Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Secrets of the Career Game

Stop listing tasks in your performance review — turn them into evidence for a raise.

Description: Strong performance can still disappear inside a weak self-evaluation. In this end-of-year performance review guide, Kendall Berg shows how to turn accomplishments into evidence with impact, metrics, and stakeholders, plus stretch assignments, leadership growth, and professional development.

You'll learn how to write a forward-looking review, how to mention promotion at work without sounding entitled, how to address negative feedback without writing a case against yourself, and how to get 360-degree feedback your manager can use to defend a stronger rating. Includes performance review examples for documenting fire drills, soft skills like executive presence and delegation, and the Compliment Oreo for giving constructive feedback.

For high performers who did the work but need to articulate their value clearly so their boss — and their boss's boss — can advocate for them.

Drop a comment: What's the one win you need to document better this year?

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Hard work alone won't earn your next promotion—executive presence, visibility, and strategic thinking will.

Hard work can make you indispensable at your current level while keeping you out of senior leadership. Moving from high performer to executive requires different signals: strategic thinking, executive presence, and workplace visibility. Drawing on 17 rejections on her path to two VP roles and experience at Microsoft and Google, executive coach Maya Grossman explains how changing what she prioritized transformed her career. She and Kendall Berg reveal how to build a promotion business case around future value, create executive advocates before review season, and eliminate low-value work that drains leadership capacity. If you're stalled at senior manager or director, you'll leave with a practical 90-day plan for proving your executive potential without working yourself into the ground.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

Connect With Maya Grossman

Website: https://www.mayagrossman.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maya.grosmn/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayagrossman/

Free masterclass: Visit Maya's LinkedIn profile to identify the biggest gap preventing your promotion and access tools to address it.

Hiring managers take 4 seconds to decide if they'll interview you. Here's how to make your impact clear before they move on.

👉 Improve your self-advocacy: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-my-promotion-guide-now

Is your resume full of experience but getting zero interviews? You're not alone.

Hiring managers give your resume 4 seconds before they decide. Career coach Kendall Berg has reviewed hundreds of resumes, and she breaks down exactly where qualified candidates lose attention and 4 changes to fix it.

In this Secrets of the Career Game episode, you'll learn how to target no more than two job titles, keep your layout simple and easy to scan, write a top section that earns a closer look, and replace routine duties with measurable impact. Plus: why you should stop using AI to write your resume and how to use it to check your draft instead.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Job search strategy for 2026: more applications are not creating better odds. AI made generic applying effortless, recruiters are drowning in identical resumes, and qualified people are getting ignored. Here's what actually earns interviews.
👉 Improve your self-advocacy: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-my-promotion-guide-now

Kendall Berg sits down with Andrew Seaman, LinkedIn's Editor at Large for Jobs and Career Development, to break down why the numbers game most job seekers are playing has stopped working, and what to do instead.

Andrew leads LinkedIn's Get Hired franchise, translating labor market shifts into practical guidance for job seekers. In this episode, he explains why the 2026 job market is better than the headlines suggest, why broad positioning hurts your job search, whether LinkedIn Easy Apply actually works, and whether AI belongs anywhere near your applications. You'll also learn how to turn transferable skills into a competitive advantage, and how many jobs you should actually be applying to each week. Kendall shares the interview return rate her clients get from 2–5 quality applications a week versus mass applying.

If you've been applying for months and hearing nothing back, this is the episode that shows you it isn't you. It's the strategy.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 About Andrew Seaman
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmseaman/

As LinkedIn's Editor at Large for Jobs and Career Development, I lead the Get Hired franchise, which is a multi-channel ecosystem that shepherds people through the complex intersection of AI literacy, career resilience and skills-based hiring. My work focuses on translating macro-economic shifts, such as unemployment data and sudden industry pivots, into actionable strategies for job seekers at every level. Additionally, I serve as an informal ombudsman between the world's professionals and employers.

 

Cold applications are broken. As AI floods ATS systems, referrals are the only way to reach a hiring manager. Learn how to build your referral network before you need a job.

⭐️ Get My Networking Guide Now https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-my-networking-guide-now-yhvpak6i 

Cold applications are broken. As AI job search tools flood ATS systems, referrals are the only way to reach a hiring manager, so build your referral network before you need a job.

On Secrets of the Career Game, That Career Coach, Kendall Berg shares how relationships from one five-week project led to two jobs. She breaks down her always-on networking rule: how to get a job referral without making it transactional, how to use internal and LinkedIn networking to uncover better roles, and how to make former coworkers referral connections when you need them.

If you're planning a career move, this is how to make networking authentic, AI-proof your job search, and turn connections into offers.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

You're not disorganized — you're using the wrong systems. These 9 apps get every task, deadline, and commitment out of your head so you can stay on top of work, family, and business without the mental drain.

FREE webinar: Your Difficult Boss Survival Guide https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/managing-up--even-when-theyre-impossible

Your productivity isn't the problem — your systems are. Kendall Berg shares the 9 productivity apps she relies on to get every task, deadline, and recurring commitment out of her head and into a system that actually works.

As a corporate executive, business owner, and mom of two, she tests these tools against a genuinely overloaded schedule. In this video she walks through her full stack — reMarkable for distraction-free planning, A Note and Any.do for recurring tasks, Notion for project management, Trello and Monday.com for team visibility, plus HoneyBook and Stan Store for running her business.

If you're constantly holding your to-do list in your head and feeling drained by it, this is the digital planning system to help you get organized and stay on top of your time — without relying on memory.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Time management for high achievers fails when every available hour becomes another opportunity to take on more.
My Ideal Weekly Schedule Guide Now https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-my-ideal-weekly-schedule-guide-now

High achievers often confuse capability with capacity — then wonder why their demanding workload leaves them exhausted. On Secrets of the Career Game, Kendall Berg asks Sade Kelly how ambitious professionals can stop planning around available hours and start planning around energy, priorities, and realistic capacity. Sade reframes time management for high achievers: why completing more tasks doesn't equal meaningful productivity, and why burnout often comes not from doing too much, but from spending too long on work that feels misaligned. Kendall and Sade break down a weekly planning system, themed days, and three core routines — a productivity system built to protect your energy at work, build high performance habits, and keep you productive without burning out.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

About Sade Kelly: 

I'm Sade Kelly, the CEO & Founder of The Fire Inside, a high-performance coaching company that helps high-achieving women reclaim 10+ hours a week to grow their careers and businesses, stay consistent, and make space for what matters most—without burning out.

Website: https://thefireinsidesade.com/ 

Instagram: @sadekelly_

Is your calendar telling the truth about your workload — or are you silently drowning in invisible tasks?

My Ideal Weekly Schedule Guide Now  https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-my-ideal-weekly-schedule-guide-now   

Most professionals plan their day as if eight hours equals eight productive hours. It doesn't. That mismatch is why capable people keep overcommitting, drowning in meetings, and fearing that saying "no" makes them look weak.

On this episode of Secrets of the Career Game, Kendall Berg sits down with time-management strategist Kelly Nolan, creator of the Bright Method — a calendar-first system that makes invisible work visible, protects your focus time, and gives you the data to push back strategically.

"If it doesn't fit in the hours of the day, you are objectively trying to do too much. And that's just the end of it."

