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There's a question a surprising number of senior women in tech carry quietly for years: could I actually be a coach?

Sometimes it surfaces after the promotion that didn't feel like you thought it would. Sometimes it's the realization that the mentoring conversations are the part of the week you actually love. Sometimes it's simpler: twenty years of hard-won experience, and a growing desire for work that's more yours.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis takes that question seriously. What a coaching second act really looks like, inside your company, alongside your career, or as the next chapter entirely, what it pays, what it demands, and how to know if it's for you.

What's covered:

➡️  The quiet question — why so many senior women in tech wonder about coaching, and why the instinct deserves more respect than "maybe someday"

➡️  The three shapes of a coaching practice — the internal coach-leader, the portfolio builder coaching alongside her career, and the full second act, and why you don't have to choose today

➡️  What you already have — why decades in tech are an asset most career coaches would kill for, and the credibility math nobody tells you about

➡️  What you don't have yet — the honest gap: mentoring instinct is not coaching skill, and why the leap from "good with people" to professional coaching needs structure, practice, and feedback

➡️  The "can I really do this?" objection — answered properly: no prior coaching experience needed, practice hours built in, mentoring from Master Coaches

➡️  The business reality — what building a paying practice actually involves, and the brand-new How to Build Your Coaching Business / Side-Hustle bonus announced today for the September Ignite Coach Academy cohort

➡️  The timeline — enrollment closes Friday 11 September, cohort starts Monday 14 September, certified and practicing by year end

If the question has been sitting quietly in the back of your mind, this is the episode that takes it out and looks at it properly.

Useful links

Ignite Coach Academy — final enrollment for the September cohort closes Friday 11 September: tonicollis.com/ignite-coach-academy

Book a complimentary chat with Toni about whether Ignite is right for you: tonicollis.com/lets-chat

When a client goes quiet, most leaders assume everything is fine. Alisha Esmail would tell you silence is the clients exit ramp — because it's far easier to disappear quietly than to tell someone you're leaving.

Alisha is the founder of Latch AI, an AI-native client retention engine, and her path to tech was anything but conventional: seven years in international development across Haiti, South Africa, Nepal, Jordan and Panama, followed by building an award-winning coffee company with direct supply chains across three countries and a micro-loan program supporting female-owned farms.

In this episode, Alisha and Toni make the case that retention is not customer success's problem — it's a leadership problem that belongs to everyone. They get into what AI is genuinely doing to the retention landscape, why cutting CS teams has backfired badly for some companies, and the practical diagnostics any leader can run this week regardless of function.

What we cover:

• Why every leader — engineering, product, sales, commercial — should care about retention
• How AI is reshaping the retention landscape, and "the war on clients"
• Bells and whistles vs boredom: when do customers actually leave a working product?
• No news is bad news — why silence is an exit ramp, not a sign of satisfaction
• The four-part retention framework: detect drift, score clients, run the safe play, capture the win
• Why "expansion ready" is the most missed category in most businesses
• Usage metrics: the data engineering leaders aren't capturing but should be and how it helps executive decision making

Useful Links

Connect with today's guest, Alisha Esmail, on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisha-esmail/ and find out more about Latch AI at https://www.yourlatch.com.

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Alisha Esmail. Thank you Alisha and Latch AI for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

You have "coaching conversations" with your team. Career chats, problem-solving sessions, one-to-ones where you share your experience and point people in the right direction.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: most of those conversations aren't coaching. They're mentoring. Powerful, well-intentioned, and the wrong tool for what you're trying to build. Because advice creates dependence, and coaching creates capability.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis breaks down the difference, why it matters more than almost any other leadership skill gap, and how genuine coaching skill transforms your team, your calendar and your career.

What's covered:

➡️  The mentoring trap — why the conversations you call coaching are almost certainly advice-giving, why that's made you the bottleneck, and the test that tells you which one you're doing

➡️  Advice creates dependence, coaching creates capability — the mechanism behind why your team brings you the same problems over and over

➡️  The Ignite Framework: Reverse, Neutral, Forward — the diagnostic at the heart of real coaching: "Reverse is 'this is happening to me'. Neutral is 'this is what's happening'. Forward is 'here's what I can do about it'. Same facts, three completely different relationships to them."

➡️  The two counterfeit states — False Neutral (calm that's really collapse) and False Forward (a plan laid over an unaddressed feeling), and why missing them is where most well-meaning leadership conversations go wrong

➡️  The 5-minute coaching conversation — you don't need an hour; you need the diagnosis and three good questions

➡️  What changes when you lead this way — the team that solves its own problems, the calendar that comes back to you, and the leadership reputation that follows

➡️  Where Ignite Coach Academy fits — the September cohort, the certification path, and the Self-Coaching + Coaching in Your 1:1s bonus module built for exactly this

If you're tired of being the answer machine, this is the episode that shows you the way out.

Useful links:

Ignite Coach Academy — enrolling now for the September cohort (starts Monday 14 September, enrollment closes Friday 11 September): tonicollis.com/ignite-coach-academy

Book a complimentary chat with Toni about whether Ignite is right for you: tonicollis.com/lets-chat

Burnout is not caused by too much work.

That's the argument at the heart of this episode — and Yana Carstens has earned the right to make it. After 12 years in the design and tech space, and her own burnout behind her, Yana shifted into executive coaching, where she now focuses on burnout prevention and authentic leadership for women in tech.

In this conversation, Yana and Toni get into what taking radical responsibility for your own wellbeing actually means — and why most of what we call "wellness" is polishing the car while nobody looks under the hood. They dig into hyper-responsibility, the reflex that makes everything your fault; why rest is a prerequisite for success rather than a reward for it; and how leaders who model genuine wellbeing quietly reset the culture of everyone around them.

If you're stepping into a new role, carrying everyone around you, or wondering why the vacation didn't fix it — this one is for you.

What we cover:

◾ Why tech-native executive coaches are so rare — and why coaching skills spread naturally through teams

◾ The three reasons wellbeing is a leadership issue: modeling, leading from your center, and preventing burnout

◾ Burnout is not caused by too much work — the root causes nobody talks about

◾ The Ferrari analogy: you're built for speed, but without the pit stops you break down

◾ Why unlimited PTO and spa days are polish, not maintenance — and what "under the hood" work looks like

◾ Rest is a prerequisite for success, not a reward for it — and how that belief shapes team culture

◾ Hyper-responsibility: the high-achiever trait that makes everything your fault

◾ Observe, don't absorb — and Toni's version, hold, don't carry

◾ The client story: the boss's bad mood that had nothing to do with her

◾ Moving from hyper-responsible to "response-able": pause, clarify, build the internal boundary system

◾ The honest truth: this pattern comes back under stress — and that's okay

◾ Worst advice Yana ever received (from another coach): "you need to put on an act"

◾ Best advice: if you believe things will work out, you see opportunities — if not, you see obstacles

Useful Links

Connect with today's guest, Yana Carstens, on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanacarstens/) and sign up for her monthly newsletter at https://realignandthrive.com/newsletter.

Ready to learn to coach — for your self-coaching, your leadership toolkit, or a business of your own? Ignite Coach Academy is open for enrollment. Doors close September 11: https://tonicollis.com/ignite-coach-academy

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Yana Carstens. Thank you Yana for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Ever looked at an opportunity, a stretch role, a speaking slot, a bold idea, and thought "I could do that"… and then let it pass? And then been quietly furious with yourself weeks later?

It probably wasn't a courage problem. It was an energy problem.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis introduces the Leadership Energy Model: the relationship between bravery, grit, and confidence, and why understanding it changes how you take on hard things, how you recover from them, and how you lead a team through them.

What's covered:

➡️  The three-stage model — bravery gets you started, grit gets you through, confidence is what you earn on the other side, and each one changes what the next hard thing costs you

➡️  Naive bravery — why not knowing how hard something will be is sometimes the greatest gift, and why the more naive you are, the more grit you'll need later

➡️  Why bravery and grit are finite — one shared pool across your entire life, which is why a house renovation, a health challenge or a hard season at home leaves you with nothing for the bold move at work (and vice versa)

➡️  The celebrity illusion — why some people seem infinitely brave, and what resources actually do to the price of courage

➡️  Confidence as the exchange rate — every hard thing you complete makes the next one cheaper, and how to build confidence deliberately through structured small wins instead of deep-end plunges

➡️  Self-coaching with the model — how to audit your own bravery and grit spend before you commit to the next hard thing

➡️  Coaching your team through it — especially in AI transformations, where you're asking everyone to be brave and gritty at once with no confidence to draw on, and what great leaders do about that energetic cost

If you've been wondering why the version of you who used to leap at challenges has gone quiet, this episode will give you the answer, and the way back.

Useful links

Ignite Coach Academy — Toni's coach training program, enrolling now for the September cohort: tonicollis.com/ignite-coach-academy

Book a complimentary chat with Toni about whether Ignite is right for you: tonicollis.com/lets-chat

What outcome are you actually after? It's one of the most important questions a leader can ask — and one most organizations get wrong.

Jessi Szurek, Associate Partner at Synthesis, joins Toni for a conversation about outcome-focused leadership, AI adoption done right, and the career-defining skill of speaking up when you're being overlooked. Jessi's path took her from an architecture degree at Cornell to an MBA at NYU, through 17 years at Ernst & Young working across process automation and AI with global financial institutions, to a smaller consulting firm reinventing what client value really means.

This episode is full of practical wisdom for anyone leading change, adopting AI, or trying to get clear on what actually matters — plus one of the best examples of calling out being ignored that we've had on the show.

What we covered:

• The non-linear journey: architecture, an MBA in economics, and 17 years at a global consulting firm
• Why Jessi left a role she was good at when her objectives and her employer's diverged
• Outcome-focused thinking: the difference between the actions and the actual outcome
• Why most companies think they know their outcomes but don't — and how to find real clarity
• Why sometimes the right move is to stop and reprioritize instead of just doing what you're told
• Transparency as a leadership tool — and why short-term discomfort creates long-term value
• AI adoption is change management, not magic: why AI is just the next tool in the toolbox
• The AI skepticism problem: what to do when people are being forced to adopt tools they resist
• Why user buy-in matters more than the perfect solution — the paper Rolodex principle
• The golf story: how Jessi challenged being overlooked and what it taught everyone in the room
• What's the worst that can happen? Reframing the fear of speaking up
• Setting boundaries and choosing your environment over putting your head down
• Why the most important decision you'll ever make is who you choose as your partner
• Finding success in discomfort — and being your own biggest cheerleader

Useful Links

Connect with today's guest, Jessi, on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessi-petrosino/ and find out more about Synthesis at https://synthesis.inc.

