a problem is identified and being addressed. Green means performance is on track. Run without exception every day, it signals that the improvement culture is real — not a program that fades at the next crisis.What Your Organization Sees by Day 90When you execute this plan, three things happen simultaneously: your team sees you are committed enough to observe their actual work; they see the organization's most painful problems being addressed systematically; and they begin to internalize what a good solution looks like. This is how women leaders continuous improvement culture takes root — through behavior modeling, not value announcements.The 2 Fatal Mistakes That Kill Continuous Improvement InitiativesOlaf estimates there is a graveyard of failed CI initiatives in nearly every large organization. The causes are almost never about the methodology. Here are the two patterns he sees repeatedly — and what women leaders can do differently.Fatal Mistake #1: The Leader Who Wants Results Without ChangingIn German, there is a phrase for this: 'Wash my fur, but don't make me wet.' The leader wants the outcomes of CI — better numbers, more efficient teams, fewer crises — but is unwilling to personally change how they operate. They hire consultants, launch programs, run trainings. And then they return to their previous behavior.This is fatal because culture follows behavior, not announcements. If the CEO does not go to Gemba, the SVP will not go to Gemba. If the SVP does not go, the VP will not go. By the time the directive reaches managers who are supposed to implement CI, it has been diluted into a program that nobody owns.For women leaders specifically: the antidote is your natural advantage — the willingness to be publicly humble, to admit what you do not know, and to go see before you decide. A women leaders continuous improvement culture that the top leader personally models is one that spreads without a mandate.Fatal Mistake #2: Treating CI as a Separate ActivityThe second pattern is more subtle but equally deadly: organizations that run CI as a parallel track alongside their 'normal' business. Friday afternoon training. Quarterly workshops. A dedicated CI team that other leaders do not engage with.This is the wrong model entirely. At Toyota, Danaher, GE, and every organization where CI works long-term, continuous improvement is not something you do in addition to running the business. It IS how you run the business. The 15-minute daily red/green huddle is not a CI activity — it is the operational meeting. The improvement system and the management system are the same system.The practical implication: if your organization has a CI initiative that exists separately from how work is actually managed, advocate for integrating the two. That single structural change will determine whether your women leaders continuous improvement culture produces lasting results or joins the graveyard.Why Women Leaders Build Continuous Improvement Culture BetterOne of the most powerful moments in our conversation came when I asked Olaf directly: do women bring unique strengths to continuous improvement culture?His answer was unequivocal — and grounded in 27 years of observing what actually works in organizations around the world."There is a lot less ego involved in a lot of women I've worked with. And if we look at the three capabilities for successful continuous improvement — courage, humility, and discipline — I've seen women bring more to the table, especially on the humility side. Being more open to say: let's bring others in,...
Transcribe →Continuous Improvement Leadership: Women’s Career Guide 2026
Feb 2400:31:21Tap to summarizeEXECUTIVE SUMMARYIn 2026's 'forever layoff' era, women leaders who master continuous improvement leadership outperform peers, reduce their layoff risk, and accelerate promotions. Olaf Boettger's 27-year Kaizen framework — courage, humility, discipline — turns daily small improvements into extraordinary career results.Key stat: Toyota workers are 2x more productive than competitors using this same system.? QUICK TAKEAWAYS• Continuous improvement leadership doubles your career productivity vs. peers who stop learning• The 3 capabilities every woman leader needs: courage to name problems, humility to keep learning, discipline to stay consistent• Kaizen's daily 15-minute team meeting is directly applicable to your own career self-management• GE's turnaround under Larry Culp proves CI works in any industry — finance, tech, healthcare, or your own career• In 2026's 'forever layoff' climate, CI skills signal indispensable strategic value to any organizationIf you're a woman leader in 2026, the job market has changed dramatically — and not in your favor. Glassdoor's Worklife Trends report calls it the 'forever layoff': small, rolling cuts that never make headlines but keep talented executives in a constant state of anxiety. Meanwhile, AI is reshaping roles at every level, and the competition for standout positions has never been fiercer.As an executive coach with over 30 years of experience (MA, MFT, PCC) and host of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast — ranked in the top 1.5% globally with over 750,000 downloads — I've interviewed more than 144 of the world's top leadership experts. When I heard Olaf Boettger's approach to continuous improvement leadership, I immediately knew this was the missing framework most women leaders had never considered.Olaf spent 27 years at Procter & Gamble and Danaher — two of the most operationally excellent companies on earth — mastering the Japanese Kaizen philosophy. What he discovered translates directly to career acceleration: the same system that doubled Toyota's worker productivity and powered GE's biggest turnaround in American history can supercharge your leadership brand and make you the candidate no one can afford to pass over. The 2026 Career Reality: Why 'Working Hard' Is No Longer Enough The data is sobering for women leaders right now. According to Glassdoor's 2025 Workplace Trends report, small layoffs — under 50 people — now represent 51% of all job cuts, up from just 38% in 2015. These 'forever layoffs' create cultures of anxiety where talented women question their value daily.At the same time, female manager engagement dropped seven percentage points in 2025 alone — the steepest decline of any group, according to Gallup research. Women leaders are being asked to do more with less, carrying teams through AI disruption and RTO mandates, while their own career advancement stalls.The traditional answer — work harder, be more visible, volunteer for every high-profile project — simply isn't scaling. In a market where 45% of employers rate