In this episode:

• How to measure your real capacity (hint: your calendar is lying to you)

• Why an eight-hour workday rarely holds eight productive hours

• How to tell your boss you have too much work — without looking incapable

• The meeting audit that frees up hours of focus time every week

• Why saying no, backed by data, is leadership — not weakness

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

About Kelley Nolan:

Website: https://kellynolan.com/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_kellynolan_/

 

An overwhelming workload requires clearer priorities, protected capacity, and a realistic schedule—not simply more hours or faster work.

In this episode of Secrets of the Career Game, Kendall Berg shares five practical workload-management strategies for busy professionals:

1. How to use a daily Top Three

2. Why stopping can be better than constantly adding more tasks

3. How day blocking can work better than traditional time blocking

4. How to plan your week before work takes over

5. How to schedule important work around your energy

6. How to protect your capacity and push back on unrealistic requests

You'll learn how to prioritize tasks at work, reduce mental load, manage competing demands, and recognize when your workload is genuinely impossible.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

You climbed the ladder. You hit the goals. So why do you still check your phone at 2 AM, terrified it'll all disappear? High-achiever burnout doesn't look like exhaustion — it looks like success with a side of constant anxiety.

FREE Communication Guide Now: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/thatcareercoach_funnel 

Anna Wojtowicz joins Kendall Berg on Secrets of the Corporate Game, together they break down why your ambition might be running on survival mode and how to succeed without abandoning yourself.

Anna Wojtowicz, creator of the "ambition rooted in wholeness" framework, explains why high-achieving professionals often experience burnout, anxiety, and a persistent fear of failure despite outward success.

In this conversation, you'll learn:

• How to tell if your ambition is actually "survival mode" in disguise

• Why success feels empty even after hitting every goal

• Nervous system regulation techniques that stop the burnout cycle

• The difference between fear-based ego thoughts and genuine intuition

• How to build a career that doesn't cost you your health or identity

Anna's approach bridges psychology, nervous system science, and practical thought-sorting strategies — designed for high performers who are tired of winning on paper while losing themselves in the process.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

 

Why do high performers get so defensive, reactive, and emotionally raw at work? It's not a personality flaw — it's what happens when your job becomes your entire identity.

When you're a high achiever, every piece of feedback can feel like an attack, every mistake feels catastrophic, and every friction with a coworker feels deeply personal. This is burnout in its earliest form — and it's an identity problem, not a workload problem.

Career coach Kendall Berg breaks down the three ways emotional fusion with your job shows up (defensiveness, inability to disconnect, and workplace friction), then lays out a practical three-part framework for building emotional distance at work:

→ The three types of hobbies that create genuine separation (physical, mental/creative, and people-focused)

→ How to curate an intentional "Board of Directors" instead of relying on casual friendships for perspective

→ How to write a 3-word personal identity statement that grounds you in who you are — not your job title

This episode is for any high performer who's noticed their career has quietly taken over their sense of self and is ready to build something more sustainable. By the end, you'll have a concrete framework to protect your performance at work without letting it define who you are

Get my FREE Communication Guide Now: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/thatcareercoach_funnel .

 

I worked 24/7 thinking it would get me promoted. It did the opposite. Here's how slowing down made leadership finally notice me — and how you can do the same.

High performers are often the worst at one thing: rest. We wear busy like a badge of honor, convinced that constant productivity is the path to career growth. But here's what nobody tells you — career progression requires strategic thinking, vision, and influence. When you're buried in tasks, you have zero space for any of it.

In this episode, I share exactly how I went from working around the clock to creating the space that got me noticed as a leader  no burnout, no career sacrifice.

 

🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Rest is not laziness — it's a strategic career move

• Solo-tasking creates the focus that multitasking destroys

• Leaders notice people who think, not just people who do

• High performers need pursuits that aren't measured by output

💬 What's the one thing you feel guilty about when you stop working? Drop it in the comments — I read every one.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

 Kendall Berg and Katy Culver challenge the job title identity trap that keeps high performers tied to outdated roles, titles, and versions of success. If your career identity is built around overworking, control, weak boundaries, or proving your value through corporate achievement, professional growth starts to feel harder than it needs to. Katy explains how future self work and the "I'm the type of person who…" framework can create a real identity shift before your next big move. This episode is for anyone ready to separate who they are from what they do, make stronger career decisions, and grow into the career, business, and life they actually want.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Hard work alone won't get you promoted; here's what actually drives career progression. 

If you've been overlooked, passed over, or stuck wondering why your boss keeps choosing someone else, this video breaks down the real rules of how to get promoted at work. Kendall Berg explains why your career is a game, and pretending the corporate rules don't exist only keeps you playing small. 

You'll learn: 

→ Why workplace visibility matters more than delivering more work 

→ How to communicate your impact so leadership remembers you 

→ The difference between having colleagues and having advocates 

→ How difficult conversations change your career trajectory 

→ What actually earns trust as a leader (beyond technical skill) 

This is the career strategy shift you need before your next promotion cycle.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Sometimes the job is not the problem. The problem is that we let one role become our identity, our confidence, and our entire sense of security.

Henry Nelson-Case, who shares workplace and legal humor online as That Corporate Lawyer, joins me to talk about career confidence, workplace mental health, and why leaving a bad job can feel so terrifying. If you feel stuck, over-attached to your title, or afraid to advocate for yourself at work, this one is for you.

Inside this episode

• Why your job should not become your identity
• How to know when you have stayed too long
• Why being hired once means you can get hired again
• How to advocate for yourself before burnout hits
• Why a side hustle can create emotional freedom
• How leaders can better support junior employees

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Most professionals think selling yourself at work means bragging. A career sales executive says that's exactly wrong. Kendall Berg sits down with her husband, David Berg, a sales executive with 13+ years at AT&T, to break down how to play the corporate game, build executive presence, and communicate your value without feeling fake. 

In this episode: 

• Why "selling yourself" is actually about listening, not talking 

• The 9-box framework leaders use to evaluate you (and where you land) 

• How to reverse-engineer a career conversation so it lands where you need it to 

• Why storytelling builds more credibility than any credential 

• The scariest career move David ever made — and why it paid off 

This episode is for ambitious corporate professionals who want to get promoted, build leadership presence, and stop being the best-kept secret at work. 

Play the Career Game On Your Terms: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/3-months-of-group-coaching 

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_
Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

There is a very loud version of entrepreneurship online right now: quit the job, burn the safety net, go all in, and figure it out later. I get the appeal. I also think that advice can get expensive very quickly, especially when the business has not been validated yet.

Mike Shannon joins me to talk about the much messier, smarter side of starting a business. Mike has built multiple companies, appeared on Shark Tank, worked in AI, and wrote Sweaty Equity, a book about the unglamorous middle of entrepreneurship. His story is not the polished founder myth. It is Shark Tank one day, Chicago Bulls laundry room the next, then years of pivots, investor pressure, customer discovery, and learning how to actually build something that works.

If you are a corporate professional, side hustler, first-time founder, or future entrepreneur wondering whether you should quit your job to start a business, this conversation is your reality check. We talk about why keeping your day job can create runway, why "build the thing, sell the thing" matters more than startup hype, and how to use messy action without blowing up your career stability.