This episode was sponsored by our guest,Jessi Szurek. Thank you Jessi & Synthesis for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

You're delivering. You're the one your team relies on, the one who steps up, the one whose reviews are consistently strong. People call you invaluable, dependable, a safe pair of hands.

And yet when the conversations that matter happen, the succession discussions, the stretch assignments, the rooms where the next senior appointment gets decided, you're not in them. Someone else is being talked about as a future leader while you're being talked about as a great performer.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis breaks down the gap between the leadership you're delivering and the leadership you're being credited with, and gives you the practical system for closing it. Not by working harder, and not by becoming someone you're not, but by changing the signals that build how you're seen.

What's covered:

➡️  Perception is a system, not a verdict — why the two stories you tell yourself ("the system is broken" or "something is wrong with me") both keep you stuck, and the third story that actually gives you something to do

➡️  The four perception gaps — the language gap, the visibility gap, the signal gap, and the narrative gap, and how to diagnose which one is costing you most

➡️  Why your best work has no name on it — drama is visible by default, prevention is invisible by default, and what to do about it if your leadership style is prevention

➡️  Helper signals versus leader signals — the behaviors that made you indispensable may be teaching people you're a support function, and the three-signal swap one client used to change how her VP described her within a quarter

➡️  The one-line leadership narrative — could your boss's boss finish the sentence "she's the person you go to when…"? Why choosing your story matters and how to write it

➡️  Is your mindset holding you back? — the three beliefs that stop capable women doing this work, including an honest conversation about the double standard and why contribution signals don't trigger it the way dominance signals do

➡️  Where to start this week — the diagnosis, the one signal change, and the one conversation that accelerates everything

Being seen as a leader isn't a personality transplant. It's a set of consistent, honest signals about the leader you already are. You've been doing the hard part for years. This is letting it be seen.

Book a complimentary strategy call with Toni: tonicollis.com/lets-chat

⏹️  Episode 264 — Why You're Not Getting Promoted (Even When You're Overperforming): https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/264-why-youre-not-getting-promoted  

⏹️  Episode 228 — Mastering Your Value: Strategies to Stop Underselling Yourself: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/228-not-getting-promoted-heres-the-one-thing-you-need-to-stop-doing 

⏹️  Episode 112 — The Problem With Not Blowing Your Own Trumpet: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/112-if-you-dont-openly-celebrate-your-achievements-who-will 

⏹️  Episode 276 — Busy ≠ Valuable: How to Prioritize Work That Gets You Promoted: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/276-busy-not-valuable-how-to-prioritize-work-that-gets-you-promoted

⏹️  Episode 286 — Executive Presence for Women in Tech: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/286-executive-presence-for-women-in-tech

⏹️  Episode 290 — The Promotion Gap in Tech: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/290-women-in-tech-promotion-gap

What does it mean to build products that truly work for everyone — including the people most systems were never designed to include?

Debbie Hsu, EVP of Product at Experian Consumer Services, joins Toni for a conversation that spans the full arc of her career — from software engineer at Oracle to leading product at one of the world's most significant consumer financial data companies — and gets into some of the most important questions facing product leaders today.

Debbie leads the evolution of EVA, Experian's AI-powered virtual assistant, and brings a consumer-first lens to everything she builds. In this episode she shares how AI is changing team structures and role boundaries in product, why over-reliance on AI risks making every product look and sound the same, and what the socioeconomic stakes of AI access mean for product leaders who care about inclusion.

She also shares three pieces of advice that I see as foundational to leading: Being humble is not the same as being invisible. Self-advocacy is not the same as bragging. And never let an official meeting be the first time people hear about your idea.

What we cover:

⏹ The unplanned path from software engineer to EVP of Product — and what learning by doing really looks like

⏹ Why Debbie went back to business school to pivot into product management — and what actually landed her the job

⏹ How product leadership has evolved over 20 years: from Flash-based seat maps to AI-powered financial assistants

⏹ T-shaped builders and the blurring of roles in the AI era — what this means for product teams right now

⏹ The AI homogeneity risk: why over-reliance on AI makes products look and sound the same — and what differentiates the ones that don't

⏹ EVA: how Experian's AI assistant uses trusted credit data, expert compliance, and lender eligibility to go beyond generic AI responses

⏹ AI access as a socioeconomic equity issue — and why product leaders need to be part of this conversation

⏹ Financial inclusion and credit invisibility: what it means to build products for people the system overlooked

⏹ Being humble is not the same as being invisible

⏹ Self-advocacy is not bragging — and why visibility for meaningful work is a leadership skill

⏹ Never let an official meeting be the first time people hear your idea

⏹ Diverse voices in product: why every product leader has a responsibility to build inclusively

Useful Links

Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Debbie on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-hsu/ and find out more about Experian at https://www.experian.com.

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Debbie Hsu. Thank you Debbie & Experian for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

There's a room you're not yet in. Maybe it's a literal room — the board meeting, the investor briefing, the conversation at the level above yours where decisions get made that shape your organization and your career. Maybe it's more of a concept — the level of credibility where people seek out your perspective rather than just your report. Where you're consulted, not just informed.

Becoming a trusted advisor to a board is one of those topics that sounds like it belongs to a specific career stage. But the behaviors, habits, and communication patterns that make someone genuinely valuable at board level are not developed the week before you need them. They're built over years — and the leader who starts now will be genuinely ready when the moment comes.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis breaks down exactly what board-level credibility looks like, how it's built, and what you can start doing right now — wherever you are in your career.

This is for you if:  

➡️  You're the leader actively working toward the C-suite who knows the board relationship is her frontier

➡️  You're the woman considering fractional work, NED roles, or an encore career — and who needs to understand how to position herself for board-level advisory work

➡️  You're the Director or VP who's not thinking about boards yet — and who is going to leave this episode with the most immediately actionable content, because the seeds of board credibility are planted years before the harvest

What's covered:

➡️  What being a trusted advisor actually means — and why the conventional picture is wrong. Boards don't want information providers. They want people who help them think.

➡️  What boards actually want from an advisor — the real version, not the official one. Five specific capabilities that make someone genuinely valuable in a board context, including pattern recognition, intellectual honesty under pressure, and executive listening

➡️  The communication shift that changes everything — stop leading with the what and start leading with the so what. The four-part trusted advisor structure that works in any high-stakes senior room

➡️  How to build the relationships that create board-level credibility — including why most people start too late, how to be useful before you make an ask, and why making your thinking visible is one of the most effective career investments available to you

➡️  What you can start doing right now — five specific behaviors for the earlier-career listener that compound into board-level credibility over time. Including reading the rooms above yours, practicing strategic language in every meeting you're already in, and volunteering for board-visible work

➡️  The fractional and encore career dimension — how to translate your experience into board language, how to be findable for the right roles, and how to build the portfolio of evidence that boards and fractional hiring organizations are actually looking for

Whether you want the C-suite, a non-executive director role, a fractional career, or you just want to be the kind of leader who gets consulted rather than just informed — this episode gives you the framework.

⏹️  Episode 286 — Executive Presence for Women in Tech: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/286-executive-presence-for-women-in-tech

⏹️  Episode 292 — From Tactical to Strategic: The Unspoken Rules for Women Stepping Into Executive Leadership: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/291-c-level-leadership-for-women-in-tech

⏹️  Episode 238 — Thinking Like an Executive: From Firefighter to Strategist: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/238-thinking-like-an-executive-from-firefighter-to-strategist

⏹️  Episode 241 — Thinking Like an Executive: Setting Priorities as an Executive: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/241-thinking-like-an-executive-setting-priorities

⏹️  Episode 236 — Thinking Like an Executive: Cultivating Your Executive Presence: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/236-thinking-like-an-executive-cultivating-executive-presence

⏹️  Episode 291 — C-Level Leadership for Women in Tech: What It Really Takes to Thrive: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/291-c-level-leadership-for-women-in-tech

⏹️  Episode 256 — No More Crickets: The Networking Strategy That Lands Jobs in 2025: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/256-networking-strategy-lands-jobs

⏹️  Episode 284 — Am I Ready to Be a Fractional Leader?: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/am-i-ready-for-fractional/

⏹️  Episode 288 — How to Position Yourself as a Fractional Leader: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/288-fractional-leadership-positioning/

⏹️  Episode 289 — How Fractional Leaders Actually Get Hired: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/289-how-fractional-leaders-get-hired/

Book a complimentary strategy call: tonicollis.com/lets-chat

Michelle Darcy-Clarke didn't have a five-year plan. She took a job by accident, made deliberate lateral moves when everyone expected upward ones, stepped back to be an individual contributor, and eventually became a Chief Experience Officer — without really aiming for it.

In this episode, Michelle joins Toni for one of the most honest and energizing conversations about non-linear leadership careers, the VP comfort zone, ambition redefined, and the single mindset shift that separates people who keep growing from the ones who plateau.

She also gets into the AI transformation her team is driving right now — and why women leaders need to be the ones at the front of that conversation.