the job outlook as 'fair' at best, you need a completely different strategy. You need continuous improvement leadership. ? Ready to transform your career trajectory? Download our FREE Leadership Branding Blueprint Accelerator and discover:• A proven system to document your impact and accelerate promotions• How to build a leadership brand that makes you the obvious choice• A measurable framework for expanding your organizational influence• Strategic positioning for high-visibility, career-defining initiatives• The same approach Sabrina uses with Fortune 500 executives to 3x their promotion speed? GET YOUR FREE LEADERSHIP BRANDING BLUEPRINT ACCELERATOR What Is Continuous Improvement Leadership? The Kaizen Framework Explained Continuous improvement — known in Japanese as Kaizen, meaning 'change for the better' — originated at Toyota nearly 90 years ago. After World War II, with limited resources and a need to compete globally, Toyota developed a system to extract maximum quality and efficiency from every process. That system, now called the Toyota Production System, became the foundation of what we know as Lean, Six Sigma, and the Danaher Business System.For women leaders, continuous improvement leadership means applying these same principles to your career, your team, and your organization. It is not a one-time initiative or a January resolution. It is a daily practice — a permanent operating system.The Three Foundation PrinciplesOlaf distills continuous improvement leadership into three core principles:Kaizen — The belief that there is always a better way. This is not about being self-critical; it is about being growth-oriented. Every interaction, presentation, and leadership decision is an opportunity to iterate and improve.Go to Gemba — Go to the real place. Stop relying on slide decks and secondhand reports. As a leader, this means visiting your stakeholders, understanding what your team actually experiences day-to-day, and staying close to the work that creates value.Customer focus — Always anchor to what your 'customer' values. In a career context, your customers are your executive stakeholders, your team, and the business outcomes you're hired to deliver. Everything you do should be filtered through: does this add value for them?The Three Capabilities That Determine SuccessAccording to Olaf, your mindset determines everything. Leaders who succeed with continuous improvement possess three non-negotiable capabilities:CapabilityWhat It Looks Like in PracticeWhy Women Leaders Need It NowCOURAGEHonestly naming when your performance or your team's is 'red' — even when the culture rewards positivity over truth.In 2026's performance-pressured environment, leaders who surface problems first are seen as strategic — not weak.HUMILITYStaying open to learning regardless of your experience level. As Olaf says: the best leaders he's known, including P&G's CEO A.G. Lafley, were the most humble.Imposter syndrome tempts women to prove they already know everything. Humility is the counterintuitive superpower.DISCIPLINEShowing up for improvement consistently — not just in January. Committing to the decade, not the quarter.Career advancement compounds. The women who stand out in 2026 are those who have been quietly improving for years. The Business Case: What Continuous Improvement Leadership Actually Delivers For skeptics — and Olaf acknowledges that many leaders initially resist this approach — the numbers make a compelling argument. Toyota, the originator of this system, generates roughly twice the revenue per employee compared to its nearest competitors. Danaher, where Olaf spent the bulk of his career, has sustained approximately 15–16% compound annual growth for 40 consecutive years.The most visible example is GE's transformation under Larry Culp — the former Danaher CEO who took over when GE was in deep financial trouble. Using continuous improvement as the operating backbone, Culp and his teams executed what many consider one of the greatest corporate turnarounds in American business history, eventually splitting GE into three highly successful independent companies.On a practical level, Olaf shared a specific case study from a Danaher acquisition: a company delivering orders on time just 50% of the time. Using CI methodologies, that number rose to 95%. For context, if Amazon delivered your packages on time half the time, you'd stop using Amazon. A 45-percentage-point improvement is not incremental — it's transformational. TRY THIS NOW (10 Minutes)Apply Olaf's Red/Green method to your career right now: Identify one goal you have for your career this quarter (promotion, salary increase, high-visibility project).Set a specific target. Write your current actual. Color code it: are you green (on track) or red (below target)? If red — write one sentence explaining why.Then write one action you will take this week to close the gap. That's continuous improvement leadership in action. Do this every Monday. How to Apply Continuous Improvement Leadership to Your Career in 2026 The beauty of Kaizen is that it scales from a Toyota factory floor to your personal career strategy. Here's how to translate Olaf's framework into your daily leadership practice:The 15-Minute Daily Leadership HuddleAt every Danaher facility, teams hold a 15-minute standing meeting every morning. They review five metrics — safety, quality, delivery, inventory, productivity — and ask: are we red or green? If red, why? Who does what by when?For your career, your five metrics might be: stakeholder relationships, project delivery, skill development, visibility, and team performance. A daily or weekly 10-minute self-check asking those same questions creates the discipline of continuous improvement at the individual level.Visual Management for Your CareerOlaf emphasizes making performance visible. In organizations, this means color-coded boards. For your career, this translates to maintaining a simple achievement tracker — a running document of your wins, metrics, and impact — that you review weekly. This directly feeds your Leadership Branding Blueprint and becomes the evidence base for promotion conversations.The Growth Mindset + Kaizen ConnectionOlaf's PhD research connected him deeply to Carol Dweck's work on fixed vs. growth mindsets. Dweck's research demonstrates that individuals who believe abilities can be developed through dedication consistently outperform those who believe talent is fixed. Continuous improvement is the operational expression of growth mindset — it gives you the system that turns that belief into measurable career results. Your 7-Step Continuous Improvement Career Action Plan Step 1 (10 min): Define your career target....