Inside this episode

• Why quitting your job too early can create unnecessary founder pressure

• How Mike Shannon went from Shark Tank with Mark Cuban to the Chicago Bulls laundry room

• Why business validation matters more than investor validation

• The simple startup framework: build the thing, sell the thing

• How customer discovery helps you avoid forcing the wrong idea into the market

• What Sweaty Equity reveals about the messy middle of entrepreneurship

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

About Mike Shannon

Prior to Impruve, Mike co-founded and served as CEO of Packback, which pioneered "instructional AI" for the compliance-heavy Higher Education market with a product suite that scales the teaching impact of PhD college professor clientele. Packback's software earned the trust of the 600 largest institutions and was named one of TIME's Most Innovative Companies in Education. Throughout 12 years, Mike led it from a scrappy startup to $20M in ARR, 100+ employees, and a $50M+ all-cash acquisition by a leading private equity group — earning recognition from Inc. 500, Fast Company, Forbes 30 Under 30, and the Chicago Innovation Awards along the way. But his path wasn't linear. After shaking Mark Cuban's hand on ABC's Shark Tank at a young age, Mike clocked in for his next shift folding towels as a "ball boy" in the Chicago Bulls locker room; a fun tale that culminated in Mike's comedic entrepreneurship memoir, Sweaty Equity: A Ball Boy, A Billionaire, and the Bonkers Startup Tale You've Never Heard, which Mark Cuban described as "a wildly entertaining story!"

Nowadays, Mike enjoys coaching Little League and spending time with his two young kids and wife. He co-hosts Momentum Mode, a podcast featuring private equity-backed CEOs, founders, & investors. He also serves on the board of national entrepreneurship education non-profit Future Founders, where he dedicates yearlong mentorship hours.- www.impruve.com/about 

I will be the first to admit I am pretty good at managing my time. But here is the part nobody wants to say out loud: you still cannot do everything.

Every goal, every career move, every family priority, every business idea, and every "quick thing" on your calendar has a tradeoff. Productivity is not about cramming more into your day. It is about deciding what actually deserves your time — and having the structure and support to protect it.

I believe real-time management starts with identity, not your calendar. Who are you at your core? What do you actually believe about your life, your career, and your priorities? Once you know that, you can build a week that reflects your real goals instead of letting your schedule become a dumping ground for everyone else's urgency.

If you are a high achiever trying to balance work, family, career growth, and maybe one peaceful cup of coffee without multitasking through it, this one is for you.

In this episode:

• Why real time management starts with identity, not a better calendar

• How to clarify your priorities before you plan a single thing

• Why ambitious people still cannot do everything — and what to do instead

• How to build an ideal weekly calendar that protects what actually matters

• Why your productivity has a ceiling without a support system and a village

• How to grow your career without burning down the rest of your life

Play the Career Game On Your Terms: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/3-months-of-group-coaching

I know what it feels like to have a "productive" day that somehow leaves you completely disconnected from yourself. You made every meeting, answered every email, handled every priority, and then realized your own health never made it onto the calendar. That is the part of ambition we do not talk about enough.

Dr. Shannon Burge joined me on Secrets of the Career Game to talk about what happens when high-achieving women keep putting health, fitness, and self-care on the back burner until their body forces the conversation. Shannon spent 15 years in Fortune 500 executive leadership, earned her PhD, became an IFBB figure pro athlete, and now helps executives and professionals reclaim their wellness through mindset, nutrition, movement, and community.

This conversation is for the women who are excellent at showing up for everyone else, but keep canceling on themselves. If you are trying to grow your career, lead well, avoid burnout, and still feel like a person outside of your job, this one will hit.

Inside this episode

• Why high-achieving women often put health last
• How to treat your wellness like a real calendar priority
• Why self-care does not mean you are less committed at work
• The four wellness pillars Shannon uses with busy professionals
• How discipline at work can translate into better health habits
• Why fulfillment matters when you are redefining success

Play the Career Game On Your Terms: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/3-months-of-group-coaching

Connect with Dr. Shannon Burge:

Website: www.nodefeat.co

Instagram: @shannon_burge

Nonprofit: www.nodefeatwarrior.com

 

 

I used to think balance meant everything in my life would somehow get equal attention. Career, kids, marriage, health, friendships, ambition, personal goals, all of it perfectly arranged like a very unrealistic calendar invite. The truth is, working mom balance does not work that way. Trying to give everything equal priority is usually how burnout starts.

What changed for me was realizing that success requires seasons. Your career can matter deeply without being your number one priority all the time. Your family can matter deeply without requiring you to become a Pinterest mom with endless patience and a homemade snack tray. The real work is choosing your top three priorities, planning around them, and being honest about what support you need to make it actually work.

This episode is for the working mom, working parent, or ambitious professional who is tired of feeling like they are failing at everything because they are trying to do all of it at once. We get into why the balance you were promised does not exist, what to do instead, and why building your village is not a luxury — it is the strategy.

Inside this episode

• Why work life balance is not the real goal for working moms

• How to choose your top three priorities in this season of life

• Why your career cannot always be your number one focus

• How planning ahead prevents burnout before it starts

• Why working parents need systems, outsourcing, and real community

• Why even the CEO of PepsiCo did not bake her own cookies for the bake sale — and what that means for you

Play the Career Game On Your Terms: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/3-months-of-group-coaching

What if success isn't the problem — it's that you've outgrown it? Lauren Kerr introduces the concept of "unbecoming": shedding who you were to step into who you're becoming — without burning out in the process.

Lauren Kerr is a bestselling author and high-performance coach who helps high-achieving women lead with clarity, recover from burnout, and redefine success — without blowing everything up to do it.

If you've hit every goal and still feel like something's off, this is the episode that names what you've been feeling.

What we get into:

→ What "unbecoming" actually means — and why it's not about starting over

→ The silent handbrake keeping ambitious women stuck in a version of success they've outgrown

→ Why the drive that built your career may now be working against you

→ What feminine leadership looks like in practice (empathy isn't a weakness)

→ The "feather or the truck" — why ignoring small intuitive nudges leads to bigger crises

→ Time audits, Parkinson's Law, and how to design a week that actually fits your life

→ Lauren's personal goal this year: just enjoying motherhood (and why that had to be a written goal)

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

About Lauren Kerr 

A Best-Selling Author, Mother, and High-Performance Coach for women leading companies and teams who want to create more income, freedom, and fulfilment. With over a decade of experience in Psychology and Coaching, and having built a 7-figure global business reaching the top .05% of her profession, Lauren specialises in helping women optimise and simplify how they think, work, and lead through the lens of feminine leadership.

www.itslaurenkerr.com www.babesinbusiness.net  https://www.instagram.com/itslaurenkerr/

Hiring managers decide who they want within the first five minutes of an interview. If your answer to "tell me about yourself" sounds like everyone else's, you are already behind.

In this episode, I break down how to lead with your personal brand, handle small talk strategically, and explain your experience in a way hiring managers actually remember — so you stop losing offers to people with the same qualifications.

In this episode: personal branding in interviews · how to answer tell me about yourself · interview communication strategy · how to talk about your accomplishments confidently

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

You're qualified. So why does it feel like no one notices?

The problem usually isn't your experience. It's how you talk about it.

In this episode, I sit down with career coach, Amazon best-selling author, and self-proclaimed "interview ologist" Nicolette Hemingway to unpack one of the most costly — and completely fixable — mistakes professionals make: assuming their work speaks for itself.

Spoiler: it doesn't. And that belief alone could be what's standing between you and the job, promotion, or recognition you've already earned.