What we cover:
⏹  The accidental start to a 27-year career in market research — and what kept it interesting
⏹  Lateral moves as a deliberate growth strategy: why sideways sometimes beats upward
⏹  The VP comfort zone: what safety at that level really means and why it can become a trap
⏹  Doing the C-suite job before getting the title — and knowing when to have that conversation
⏹  Ambition redefined: how wanting to do good rather than be better than your peer actually gets you further
⏹  The red personality: challenge first, commit fully — and why this style gets mistaken for resistance
⏹  Best and worst case scenario decision-making at the executive level
⏹  The team-to-company mindset shift: the single biggest blocker to executive progression
⏹  Women driving AI transformation — and why female leaders need to be at the front of this
⏹  Impostor syndrome, confidence, and learning to own your outcomes rather than calling them luck
⏹  The role of executive coaching across every level of a career
⏹  What Michelle would tell her younger self: trust your decisions and let the negativity go

Connect with today's guest & sponsor Michelle Darcy-Clarke of Cint
⏹  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michelledarcyclarke 
⏹  Cint: cint.com

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Michelle Darcy-Clarke of Cint. Thank you Michelle & Cint for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

You know something is wrong with your team. Maybe it's the missed deadlines that have become the norm. The low energy in meetings. The friction nobody's naming. The high performer who's gone quiet. Or just a general flatness — a team that's functional but nowhere near what you know it could be.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis gives you the honest, practical framework for turning a struggling team around — including the part most leadership advice skips: the leader's own role in the system.

What's covered:

➡️The four types of team struggle — and why getting the diagnosis right before you act is the most important thing you can do. The wrong solution applied with confidence makes things worse.

➡️The over-functioning trap — why managing around a problem signals to your whole team that the problem is acceptable, and what it's costing your best people right now

➡️Why your team is not where you are — the emotional and informational gap between you and your team, and why moving at your pace without accounting for theirs leaves people behind

➡️The three conversations you've been avoiding — performance, expectations, and recognition — and why the difference between a team that stays stuck and one that turns around is almost always the conversations the leader wasn't having

➡️How to retain your high performers when the team is struggling — because they're always the first to leave, and they always have options

➡️The honest question about your own leadership — and why understanding your role in the system is what makes the rest of this possible

➡️Where to start this week — three specific actions, not twenty

Whether you've inherited a struggling team, watched one develop on your watch, or just know things need to change and aren't sure where to start — this episode gives you the framework.

Related episodes: 

⏹  Episode 152 — How to Give Feedback: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/152-how-to-give-feedback

⏹  Episode 174 — What to Do When You Inherit a Poor Performer: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/174-what-to-do-when-you-inherit-an-underperformer 

⏹  Episode 172 — When You Need to Let People Go: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/172-when-you-need-to-let-people-go

⏹  Episode 178 — How to Lead and Retain High Performers: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/178-how-to-lead-and-retain-high-performers

⏹  Episode 250 — Leading Through Change: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/250-leading-through-change

⏹  Episode 158 — Unleashing Team Performance: Simple Coaching Approaches: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/158-unleashing-team-performance-the-power-of-simple-coaching-approaches

Book a complimentary strategy call: tonicollis.com/lets-chat/

Burnout isn't a personal failure. It's a clinical condition with three specific characteristics — and understanding exactly what it is may be the first step toward actually recovering from it.

Sheetal Ajmani, physician turned speaker, coach, and consultant, joins Toni for a conversation that reframes burnout and self-care from the ground up. Sheetal practiced pediatrics for over 16 years and experienced burnout multiple times across her career — the first time in 2006, when nobody was talking about it, and the most recent in 2022, when she made the decision to step away from clinical medicine entirely.

This episode goes deep on what burnout actually is, why high-achieving women are so skilled at missing the signs, and what self-care genuinely needs to look like to make a difference — hint: it's not the bubble bath.

What we cover:

⏹  The clinical definition of burnout — three characteristics, and why naming them matters

⏹  Eustress vs distress: where helpful stress ends and burnout begins

⏹  Why high-achieving women are the last to see burnout coming in themselves

⏹  Anticipatory burnout — the specific exhaustion that comes from knowing a change is coming but not being able to make it yet

⏹  Self-care redefined: why the most impactful forms take less time than you think

⏹  Micro moments of self-care — what they look like and how to find yours

⏹  The difference between self-care and self-improvement (they are not the same thing)

⏹  The Ayurvedic whole-person lens on well-being — and why your emotions, relationships, and career all affect your health

⏹  The one thing Sheetal wants every woman to start doing today

⏹  Why small changes make a larger impact than grand wellness gestures

⏹  The inner critic that adds layers of judgment on top of an already hard experience

⏹  Why burnout is an individual stress response within a social context — and what that means for systemic change

Connect with Sheetal Ajmani 

⏹  Website: radiantlivinginstitute.com 

⏹  Podcast: Essential Self Care: https://www.radiantlivinginstitute.com/podcasts/essential-self-care 

⏹  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sheetalajmani 

When everything is shifting — a restructure, a board crisis, a project on the edge of collapse, or just the relentless uncertainty of leading a team through sustained change — the expectation is that you hold it together. You stay steady. You have the answers.

But nobody tells you how.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis builds out the adaptive leadership toolkit every senior leader needs for navigating a genuine crisis — not the kind of crisis leadership that sounds good in a conference keynote, but the practical, honest, unglamorous work of staying grounded when everything around you is shifting.

This is not about eliminating the pressure. It is about developing the specific capabilities that let you remain clear, present, and effective within it.

What's covered:

• Why crisis leadership is a trainable capability, not a personality trait — and why the unruffled leader you're comparing yourself to is a fiction
• The team-speed problem: why your team is not where you are emotionally, and what it actually means to meet people where they are
• Crisis communication as a leadership skill — not just a PR function. The specific language that calms, orients, and aligns your team when they're in crisis mode. And why you need to say it far more times than you think
• The internal dimension: staying grounded in yourself before you can hold space for anyone else
• Protecting decision quality when the stakes are highest — the difference between genuine urgency and anxiety-driven urgency
• The blame game, why a crisis is never the time to play it, and the story from early in Toni's career that has stayed with her ever since
• The isolation of senior leadership in a crisis — and the structural responses that make it manageable

 Related episodes: 

• Episode 170 - Does it have to be lonely at the top? Drawing the line between being a boss and a friend
• Episode 243 - Struggling to Be Heard? Master Leadership Communication Strategies and Coach Upwards
• Episode 248 - Recognizing the Signs: Identifying Early Indicators of Burnout
• Episode 250 — Leading Through Change
• Episode 274 - How to Stop Overthinking at Work: Tools for Clear, Confident Leadership Decisions.
• Episode 278 - When No One Listens — How to Lead When Your Voice Isn't Heard
• Episode 294 — Burnout-Proof Leadership 
• Episode 298 - When the Stakes Are High, Does Your Voice Go Quiet? How to Communicate With Clarity Under Pressure 

Ready to work through a genuinely difficult period with support? Book a strategy call: tonicollis.com/lets-chat

What does it actually take to become an industry leader when you never planned to be one?

Charli Rogers, Chief Customer Officer at Botify, joins Toni for a conversation that covers the full arc of her leadership journey — from an accidental start in tech to leading customer success teams of 150-200 people across multiple continents, to taking her first CCO seat at a company sitting right at the intersection of search, AI discoverability, and the future of how brands get found.

This conversation covers all things great leadership from quiet confidence, allyship in executive teams, what holding space for women in a boardroom actually looks like in practice, and the language shift — "and" versus "but" — that Charli teaches every woman she mentors.

Charli also gets honest about the biggest challenge she's navigating right now: how do you lead an AI-forward customer experience function while keeping the team delivering, changing everything about how you operate, and nobody really knows what the next two years look like?

If you're figuring out what kind of leader you want to be, how to back yourself at the next level, or how to build allies in rooms that weren't always built for you — this is the episode.

What we cover:

◾ The serendipitous career path from accidental tech foray to Chief Customer Officer

◾ Why Charli put her hand up for people leadership before she felt ready — and what happened next

◾ Quiet confidence: what it really looks like at the executive level and why it's different from the performative kind

◾ The "and" vs "but" language shift and why words matter more than most leaders realize

vAllyship in the exec room — what it looks like when it becomes second nature rather than a conscious act

◾ Holding space for women in a male-dominated executive team: practical, not theoretical

◾ AI in customer experience — leading an AI-forward function while the team keeps delivering today

◾ Building a virtual board of directors and why network investment is a long-term leadership strategy

◾ The worst piece of advice Charli was ever given: "dial it down, Charli"

◾ Confidence plus capacity: why both are non-negotiable and how to know when it's time to speak up

**Useful links**

◾ Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Charli Rogers and Botify:

          ◾ Charli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlirogers/ 

          ◾ Botify: https://www.botify.com/ 

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Charli Rogers at Botify. Thank you Charli for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Are you brilliant at your job — but starting to wonder if this is really it?

One of the most common and least-talked-about challenges facing senior women in tech is the moment when something needs to change, but you don't know exactly what, and the fear of getting it wrong is keeping you exactly where you are.

This is not a "how to find a new job" episode. It is an episode about how to think clearly and strategically about career pivots — before you make a reactive decision you spend the next two years recovering from.

Whether you're bored and feeling guilty about it, you know you need to leave but can't see where to go, or you're ready to pivot but don't know where to start — this episode is for you.

Keep listening to learn more about: 

• Why the restlessness you're feeling is not a character flaw — it's a signal worth taking seriously
• The four types of "something needs to change" — and why getting the diagnosis right is what separates a strategic pivot from a reactive one
• The full range of options available to you — including internal pivots, functional moves, smaller organisations, fractional leadership, and entrepreneurship
• A five-step framework for thinking through a career pivot strategically without making a decision from your most exhausted place
• What's really underneath the fear — and why the identity question is the thing that keeps most women stuck
• What a good career pivot actually looks like — and the one first step to take this week
• Whether you're actively planning a change or just starting to sit with the question, this episode will help you think more clearly about what you actually want next.

What if the brain that made you feel like you never quite fit — the one that means you always carry 5 jobs even though technically you only have one,  the brain that got bored the moment something stopped being challenging, and that saw the whole system when everyone else wanted you to stay in your lane — turned out to be exactly what the AI era needs?

That's not a hypothetical. That's Noe Ramos. And it might just be you too. 

Noe is Vice President of AI Operations at Agiloft, where she leads the kind of AI transformation that actually works — not the kind that chases efficiency and calls it progress, but the kind that asks what humans need to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by these tools. Noe has spent 23 years being, in her own words, excellent at jobs that were never quite designed for her brain. And it wasn't until she found the right environment, understood her neurodivergence, and stopped filtering out the parts of herself that made her different that everything clicked.

