Episodes

What if you are not struggling to speak up because you lack confidence—but because you have spent years learning to stay silent? Elaine Lin Hering, author of Unlearning Silence, joins Betsy to explore how women withhold their opinions, needs, goals and emotions to make life easier for everyone around them. That silence may earn you a reputation as agreeable, helpful and easy to work with, but it can also leave you feeling overlooked, exhausted and disconnected from who you are. Elaine shares why women often lose touch with what they think and need, how narrow expectations around leadership and executive presence silence talented people, and why your perspective becomes one of your greatest professional assets as you advance. You’ll learn: How learned silence shows up beyond simply staying quiet Why women are often rewarded for being agreeable and easy to work with How narrow definitions of leadership and executive presence silence talented people Why your perspective be…

What should you do when another woman is excluding, undermining, or damaging your confidence at work? In this Quick Lift, Betsy shares the key takeaways and action steps from her conversation with Vanessa Vershaw, author of The Sisterhood Paradox. She explores how to tell the difference between workplace conflict and a repeated pattern of bullying, why women often minimize harmful behavior, and how to get clarity before the situation begins affecting the way you see yourself. Betsy also shares practical ways to document what is happening, seek an objective perspective, evaluate whether the workplace is likely to change, and begin building an exit strategy when necessary. And because this conversation cannot only be about the women who have hurt us, she challenges all of us to look more honestly at how we support, include, compete with, and speak about other women. Real support is not avoiding conflict. It is choosing to handle it differently.

We talk a lot about the boys’ club. But what happens when the person making work harder for a woman is another woman? In this honest and thought-provoking conversation, Betsy sits down with organizational psychologist, leadership expert, and author Vanessa Vershaw to explore The Sisterhood Paradox—the complicated reality of women undermining, excluding, and sometimes bullying other women at work. Vanessa explains why these experiences are often difficult to recognize and even harder to talk about. She shares the difference between a difficult colleague and a true workplace bully, why exclusion can be one of the most damaging forms of aggression, and what women can do when the person targeting them holds more power. They also discuss why “women supporting women” cannot simply be a slogan, the importance of accountability, and what it will take to build stronger and more honest support systems for women. Because the boys’ club may be real. But women still have work to do to …

Career pivots sound exciting until you are actually living through one. The uncertainty. The second-guessing. The loss of routine or identity. The pressure to quickly prove that you made the right decision. In this Quick Lift, Betsy shares the biggest takeaways from her conversation with Trish Barber, author of Why Women Pivot, along with practical action steps for anyone navigating a career change, reinvention, or unexpected new chapter. This episode is a reminder that feeling unsure does not mean you are failing—and that you do not have to have the entire path figured out before taking your next step.

Career pivots can look exciting from the outside. A new job. A new business. A fresh start. But behind the announcement is often fear, uncertainty, financial pressure and the uncomfortable question: Who am I without my old title? In this episode of Loud & Lifted, Betsy talks with Trish Barber, author of Why Women Pivot, about what it really takes to make a career change—whether the pivot is your choice or one you never saw coming. They discuss how to know when it is time for a change, how to identify the work that energizes you, how to rebuild your identity beyond a company or job title and how to talk confidently about your next chapter. Trish also shares why every woman needs a personal advisory board made up of people who will challenge her, encourage her and help her navigate what comes next. In this episode: • How to know when a difficult season has become a sign that it is time to leave • Why career pivots are rarely clear or linear • How to identify you…

Sometimes we’re not stuck on the decision. We’re avoiding the conversation that comes after it. In this Quick Lift, Betsy breaks down one of the biggest takeaways from her conversation with Kasey D’Amato: the hard conversation sitting underneath the big decision. You’ll learn how to name the real issue, use Kasey’s head-heart-gut framework to get clear, recognize when busyness is actually avoidance, and prepare to have the conversation without over-explaining, over-apologizing, or trying to ma...

Most of us don't actually have a decision problem — we have an avoidance problem. There's one conversation, with one person, that we keep dodging, and it's the reason we're spinning our wheels. This week, Betsy sits down with Kasey D'Amato — a physician assistant turned founder who built and exited a company that went global, and now advises CEOs and executive teams on the big calls: pivots, partnerships, hiring, firing, exits. What you'll take away: The head, heart, gut test for makin...