Nicolette brings over 25 years of experience across every level of government, military service, and a career coaching practice built on one thing: helping talented people finally get seen. In this conversation, we go beyond generic interview advice and get into the real reasons qualified professionals get overlooked — and exactly what to do instead.

What we cover:

• Why 98% of people fail interviews — and it has nothing to do with their resume

• How to tell your professional story in a way that makes hiring managers lean in

• The difference between listing tasks and communicating impact (and why it matters)

• Three questions that will completely change how you talk about your accomplishments

• What thank you emails actually signal to a hiring manager

• How to track your wins so you're never caught off guard in a review, interview, or promotion conversation

• Why staying in the background is quietly killing your career growth

If you've ever walked out of an interview feeling like you didn't do yourself justice, or watched someone less qualified get the opportunity you deserved, this episode is for you.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_ 

About Nicholette Y. Hemingway 

Nicholette is the founder of Nike H Speaks LLC, where she helps professionals with interview preparation, résumé writing, and career coaching. She is an Amazon #1 best-selling author, a retired Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service, and has spent more than 20 years serving on interview panels. Through her workshops and coaching, she helps military service members, students, and working professionals show up with more confidence in high-stakes career moments. 

Learn more at http://www.nikehspeaks.com/

Too many people wait until work becomes unbearable before they start looking, and that is how smart professionals end up making desperate career moves. I have seen it happen over and over again. A toxic boss, a role that stopped fitting, a project that drains you, and suddenly you are trying to escape fast instead of thinking clearly.

A strong job search starts long before you hit that breaking point. I walk through how to define what actually matters to you, how to build your personal brand, how to identify target roles and target companies, and how to use networking and internal mobility to create better options. The goal is not just to get out. The goal is to make a smarter move.

This is for anyone who knows something at work is off, but does not want to panic quit and end up in the same situation somewhere else. If you want a more strategic job search, a clearer career direction, and a better way to evaluate your next opportunity, start here.

Inside this episode

• How to know you are waiting too long to start a job search

• Why your personal brand matters before you apply anywhere

• How to define your passion statements and unique value

• Better interview questions to test company culture and job fit

• Why networking is the most important part of a job search

• How internal mobility can help you leave a bad role faster

  What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

  🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

  About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

  Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

  ☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
  Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

  Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

  Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

  Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/
  
  Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Qualified professionals are getting rejected for jobs they should absolutely be landing. That's why I wanted to chat with fellow career coach Irina Posan. We've both seen too many smart, ambitious professionals treat interviews like a memory test instead of a strategy exercise. Irina knows this world well as a former HR director and the host of the Career Cravings podcast. In our conversation, we get into why overpreparing can actually hurt your interview performance, how candidates lose clarity under pressure, and what it really takes to stand out in a crowded job market.

We also talk about the mindset shifts that matter before you ever apply, including how to get clear on the right role, how to communicate your value without sounding rehearsed, and why hard work alone is not enough if you want to get promoted. Irina shares her Top Five Story Method for interview preparation, plus a powerful reminder that career growth often comes down to visibility, advocacy, and relationships. If you are job searching, preparing for interviews, or trying to position yourself for your next promotion, this is the kind of career advice that can change the way you approach your next move.

In this episode, we discuss:
• Why do qualified candidates still fail interviews?
• How can I stand out in a competitive job market?
• What is the best way to prepare for interview questions?
• Why does overpreparing make interviews worse?
• How do promotions really happen at work?

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

About Irina Posan

A career coach with 15 years of HR experience, including leading Recruitment and Talent Management teams. She brings insider insight into what it really takes to get hired, earn promotions, and succeed in leadership roles. From securing highly coveted job offers to advancing within competitive organizations, she helps ambitious professionals navigate every stage of career growth.

Website: https://www.irinaposan.com/ 
Instagram: @careercoachirina 

  Podcast Produded by Daniela Albertina 

 

Applying to more jobs is not the answer if your search has no strategy behind it.

Too many smart professionals spend weeks applying, tweaking, and refreshing their LinkedIn profiles, yet still feel nothing is moving. In this episode, I talk about why a scattered job search creates more frustration, not better results, and what to focus on instead if you want to land the right role.

I walk through the three parts of your search you can actually control: how many jobs you apply to, how tailored your resume is, and how intentional your networking outreach is. I also share why I want you to stop casting such a wide net, why LinkedIn Easy Apply can pull you off track, and how to build real name recognition with hiring managers and recruiters through thoughtful outreach.

🎯 What you'll learn:

→ Why applying to 8 quality jobs beats applying to 80 

→ How to use LinkedIn to get referrals (step-by-step) 

→ Why LinkedIn Easy Apply may be hurting your chances 

→ How to tailor your resume with job-specific keywords 

→ What makes a company the right fit — beyond the salary

Resources Mentioned

• LinkedIn outreach scripts: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-my-networking-guide-now-p9qvc7eg 

• My course with a job application tracker

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Everyone looks rich online. New houses, European summers, luxury cars, and somehow no one ever mentions what it costs or whether it is intentionally helping you build the life you actually want.

We work 40 hours a week, so of course we want to treat ourselves to nice dinners and beautiful trips. The difference is not whether we spend, but how we approach those decisions so we can build generational wealth and still create a rich life.

I had a conversation with financial expert Lucy from The Lucy Space about what intentional spending actually looks like. Directing your money instead of letting it direct you. Using simple systems like a 30-day wait list, basic expense tracking, automated investing, and thoughtful travel planning. Not extreme budgeting. Not deprivation. Just clarity and control.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

About The Lucy Space

The creator behind The Lucy Space. I'm a JD/MBA, corporate working mom, and content creator passionate about helping people live well financially, stylishly, and intentionally. Through my platform, I empower my audience to budget smarter, shop with purpose, and build a life that aligns with their values, without sacrificing style, joy, or peace of mind.

With a professional background in law and business, I specialize in breaking down complex financial topics into practical, real-life strategies that are easy to understand and apply. My content blends money, lifestyle, travel, fashion, and family, offering tools and systems that help people feel confident and in control of both their finances and their time.

https://www.youtube.com/@thelucyspace/videos 

https://www.instagram.com/thelucyspace 

https://beacons.ai/thelucyspace 

 

Your personal brand is going to be the single most important investment that you make this year. Not your resume, not another certification, not even your performance review. Your personal brand is essentially your professional reputation personified. It shapes what senior leaders, peers, and stakeholders say about you when you are not in the room, and those conversations directly influence your opportunities long before you ever see them.

I see high performers get stuck all the time because they assume hard work speaks for itself. It doesn't, at least not entirely. Performance absolutely matters, but your reputation shapes how people interpret that performance and whether they believe you can operate at the next level.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What is a personal brand at work, and why does it matter for promotion
• How does personal brand influence performance reviews and nine-box ratings
• Why do high performers get overlooked for leadership roles
• How do you identify and communicate your unique value at work
• How long does it take to rebrand yourself inside a company

 

Making a career pivot without clarity is how smart professionals end up in the wrong job twice.

Before you make a career change, you need a clear destination. That's exactly why I wanted to interview Michelle Schaefer, bestselling author of Cultivating Career Growth, to talk about what actually creates a successful career transition.

We walk through the five questions that create real career direction. We talk about the work that energizes you versus the work that drains you. We unpack what transferable skills really are, what real company culture actually looks like, and the non-negotiables every professional needs to identify in order to define long-term fulfillment.