In this episode we talk self-awareness as a leadership tool, what it means to build a culture of genuine psychological safety, and why AI transformation is only as good as the humans at the center of it.

What we cover:

⏹  23 years being excellent at jobs never designed for her brain — and what changed

⏹  Systems thinking: what it really means, why women are discouraged from doing it, and how to keep doing it anyway

⏹  Finding the right environment — how Noe figured out what she actually needed and how to diagnose it in a company

⏹  Neurodivergence as a leadership superpower in the AI era

⏹  What authentic leadership really looks like when you've spent a career masking

⏹  Psychological safety: how showing up humanly as a leader creates a ripple effect through your whole team

⏹  Agiloft's human-first AI transformation approach — upskilling people existentially, not just technically

⏹  Role-based vs function-based thinking: why the shift matters for AI adoption

⏹  Visibility vs indispensability — and why being essential at the wrong level is a career trap

⏹  The worst piece of advice Noe was ever given — and the subtlety inside it

⏹  AI as a mirror: what are you bringing to the tool?

**Useful links**

Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Noe Ramos at Agiloft:

⏹  LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/noeramos 

⏹  Agiloft: agiloft.com

Book a strategy call with Toni: tonicollis.com/lets-chat/ 

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Noe Ramos. Thank you Noe and Agiloft for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Three hundred episodes. Approaching 1500 women coached across corporate tech, startups, and academia. And a long list of things I used to believe that I no longer do.

Episode 300 of Leading Women in Tech is different from any episode I've made before. This is not a tips episode. It is not a framework. It is my honest account of what seven years of conversations and nearly 1500 coaching relationships has actually taught me about women in leadership — including the places where the conventional wisdom is wrong, the advice I've heard given to women again and again that has caused real damage, and what I would say now that I would not have said at Episode 1.

In this episode I cover:

Why leaning in was the wrong answer — not because the system is unfair, but because it asks women to lean into a male model that was never designed for them

Why getting a seat at the table was never the whole answer — and what the goal actually is

The real problem with "just speak up more" and "just be more confident" — and why telling women to be more confident before they've had the chance to build it is one of the most common ways we set them up to fail

Why "you can have it all, just not at the same time" does so much quiet damage — and what to say instead

The zone of genius trap that nobody warns you about — and why staying in it is the goal, but only if you notice when it has changed

Why you need a mentor, a coach, and a sponsor — and why most senior men in tech have all three while most women have only one

What working harder actually costs women — and what to invest in instead

Why we are more individual than society would have us believe, and what happens when women stop performing someone else's model of leadership

And why, despite everything, I am genuinely optimistic.

This episode is for the women who have been listening since the beginning, and for the women who are finding this podcast for the first time. It is my most honest episode yet.

Let's talk about building a positive workplace culture. What does it take to build a workplace where people truly own their work — not just show up for it?

Anusha Iyer, Founder and CEO of Corsha, joins Toni to share the unfiltered journey from software engineer to CTO to CEO — and the leadership philosophy that underpins everything she's built along the way. Corsha secures machine-to-machine communications for the operational systems that run our world, from AI agents to robotic controllers in critical infrastructure. It's deep tech solving some of the most important and underprotected problems in cybersecurity today.

But this conversation isn't just about technology. It's about ownership culture, the realities of founding a company as a woman, how to pivot without destroying your team, and why joy at work isn't a soft concept — it's a strategic one.

Anusha also gets into the AI thread that's running through every organisation right now: why diverse voices need to be shaping these tools while the models are still being trained, and why using AI as an assistant rather than a replacement is a leadership decision, not just a preference.

What we cover:

• The real financial and personal cost of starting a startup — and why it's worth it
• How to make strategic pivots without flip-flopping and exhausting your team
• The power of saying no — to customers, to money, to scope creep
• Building a positive workplace culture through ownership: the Joy at Work framework
• The CTO-to-CEO transition: what changes, what doesn't, and the vulnerability that makes it work
• Why the E in CEO stands for evangelist — and what that means for how you lead
• Communication training for the whole team, not just the C-suite
• AI as an assistant, not a replacement — and why women need to be in these tools now
• The 100% job spec problem — and the mindset shift women need to make
• Why diverse voices matter in AI training right now, while it still counts
  

Connect with Anusha and Corhsa:

• https://corsha.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/anusha-iyer/ 

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Read the book Joy At Work by Dennis W. Bakke
• Emma Wainer, public speaking coach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmawainer/ 
  • Listen to Emma on the Podcast:  Episode 107 - Being a great communicator with Emma Wainer
• Book a strategy call with Toni: tonicollis.com/lets-chat 

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Anusha Iyer. Thank you Anusha & Corsha for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Do you communicate with clarity when the stakes are high — or does your voice go quiet at exactly the moment it matters most?

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, I break down one of the most underrated leadership skills for women in tech: communicating with clarity under pressure. Not when things are calm and you've had time to prepare — but when someone challenges you in front of the leadership team, when an executive asks a question you weren't expecting, or when you can feel the room watching to see how you respond.

This is not about confidence. It's not about personality. It's about a conditioned nervous system response — and a set of practical, trainable tools to work with it.

In this episode:

⏹  Why communication breaks down under pressure — the real physiology behind the freeze, the ramble, the hedge spiral, and the shutdown

⏹  Why this shows up differently for women in tech — and why "just be more confident" is both wrong and unhelpful

⏹  The reframe that changes everything: clarity under pressure is a trained skill, not a personality trait

⏹  Five practical tools you can start building this week, including the one-sentence anchor, the strategic pause, the pressure-proof redirect, and the high-stakes pre-mortem

⏹  Where to start — a sequenced action plan so you build the skill without overwhelming yourself

If you've ever walked out of a meeting thinking "why didn't I just say X?", this episode will tell you exactly why — and exactly what to do about it.

Learn more about communication: Episode 243 — Struggling to Be Heard? Master Leadership Communication Strategies and Coach Upwards

Ready to work on this in the context of your specific leadership challenges? Book a strategy call: tonicollis.com/lets-chat/ 

If your organization is running AI pilots that aren't moving the needle, waiting for the right moment to commit, or treating AI as a technology problem for IT to solve — this episode is the reset you need.

Charlene Li, NYT bestselling author and one of the world's leading voices on disruptive leadership, joins Toni for her second appearance on Leading Women in Tech. When she was last on the show in Episode 225 (Run To Disruption), the AI conversation was just beginning to accelerate. Now, with her new book Winning with AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success freshly published, Charlene brings a framework that is both more urgent and more practical than anything most organisations are currently working with.

This is a conversation about AI leadership strategy — not as a technology decision, but as a leadership and strategic imperative. And it has particular resonance for women in tech, who face a specific version of this challenge: the deeply conditioned pressure to be certain before acting, and what that costs us when the window for leadership is open right now.

What we cover in this episode:

⏹ Why you don't need an AI strategy — you need an AI roadmap that serves your existing business strategy

⏹ The 95% pilot failure rate, and what to do instead of running pilots

⏹ The 18-month rolling AI roadmap: how to write strategy in ink and your roadmap in pencil

⏹ Speed as the new competitive moat — and what that means for leaders who wait for certainty before acting

⏹ The specific challenge women face: perfectionism, scrutiny, and the risk of sitting out the AI transition

⏹ What AI fluency actually looks like — and why becoming fluent publicly is a leadership act, not a vulnerability

⏹ The "how did you use AI to prepare for this meeting?" technique — and why it changes team culture fast

⏹ The superhuman thesis: what happens when uniquely human skills (empathy, judgment, wisdom, intuition) meet AI capability

⏹ Why the good people have to show up — and why women's voices are non-negotiable in shaping how AI is used

Connect with Charlene — today's guest and sponsor:

⏹ Website: charleneli.com

⏹ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charleneli

⏹ Book: winningwithaibook.com

Mentioned in this episode:

⏹ Episode 225 — Run To Disruption with Charlene Li: tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/225-run-to-disruption-charlene-li 

Connect with Toni:

⏹ tonicollis.com

⏹ tonicollis.com/lets-chat

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Charlene Li. Thank you Charlene for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Office politics. Just reading those words probably made you want to click away — and that reaction is exactly why this episode exists.

If you're a high-achieving woman in tech who has built your career on results, integrity, and doing excellent work, the idea of navigating office politics probably feels like a compromise. Like you'd be becoming someone you don't recognise.

But here's what nobody says out loud: not engaging with office politics is itself a political choice. And for most high-performing women in tech leadership, it's one that is quietly costing them promotions, visibility, and influence — regardless of how good their work is.

In this episode, Executive Coach Dr Toni Collis breaks down the critical distinction between the toxic version of office politics (which you should absolutely avoid) and the strategic, integrity-consistent leadership work of building influence, visibility, and advocates — which most high-achieving women have been avoiding along with it.

This is not about becoming a different person. It's about leading fully in the organisation you're actually in.

What you'll learn in this episode:

⏹ Why we as high-achieving women often resist office politics — and the specific career cost of that resistance

⏹ The two completely different things most women are calling "office politics" — and why separating them changes everything

⏹ Five practical moves for building influence and strategic visibility without compromising your values

⏹ How to build advocates (not just allies) who speak up for you in the rooms you're not in

⏹ The integrity check that tells you whether you're building genuine influence or drifting into game-playing

Links and resources mentioned:

⏹ Take the Office Politics Quiz for Women in Tech: tonicollis.com/resources/office-politics-quiz 

⏹ Book a strategy call: tonicollis.com/lets-chat/ 

⏹ Learn more about building your advocates: Episode 292 — From Tactical to Strategic: The Unspoken Rules for Women in Tech Stepping Into Executive Leadership

⏹ Learn more about communication: Episode 243 — Struggling to Be Heard? Master Leadership Communication Strategies and Coach Upwards

If this episode resonated, please leave a review and share it with a woman in tech who needs to hear this conversation.