Transcribe →Women Leaders Burnout: Neuroscience Recovery Guide 2026 | The Neuroscience of Thriving | WLS 156
Feb 400:35:07Tap to summarizeThe Neuroscience of Thriving: How Women Leaders Transform Burnout Into Happiness and High Performance With 60% of senior women reporting record burnout (McKinsey, 2025) and 82% of all employees at burnout risk, the happiness crisis demands neuroscience-based solutions. Dr. Paul Zak reveals the "key moments" framework, Love Plus algorithm, and immersion science that transforms workplace well being, leadership culture, and sustained career success. • Happy workers are 13% more productive, with wellbeing interventions showing 10-21% productivity gains (Oxford, 2024) • 50% of happiness comes from quality social relationships—80% of "key moments" are social experiences • Women leaders who invest in relationships develop different brain activity patterns for sustained thriving • The "do-not-do list" creates bandwidth for extraordinary experiences that prevent burnout • Silence, volunteering, and authentic vulnerability are neuroscience-backed practices for long-term happiness As an executive coach with over 30 years of experience (MA, MFT, PCC) and host of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast (900,000+ downloads, top 1.5% globally), I'm witnessing an unprecedented crisis: 60% of senior-level women report feeling frequently burned out—the highest level ever recorded (McKinsey, 2025). And it's getting worse. WebMD Health Services research shows burnout perceptions increased by over 25% from 2022 to 2024, with 82% of all employees now at burnout risk. Gen X women leaders, senior managers, and directors face the highest rates—precisely the women who should be thriving at the peak of their careers. But what if the solution isn't "work-life balance" programs or meditation apps? What if neuroscience reveals a completely different approach to sustained happiness and high performance? In Part 2 of my interview with Dr. Paul Zak—pioneering neuroscientist and author of "Immersion: The Science of the Extraordinary and the Source of Happiness"—we explore the brain-based framework for thriving that transforms how women leaders approach wellbeing, create extraordinary workplace cultures, and sustain career success without sacrificing happiness. The Thriving Crisis: Why Traditional Wellbeing Programs Fail Women Leaders Fast Company (2025) reports that throughout 2025, companies treated employees with "stunning disregard": rolling layoffs, unchecked workloads, and blind eyes to burnout. Over 200,000 American women quit their jobs this year, citing inflexible policies and lack of support. For women leaders specifically: • Only 26% strongly agree their organization cares about their wellbeing (Gallup, 2025) • 42% of working women say their job has had a negative impact on mental health (vs. 37% of men) • Women who feel stressed daily are 46% more likely to actively seek new jobs • 36% of full-time women have a mismatch between preferred and actual work arrangements Why the Gap? Most organizations spent the past decade conflating wellbeing with wellness programs. They handed out meditation apps, gym stipends, and yoga classes while ignoring the root causes: uncaring managers, lack of connection, always-on expectations, and feeling unappreciated. The result? Burnout soared, engagement flat-lined, and the best women leaders walked awa What Neuroscience Reveals About Thriving vs. Surviving "The book has the title Happiness in it, but it's really about thriving," Dr. Zak clarifies. "How do I extend positive mood and high energy over my lifetime?" Using distributed neuroscience technology and the Six app (measuring brain activity continuously at one-second frequency), Dr. Zak's research team discovered something revolutionary: People who have 6 or more "key moments" daily are truly thriving—engaged in life, resilient to stress, and sustaining high performance. What Are Key Moments and Why Do They Matter? "Key moments are high-value experiences that help us grow as human beings and thrive," Dr. Zak explains. "What we found is that the systems in the brain that give us these high-value moments are deep in the brainstem, hidden from our conscious awareness." Dr. Paul Zak This explains why traditional self-assessment wellbeing surveys fail: Most people cannot accurately identify what truly makes them happy. "When we ask people, 'What was your most important moment yesterday?' they don't know," Dr. Zak reveals. "Because it's hidden from conscious awareness. Many times, people will do something they think is really fun that doesn't give their brain a lot of value." The Neuroscience: Why Social Connection Drives Happiness Recent research from Oxford University confirms what Dr. Zak's neuroscience proves: About 50% of our happiness is due to the quality of our social relationships. But here's the critical finding for women leaders: 80% of key moments are social experiences. "It's the people that give me that ability to be present and emotionally open," Dr. Zak emphasizes. "Sometimes I'll get a key moment when I'm really in a great writing project, but mostly, it's when I'm out at a conference, having dinner with people, giving talks." The Leadership Implication: Women leaders facing declining corporate support (only 54% of companies now prioritize women's advancement) cannot wait for organizational culture change. You must proactively create the social connections and immersive experiences that sustain your brain's capacity to thrive. The Two Core Components: Presence and Emotional Openness 1. Being Present "If I'm distracted, it's not going to be a good experience for me," Dr. Zak explains. "So I'll often take my phone and just turn it off in meetings. Hey, you guys, this is an important meeting, I need all the phones off." For Women Leaders: • Create technology-free zones during strategic thinking and team conversations • Block "thinking time" on your calendar—treat it as sacred as client meetings • Practice "walking in silence" to oxygenate your brain and generate ideas • Use the 60-90 minute rule: take 5-minute movement breaks to maintain cognitive clarity 2. Being Emotionally Open "Do we want to be around people who don't share their emotions with us?" Dr. Zak asks. "No. If I say 'I'm having a tough day' and you're like 'oh, that's terrible' with no emotion—that's not a friend, that's a robot." Emotional experiences are saved in memory in a particular way that makes them more easily accessible. When you share authentic emotions, you activate neural pathways that build trust, create connection, and generate the key moments that sustain thriving. Critical for Women Leaders: This isn't about oversharing or being "too emotional" (a bias women already face). It's about strategic