We also challenge some of the biggest job search myths circulating online. Sending hundreds of resumes without a strategy is not a plan. Online applications are only a small part of a strong job search strategy. And networking is not using people, even if it feels that way at first. We explain why it is the opposite. If you want referrals, influence, and real opportunities, you build relationships intentionally.

If you are considering a career change, navigating a layoff, or questioning your current role, this conversation will help you move from emotional reaction to strategic career clarity.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What are the five questions to ask before making a career pivot?
• Why does sending hundreds of resumes rarely lead to interviews?
• How much of a job search should focus on networking?
• How do you evaluate real company culture before accepting an offer?
• What are career non-negotiables and how do they evolve over time?

🤝 Networking doesn't have to be awkward. Learn how to connect authentically, grow your influence, and turn conversations into opportunities.
Get the Networking Guide → https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-my-networking-guide-now-p9qvc7eg

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

About Michelle Schafer

Michelle Schafer is an ICF-certified career and leadership coach, author and facilitator who helps professionals navigate career transitions with confidence and purpose. After experiencing two unexpected restructurings early in her career, Michelle discovered her true path: supporting people to move from job-search frustration into work that energizes them. As founder of Michelle Schafer Coaching, she partners with clients across federal and municipal government, high tech, financial services and not-for-profit sectors, helping them clarify career direction, craft compelling personal brands and land roles where their values align. Her award-winning #1 bestseller Cultivating Career Growth: Navigating Transitions with Purpose and her recognition as one of Ottawa's Top Coaches in 2024 underscore her impact.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleschafercoaching/ 

Website:  https://mschafercoaching.ca/ 

A free chapter from my book - sign up here: https://mschafercoaching.ca/cultivatingcareergrowth/ 

Order my book Cultivating Career Growth: Navigating Transitions with Purpose here: 

https://mschafercoaching.ca/cultivatingcareergrowth/ 

Download the reflection tool Career Focus Framework here: https://mschafercoaching.ca/gain-clarity-and-confidence-in-your-job-search/ 

Email me here: michelle@mschafercoaching.ca

Book a complimentary 30 min discovery call with me here:  https://calendly.com/coaching-with-michelle-schafer 

You've probably left a meeting thinking, I said all the right things… so why did nothing move?

I've been there. I once had an executive tell me that talking to me felt like drinking from a fire hydrant. I was giving context. I was giving data. I was giving analysis. What I wasn't giving was clarity on what I needed.

In senior rooms, information is not influence. Alignment is.

In this episode of Secrets of the Career Game, I talk about the simple shift that changed how I run meetings, pitch strategy, and communicate with leaders. The difference between dumping information and telling a story. The structure I use every time. And why strong communicators get trusted with bigger decisions.

If your work is solid but your meetings feel stalled, this one will land.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why strong data alone does not create buy-in
• How to open with a problem statement that gets attention
• Why presenting options builds credibility
• How unclear resourcing leads to burnout
• How to end meetings with real momentum

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

If your team can't move without you, you don't have leadership; you have dependence.

Kendall Berg sits down with Leah Marone to unpack the Support, Don't Solve leadership model. This is the shift that stops constant interruption. It also builds real ownership. Leah explains why leaders often jump in too quickly, how this creates a dependency loop, and what to do instead. You will hear the first move that changes everything: validation first. Then questions. Then space.

This episode is for the manager who is always on call. It is also for the high performer who wants to advance without carrying the whole team. You will walk away with a clear reframe, simple boundaries that still feel human, and language you can use the next time someone brings you a problem.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why does my team rely on me for every decision at work?

• How do I stop being the problem solver without sounding cold?

• What does "support, don't solve" look like in real leadership conversations?

• How do I set boundaries at work while still leading with empathy?

• What should I say first when someone brings me a problem?

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 Leah Marone is a psychotherapist, Yale Clinical Instructor, and corporate mental wellness consultant with over 20 years of experience. A former Division 1 athlete, she specializes in high-achievers struggling with imposter syndrome, perfectionism, and performance anxiety. Leah has conducted over 20,000 therapy sessions and contributed to Psychology Today, Newsweek, and The Atlantic. She works with organizations on burnout prevention, boundary setting, and emotional intelligence. A sought-after speaker, Leah has presented her Support, Don't Solve framework to leaders nationwide. Her new book, Serial Fixer, releases November 11th, exploring the hidden patterns of over-functioning and how to break free.

https://www.leahmarone.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahmaronelcsw/

You didn't get the raise or promotion you wanted, and suddenly quitting feels like the only way to get unstuck. Kendall Berg explains why that reaction is exactly how people end up hurting their long-term careers. She breaks down the difference between staying too long because of empty promises and leaving too fast without using all the information available to you.

Kendall talks about the trap so many professionals fall into when timelines stay vague. Promotions are always "coming soon." Bigger teams, more scope, more visibility are always just around the corner. Without a clear personal deadline, people stay stuck far longer than they should, waiting for a reward that never actually arrives. At the same time, she calls out the opposite mistake. Job hopping the moment a raise or promotion does not happen, without understanding context, budget cycles, or expectations, can be just as damaging.

This episode walks through what to do after a disappointing raise or bonus. Kendall explains how to set a realistic timeline for yourself, how to evaluate whether new responsibilities actually change the equation, and how to decide when staying makes sense versus when it is time to move on. The goal is not blind patience or impulsive quitting. It is making a clear, grounded decision you can stand behind.

In this episode, we discuss

• What should you do when you don't get the raise or promotion you expected?

• How vague promises like "soon" and "next cycle" keep people stuck too long

• Why quitting immediately after a missed raise can hurt your career

• How to set a personal deadline and hold yourself to it

• What new responsibilities actually matter when deciding whether to stay

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

High performance rarely looks calm from the inside, especially for the people who are doing everything "right." Promotions, praise, and visible wins don't always translate into ease. For many high achievers, success comes with constant pressure, blurred boundaries, and a lingering fear of slowing down.

Kendall Berg and Dr. Margie Warrell name what's driving this pattern: the insecure overachiever mindset. When ambition is fueled by fear, busyness becomes a shield and external validation becomes the scorecard. Over time, this way of working erodes presence, weakens relationships, and quietly undermines leadership credibility, even when results look strong on paper.

This conversation reframes what sustainable success actually requires. Shifting from proving yourself to growing yourself. Protecting capacity instead of equating worth with output. Treating connection as a real form of career currency in a world that rewards constant motion. For high performers who want momentum without burnout, this episode offers clarity, language, and a way forward that doesn't require grinding harder.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

About Margie Warrell 

Margie has gained profound insights on managing fear, navigating risk, and embracing change since her childhood in rural Australia. Thirty years of living and working around the world—from Papua New Guinea to Singapore—have provided her with a globally grounded perspective on navigating risk and overcoming the barriers that stifle potential in individuals and organizations.

Listen to the Live Brave Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78qqa8ROz4k&list=PLqMi7idevK4-Qi5QqJO__nuaaCE1q8Ryi 

Get Margie's book The Courage Gap: https://margiewarrell.com/thecouragegap/ 

Podcast Production by Daniela Albertina 

Impossible goals are rarely impossible. They just require a different way of thinking, acting, and deciding when things stop feeling obvious. Kendall Berg sits down with Sarah Arnold Hall to unpack why most people abandon big dreams right at the moment progress actually begins.