Chapters:

00:00 — The coaching conversation that changed everything 

01:15 — What this episode is and isn't about 

03:08 — Why high-achieving women avoid office politics — and what it's costing them 

09:44 — What navigating office politics with integrity actually looks like: three core reframes 

18:49 — Five moves that build influence and strategic visibility without selling out 

19:12 — Move 1: Map the landscape before you need it 

21:25 — Move 2: Invest in relationships before you need them 

24:33 — Move 3: Make your impact visible — strategically, not constantly 

27:31 — Move 4: Learn to read the room and the organisation 

30:15 — Move 5: Build advocates, not just allies 

34:22 — The integrity check: how to know you're building influence, not playing games 

37:39 — The Office Politics Playbook for Women in Tech

Related episodes:

⏹ Episode 112 — If You Don't Openly Celebrate Your Achievements, Who Will?

⏹ Episode 228 — Mastering Your Value: Strategies to Stop Underselling Yourself

⏹ Episode 243 — Struggling to Be Heard? Master Leadership Communication Strategies and Coach Upwards

⏹ Episode 256 — No More Crickets: The Networking Strategy That Lands Jobs in 2025

⏹ Episode 276 — Busy Does Not Equal Valuable: How to Prioritise Work That Gets You Promoted

What does it actually take to become a transformational leader in the age of AI? Catherine Wong, Chief Product Officer at Entrata, joins Toni to share the career philosophy, leadership mindset, and honest hard-won lessons that took her from software engineer to CPO — via architecture, M&A, product, and operations.

Catherine built her career on range, not a straight line. She calls it the jungle gym — and she believes it's more relevant now than ever. In this episode she gets real about diversity as a product quality issue (not just a values issue), why AI adoption is the biggest change management challenge of our careers, and what authentic leadership actually means when the pressure is on.

If you're navigating a non-linear career, trying to lead your team through AI change, or wondering whether you need a perfect plan to reach the C-suite — this one is for you.

What we cover:

◾ Why range matters more than specialisation at the executive level

◾How empathy becomes your most powerful leadership tool across functions

◾Why diversity is a product quality issue — and what's at stake as that conversation disappears

◾AI adoption as a change management challenge at unprecedented speed

◾The "hit song" principle: why consistent messaging is the job

◾How to stop minimising yourself — and what to do if you don't have the right mentors

◾Authentic leadership: what it really means to bring the right energy to your team

About Catherine Wong

Catherine Wong is Chief Product Officer at Entrata, where she leads product and operations. She has held VP of Engineering and product leadership roles across multiple organisations and has spent her career building range across software engineering, architecture, M&A, and product management. She is a passionate advocate for diversity in tech and for leading teams through AI transformation with humanity and clarity.

Connect with Catherine Wong 

◾LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/catherinewong 

◾X: @catherinewong 

◾Entrata: entrata.com

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Catherine Wong. Thank you Catherine for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

When someone asks you how you're doing, what do you say?

If you answered "I'm fine" before you'd even finished reading that question — this episode is for you.

Burnout in high-performing women in tech leadership rarely looks like collapse. It looks like going through the motions. Like numbness. Like resentment that arrives out of nowhere and exhaustion that's become so normal you've stopped registering it as a warning sign.

In this episode, Toni breaks down why burnout hits women in tech leadership differently, the three patterns she sees most in her coaching work, and what burnout-proof leadership actually means — strategically, not just in a "take more baths" sense.

This isn't about slowing down. It's about building leadership that doesn't require you to run on empty to function.

What you'll hear in this episode:

◾ Why high-performing women are often the last to identify as burned out — and the specific compounding factors that make burnout in tech leadership different

◾ The three burnout patterns Toni sees most in coaching: the silent spiral, the conflict-avoidant overgiver, and the high-performer in denial

◾ What burnout-proof leadership actually requires — structural protection, a perceptual shift, and leadership identity recalibration

◾ The mistake that keeps women stuck in burnout cycles even when they're actively trying to recover

◾ Four practical first steps you can take this week, even if you're already running on empty

For a limited time, the Burnout to Balance Toolkit is completely free — self-paced audio training, workbook, and an optional four-week reset plan, designed for women in tech leadership who need something concrete right now. Available free for two weeks from release, or until the first 200 downloads. Get it at tonicollis.com/burnout-to-balance.

Links mentioned in this episode:

◾ Burnout to Balance Toolkit (free for limited time): tonicollis.com/burnout-to-balance/ 

◾ Episode 216 — Understanding and Overcoming Burnout with Lindsay, Jen, and Allison: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/216-understanding-and-overcoming-burnout-insights-from-leading-women-in-tech-with-lindsay-jen-and-allison/  

 You don't need a perfect career plan to succeed in tech.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, I sit down with Sarah Walker, Chief Executive of Cisco UK & Ireland, to talk about women in tech leadership, non-traditional career paths, AI in the workplace, and why backing yourself matters more than ticking every box.

Sarah didn't follow a traditional route into tech. She didn't leave school with perfect results. She didn't move to London (despite being told she should). And she certainly didn't have a 20-year career plan mapped out.

Yet today, she leads one of the most influential tech organisations in the UK and Ireland.

In this conversation, we explore:
◾ Women in tech leadership and representation
◾ Career advancement for women in tech without a rigid plan
◾ How to become a leader in tech without ticking every box
◾ Leadership mindset and backing yourself before you feel ready
◾ AI in the workplace and how it unlocks human potential
◾ Why social mobility and regional leadership matter
◾ Sustainable leadership and authenticity at the top

If you've ever questioned whether you "fit" the mould of a tech executive — this episode will change how you see your path.

🔗 Connect with Sarah Walker on LinkedIn
🔗 Learn more about Cisco UK & Ireland

👉 Ready to design your path to executive leadership?
Book a Strategy Call: https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Sarah Walker at CISCO. Thank you Sarah for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Executive Leadership for Women: From Tactical to Strategic

You've mastered being a leader.

But executive leadership for women is not just the next step up.

It's a completely different game.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, we unpack why tactical excellence alone won't get you promoted — and what actually signals executive readiness.

If you've ever been told:

• "You're doing great."
• "Keep going."
• "You're almost there."
• "We just need to see a bit more."

This episode is for you.

We explore:

• Why women not getting promoted in tech is often a positioning issue
• The difference between management and executive leadership
• How gender bias in tech leadership shapes perception
• Navigating bro culture in tech without losing yourself
• Executive presence for women — and why it's about credibility, not charisma
• Why sponsorship matters more than merit
• A practical 90-day roadmap to reposition yourself strategically
  
  

Executive leadership for women is not about becoming louder.

It's about raising your altitude.

**Useful links**

• Listen to Episode 286: Executive presence is about how you are experienced in the room.

If you're ready to transition from management to leadership at executive level — but need clarity on your perception gap —

Book a Strategy Call: 👉 https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

Because executive leadership for women is not reserved for a personality type.

It is built.

And you are closer than you think.

In this conversation, Adelina Peltea, CMO at USERCENTRICS shares her unique journey to C-level Leadership for women in tech, emphasizing the importance of understanding one's strengths and the realities of leadership roles. She discusses the significance of communication, empowerment, and the impact of presence in leadership. Adelina also introduces her meditation method, Inner Sanctuary, and explores the responsible use of AI in decision-making. The discussion concludes with advice for personal growth and reflection on one's career path.

Takeaways

◾ Adelina's journey to CMO was unconventional and early.

◾  Understanding your strengths is crucial for career success.

◾ C-level roles require a significant presence and responsibility.

◾ Communication is key in empowering teams and making decisions.

◾ Meditation can be a powerful tool for leaders.

◾ AI should be used responsibly and with critical thinking.

◾ Follow your passion to maintain energy in your career.

◾ Reflecting on your journey is essential for growth.

◾ Empower others while maintaining responsibility for outcomes.

◾ Enjoy the journey and be open to adjustments in your path.

**Useful links**

◾ Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Adelina Peltea:

      ▢ UserCentrics: https://usercentrics.com/

      ▢ Connect with Adelina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adelinapeltea/ 

      ▢ Find out more about Adelina's work in wellness for leaders and get her book:                        https://www.verdawellnessclub.com/

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Adelina Peltea. Thank you Adelina for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

The women in tech promotion gap is real—but it's not random. High-performing women in tech are still being overlooked for leadership roles, even as they deliver exceptional results. In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, we dive into the gender bias in tech leadership, the shift in workplace culture, and the strategic moves you need to close the gap—without losing yourself.

Why are women in tech not getting promoted at the same rate as their male peers? The answer isn't about competence; it's about perception, positioning, and politics. We'll explore:

• The promotion gap in the tech industry and why it persists, especially at Director-to-VP transitions.
• How executive presence for women and leadership visibility can shift how you're perceived.
• The difference between mentorship and sponsorship—and why the latter is critical for advancement.
• Navigating bro culture in tech without compromising your authenticity.
• Sustainable executive leadership: How to build influence capital without burning out.

This episode is for you if: 

✔ You're a Passed-Over High-Performer delivering results but not seeing advancement. 

✔ You're a Strategically Focused On Rising, and getting ready to step into executive leadership—but need a roadmap. 

✔ You refuse to trade ambition for comfort or shrink in the face of pushback.

Key Takeaways:

1. Promotion is a strategic game. Hard work alone won't close the gap—you need positioning, visibility, and sponsorship.
2. Executive presence isn't about personality—it's about framing your work in business impact language.
3. Sponsorship > Mentorship. Advocates in high places are your ticket to the next level.
4. Cultural shifts don't have to derail your ambition. Learn to navigate gender bias in tech leadership with composure and strategy.

Resources Mentioned:

• Promotion Readiness Scorecard – Assess how you're perceived by leadership.
• Lit Up Leadership Academy – Join the next cohort to build your influence capital.

Ready to close the women in tech promotion gap strategically? Book a Strategy Call and let's design your roadmap to leadership.

How fractional leaders get hired isn't random — but it does follow a very different logic than most people expect.

If you've been having good conversations, receiving positive signals, and still not seeing those conversations turn into paid work, this episode will help you understand what's really happening on the hiring side.

In this episode, we step out of the leader's perspective and into the mindset of the organisation making the decision — because fractional leadership hiring doesn't follow a traditional job search or sales process.