vulnerability that makes you relatable, trustworthy, and capable of building the deep connections that drive both happiness and high performance. The Love Plus Algorithm: A Neuroscience Framework for Daily Happiness When Time Magazine asked Dr. Zak to write three sentences on New Year's resolutions, he created what he calls his "algorithm for living a happy and fulfilled life": Love Plus. The Love Plus Framework: L - Love and be loved Invest deeply in relationships. Research shows 50% of happiness comes from social connection quality. For women leaders, this means prioritizing meaningful relationships with family, friends, and trusted colleagues—not just networking transactions. O - Openness to new experiences Travel, try new activities, engage with different perspectives. Novel experiences create neurological growth and generate key moments that sustain thriving. V - Volunteering and giving back "The evidence is so overwhelming that helping others makes you happy," Dr. Zak notes. Even small acts of generosity—buying a colleague coffee, mentoring a junior team member—create reciprocal happiness loops. E - Exercise Physical movement isn't just wellness theater. It oxygenates the brain, reduces stress hormones, and creates conditions for key moments to emerge. PLUS: • Purpose: Connect daily work to larger meaning and impact • Learning: Continuous growth through reading, courses, new skills • Unique experiences: Prioritize extraordinary moments that create lasting memories • Silence: Create space for reflection, creativity, and strategic thinking How Women Leaders Apply Love Plus Daily Dr. Zak's framework isn't theoretical—it's immediately actionable: Morning: 10 minutes of silence before checking devices (builds presence, reduces cortisol) Workday: 2-3 "connection moments" with team members beyond task management (builds trust, creates key moments) Lunch: Walk outside without phone (exercise + silence + openness to new observations) Afternoon: Learn something new—read an article, take a short course, explore a topic (continuous learning) Evening: Invest in deep relationships—quality time with family/friends, not just logistics (love and be loved) Weekly: Volunteer or mentor (giving back creates sustained happiness) The Do-Not-Do List: Creating Bandwidth for Thriving "Many executives tell me they don't have time for key moments," Dr. Zak acknowledges. His solution? The do-not-do list. "I realized I was doing a lot of things on my to-do list that weren't actually that valuable. So I made a second list called my do-not-do list. And it's way longer than my to-do list." Examples from Dr. Zak's Do-Not-Do List: • Do not attend meetings without clear agendas and time boundaries • Do not respond to every email within 2 hours (batch processing instead) • Do not say yes to every speaking invitation (protect creative bandwidth) • Do not schedule back-to-back meetings all day (protect key moment opportunities) • Do not work weekends as default (protect relationship investment time) For Women Leaders: What activities drain energy without creating value? What obligations stem from people-pleasing rather than strategic necessity? Your do-not-do list creates the space for the 6+ daily key moments that neuroscience shows drive sustained thriving. ...
Transcribe →Women Leaders Storytelling Promotion Tips: Neuroscience Guide 2026 | WLS 155
Jan 1500:29:29Tap to summarizeWomen leaders face declining sponsorship support—only 31% have sponsors compared to 45% of men (McKinsey, 2025). Neuroscience reveals storytelling activates unique brain patterns that make your achievements memorable and promotable. Learn the immersion framework that transforms ordinary experiences into extraordinary career opportunities for women managers, directors, and VPs.
Transcribe →Difficult Conversations at Work: Advanced Negotiation Strategies from a Hostage Negotiator
Dec 900:39:35Tap to summarizeMaster the "tone, intent, outcome" framework and build trust through vulnerability to navigate your most difficult conversations at work and become a better leader. You've mastered the fundamentals of negotiation in Women’s Leadership Success 153 ( part I). Now it's time to tackle the conversations that keep you up at night: the confrontation with an angry stakeholder, the politically charged discussion dividing your team, the compensation negotiation where everything is on the line, or the feedback conversation that could make or break a critical relationship. This discussion former Scotland Yard negotiator Scott Walker reveals advanced strategies that separate good leaders from exceptional ones. These are the frameworks used when hostages' lives hung in the balance‚ adapted specifically for the high-stakes leadership challenges women executives face every day. Building on the Foundation Effective difficult conversations at work require mastering several core principles: reframing negotiation as a conversation with purpose, managing emotional hijacking through behavioral change indicators, listening at deeper levels to understand emotion and perspective, asking questions rather than making statements, preparing thoroughly using systematic frameworks, and seeking practice opportunities with challenging people. Now we build on that foundation with advanced strategies for the conversations that truly test your leadership capacity. Understanding Their World: The Foundation of Influence You Cannot Influence Someone You Don't Understand A principle that transforms how women leaders approach difficult conversations at work: You can't influence somebody unless you already know what influences them. You're wasting your time. It's the height of arrogance, and you're not really going to succeed long-term anyway. This isn't about manipulation‚ it's about genuine understanding. To truly influence someone, you must understand their beliefs and values, decision-making rules and criteria, primary emotional drivers, how they see the world and their place in it, and what human needs they're trying to meet. The Only Path to This Understanding: Deep Listening Most people think they're excellent listeners, yet often go through the motions without truly engaging. Being on the receiving end when someone is thinking about a million other things feels infuriating and dismissive. The Critical Truth About Listening in Difficult Conversations No one has ever listened themselves out of a job or a relationship. This simple truth carries profound implications for women leaders navigating difficult conversations at work. Deep listening doesn't diminish respect, authority, or influence‚ it amplifies all three. The 5 Levels of Listening for Difficult Conversations Levels 1-3: Surface Listening (Where Most Leaders Get Stuck) Level 1: Distracted Listening Nodding while mentally planning