They break down why obstacles are not a signal to pivot, quit, or start over. Obstacles are part of the process. Sarah explains how high achievers mistake discomfort for failure and reset their goals too early. Kendall brings this into the workplace, showing how career momentum is built by staying consistent, acting like the role you want, and iterating instead of jumping strategies.

This conversation reframes what persistence really looks like. From starting closer to the goal instead of over preparing, to using the mindset of "it's working" to stay grounded during the dip, this episode offers a smarter approach to achieving goals that feel out of reach. If you have ever questioned whether to push through or walk away, this episode will help you make that decision with clarity.

In this episode, we discuss

• Why do impossible goals feel harder right before they start working

• How do you stay consistent when progress feels slow or unclear

• What does it mean to start at the end instead of the beginning

• How can acting like the role you want accelerate career growth

• When should you persist versus pivot or quit a goal

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube: @thatcareercoach_

About Sarah Arnold Hall

 I'm Sarah – I'm a High Performance Coach with a background in psychology. I help people achieve impossible goals, so this channel is filled with content about productivity, consistency and ACTION.

Impossible Goals Challenge saraharnoldhall.com/impossiblechallenge 
Instagram instagram.com/saraharnoldhall

Podcastsaraharnoldhall.com/podcast

Success doesn't stall because you are bad at your job. It stalls because your work becomes invisible by the time it actually matters. Kendall Berg breaks down why high performers forget months of work by review season and how that gap quietly costs them recognition, leverage, and momentum.

This episode explains how to track your accomplishments in a way that saves time later instead of creating last-minute stress. Kendall walks through aligning tasks with company goals, articulating impact instead of listing tasks, tracking stakeholder involvement, and using metrics to make your work easy to summarize, explain, and defend. If you want less scrambling, clearer reviews, and more control over your career narrative, this is the system that makes it possible.

In this episode, we discuss

• How do I track my accomplishments at work without extra effort?

• Why do people forget months of work by performance review season?

• How can tracking work throughout the year save time later?

• What should I track to make my work easier to explain and defend?

• How does tracking accomplishments improve career visibility and growth?

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

⭐️Get our FREE Accomplishments Tracker: https://fabulous-butterfly-83716.myflodesk.com/n8yzvrtw9v 

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me—let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Hitting every goal should feel like progress. Instead, it often leaves high performers stuck, frustrated, and quietly falling behind. Kendall Berg breaks down why traditional goal setting systems like OKRs and KPIs reward performance optics while hiding the problems leaders actually need to see.

In this conversation with Radhika Dutt, author of Radical Product Thinking, Kendall challenges the belief that better metrics lead to better decisions. They unpack why green numbers can create dangerous blind spots, how teams learn to filter bad news, and why leaders become the last to know when strategy is breaking down. The episode introduces a smarter alternative to goal chasing that helps teams surface real issues, think more strategically, and stay aligned as priorities shift.

Radhika shares her puzzle setting and puzzle solving framework, a practical way to replace false certainty with curiosity, learning, and iteration. Instead of obsessing over targets, leaders learn how to frame the right questions, invite honest feedback, and guide teams through uncertainty without losing credibility or control. This episode is essential listening for professionals who want to move from execution to influence and lead with clarity in fast changing environments.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why do OKRs and KPIs hide problems instead of revealing them?

• How does hitting every goal still lead to stalled career growth?

• What is the puzzle setting method and how does it replace goal chasing?

• How can leaders admit uncertainty without losing authority?

• What is the first step to changing goal driven cultures without resistance?

FREE toolkit for puzzle-setting and

puzzle-solving: https://www.radicalproduct.com/toolkit/#OHLToolkit

Follow Radhika Dutt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/radhika-dutt/

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Being busy is not the same thing as moving forward in your career.
In 2026, growth comes from alignment, not effort. If your goals are not tied to what your company is actually measured on, they will not move your career forward. Kendall breaks down how to set career goals that match company priorities like AI, efficiency, and revenue so your work gets noticed and rewarded.

This episode lays out a clear goal-setting playbook for high performers who want impact without burnout. Kendall explains how to use an impact versus effort filter, set boundaries that protect capacity, anchor goals in leadership identity, and start promotion conversations early so expectations are clear. This is how you plan 2026 with intention and position yourself for real momentum.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How do I align my career goals with company priorities in 2026?

• What is the impact versus effort method for goal setting at work?

• When should promotion conversations start?
  

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Strong performance does not automatically translate into influence at work. Many high performers deliver results yet still get misread, underestimated, or quietly sidelined. That gap is where careers slow down, not because of skill, but because leadership presence and perception do not always match capability.

Kendall sits down with Tracy Nolan to break down what actually moves careers forward in fast changing corporate environments. Tracy draws from decades of executive leadership across Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and healthcare to explain why continuous learning is nonnegotiable, how leaders earn credibility without overspeaking, and what it really takes to lead with strength and compassion at the same time. They unpack subtle behaviors that signal authority in meetings, the hidden cost of coasting, and why career ownership is a personal responsibility, not your company's job.

This conversation also tackles bias, crisis leadership, and performance management without sugarcoating. Tracy shares how transparent communication builds trust during uncertainty, why tailored feedback matters more than one size leadership, and how honest conversations protect both people and teams. If you want to stay relevant, lead with confidence, and build long term career momentum, this episode delivers clarity without corporate fluff.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why do high performers get stuck even when results are strong

• How leadership presence shapes credibility in meetings

• What helps women overcome bias at senior levels

• How to lead with authority and compassion during crisis

• Why owning your career matters more than waiting for promotion paths

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Tracy Nolan is a transformative leader with deep experience across Fortune 100 companies and healthcare. Currently at Humana, she draws on past executive roles at Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, where she led 24,000 employees through the Sprint/T-Mobile merger during COVID-19 and pioneered initiatives like Verizon's $300M wireless trade-in business. Tracy's leadership style blends high expectations with deep compassion. She believes leadership is never static: you're either moving forward or backward.   Tracy's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyenolan/

Office politics is not optional. It is the job if you want director-level and above. Ignore it, and you stay the hardest working person in the room with the least control over what gets decided.

This episode breaks down office politics the way high performers actually need it explained: not gossip or brown-nosing, but influence, stakeholder management, and reputation. Kendall walks you through the three parts that quietly run every organization: conflict management, so another team or a rival does not quietly take ownership of your work; collaboration, so the people who shape decisions are aligned with you early; and reputation, so your name keeps opening doors. You will also learn how to spot power centers that do not match the org chart, and why the meeting is never the first place your idea should be introduced. Pre-wire first, then present.

And if you want to do this without feeling fake, Kendall makes it simple. Follow through builds trust faster than charisma. One-on-ones create allies before you need favors. Give your team credit out loud and protect them from getting thrown into senior leadership too early. That is what real influence looks like when you have integrity.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why does avoiding office politics keep you stuck in middle management?

• How do I find the real power centers at work that influence decisions?

• What is the best way to pre-wire stakeholders before a big meeting?

• How do I push back respectfully without damaging my reputation?

• How can leaders build trust and influence through one-on-ones and follow through?

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

 

Career growth feels harder when you're doing everything "right" and still not seeing momentum. Kendall breaks down why traditional goal setting quietly stalls your progress and why the real catalysts for advancement are systems, identity, and daily habits that actually fit your work life. She shares how high achievers unintentionally set themselves up for burnout, why New Year energy fades so quickly, and what sustainable growth looks like for ambitious professionals who want more clarity, confidence, and consistency.

