Women Who Lead – Details, episodes & analysis

Sometimes the workplace can feel completely foreign as a woman, as if you are starting from zero in a foreign country.  

For this episode's guest, this is quite literally exactly what it was. 

After moving to Mexico as a native English speaker, Zoe Smith knows the challenges of navigating building a career from the ground up.

But starting from scratch didn't stand in her way. A lifelong entrepreneur, Zoe's career path and experience is so valuable.  

Zoe Smith is the CEO and founder of BE School, teaching business english to professionals and executives. And y'all, I looooooooove Zoe.   

In this episode, we discuss how our internal beliefs and narratives shape our reality, and how we can use this to change our lives for the better. She brings her insight on using weaknesses to her advantage, believing in her own value and embracing change in every season.  

Join us as we discuss everything entrepreneurship, mindset, pricing and self belief. 

Imagine if you could say exactly what you think.

You have a voice, even if it may be hidden by fear and by years of conditioning to stay quiet and agreeable.

Today's guest is an expert communications coach whose work helps her clients' value be recognised in the workplace.

In her words, she helps high performers get recognised for the value that they already contribute.

In this episode, she shares her practical guidance to allow you to do exactly that.

Finding and using our voice is so hard for so many of us women.

That's why we need sisters like Laura Camacho to help guide our way, so that we can speak truth to power, and keep building the world that we really want to live in together.

You don't have to have superhuman confidence to make yourself visible.

Whether it is building confidence, speaking up in meetings... y'all, Laura covers it all.

Join us as we talk about all things communication, confidence and finding your voice.

This is a really special episode my friends. I managed to assemble four brilliant women who have gone through the Bloom programme together for a conversation about what it means to be a woman in HR.

We have Hanna Smith, Natasha Norman, Allison Anti and Gemma Lockhart. I am so thankful for their honesty, and humility... and for the fact they they chose to empower themselves and Bloom.

This episode is for you if you want to know about:
✳️ That as a People leader, it is okay to be the heart of an organisation... it's more than okay actually, it is badass!
✳️ That rather than building confidence, it's more about rebuilding it - we lose confidence through our experiences as women but we used to have it
✳️ How to bringing your authentic energy as a People leader and learn how to take up space at the leadership table.
✳️ Overcoming the negative perceptions of HR in the workplace, things like being called HR robots

There's also a brilliant interlude, baked in the middle of our conversation somewhere, but one that you won't want to miss. See if you can find it. 

Thank you for being here. If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at ruth@ourtimetobloom.com.

Kelly Vickery is Founder of The Mother Connection, and does amazing work to help us learn how to navivate the working world as women around maternity.

And boy is it shocking. Real talk, every woman I have coached who has been in and around motherhood has been penalised in some way. This episode does two things; first supports us as women, and secondly, helps us to get better at empowering and supporting other women.

This episode is for you if you want to know about:
✳️ The motherhood penalty, what it is and why we should ALL care about it
✳️ How our expected best self can get in the way of feeling enough - I really felt this and I am sure you will too
✳️ Matrescence; how it is a whole thing, and how we often marginalise it
✳️ The dominant power that work can have in our life, and how we can rebalance to be a little more of who we really are

There's also a brilliant interlude, baked in the middle of our conversation somewhere, but one that you won't want to miss as it helps you know what to do if you feel like you are experiencing these things. 

Thank you for being here. If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at ruth@ourtimetobloom.com.

As Bloom has evolved to serve women in HR, Jessica Zwaan was the obvious choice for a podcast guest. She embodies many of the things that we don't dare to let ourselves be; bold, opinionated and exactly who she is.

That is how I know just how much you will get from this episode, without even asking.

It is literally packed with nuggets of inspiration. This episode is for you if you want to know about:

✳️ The fact that if you aren't getting feedback it doesn't mean there isn't any... you owe it to those around you to help them feel safe enough to give it to you

✳️ Helping us to truly understand what we mean by people as a product, and how we can lean into it as People people

✳️ The brilliant idea of redefining employees as a subscription model; how long they subscribe for is up to us!

✳️ How we can build honesty around how we measure performance in the workplace, and support everyone to win

There's also a brilliant interlude, baked in the middle of our conversation somewhere, but one that you won't want to miss. It helps with starting thinking of everything in life and work as an experiment.

Thank you for being here. If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at ruth@ourtimetobloom.com.

Dannique Blake is a truly special human. We connected a couple of years ago online, and immediately saw ourselves in each other. Don't you just love it when that happens?

Dannique is a powerful thinker in the People and Culture world, but I love the radical responsibility she encourages us to take for our role in things.