your rebuttal or thinking about other priorities. The other person immediately senses your lack of genuine engagement, trust erodes, resistance increases, and resolution becomes impossible. Level 2: Rebuttal Listening Waiting for them to finish so you can explain why they're wrong. You're not actually processing their perspective, just defending your own. Both parties dig into entrenched positions and the conversation becomes adversarial. Level 3: Logic-Only Listening Focusing solely on facts, data, and logical arguments while ignoring emotions. Most difficult conversations at work are driven by emotional needs, not logical disagreements. You address surface issues while core concerns remain unresolved. Levels 4-5: Transformational Listening Level 4: Listening for Emotion What emotions are driving this person's position? Fear? Frustration? Feeling undervalued? Anxiety about change? Notice emotional shifts and acknowledge them without judgment. Saying "It sounds like this situation is really frustrating for you..." creates connection. Level 5: Listening for Point of View Ask yourself: "Why is this person telling me these specific words RIGHT NOW?" Seek the underlying human needs and deeper motivations beneath the surface position. The presenting issue is rarely the real issue it's usually two to six levels deeper. The Real Issue is Never the Presenting Issue When dealing with kidnappers, they wanted money‚Äîbut it wasn't just about the money. They wanted to save face, to feel like they were in control, to feel significant. If negotiators had only focused on money while ignoring these deeper needs, hostages would have died. In corporate environments, 80% of time on kidnapping cases was spent dealing with internal politics‚Äîwhat's called "the crisis within the crisis." In difficult conversations at work, competing egos and siloed thinking often create more obstacles than the actual business challenge. When your team member asks for a raise, the real issue might be feeling undervalued compared to peers, concern about supporting their family, fear of falling behind in their career, desire for recognition of contributions, or worry that you don't see their potential. The Breakthrough Question: "Why is this person telling me this specific message right now? What underlying human need are they trying to meet?" This transforms you from a transactional negotiator into a strategic influencer. The "Tone, Intent, Outcome" Framework for Preparation Systematic Approach to Difficult Conversations Before any high-stakes conversation, explicitly define three elements. This framework transforms anxiety-inducing difficult conversations at work into strategic opportunities. Component 1: TONE What emotional atmosphere do you want to create? Your tone choice sets the entire trajectory. Consider whether you want collaborative versus confrontational, curious versus defensive, respectful versus dismissive, or calm versus urgent energy. Example scenarios: - Feedback conversation: Supportive, direct, developmental - Conflict resolution: Calm, curious, non-judgmental - Negotiation: Collaborative, firm, professional - Political discussion: Open, respectful, genuinely curious Component 2: INTENT What is your genuine purpose for this conversation? This must be your authentic intent, not a manipulative cover story. Genuine intent includes understanding their perspective fully before sharing yours, finding a solution that works for both parties, repairing a relationship while addressing the issue, setting clear boundaries while maintaining respect, or advocating for your needs without damaging connection. Research from Darden Business School shows that women who approach negotiations with clear, authentic intent focused on mutual benefit achieve better outcomes than those using aggressive tactics. Your genuine intent will show up in your words, tone, and body language. Component 3: OUTCOME What does success look like? Be specific about what needs to be different after this conversation, what specific agreements or commitments you need, what would represent a win-win scenario, and what's your walk-away point. The Power of This Framework: When you explicitly define Tone, Intent, and Outcome before difficult conversations at work, you reduce anxiety through clarity, avoid emotional hijacking by anchoring to your intention, recognize when you're off-track and can self-correct, and can evaluate afterward whether you achieved your goals. Practical Exercise Think about a challenging conversation you need to have this week. Write down your desired tone, authentic intent, and successful outcome. Evaluate whether your intended tone aligns with your authentic intent and whether your desired outcome reflects a win-win possibility. Building Trust Through Tactical Empathy The Paradox of Vulnerability in Leadership One of the most powerful techniques for difficult conversations at work seems counterintuitive: demonstrating vulnerability and acknowledging the other person's perspective even when you completely disagree. The Technique: Emotional Labeling + Paraphrasing This specific formula includes three steps: label the emotion you're observing using phrases like "It looks like..." "It sounds like..." "It feels like...", paraphrase their complete perspective as if the words were coming from their mouth, including their emotional state, concerns, and interpretation, then pause and wait for confirmation or correction. Example Application: "You seem really angry with my behavior in this deal. This is taking a long time, you feel like I haven't really delivered on what I said I was gonna do, you feel as if I'm just taking you for granted and your goodwill for granted here, and actually you probably don't have much trust left in me being able to follow through and completing this on time." Notice what's happening here: demonstrating complete understanding of their perspective without defending, justifying, or explaining, making their emotional experience visible and valid, and waiting for their response before proceeding. Why This Transforms Difficult Conversations at Work You might think they're completely wrong and seeing things from a misguided viewpoint. That doesn't matter at this point. When you accurately reflect someone's perspective, one of two responses occurs: Response A: "Yes! You've hit the nail on the head. That's exactly it." They feel seen and heard, defensive walls come down, and real conversation can begin. Response B: "No, no, no, that's not it. It's actually this..." You're getting better data about what's really going on, moving closer to the real issue. Either way, you're gaining valuable information while the other person feels understood. The Neuroscience Behind This Technique When someone feels genuinely understood, their amygdala (threat detection system) calms down, allowing the prefrontal cortex (rational thinking) to engage. This physiological shift is why tactical empathy in difficult conversations at work literally changes brain function moving both parties from re