Instead, hiring happens when recognition, trust, and timing align.

• Why fractional leadership opportunities don't follow a linear funnel
• The difference between visibility and recognisability
• The three conditions that consistently lead to fractional leadership hiring
• Why timing matters more than effort
• How trust is built before a hiring decision is ever made
• Why so many capable leaders get stuck in "almost" conversations

This episode is for senior women in tech who:

• Are fractional-ready but not yet chosen
• Are getting interest, but not conversion
• Want to stop guessing — without resorting to hustle or salesy tactics

• Understand how fractional hiring decisions are actually triggered
• Feel calmer and more in control of the process
• Make your leadership easier to recognise and hire

• Book a Strategy Session (Positioning + Hiring Clarity)
  • 👉 https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat
    
    
• Continue listening to the Fractional Series:
  
  • Episode 284 — Am I Ready to Be a Fractional Leader?
  • Episode 288 — How to Position Yourself as a Fractional Leader

• Chat to me to learn more about the Fractional Accelerator: 
  • 👉 https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

Fractional leadership positioning is one of the most misunderstood — and most important — parts of building a successful fractional career.

In this episode Toni breaks down why so many senior women struggle to gain traction in fractional roles, how positioning differs from full-time leadership, and what it really means to be hired for judgement rather than execution.

Here's what you'll learn in this episode

⏹  Why experience alone doesn't translate into fractional opportunities

⏹  The difference between employee positioning and fractional leadership positioning

⏹  Why fractional leaders are hired for judgement, not capacity

⏹  The most common positioning mistakes that keep leaders invisible

⏹  How to pressure-test your own positioning without "selling yourself"

⏹  What comes next if you want to move from interest to paid fractional work

In next week's episode, we'll go one step further and explore how fractional leaders actually get hired — what genuinely leads to opportunities, and what doesn't.

If this episode highlighted gaps or uncertainty around how you're currently positioned, you can book a free strategy session or  fractional leadership positioning audit — here:

👉 https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

If women don't experiment with AI now, we risk hard-coding today's leadership gaps into tomorrow's technology.

In this episode I'm joined by Kendra MacDonald, CEO of Canada's Ocean Supercluster, to explore the intersection of women in leadership, AI readiness, representation, and emerging technology.

This conversation goes beyond theory. It tackles the real risks and opportunities facing women leaders as AI, climate tech, and other emerging technologies reshape how leadership works — and who gets to shape the future.

In this episode, we discuss:

◾ Why representation in leadership matters more than ever in emerging tech

◾ How AI adoption in the workplace can either reduce or reinforce gender bias

◾ Why women's hesitation to experiment with AI is a leadership issue — not a technical one

◾ What it takes to lead confidently in male-dominated industries like tech and ocean  innovation

◾ How leadership pipelines for women are shaped early — at work, at home, and through education

◾ The role of experimentation, confidence, and visibility in closing the leadership gap

Kendra shares her own journey — from stepping away from STEM early in life to leading large-scale innovation and commercialisation — and offers practical insight into how women leaders can engage with AI and emerging tech without needing to be technical experts.

If you care about:

✔ women in tech leadership
✔ AI readiness for leaders
✔ gender diversity in leadership
✔ bias in AI algorithms
✔ emerging and sustainable technology

this episode is for you.

If you're ready for your next  level explore how to strengthen your leadership clarity, visibility, and career trajectory by booking a discovery call via the link in the description.

**Useful links**

Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Kendra MacDonald:

◾  W: kendramacdonald.com

◾ Substack: https://substack.com/@saltwatersignals 

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Kendra MacDonald. Thank you Kendra for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

If performance were enough, more women in tech would already be promoted.

They're not.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis breaks down executive presence for women in tech — what it actually means, why being good at your job isn't enough at senior levels, and how leaders are really evaluated when promotion, influence, and trust are on the line.

This episode is for high-performing women who've been told they need "more executive presence" — without ever being given clarity on what to change.

You'll learn why executive presence is not about confidence theatre or personality, why women are often misread at senior levels, and how to build leadership presence without changing who you are.

◾ Why performance alone doesn't create executive presence

◾ What executive presence for women in tech really looks like at senior levels

◾ How leaders are evaluated on judgement, framing, and decision-making

◾ Why executive presence is harder for women (and how bias actually shows up)

◾ The difference between confidence and leadership presence

◾ Practical ways to build executive presence without becoming someone else

◾ Book a free strategy call: https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

◾ Learn more about Toni Collis: https://tonicollis.com

If you've ever worried that an unconventional career path in tech leadership might hold you back — that your background isn't "technical enough," linear enough, or traditional enough — this episode will fundamentally challenge that belief.

In this conversation, Toni Collis is joined by Lisa Ferrante-Walsh, SVP of Engineering at Native Instruments, whose career journey spans music, computer science, engineering leadership, mergers and acquisitions, and even stepping into an acting CTO role. Lisa's story is a powerful example of how a nonlinear career path in tech can become a strategic advantage rather than a liability.

Toni & Lisa discuss what it really takes to move from individual contributor to people leader, how to lead engineering teams through M&A without losing trust or momentum, and why executive confidence, decision-making, and visibility matter even more when your background doesn't fit the "expected" mould.

This episode is essential listening if you're a woman in tech navigating a career transition into senior leadership, leading through organizational change, or questioning whether you truly belong at the executive table.

Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Lisa Ferrante-Walsh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaferrantewalsh/

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Lisa Ferrante-Walsh. Thank you Lisa for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

If the idea of going fractional feels exciting and terrifying at the same time — you're not alone.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, we explore what fractional leadership really looks like for senior women who want more autonomy, impact, and alignment — without blowing up their careers.

This episode is for you if:

◾You're curious about fractional work but worried about legality, stability, or time

◾You've been asked to "advise" startups or former colleagues — informally and often unpaid

◾You want meaningful, senior-level work without the full-time corporate trap

◾You're wondering if a portfolio or fractional career could be a smart next step

Rather than hype or hustle culture, this conversation focuses on clarity.

You'll learn:

◾What fractional leadership actually is (and what it isn't)

◾The three most common starting points women have when exploring fractional work

◾How to explore fractional leadership safely alongside a full-time role

◾The real fears women have — about contracts, confidence, pricing, and visibility — and how to address them

◾Why most fractional experiments fail (and how to avoid those mistakes)

◾How to test fractional work intentionally, without quitting or burning bridges

This episode is not about deciding everything today.

It's about understanding what's possible — so you can make your next move with confidence.

🎯 Next step:

If this episode resonates and you'd like to talk through your own fractional career options, you can book a complimentary strategy session with me to design your own fractional career right here: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/64a6bd61/appointment/86825111/calendar/3066450?appointmentTypeIds[]=86825111

What does it really take to lead in a male-dominated industry — and build an AI-driven company grounded in trust, ethics, and human impact?

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, I'm joined by Shelley Copsey, CEO & Co-Founder of FYLD — a fast-growing, AI-powered platform transforming how frontline teams in infrastructure and utilities make decisions, stay safe, and improve productivity in real time.

Shelley brings over 20 years of experience at the intersection of physical infrastructure, digital innovation, AI strategy, and human transformation, and she shares powerful insights on navigating self-doubt, being underestimated, scaling ethically with AI, and leading teams through rapid change.

If you're a woman in tech, an aspiring executive, or a leader navigating AI transformation, this conversation will elevate how you think about leadership, trust, and impact.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

⏹  How Shelley went from underestimated early-career consultant to award-winning CEO

⏹  Why traditional male leadership role models don't work for women — and how she found her own executive presence

⏹  The mindset that helped her secure a CEO role during the height of COVID

⏹  How she builds trust as a CEO — and why hiring with a "presumption of trust" changes everything

⏹  What ethical AI looks like in high-stakes environments (safety, field operations, human risk)

⏹  Why leaders must reimagine every role in the AI era (customer success, operations, engineering & beyond)

⏹  How to bring teams along when they resist AI

⏹  What self-doubt looks like at the CEO level — and how Shelley manages it with clarity and compassion

⏹  The best leadership advice she's ever received (and the worst!)

**Useful links**

⏹  Connect with today's guest, Shelley:

     ⏹  Web: https://fyld.ai/ 

     ⏹  Shelley's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelleycopsey/ 

This episode was supported by Shelley Copsey, CEO of FYLD. Thank you Shelley for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Most leaders start the year with good intentions —

but by February, meetings, emergencies, and team issues take over.

And suddenly, your career is something that just happens to you.

In this solo episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis walks you step-by-step through how to create your 2026 Leadership Roadmap — a clear, strategic plan to move your career forward intentionally, not reactively.

This episode is for you if:

    •    You're working hard but not seeing progression

    •    You feel overworked, under-recognised, or invisible

    •    You're ready for promotion but not being tapped

    •    You want to stop reacting and start leading strategically

You'll learn:

    •    Why "trying harder" doesn't create career acceleration

    •    How senior leaders actually plan their growth

    •    The difference between productivity goals and leadership goals

    •    How to define your 2026 North Star

    •    The key visibility, influence, and strategic gaps holding you back

    •    A simple 5-pillar leadership roadmap framework

    •    Why subtraction and boundaries are essential for leadership growth

    •    How to turn your roadmap into a quarterly, sustainable plan

This episode bridges mindset → action, helping you design a year that supports the leader you're becoming — not the role you've outgrown.

🎯 If you want support turning this roadmap into real momentum, you can book a discovery call at tonicollis.com/lets-chat 

#LeadershipRoadmap #WomenInTech #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerPlanning #WomenInLeadership #ExecutivePresence #PromotionReady #LeadershipGrowth #StrategicLeadership #LeadingWomenInTech #ToniCollis

In today's episode, we're going deep into one of the most urgent leadership topics of 2025: cybersecurity, AI risk, and the new era of digital trust.

This is no longer a technical issue — it's a leadership issue.

I'm joined by Karen Kaukol, Chief Marketing Officer at Entrust, a global leader in identity, security, and trust. Karen brings decades of experience across global payments, financial services, and technology, including senior leadership roles at First Data and Graebel Relocation. 

Karen has a unique superpower: she translates complex cybersecurity and AI challenges into clear, actionable insight for business leaders.