We know we should set boundaries at work. So why do so many of us keep saying yes when every part of us wants to say no? In this Loud & Lifted Quick Lift, Betsy breaks down four powerful truths from her conversation with Carrie, founder of Hey Work Friend and a former corporate HR leader. You’ll learn why your nervous system may be working against you when you try to push back, the three-step script that makes workplace boundaries easier to communicate, and how to approach HR strategically when you’re dealing with a toxic manager or unhealthy workplace dynamic. In this Quick Lift: ▪ Why people-pleasing at work may actually be a nervous-system response ▪ The three-step formula for setting a clear, professional boundary ▪ How to reset a boundary when you didn’t handle it well the first time ▪ What to document before going to HR ▪ Why toxic managers often don’t change ▪ The real health cost of chronic workplace overload ▪ How to stop confusing constant availab…

Women in leadership are often praised for being helpful, dependable, and willing to take on more. Until “more” turns into burnout. In this episode of Loud & Lifted, Betsy sits down with Carrie of Hey Work Friend, an HR professional turned workplace truth-teller who helps employees navigate boundaries, toxic bosses, burnout, and the conversations we all wish came with a script. Carrie brings the inside scoop from years in corporate HR, and she does not sugarcoat it: HR is not your friend, toxic bosses often do not change, and working yourself into the ground will not protect you from layoffs, bad leadership, or burnout. And this conversation gets real. Carrie shares how she worked seven days a week out of fear, pushed through pain, ignored her own health, and eventually developed an autoimmune disorder — only to be laid off while on medical leave. It is the kind of story too many high-achieving women know in some version: giving everything to a job that was never going t…

You were sold a plan: do great work, stay dependable, don't make noise, and someone will notice. It doesn't work that way — and the conversation with Roxy Couse named exactly why. In this Quick Lift, Betsy pulls the four sharpest truths from that episode and gets honest about what each one looks like from inside the rooms where promotion decisions actually get made: why hard work is the price of admission and not the strategy, why being invisible keeps you out of the conversation no matter how good you are, why your manager can't be your whole career, and why you genuinely cannot outwork a bad boss. Each truth comes with one move you can make this week — not a worksheet, not ten habits, just one. Because awareness doesn't change anything. The first move does. For the woman who's done everything right and is still wondering why she feels stuck.

Roxy Couse has built a platform by saying the quiet parts of corporate life out loud. The career lies. The unspoken rules. The bad bosses. The pressure to be "authentic" at work while still somehow being polished, agreeable, visible, strategic, collaborative, ambitious, and not "too much." Cute little list, right? In this episode of Loud & Lifted, Roxy brings her signature mix of corporate hard truths, workplace humor, and practical career strategy to a conversation about what it really takes to get ahead — without losing yourself in the process. Her message is clear: hard work alone will not save your career. We talk about why performance doesn't automatically lead to promotion, why visibility matters more than most women want to admit, and why personal branding isn't just an online thing — it's how people understand your value before you're even in the room. Roxy gets into the hard truth about bad bosses, why you can't outwork one, workplace mean girls, career ownership,…

Rachel Druckenmiller was out for a run when she was hit by a truck. The crash fractured her spine — and it fractured something harder to see: her trust in her own body. This Quick Lift pulls the biggest lessons from that conversation. It's not a fitness episode, and it's definitely not about working out to look a certain way. It's about what happens when movement becomes the way you come back to yourself. After the accident, Rachel felt weak, scared, and disconnected. What rebuilt her wasn't a...

Rachel Druckenmiller is known for helping people get unmuted — to stop holding back, use their voice, and show up more fully in their lives and work. But this conversation takes a different path. Six years ago, Rachel was hit by a truck while out for a run and suffered a spinal fracture. In the months and years that followed, she had to rebuild her relationship with her body, her confidence, and her sense of trust in herself. She was presenting about hope and resilience while wearing a back brace, managing pain, navigating isolation during the pandemic, and privately wondering if she would ever feel strong again. What changed wasn’t a quick mindset shift. It was movement. Showing up consistently. Borrowing belief from people who could see her strength before she could fully feel it herself. Rachel shares how lifting helped her repair the mind-body connection, rebuild confidence, and move from feeling powerless to feeling strong, capable, and fully alive again. This is n…

Confidence does not begin when girls become women. It starts much earlier — in the small moments where they are learning whether their voice matters, whether they should speak up, and whether they are capable of leading. In this Quick Lift, we break down the biggest takeaways from our conversation with Sharice Johnson, a youth empowerment leader, mentor, and education administrator at Milton Hershey School. This recap is all about what girls really need from the adults around them — from confidence modeling and leadership practice to mentorship, exposure, and intentional support.

Confidence does not suddenly show up in adulthood. It starts much earlier — and so does leadership. In this episode, we sit down with Sharice Johnson, a youth empowerment leader, mentor, and education administrator at Milton Hershey School. With two decades of experience helping young people build confidence, leadership skills, and voice, Sharice shares what girls really need from the adults around them — and why this work matters long before they ever enter the workplace.

Confidence rarely shows up first. It gets built in the smaller moments—through reps, discomfort, and the decision to move before we feel fully ready. In this Quick Lift, we unpack the biggest takeaways from our conversation with Jeannie Zappe, from building confidence in small steps to learning how to challenge the story we tell ourselves. Her story is bigger than swimming or reinvention. It is about how women build courage in real life. If we’ve been hesitating, overthinking, or talking ourselves out of something bigger, this one is the reminder to take the next step.