Transcribe →Negotiation Skills for Women Leaders: Lessons from a Former Scotland Negotiator
Nov 1500:29:28Tap to summarizeMaster Tactical Empathy and Emotional Intelligence Techniques That Transform Negotiation Skills for Women Leaders Into Collaborative SuccessDo you avoid difficult conversations at work? Does the word "negotiation" make you uncomfortable? You're not alone. Research from Cornell University reveals that many women would rather go to the dentist than negotiate for themselves—yet negotiation is one of the most critical leadership skills you must master to advance your career.Here's the surprising truth: Women leaders actually possess natural strengths that lead to superior negotiation outcomes. New 2025 research from Columbia Business School shows that women's relational negotiation approaches result in 23% fewer impasses and often achieve better deals than aggressive tactics—especially when alternatives are weak.In this groundbreaking episode of the Women's Leadership Success podcast, I sit down with Scott Walker, who spent 5 years at Scotland Yard supporting families whose loved ones had been kidnapped and helped secure their release. Now a keynote speaker and author of the Sunday Times bestseller "Order Out of Chaos," Scott reveals how the same techniques he used to save lives can transform how women leaders navigate workplace negotiations, difficult conversations, and high-stakes decisions.What Is Negotiation Really? (It's Not What You Think) Negotiation Skills for Women Leaders - Reframing Negotiation as a Conversation With Purpose"Life is one big negotiation," Scott explains. "We're negotiating all day, every day. It's simply a conversation with a purpose—whether you're dealing with kidnappers in a boardroom or with your teenagers who just do not want to do what you want them to do."Most women run from negotiation because they've been taught it's:- Aggressive and confrontational- A sleazy sales tactic- A win-lose battle where someone gets hurt- Incompatible with creating equity in relationshipsBut this outdated view keeps talented women leaders from asking for what they deserve and advocating effectively for their teams.The New Definition of Negotiation for Women Leaders:Negotiation is any conversation where you're looking to:- Influence or persuade others- Bring about cooperation or collaboration- Achieve a specific outcome- Solve a shared problem- Build understanding across different perspectivesWhen you reframe negotiation this way, it becomes less about combat and more about connection—which aligns perfectly with women's documented strengths in relational communication.Why Women's Negotiation Skills Are Actually Superior in Leadership RolesContrary to persistent myths, recent research reveals that women's negotiation approaches often produce better results:Columbia Business School (September 2025): Women negotiators who use relational strategies achieve better outcomes than those using aggressive tactics, particularly when negotiating from positions with weak alternatives. Their approach of "asking for less but receiving more" avoids impasses that derail deals.Darden Business School (2025): Women who secure leadership positions typically use "shaping strategies"—proposing creative solutions that go beyond the immediate scope of negotiation to create value for both parties. This approach generates better long-term outcomes than traditional positional bargaining.Harvard Program on Negotiation (2025): While women still face backlash for negotiating assertively, those who frame their asks around mutual benefit and relationship preservation achieve similar or better outcomes than aggressive negotiators.The bottom line? Your natural inclination toward relationship-building and creative problem-solving isn't a weakness in negotiation—it's a strategic advantage.Scott Walker's Background: From Scotland Yard to Business Boardrooms The Making of a Master NegotiatorScott Walker spent 16 years as a career detective at Scotland Yard, dealing with organized crime and counter-terrorism investigations. But the turning point came when a colleague returned from three days negotiating the release of a kidnapped child from a drug gang."I was drowning in paper cuts from all the crime reports I had to supervise," Scott recalls. "When I heard about what my colleague was doing, I thought, 'I want some of that.'"After completing the rigorous selection process and training, Scott spent five years as a kidnap negotiator:- Receiving calls at 2 AM to race across London- Sitting with terrified families receiving calls from kidnappers- Working with his team to secure hostage releases- Negotiating in life-or-death situations where every word matteredAfter leaving law enforcement, Scott spent another decade doing kidnap negotiation work in the private sector across every industry and continent imaginable.The Universal Negotiation Principles That Apply to Business Leadership and Your Career DevelopmentWhat Scott discovered through thousands of hours negotiating with criminals is that the same principles apply to everyday business situations:?Emotional management is everything – Whether facing a kidnapper or a hostile board member, your ability to manage your own emotions determines your effectiveness?Listening reveals hidden motivations – The presenting demand is rarely the real issue; deep listening uncovers what people truly need? Questions are more powerful than statements – Asking thoughtful questions creates influence; making statements creates resistance? Preparation prevents emotional hijacking – Anticipating obstacles keeps you centered when conversations get difficult? Tactical empathy builds trust – Understanding someone's perspective doesn't mean agreeing with it, but it creates the foundation for influenceThese principles form the core of negotiation skills for women leaders who want to advance without compromising their values or authentic leadership style. The Emotional Hijack: Why Smart Leaders Make Terrible Decisions Understanding Your Brain Under Pressure One of my executive coaching clients faces a recurring challenge: When someone accuses him of something or doesn't listen to him, he gets angry. As you can imagine, this doesn't work well in leadership positions.Scott immediately recognized this pattern: "We can all empathize with that. It's emotional hijack—the amygdala, that tiny part of our brain hardwired to fight or flee. When our hot buttons are pressed, we get hijacked. That's when we say something we later regret or hit send on an email