Kendall walks through how to design systems that support the career identity you're building, how to create daily wins that increase motivation, and how to shift from chasing outcomes to becoming the kind of person who grows naturally at work. If you've ever wondered why your goals don't translate into visible progress, this episode gives you the framework to fix that and step into the next level of your leadership.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why goals don't create sustainable career growth

• How to build a system for habits that actually stick

• What "career identity" means and how to define your future self

• How small daily wins increase motivation and visibility

• What to do when you feel stuck despite working hard

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 

Kendall digs into the truth about career growth with Julie DeLucca Collins, a coach who teaches that real leadership begins long before a title. Julie explains why self-leadership, emotional regulation, and a strong leadership mindset are the foundation of confidence at work and mid-career growth. They talk about the discomfort that comes with asking questions, navigating rejection, and showing influence before anyone gives you formal authority.

Together, they unpack the tiny habits that create career confidence, sustainable progress, and better work-life integration. Julie shares her evidence notebook method, a simple tool that rewires your brain to see your own progress and build visibility at work. If you are feeling stuck in a mid-career plateau or working to rebuild confidence after setbacks, this conversation gives you a practical and empowering path forward.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How do I rebuild confidence at work when I feel stuck
• What are the best tiny habits for career growth
• How can I break a mid-career plateau and progress faster
• What is self-leadership, and why does it matter before promotion
• How do I improve emotional regulation and resilience at work

If you feel stuck in a mid-career plateau, this conversation reveals the tiny habits and self-leadership skills that rebuild confidence and accelerate growth. 

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Watch on YouTube:@thatcareercoach_

 Julie DeLucca-Collins is a dynamic business strategist and coach dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs to build profitable, purpose-driven businesses. As the founder of Go Confidently Services, and Casa De Confidence Productions, she combines her expertise as a successful C-level executive who has excelled in growing successful business, Tiny Habits®, Cognitive Behavioral Techniques, and Holistic Life Coaching to help clients develop confidence, build profitable business, launch and grow podcasts while becoming in demand thought leaders.

Julie is the #1 award-winning author of *Confident You*, a TEDx speaker, and a Top 50 Over 50 Podcaster. She has been featured on ABC, NBC, and FOX and cohosts the globally ranked Casa De Confidence podcast with her husband Dan.

 

Website and Social Media links: 

·         Website - https://goconfidentlycoaching.com/

·         LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/goconfidentlyjulie/

·         Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/julie_deluccacollins/

·         Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jdelucca

·         Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/juliedelco/

·         Tiktok - https://www.tiktok.com/@juliedeluccacollins

·         YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@JulieDeLuccaCollins/streams

If you feel like you're failing at work and at home, Kendall explains why the problem isn't you — it's the myth you're trying to live up to. She breaks down why "balance" was never realistic, how it fuels guilt and burnout, and why integration offers a more practical, sustainable path forward. Through personal stories and real client examples, Kendall shows how aligning your values, redefining success, and embracing trade-offs can transform both your career trajectory and how you feel day to day.

She also shares how to choose one meaningful goal without creating chaos, why flexibility matters more than equal time division, and how to set success metrics that actually reflect what matters to you. This episode is your permission to drop perfection, rethink how you measure progress, and build a career that genuinely supports the life you want.

⭐ In this episode, we discuss:

• What happens when you chase balance in a world that doesn't operate that way
  
  

• How to integrate career and personal values without losing your mind
  
  

• Why flexibility matters more than equal time across your roles
  
  

• How to define success using only three measurable goals
  
  

• What trade offs look like for real professionals and parents today
  
  

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

 

Corporate politics isn't about manipulation, it's about relationships.
Learn how to master workplace dynamics, communicate clearly, and build trust fast.

In this 5-minute episode, career coach Kendall Berg breaks down the unspoken rules that shape every workplace. She explains why likability, clarity, and reciprocity matter more than hard work when it comes to getting promoted—and how to use those skills to build influence without playing games.

You'll discover how to:
✅ Adapt your communication style so people actually listen
✅ Build trust with leaders and coworkers through small, consistent actions
✅ Navigate office politics without feeling fake or drained
✅ Avoid information overload and keep your message clear
✅ Turn networking from something awkward into something strategic

Whether you're early in your career or leading a team, this quick breakdown helps you understand the real mechanics of corporate success—so you can advance confidently and keep your sanity intact.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

 

 

So many brilliant women get stuck at director level because they're too good at their jobs.
That's the quiet trap executive coach Katy McFee breaks down in this episode of Secrets of the Career Game. Kendall Berg sits with Katy to unpack the habits, mindset shifts, and strategic practices women need to finally be seen as leaders instead of doers.

Katy shares what actually signals VP readiness, why "be more strategic" is useless guidance, and how high-performing women accidentally pigeonhole themselves as execution machines. Kendall and Katy dig into deep work, real-time feedback, and the identity shifts required to show up as a strategic leader — not just the person who saves the day. If you feel like you've been doing everything right and still not getting promoted, this episode gives you the clarity and momentum you've been missing.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why do women get stuck at the director level

• What does "be more strategic" actually mean

• How do you show executive presence at work

• Why doing more doesn't lead to promotion

• How to demonstrate VP readiness when no one tells you how

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Katy McFee is an executive coach and the founder of Insights to Action, where she helps high-performing women finally break through the Director-to-VP ceiling. With an 18-year career in biotech and tech, including senior roles where she drove nine-figure revenue growth, Katy knows firsthand what it takes to rise in male-dominated environments. Despite years of over-delivering, she was repeatedly passed over for promotion until she discovered the real barrier: perception, not performance. By shifting how she communicated and led, she landed her first VP role and was soon recruited as an EVP.

• Website: https://insightstoactioncc.com/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-mcfee-3880b4a/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katy.mcfee

https://insightstoactioncc.com/vp-ready-quiz/

Kendall Berg reveals why the real career hack is not a promotion or a lucky break. It is the quiet one percent improvements in soft skills that reshape your communication, visibility, and leadership presence. She shares how small daily habits build reputation, influence, and long term career momentum without burnout.

In this episode, Kendall Berg breaks down how to take tough feedback without spiraling, speak up without creating resistance, and build relationships before you need them. She also explains three common career traps that stall growth and the practical soft skill habits that help you stand out, earn trust, and open doors to new opportunities.

In this episode, we discuss:
• How do small daily soft skill habits improve career growth
• What is the best way to ask for feedback without getting defensive
• Why visibility drives faster career progression than perfect performance
• How do you build a strong workplace reputation over time
• How do you avoid job hopping that hurts long term growth

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

 

Most professionals chase the next promotion without ever asking if it's the right move. In this conversation, Kendall Berg and executive coach Whitney Faires expose the myth of the linear career path and why the most fulfilled leaders often take strategic sideways moves instead of climbing straight up.

Whitney shares her Courageous Leader Roadmap, a framework for showing up with authenticity, self-awareness, and fearless communication, the traits that separate high performers from true leaders. Together, they unpack the messy middle of leadership transitions, how to navigate corporate politics without selling your soul, and why your reputation starts forming long before you enter the room.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What are the most overlooked skills when moving from contributor to director?

• How can leaders build influence without self-promotion?

• How do you navigate corporate politics without losing authenticity?

• What's the right moment to make a lateral move instead of chasing a promotion?