This episode is for you if you want to know about:

✳️ The fact that leadership is an energy and you already have more power in your life and career than you think you do

✳️ How to build powerful, meaningful, beneficial relationships at work

✳️ How to know when it is time to leave a company, and that the best exits start at the beginning - yep, you'll want to hear more on that for sure!

✳️ The importance of having people who know who you are... with folks like Dannique, I don't have to mask any parts of myself... listen to the beginning and you can hear my ADHD running wild, interrupting with excitement - it's a blessing to get to be free sometimes!

There's also a brilliant interlude, baked in the middle of our conversation somewhere, but one that you won't want to miss. 

Thank you for being here. If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at ruth@ourtimetobloom.com.

Oooooo I just love this episode so much. Jenn Fenwick is an Executive Coach and leadership expert with deep, and I mean deeeeeep, experience of talent development.

She knows exactly what it takes to grow and develop in your career. She supports leaders to let out the magic, the ideas and the energy that is inside them, especially if they are starting out in a new role.

We cover things like:

✳️ Building your brand and reputation in order to grow, embracing your next level identity along the way

✳️ How to onboard yourself in a new role, even when the learning curve is a steep one

✳️ How important it is to be aware of our own demons and how they can get in the way of us truly being great

✳️ How companies can support leaders to be more successful, and that the sink or swim approach is an outdated practice for leaders

There's also a brilliant interlude, baked in the middle of our conversation somewhere, but one that you won't want to miss. It helps with things like burnout so look out for it!

Thank you for being here. If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at ruth@ourtimetobloom.com.

From the moment I saw Elaine Lin Hering posting online, I knew I'd found someone special. As I got to know her better, her wisdom is beyond expectation. She conveys a sense of dignity, empathy and an invitation to take ownership. As Author of Unlearning Silence, landing in 2024, she speaks the wisdom of what it means to hold yourself back.

And boy do we hold ourselves and our voices back, right sisters...?

Join us for the final episode of season one, as we go deep together to explore:

• How to unlearn silence and self censorship, and build the muscle of self advocacy.
• Practical examples of noticing your patterns of silence day to day and learning to honour your needs.
• How to reinvent your relationships in a more intentional way so that all parties win.
• Plus a little of how to negotiate and navigate conflict for good measure!

I love this from Elaine; 'I as a sovereign individual have agency to have my own thoughts. What do I think? That’s the start of finding your voice.'

There's also a brilliant activity, baked in the middle of our conversation somewhere. Look out for it!

Thank you for being here. If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at ruth@ourtimetobloom.com.

Some women just radiate light. Leslie Greenwood is that person. As Founder of Chief Evangelist, Leslie knows pretty much everything there is about creating community.

[Plot reveal: creating community around you is the ultimate career power move.]

Who better therefore to help us on the path to building our own...?

In this powerful yet candid conversation, Leslie and I discuss:

• An honest reflection of the moments we hold back and lose ourselves at work, because most of us aren't immune to doing so.
• The power of saying no and leaning into doing so.
• How to become intentional about how you want to live in this next stage of your life.
• And of course, how to build community for others, even if it doesn’t feel natural to you.

From Leslie: 'It’s okay to be a square peg, just be mindful of how much you try to fit it in the round hole. What are the trade offs you are making to continue on the path you are on?'

There's also a little interlude, baked in the middle of our conversation somewhere, but one that you won't want to miss. It is one of the things I swear by, look out for it!

Thank you for being here. If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at ruth@ourtimetobloom.com.

Women empowering women, that's what Patricia Hadden stands for and personifies. She supported me in my own career, and I'm sure for countless other women too.

In fact, she was literally the inspiration for me to forge my path to the top table. She's now doing amazing things at Google, and the example she sets of integrating motherhood with a phenomenal career is truly inspiring. If you have ever struggled with balancing different roles you fulfil, you will love what she shares with us all on boundaries. There is so much goodness in this conversation:

• That leadership is not a rank or a title, it's an energy, and even starting out in your career, you have the potential to lead.
• The hierarchies that exist within organisations, and that frankly, you can find spaces that operate differently.
• The real challenges that we face as women, taking up space at the leadership table, and how we build the muscle of doing so.

From Patricia: 'My role as a leader is bringing out the best version of the people in my team, so that they get to do their best and most impactful work.'

There's also the chance to grab my values exercise, baked in the middle of our conversation somewhere, but one that you won't want to miss. It is one of the things I swear by, look out for it!

Thank you for being here. If you have any feedback, comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you at ruth@ourtimetobloom.com.