Together, we explore:

⏹   How AI is reshaping cybersecurity — fast

⏹   Why trust is now the #1 competitive advantage for every company

⏹   What leaders (not just CISOs) must understand about AI agents inside their systems

⏹   The new expectations boards have around cybersecurity risk

⏹   Why high performers need to adopt AI tools, not avoid them

⏹   How marketing and communications are being transformed by AI

⏹   How to build a culture of trust, resilience, and cross-functional alignment

⏹   What it really means to lead through a cybersecurity crisis

If you're a senior leader or aspiring executive — especially a woman in tech — this episode will help you build literacy in AI governance, cybersecurity strategy, digital trust, and leadership communication in an environment where the stakes have never been higher.

Karen Kaukol is the Chief Marketing Officer at Entrust, leading global marketing, brand, and strategy across a company at the forefront of identity, trust, and security innovation. She previously served as CMO at Graebel Relocation and spent 17 years at First Data (now Fiserv) in senior global marketing leadership roles. She holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree from Indiana University.  

Connect with Karen and Entrust:

⏹    https://www.entrust.com/ 

⏹    https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenkaukol/

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Karen Kaukol. Thank you Karen for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

If you're ending the year exhausted, mentally overloaded, or stuck in a spiral of self-doubt… this episode is your reset.

In today's conversation, we're breaking down the inner critic, the mental load of leadership, and why high-performing women struggle most with overthinking, decision paralysis, and confidence dips at this time of year.

You'll learn self-coaching techniques for leaders, practical executive mindset tools, and the exact thought-reframing strategies I use with my clients to help them create clarity before burnout makes the decisions for them.

Because you don't need more confidence going into 2026 — you need more clarity.

And this episode will help you build it.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

⏹  Why your inner critic gets louder during year-end cycles

⏹  How burnout affects clarity, decision making, and self-trust

⏹  The neuroscience behind overthinking (and how to interrupt it)

⏹  Self-coaching techniques for leaders you can use right away

⏹  Thought reframing for executives: how to shift fear-based thoughts

⏹  The Neutral Question Reset

⏹  The Thought Ladder Reframe

⏹  The Executive Decision Filter

⏹  How to create decision-making clarity at leadership levels

⏹  The mindset shifts required to lead with confidence in 2026

⏹  Why clarity → confidence (not the other way around)

⏹  How to prepare your leadership thinking before planning next year

​​Free Leadership Resources

Say It Like a Leader Scripts → tonicollis.com/sayitlikealeader 

Promotion Readiness Scorecard → tonicollis.com/scorecard 

Self-Coaching Toolkit (coming soon!)

Connect With Toni

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tonicollis

Website: tonicollis.com

Career stagnation isn't caused by a lack of talent — it's caused by the wrong strategy.

If you're a high-performing woman in tech who's STILL feeling stuck (despite delivering more than everyone around you), this episode is going to hit home.

In today's conversation, Master Executive Coach Dr. Toni Collis breaks down why you're overperforming but overlooked, why hard work stops working at senior levels, and how brilliant women end up trapped in career stagnation even when they're doing everything "right."

You'll learn:

✨ Why you're not getting promoted (even with exceptional performance)
✨ The 4 hidden barriers behind feeling stuck at work
✨ How overperformance creates the Invisible Leader trap
✨ Why leadership visibility matters more than output
✨ The difference between proving your value vs positioning yourself as a leader
✨ The 5 strategic levers that actually get women promoted
✨ How to know if you've outgrown your leadership strategy
✨ What to do next if you're ready to break your career plateau

If you've been Googling things like "why am I not getting promoted?", "career plateau," or "how to get noticed at work," this episode will give you the clarity and direction you've been missing.

If This Episode Spoke to You…

You're not stuck because you're not good enough.

You're stuck because you've outgrown your old strategy.

And that means you're closer to your next level than you think.

Make sure you're here next week for our special pre-2026 Episode — Silencing the Inner Critic: Rewiring Your Mindset for 2026 Confidence.

We'll dive into how to shift your self-talk, build unshakeable confidence, and finally stop overthinking your way out of the opportunities you deserve.

Struggling to feel heard at work?

You share ideas, offer solutions, repeat yourself — and still nothing lands. Then someone else says the same thing, and suddenly it's brilliant.

You're not imagining it. Being unheard isn't a personal flaw — it's a neuroscience and systems problem. In this episode, Dr Toni Collis unpacks why even great leaders struggle to be heard, and how to change that dynamic without shouting louder or working harder.

You'll learn:

✨ The neuroscience of leadership communication — why some voices carry more weight than others

✨ How bias, bandwidth, and cognitive overload make great ideas disappear

✨ The Outcome – Process – Ask framework to get your message to land

✨ How regulating your nervous system changes how people hear you

✨ Ways to model listening that build trust and influence across your team

If you've been told to "be more strategic" or "speak up more," this episode gives you the science-backed tools to be heard, seen, and respected — without changing who you are.

◾ Being heard is about clarity, calm, and connection, not volume.

◾ Bias and overload affect who gets airtime — but you can shift perception through structure and tone.

◾ Listening is contagious: when you model presence, others follow.

Need help writing your resume? Download my free guide to make resume writing quick, fast, simple & impactful here: tonicollis.com/resume. 

AI is changing how people get hired — and it's happening fast.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Dr. Toni Collis sits down with Nicole Bugenske, a recruiter from Robert Half, to unpack what's really going on in the 2025 tech job market.

From fake résumés and AI-generated cover letters to the rise of quiet hiring and risk-averse employers — we're breaking down what job seekers and hiring managers need to know right now.

Learn how to stand out as the human signal in a sea of AI, what recruiters are really looking for, and how to future-proof your career in tech leadership.

If you're applying for jobs, leading a team, or planning your next career move — this episode will help you navigate the new hiring landscape with clarity, authenticity, and strategy.

What You'll Learn

• How AI-written résumés are flooding the job market (and how recruiters are spotting them)
• Why 1 in 4 candidate profiles may now be fake — and how hiring managers are adapting
• What to do when applying through job boards vs. networking directly
• The truth about quiet hiring and the hidden job market
• How to show strategic visibility instead of applying to hundreds of roles
• What makes a candidate a "safe bet" in today's risk-averse hiring climate
• Real recruiter insights on résumés, references, and interview trends
• What hiring looks like for women in tech leadership in 2025
• Want to make your résumé stand out — without sounding like a bot?

Download my free AI-Powered Résumé Writing Guide to learn how to use AI ethically and effectively to land more interviews:

👉 tonicollis.com/resume-guide

Ready to connect with today's guest? Find Nicole online at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-bugenske-46165958/ 

Learn more about Robert Half Recruitment at: https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en 

http://tonicollis.com/how-to-prioritize-work-to-get-promoted/If your calendar is overflowing but your career feels stuck, this episode is for you.

You're not alone in the busyness trap. For so many high-achieving women in tech, doing more has always felt like the way to get ahead — but it's not what gets you promoted.

In this episode of the Leading Women in Tech Podcast, we're unpacking the truth behind prioritizing impactful work, the hidden gap between performance and promotion, and how to build the kind of executive presence that actually gets noticed.

If you're ready to stop being the go-to person for everything and start focusing on what truly shifts your career — this episode will show you how to lead smarter, not harder.

🔗 Take the free Promotion Readiness Scorecard. Wondering if your work is getting you noticed for the next level? → tonicollis.com/scorecard

💬 Want tailored support? → Book a strategy call with Toni: tonicollis.com/lets-chat

🛠️ Tools & Concepts from the Episode:
◾The CEO Filter — Would the CEO care if I did this?
◾The 90-Day Question — Will this matter in 3 months?
◾The 15-Minute Weekly Priority Reset — Realign your leadership each week
◾The Impact Multiplier — From busy to visible

How do you lead with impact—before you ever get the title?

In this episode, I sit down with Michele Doyle, VP of Data & Analytics at Senos, to explore what it means to lead from the crossroads of engineering, operations, and strategy. Michele shares her unconventional journey from psychology to tech leadership, how to lead with influence before you're formally given the title, and what it takes to build trust, safety, and innovation in complex teams—especially in non-obvious tech spaces like fermentation.

You'll hear about:

◾How to step into strategic leadership without the title

◾The underestimated power of cross-functional influence

◾Creating psychological safety and generous leadership

◾Real-world AI adoption (in the brewing industry!)

◾Why emotional regulation is the unsung skill of great leaders

Whether you're an emerging tech leader or a seasoned exec looking to build empowered teams, this episode will help you lead with confidence, clarity, and real influence.

**Useful links**

Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Michele Doyle from Sennos:

◾https://sennos.com/ and Michele's 

◾LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doylemichele/

Michele's current read: The Murder Bot Series by Martha Wells and Your AI Survival Guide by Sol Rashidi

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Michele Doyle, and Sennos. Thank you Michele and Sennos for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

When was the last time you rewrote an email six times before hitting send?

Or spiraled through a decision long after it needed to be made?

If you've ever been told "you're overthinking it," you're not alone — and you're not failing.

Overthinking at work is often the result of high pressure, perfectionism, and internalized leadership expectations — especially for high-achieving women in male-dominated spaces.

But here's the truth: overthinking isn't helping you get promoted. It's quietly chipping away at your executive presence and leadership impact.

In this episode, I'll walk you through:

✅ How to spot overthinking in real time (vs. strategic thinking)

✅ Why smart women overthink — and how to shift that pattern

✅ The 1-1-1 decision tool to stop spiraling and act with clarity

✅ Executive mindset techniques to build trust in your own decisions

✅ Real stories from my clients who shifted from "perfection mode" to promotion

This is your leadership reset — a tactical, mindset-rich episode to help you step into Q4 with calm, confident clarity.

If you're ready to build a reputation for decisive, strategic leadership — let's dive in.

If this episode helped you shift your thinking, I'd love to hear from you. Drop a comment, leave a review, or connect on LinkedIn @ToniCollis.

🔗 Mentioned in this episode:

Free Strategy Call: https://www.tonicollis.com/lets-chat

📌 Primary Takeaways:

– Overthinking is not a leadership trait — clarity is.