and think, 'Where's the recall button?' But it's too late."Scott's Own Negotiation Disaster (And What He Learned)Even expert negotiators aren't immune to emotional hijacking. Scott shares his humbling experience on his very first kidnapping case:"I nearly had the shortest career as a negotiator. I'm advising this family whose son had been taken hostage, and they're just not listening to me. I'm full of enthusiasm and ego and testosterone—I'm the savior! And I just blew up at them."His supervisor immediately pulled him out of the room with feedback that changed his career: "Scott, your job is not to tell people what to do. Your job is to seek first to understand them and where they're coming from, and then you can look to influence them." The Behavioral Change Indicators (BCI) MethodScott teaches a practical framework for recognizing when someone—including yourself—is heading toward emotional hijacking:Physical Behavioral Change Indicators:- Facial expressions shifting (jaw clenching, brow furrowing)- Body posture changing (crossing arms, leaning back, leaning forward aggressively)- Breathing patterns altering (rapid, shallow breaths)- Voice characteristics shifting (tone, pitch, volume, speed)- Physical tension increasing (fist clenching, fidgeting)Verbal Behavioral Change Indicators:- Vocabulary changes (suddenly using harsh or absolute language)- Topic shifting (avoiding or obsessing over specific subjects)- Repetition patterns (saying the same thing multiple times)- Question patterns (asking more or fewer questions)- Silence (withdrawing from conversation entirely) The Power of Observation:"If you can spot these behavioral change indicators in yourself or others, you can intervene before the emotional hijack takes over completely," Scott explains. "It's like seeing the train coming down the track—you still have time to step off the rails." Practical Exercise: Building Your Emotional IntelligenceWant to sharpen your ability to read emotions? Scott shares a brilliant practice technique I love recommending to my coaching clients:The Silent TV Exercise:Turn on a TV show or movie with the sound completely offWatch the actors' facial expressions and body languageTry to identify what emotions they're experiencing (angry, jealous, sad, excited)Turn the sound back on to see if you were correctPractice this regularly to build your emotional reading skills"Most people would get it right," Scott notes, "because we're hardwired to negotiate, influence, and persuade. We just need to bring intentionality to it."You can also practice in daily life with lower-stakes situations: "It looks like you're feeling sad right now—is that accurate?" Whether they confirm or correct you, you're building the muscle memory for the high-stakes conversations.The Power of Listening: Moving Beyond the Presenting Issue Why Most Leaders Are Terrible Listeners (And Don't Realize It)"Most of us think we're the world's best listeners," Scott admits with a laugh. "But I'm guilty of just going through the motions sometimes. And I've also been on the receiving end when I know the person in front of me is thinking about a million other things than what I'm actually saying—and it's infuriating."Here's a truth bomb every woman leader needs to hear: You cannot influence someone unless you already know what influences them. Trying to persuade without understanding is the height of arrogance and rarely succeeds long-term. The 5 Levels of Listening FrameworkScott developed this powerful framework to help leaders understand
Transcribe →AI Executive Workflow Automation: Your Blueprint for Systematic Leadership Transformation (Part 2)
Oct 1900:32:15Tap to summarizeFrom Novice Prompts to Expert Systems: How to Build AI Workflows That Run Your Routine Work While You LeadIn Part 1, we explored the foundational mindset for AI executive productivity—the shift from 80% routine work to 80% creative work. Now, in Part 2, Barry O'Reilly reveals the specific AI executive workflow automation systems that make this transformation real.This isn't theory. These are the exact workflows, prompts, and systems that Barry and leading executives use daily to reclaim their time and amplify their leadership impact.What you'll learn: The weekly business review system that takes 90 seconds instead of 30 minutes. How to audit your work with AI's help. Building your personal prompt library. And why your unlearning rate must exceed your irrelevance rate.The AI Executive Workflow Automation Philosophy: Creative Work + Automated DisciplineBefore diving into specific systems, understand the core principle driving effective AI executive workflow automation: "Every time you can automate routine but disciplined work, you're moving the needle toward having more capacity to do creative problem-solving work. That's where you get the power and real promise of what AI is—people doing the best work of their life." Barry O'Reilly The Work Category FrameworkAI executive workflow automation works by understanding two distinct categories of leadership work:Category 1: Creative Problem-Solving WorkStrategic planning and vision developmentComplex decision-making in ambiguous situationsCoaching team members through challengesInnovation and new product/service designBuilding relationships and influencing stakeholdersPattern recognition across diverse business situationsCategory 2: Routine Disciplined WorkWriting meeting follow-ups and summariesTracking action items and deadlinesSending reminder notificationsCompiling weekly/monthly reportsScheduling and calendar managementData entry and information organizationThe AI Executive Workflow Automation Insight: Humans should do Category 1. Machines should automate Category 2. The problem is most executives spend 80% of their time in Category 2.As Barry explains: "Machines essentially offer this opportunity to automate a lot of that disciplined, repeatable, routine work—like having an auto-scheduler that sends an email 5 days before a task is due. I don't want to think about it, I don't want to send it, but a machine is amazing at making sure it follows up and does that."The Self-Audit: Ask AI to Analyze Your Work EfficiencyThe first AI executive workflow automation you should implement is having AI audit where you're spending your time. This creates objective data about your current state.The Initial Audit PromptCopy this prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, or your preferred LLM: What AI Will Ask YouWhen Barry guides executives through this process, AI typically asks questions like:About Creative Work:"What tasks do you find most creative, interesting, and rewarding? List them all out.""When do you feel most energized during your workday?""What work would you do more of if you had unlimited time?"About Routine Work:"What tasks