What happens when a woman decides it is not too late to do something bold? In this episode, we sit down with Jeannie Zappe — coach, speaker, lifelong swimmer, and open water athlete — to talk about confidence, courage, optimism, and what it really looks like to reinvent yourself in midlife. From leaving a stable 20-year IT career to swimming the English Channel, Jeannie shares how small acts of bravery build real confidence over time. This conversation is such a good reminder that confidence is not something you magically have. It is something you build by saying yes, stretching yourself, and choosing a better story than fear. In this episode, we cover: ▪ why confidence is built through action, not waiting until you feel ready ▪ how to start small when you want to take a bigger risk ▪ the power of optimism and the stories we tell ourselves ▪ why women need to stop leading with “what if I can’t” ▪ what it looks like to reinvent your life and career at any age ▪ how suppo…

Gen Z is getting a lot of attention at work right now — and not always for the right reasons. In this Quick Lift, we break down five of the biggest takeaways from the conversation with Dr. Andrea Mata, including what managers are getting wrong, where parents may be overcorrecting, and what Gen Z can do to stand out in a crowded workplace. This is not a lazy generational rant. It is a practical recap on expectations, accountability, coaching, and the skills young employees need to succeed. We cover: ▪ Why labeling Gen Z is lazy leadership ▪ What “high expectations with high support” actually looks like ▪ Why coaching is often smarter than constant turnover ▪ The parenting shift that may be hurting resilience ▪ What Gen Z can do right now to build a stronger reputation at work

Gen Z is getting talked about a lot right now — especially at work. But instead of just complaining about this generation, this episode asks a better question: what’s actually going on, and what do we need to do differently? In this conversation, Dr. Andrea Mata shares why many Gen Z employees are not broken, but under-equipped, and how that changes the way leaders and parents should respond. We get into the impact of parenting, the cost to companies when young employees are unprepared, and how managers can do a better job setting expectations, giving feedback, and building the skills Gen Z needs to succeed. In this episode, we talk about: Why Gen Z may be struggling with professionalism, communication, and accountability at work The idea that young employees need skills development, not just criticism What high expectations and high support actually look like in leadership Why parents need warmth and connection plus clear expectations and consequences How businesses can …

In this Quick Lift, we are pulling out the biggest takeaways from the conversation with Bhavana Smith, founder of Until There Are Nine — and this one is for every woman who has ever worked hard, taken on more, stayed loyal, and still felt underpaid or overlooked. We talk about why so many women leave money on the table, not because they are not capable, but because they were never taught how to advocate for themselves clearly and confidently. From negotiating a new offer to asking for a raise or promotion, Bhavana shares practical advice on timing, visibility, and how to make a fact-based case for your value. If you’ve ever assumed your work would speak for itself, this episode is your reminder that sometimes your voice has to speak too. In this Quick Lift, we cover: ▪ Why hard work alone does not guarantee better pay ▪ How to stop treating compensation like an emotional conversation ▪ Why timing matters more than most people realize ▪ How to build visibility without fe…

Why do so many women work harder… and still end up underpaid? In this episode, Betsy sits down with Bhavana Smith, founder of Until There Are Nine, to talk about negotiation, self-advocacy, promotions, and the quiet ways women are taught to stay grateful instead of ask for more. Bhavana shares the personal experience that changed everything for her — a job conversation that led to an almost 70% increase in salary and sparked the mission behind her work helping women advocate for the pay and recognition they’ve earned. She explains why the gender pay gap is not always about one big obvious moment, but often a pattern: women not negotiating, not understanding pay ranges, not speaking up early enough, or assuming good work will naturally lead to better compensation. Betsy and Bhavana also unpack the role managers play, why timing matters more than people realize, and how visibility across an organization impacts promotions and raises.

High-performing women are wired to fix things fast. But when something isn’t working, we often default to: “It’s me. I need to try harder.” In this Quick Lift, we are breaking down three takeaways from the conversation with Kehla G that will help you step back, quiet the noise, and make decisions that feel clear—not chaotic. Quick Lift Takeaways: ■ Orientation: Step back and look at the whole ecosystem before you “fix” anything ■ Coherence: The answer is often subtraction—simplify the sequence and reconnect the system ■ Intuition + Precision: Intuition needs space; precision keeps it clean (“do less, say less”)

Kehla G joins us for a real-talk conversation on what it looks like to lead (and build) when the pressure is real—without spiraling into more hustle, more noise, and more “I must not be enough.” We talk about orientation (where you’re standing when you try to solve a problem), why the solution is often taking things away, and how to reconnect with your intuition by clearing the mental and digital clutter. Kehla also breaks down Human Design + Gene Keys in a way that actually makes sense for corporate women who already know tools like DISC and StrengthsFinder—and want a deeper, steadier kind of self-trust.

This is your Quick Lift recap of the conversation with Dr. Amy Diehl—focused on glass walls: the hidden barriers that block women’s access to opportunity, influence, and leadership in ways that aren’t always obvious (until you’re the one hitting them). We cover the six gender bias barriers from Glass Walls—from “default male privilege” and constrained expectations, to the more overt stuff like hostility—plus what leaders and allies can do to actually change the environment.