– Learn how to reclaim your time and lead with confidence, even in high-stakes moments.

– These tools will help you build sustainable leadership strategies and finally get out of your own way.

Can your team thrive without you in the room?
And what does it really take to lead with confidence in a male-dominated industry?

In this episode, I sit down with Sandy Motley, Senior VP at Nokia and former President of Fixed Networks, to talk about what it means to lead a high-performing team without overfunctioning—and how to build trust, autonomy, and strategic impact into your leadership style.

We explore:

⏹ How to build a team that doesn't need you to function

⏹ What executive leadership looks like beyond control and perfectionism

⏹ Why inclusive leadership drives innovation in engineering and telecom

⏹ How to coach your team through conflict instead of fixing everything yourself

⏹ What it means to lead with confidence in male-dominated spaces

⏹ The mindset shift that takes you from tactical manager to strategic exec

Whether you're a VP, a senior IC, or growing into a more strategic leadership role—this episode will challenge how you think about value, visibility, and voice.

📌 Want to step into your executive leadership without burning out?
💡 Explore coaching and resources at: https://www.tonicollis.com

**Useful links**

Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Sandy Motley from Nokia on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-motley-b116659/

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Sandy Motley from Nokia. Thank you Sandy & Nokia for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Is It Time to Leave? How to Know If You've Outgrown Your Role (Without Burning It All Down)

🔗 Take the free "What's Holding You Back?" Diagnostic → https://tonicollis.com/whats-holding-you-back

You're a high-achiever. You don't quit easily.

But lately… something feels off.

Maybe you're exhausted. Or uninspired. Or quietly wondering if you've outgrown your current role—or even the company entirely.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, we're digging into the career stagnation signs that high-performing women often ignore. Whether you're wrestling with golden handcuffs, chronic burnout, or a growing sense that your values no longer align with your leadership path—this is the conversation for you.

We're talking about career alignment, strategic career pivots, and how to realign your leadership journey with what matters most.

By the end of this episode, you'll have:

• A checklist of signs it's time to move on
• Clarity on whether you're stuck, burned out, or truly misaligned
• 5 reflection questions to guide your next step
• A strategic framework to plan your next move—without quitting prematurely
• How to lead a purpose-driven career evolution
• What meaningful leadership roles look like after burnout
• Tips for navigating a strategic career change in tech

🔥 PLUS: Download the brand new free tool:

👉 What's Holding You Back? A Quick Diagnostic for Women in Tech

Uncover if you're overdue for a pivot, stuck in visibility limbo, or simply misaligned with your current culture.

https://tonicollis.com/whats-holding-you-back

⏱️ Chapters

0:00 The cost of staying too long

5:06 Signs you've outgrown your role

9:53 Career misalignment checklist

12:46 What if you can't leave yet?

22:58 5 reflection prompts for career clarity

26:31 What to do this week to reclaim control

💡 Ready for more clarity?

If you're tired of doing this alone, executive coaching can help.

Book a free strategy call: tonicollis.com/lets-chat

What does it really take to rise to senior leadership as a woman in tech—without burning out, compromising who you are, or constantly second-guessing your worth?

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, I'm joined by Leila Kassner, COO at Boku, to explore the power of authentic leadership, how to lean in without losing yourself, and what it means to build a career that blends impact, inclusion, and integrity.

We cover:

• Her career journey from entry-level to executive
• The challenge of being heard in male-dominated rooms
• How to self-advocate without overworking
• Lessons in balancing ambition with wellbeing
• Why emotional intelligence is a leadership superpower
• The DEI strategies making a real difference at Boku
• How to speak up, create cultural change, and mentor the next generation

Whether you're climbing the career ladder, managing self-doubt, or trying to build a more inclusive culture from the inside—you'll find both inspiration and practical insight in this conversation.

Connect with Leila: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-kassner-3a2b4a19/ 

Leila's current read: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

👇 Book a free strategy call to explore how executive coaching can help you lead with clarity, confidence, and authenticity:
https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

This episode was sponsored by Boku. Thank you Leila and Boku for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Your boss isn't listening. You're delivering results, showing up in meetings, and sharing smart insights — but somehow, it feels like your voice never lands.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, we're diving into the deeper reasons why high-performing women are overlooked, unheard, or dismissed — and what to do about it.

We'll explore how to shift perception, develop executive presence, and lead with influence (without becoming someone you're not). You'll learn:

✅ The hidden dynamics that cause leaders to tune you out
✅ The performance vs. perception trap (and how to escape it)
✅ Why strategic communication — not more effort — is the answer
✅ Real client stories of turning it around
✅ 5 leadership tools to speak up and be taken seriously
✅ How to self-coach your mindset and energy to be heard

If you've ever said, "my boss doesn't listen to me" — this episode is for you.

🧭 Take the Promotion Readiness Scorecard → https://tonicollis.com/scorecard
🗓 Book a free strategy call with Toni → https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

You don't need a degree—or a perfect plan—to lead with vision.

In this episode, I'm joined by Jackie Peters, startup founder and longtime tech innovator, for a powerful conversation on how to lead boldly, build something meaningful, and move forward—even when you don't feel 100% ready.

With 25+ years of experience across mobile gaming, AI-powered healthcare, and privacy-preserving data analytics, Jackie brings a rare mix of visionary thinking, human-centered leadership, and strategic clarity. We talk about building confidence in uncharted territory, trusting your instincts, and turning complex ideas into user-first innovation.

💡 What You'll Learn:

• Why you don't need credentials to lead powerfully
• How to turn big vision into practical progress
• What it means to lead with empathy and clarity
• Why "privacy by design" matters now more than ever
• How to build momentum when the roadmap is uncertain
• The founder mindset: from grit to growth
• Why leadership starts before you feel ready

✨ This episode is for the bold, the curious, and the women shaping the future of tech on their own terms.

🔗 Connect with today's guest, Jackie Peters:
Website: https://blindinsight.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jackiepeters
📖 Jackie's current read:
Dogen's Genjo Koan: Three Commentaries
by Dōgen, Nishiari Bokusan, Shohaku Okamura, Shunryu Suzuki, Kosho Uchiyama, Sojun Mel Weitsman, Kazuaki Tanahasi, Michael Wenger

📞 Want career support or leadership coaching?
Book a free strategy session: https://www.tonicollis.com/lets-chat 

👩‍💻 Show notes & more: https://www.tonicollis.com/episode269 

💬 Join the free Slack community for women in tech: https://www.tonicollis.com/slack 

#WomenInTech #TechLeadership #FounderMindset #PrivacyByDesign #StartupLeadership #JackiePeters #LeadingWomenInTech

You're overdelivering. Everyone relies on you. But you're exhausted—and no closer to the promotion or recognition you deserve.
If you're stuck in overfunctioning, feeling responsible for everyone, or afraid to say no—this episode is your permission slip to lead differently.

Join us as we explore how boundaries aren't just helpful—they're essential for executive presence, sustainable leadership, and getting recognized at work.
You'll walk away with the mindset shifts, scripts, and practical tools to reclaim your time, your strategic focus—and your path to promotion.

💡 Want to know what's really holding you back from a promotion?
Take the Promotion Readiness Scorecard  (tonicollis.com/scorecard)— a 3-minute diagnostic to find your biggest gap.

In this episode:
✔️ Why women leaders are especially vulnerable to burnout
✔️ The performance vs. potential promotion gap
✔️ How to stop being the team therapist
✔️ 4 signs your boundaries are broken
✔️ Why boundaries = executive presence
✔️ Scripts to say no without guilt or burning bridges

The Micro-Boundary Phrases to help you get started:

• 🗣️ "That sounds important—can I suggest someone better positioned to help?"
  (👉 Delegates without guilt, empowers others.)
• 🗣️ "Let me check my priorities and get back to you."
  (👉 Buys you time. Signals intentionality, not resistance.)
• 🗣️ "To give this the attention it deserves, I'll need to shift the timeline."
  (👉 Balances ownership with realism.)

🔥 You're not failing. You're just doing too much of the wrong kind of work.
Let's fix that—starting today.

What if the key to unlocking the next wave of tech innovation lies in the hands of the entrepreneurs receiving the least funding?

There's a fascinating paradox in today's tech landscape: women-led startups are 63% more likely to succeed and have higher chances of becoming unicorns, yet they're receiving less venture capital funding than ever before. This gap represents not just missed opportunities, but untapped potential that could reshape entire industries.

In this inspiring conversation, tech entrepreneur and AI pioneer Susan Sly reveals the uncomfortable truths about Silicon Valley's old boys' club and shares her blueprint for change. From deploying AI computer vision at scale to building The Pause—a revolutionary menopause-focused platform—Susan breaks down exactly how women can stop waiting for permission and start reshaping the industry from within.

"If you don't like the stats we're sharing, where did you go shopping for that outfit you're wearing? Who designed it? We need to get present to where we're spending our hard-earned dollars—from the apps we download to the brands we're wearing." — Susan Sly

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• What's really driving the decline in VC funding for women
• Simple ways to discover and support women-founded companies in your everyday purchases
• How perimenopause affects women leaders and why workplace support matters more than ever
• Practical strategies for breaking into male-dominated tech spaces without playing small
• Why AI governance desperately needs more women's voices and how to get involved
• The real reason most medicine is based on data from middle-aged white men and how AI can change this
• How to leverage crowdfunding platforms and angel investing to support female founders

🎧 Want to explore the companies mentioned in this episode? Visit Susan's website to learn more about The Pause and discover other women-led companies making waves in tech. 

💵 Consider how your own purchasing decisions and investment choices can support the change you want to see in the industry.

**Useful links**

• Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Susan Sly:
  • LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/susansly/
  • Instagram https://www.instagram.com/susansly/
  • X https://x.com/susanslylive
  • Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SusanSlyLive/
  • Personal Website https://www.susansly.com
  • The Pause Technologies https://www.thepause.ai
• Susan's current read: We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida
• Join the Leading Women in Tech community in Slack where we discuss all-the-things for women's tech leadership, covering everything from early-career leadership to C-level executives.