• How can specific feedback requests accelerate leadership growth?

• What does it mean to lead courageously — and how can you start today?
  
  

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/ 

About Whitney Faires

Whitney Faires is an internationally recognized executive coach, keynote speaker, and leadership advisor with 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Formerly Chief of Staff to the CFO at Intuitive Surgical, she led high-impact organizational health initiatives, launched global leadership development programs, and coached rising professionals into senior roles. Her multifaceted career spans sales, finance, and commercial operations, where she spearheaded the creation of a $2 billion international leasing portfolio.

As the founder of Whitney Faires Coaching, she developed the Courageous Leader Roadmap — a practical approach for leaders to show up authentically, navigate adversity, and drive meaningful results. She is an ICF-accredited PCC coach and is passionate about helping leaders elevate their influence and build high-performing teams.

Connect with Whitney:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/whitney-faires-14955a38/

https://www.instagram.com/whitney_faires

https://www.facebook.com/WhitneyFairesCoaching/

https://www.whitneyfaires.com/

 

Your performance review might be enough to save you from getting fired, but it's definitely enough to keep you from getting promoted. Kendall Berg unpacks why most professionals underestimate their self-evaluations and how a well-written review can make or break your next career move.

She explains how to turn your performance review into your best internal marketing tool: one that showcases impact, influence, and growth. From gathering 360 feedback to crafting measurable goals and starting promotion conversations at the right time, Kendall shares the proven strategies she used as a corporate leader to help people actually get rewarded for their work.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How do you write a performance review that gets you promoted?

• What should you include (and avoid) in your self-evaluation?

• How can you collect 360 feedback that actually helps your career?

• When is the right time to talk to your boss about a raise or promotion?

• What separates average reviews from the ones that get noticed?

• What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

 

⭐️Get our FREE Accomplishments Tracker: https://fabulous-butterfly-83716.myflodesk.com/n8yzvrtw9v 

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Build out the tools you need to navigate the corporate game: — Self Driven Mastermind

 

Too many smart, capable women stay stuck in roles that feel "safe." In this episode, Kendall Berg and Dr. Candace Steele Flippin unpack why — and how to finally break free.

Drawing on groundbreaking research from her book and her SHAPE Framework (Safe, Hard Work, Advocate, Persevere, Educate), Dr. Candace reveals the hidden connection between financial stability and career confidence — and why money literacy isn't just about saving, it's about power.

Together, they explore how self-advocacy, financial readiness, and strategic visibility help women move from fear to freedom. Whether you're hesitating to take a promotion, negotiate your worth, or leave a role that no longer fits, this conversation gives you the mindset and tools to stop playing it safe and start shaping your next chapter.

💡 Key Takeaways

• Financial stability is the foundation for taking bold career risks with confidence.

• "Hard work" doesn't guarantee advancement — visibility and alignment do.

• Poor negotiation skills can cost up to $2M over a career; advocacy pays off.

• Resilience means knowing when to persevere and when to move on.

• Continuous learning and feedback fuel long-term self-efficacy.

• The SHAPE Framework helps women assess where they're playing small — and how to grow.

• Career success starts with self-awareness, not perfection.

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

 Dr. Candace Steele Flippin is a three-time bestselling author and career strategist who helps professionals advance with clarity and influence. She is the founder of the Global Career Advancement Institute and creator of the SHAPE Career Accelerator program, developed from more than a decade of research on career advancement and leadership. A former corporate communications executive, she has led teams in healthcare, financial services, and industrial technology and now teaches leadership development at Johns Hopkins University. Her work is trusted by companies and organizations that want practical solutions for career growth, retention, and engagement. She shares strategies you can use right away to move your career forward with purpose and confidence.

Follow Her On: LinkedIn Dr. Candace Steele Flippin

https://www.linkedin.com/in/candacesteeleflippin/

Instagram @candacesteeleflippin

https://www.instagram.com/candacesteeleflippin/

Most professionals don't plateau because they've hit their technical limit; they plateau because no one can see their value. In this episode, Kendall Berg breaks down the confidence gap and exposes the real reason talented people stay invisible at work: not a lack of skill, but a lack of visibility, presence, and confidence.

Kendall explains how soft skills like communication, influence, and executive presence can move your career forward faster than any other certification ever could. She shares actionable frameworks to build authentic confidence through repetition, feedback, and mindset shifts, along with her 3-step communication model that helps you speak clearly and with authority.

You'll learn why success at senior levels is perception-driven, and how to project confidence that's real, sustainable, and aligned with who you are.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How underconfidence keeps capable professionals invisible, while overconfidence can elevate unqualified leaders

• Why soft skills like communication, influence, and executive presence matter more than degrees or technical expertise

• Practical frameworks for building authentic confidence through repetition, feedback, and mindset shifts

• Tactical tools for clear communication, including Kendall's 3-step model: context, problem, recommendation

• The idea that success at senior levels is perception-driven — you must be seen as confident to be promoted

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

 

True "job security" as guaranteed lifetime employment was never a reality, though the perception of it was stronger in previous generations.

In this episode, Kendall Berg sits down with career strategist Renata Bernarde to talk about what it really takes to stay relevant when the rules of work keep changing. From quiet layoffs to invisible promotion ceilings, they dig into why waiting to be "discovered" is no longer a strategy but a trap.

Renata shares how thinking like the CEO of your own career changes everything: the way you network, the way you show up online, and the way you plan for the future version of you.
Together, she and Kendall dive into the power of self-agency, the networking realities behind senior-level hiring, and how to plan your career with your 70-year-old self in mind.

Whether you're feeling stuck, restless, or ready to pivot, this conversation will help you build the kind of career that lasts no matter what the market does next.

 

What's one "corporate game" rule you've learned the hard way?

🎯 Take the full Level Up Leadership Course: https://stan.store/thatcareercoach/p/get-started-with-my-play-the-corporate-game-course

About Your Host: That Career Coach, Kendall Berg

Kendall Berg is a career coach and creator, helping ambitious professionals master the unspoken rules of corporate life. Through Secrets of the Career Game, she shares honest conversations and practical tools to help you communicate clearly, lead confidently, and navigate work with strategy — not stress.

☕️ Want personalized career advice? Book a free 15-minute Coffee Chat with me — let's talk strategy, leadership, or your next move.
Book your Coffee Chat → https://calendly.com/thatcareercoach/15-min-follow-up

Want to know more about Kendal Berg, that career coach?

Follow her on Instagram: @thatcareercoach_

Check out her courses on the website: https://thatcareercoach.net/

Build out the tools you need to navigate the corporate game: — Self Driven Mastermind

 

About Renata Bernarde

Renata Bernarde is a career coach and job-hunting expert who helps experienced and senior professionals design successful career strategies, secure new roles, and navigate career transitions with confidence. She is the host of The Job Hunting Podcast and the founder of a coaching practice supporting corporate, nonprofit, and government professionals worldwide. She also lectures on career planning and design at Monash University and is an Enterprise Fellow at the University of Melbourne. With a background as a former CEO and executive leader, Renata brings practical insight, empathy, and strategic thinking to job search and career planning for experienced professionals.    https://www.renatabernarde.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/renatabernarde/ https://www.youtube.com/@renatabernarde https://open.spotify.com/show/7kmWFQN3y8WyEqsm99UKlk https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-job-hunting-podcast/id1481423500 https://www.instagram.com/stories/renatabernarde.co/