are time-sinks that feel like necessary evils?""What do you find yourself repeatedly doing that could be standardized?""What work drains your energy without adding strategic value?"About Time Allocation:"What percentage do you spend on creative work versus routine work?""Over the last year, how much time have you spent on these categories?" (You can even connect your calendar)Example: The Business Expenses AutomationBarry provides a concrete example: "Say it identifies you spend 5 hours a week doing your business expenses. Necessary, because your accountant wants those things. The machine could say to you, 'Instead of spending those 5 hours manually capturing expenses each month, why don't you try to automate it like this?'"Potential Solution: Use an app where you photograph receipts as they happen, automatically transcribe them into a spreadsheet, and capture images—transforming 90 minutes of weekly work into 30 seconds.The Key Insight: You can ask the tool itself to help you identify where it can help you. This self-teaching capability is revolutionary.Building Your AI workflow Prompt Library: From Novice to ExpertOne of the most powerful aspects of AI executive workflow automation is building a library of prompts that consistently deliver high-quality results. But your prompts should evolve dramatically as you progress.The Progression of Prompt SophisticationNovice Stage (Months 0-2):Barry's reflection: "If I look at prompts I wrote even 6 months ago, I was basically saying 'formulate me a strategy to take over the world' and I was excited by the response it gave me."Novice prompt characteristics:Extremely broad and vagueNo context providedGeneric asks like "make this better"One-sentence requestsSatisfied with any responseExample novice prompts:"Write an email to my team""Summarize this meeting""Give me marketing ideas"Intermediate Stage (Months 3-6):As you gain experience, you start adding context and specificity.Intermediate prompt characteristics:Include relevant contextSpecify desired formatProvide examples of good/badMulti-paragraph instructionsRefine based on initial outputExample intermediate prompts:"Write a follow-up email to my coaching client based on this transcript. Include: key themes discussed, behavior shifts identified, agreed actions, and prep for next session.""Summarize this leadership team meeting. Focus on: decisions made, who owns each action, deadlines, and any concerns raised."Expert Stage (Months 6+):Barry describes his current approach: "Now I'm able to ask questions like, 'I'm thinking about a very specific niche, in this micro-market, in this sub-segment, in this town, in that village'—the specificity that I'm able to get to, which the machine has forced me to do, because I no longer am satisfied with the initial response."Expert prompt characteristics:Extremely specific and detailedInclude multiple data sourcesRequest multiple perspectivesAsk for disconfirming evidenceIterate through multiple roundsBuild on previous conversationsExample expert prompts:"Analyze these 10 meeting transcripts from Q4 2024. Identify: (1) recurring themes about Project Phoenix, (2) implicit assumptions our leadership team is making, (3) perspectives we might be missing from stakeholders not in these meetings, (4) 3 strategic options ranging from conservative to transformational, (5) risks with each option, (6) 10 hard questions a skeptical board member would ask me."Your Prompt Library StructureCreate a document with categorized prompts for common AI executive workflow automation tasks:Meeting Follow-Up Prompts:One-on-one coaching sessionsTeam meetingsClient/stakeholder meetingsStrategy sessionsWeekly business reviewsAnalysis Prompts:Market research synthesisCompetitive analysisPattern identification across meetingsBlind spot detectionRisk assessmentCommunication Prompts:Email drafting for different audiencesPresentation outline creationExecutive summary generationDifficult conversation preparationStrategic Thinking Prompts:Scenario planningDecision-making frameworksInnovation ideationProblem-solving for complex challengesThe Weekly Business Review: Barry's Signature AI Executive Workflow AutomationThis is the workflow that demonstrates the full power of systematic AI executive workflow automation. Barry uses this every Friday at 3:30 PM.The System OverviewTraditional Approach:Time required: 30+ minutesMental energy: HighOutput: Half-page summaryConsistency: Varies based on energy/memoryData sources: Fragmented notes and memoryAI Executive Workflow Automation Approach:Time required: 90 secondsMental energy: Low (review only)Output: Comprehensive multi-page analysisConsistency: Perfect every timeData sources: Complete transcripts of all meetingsHow to Build Your Weekly Business Review SystemStep 1: Capture All Meeting DataEnsure you have AI copilots recording and transcribing every meeting throughout the week. Barry uses Otter.ai, but Fireflies, Fathom, or Grain work equally well.Step 2: Create Your Master PromptHere's a template based on Barry's approach: Step 3: Establish the RoutineSet a recurring calendar block: Friday 3:30-4:00 PMDownload all week's transcriptsRun the promptReview output for 90 secondsMake any necessary tweaksSend to teamStep 4: Track MetricsBarry tracks several AI executive workflow automation metrics:Completion Metrics:Average time from action creation to closurePercentage of actions completed on timeNumber of actions rolling over week-to-weekEngagement Metrics:Email open rate (are people reading it?)Response rate (are people engaging with it?)Feedback quality (are people finding it valuable?)Efficiency Metrics:Time spent creating the reviewNumber of follow-up questions neededConsistency of deliveryThe Continuous Improvement LoopAs Barry explains: "You start getting all these metrics that help you improve the weekly business review. If only 5% of people are opening it, like a newsletter, you're probably like, 'Well, there's probably something wrong with this content, I need to tweak it a bit.' I can experiment."Week 1: Create and send your first AI-generated reviewWeek 2: Check open rates and ask team for feedbackWeek 3: Refine prompt based on feedbackWeek 4: Add comparative analysis to last weekWeek 5: Track action completion patternsWeek 6+: Continuously optimizeThe Compounding BenefitsWhat starts as time savings compounds into systematic advantages:Perfect Institutional Memory: Never lose track of commitments or decisionsPattern Recognition: Identify systemic issues across multiple meetingsAccountability: Clear ownership and progress trackingCommunication Consistency: Team knows what to expect every FridayLeadership Presence: Freed time enables more coaching and strategic thinkingBarry's reflection: "This cre
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