Career Blast in a Half

The Invisible Leadership Revolution | Heather Powers

Corporate America is bleeding talent pretending the needs of working parents are asking for a perk, at the expense of being a profit engine.
 
This week Heather Powers, author of The Power Lane: Why Keeping Moms in the Workforce REVS the Economy exposes this hypocrisy.
 
"Women are not leaving the workforce, they're leaving the workplace."
 
Let’s get real with the facts: 
The undeniable math: 
Companies losing parents are burning money. 
Replacement costs run 2x salary while teams flounder for months. Smart organizations are waking up.
 
The data needs to demolish myths: 
Most productive employees? Parents with multiple kids. 
The talent shortage isn't theoretical—it's here, and businesses ignoring parent flexibility are losing their competitive edge.
Stop apologizing for parenthood: How to dismantle outdated the "work vs. family" dichotomy. No more apologizing for Thursday soccer games— leverage those constraints into ruthless productivity.
Your Ace: The uncomfortable truths:
Company's stubbornness isn't just hurting parents—it's sabotaging shareholder value. The most expensive words in business? "This is how we've always done it."
 
Like what you hear? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review!
Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! 
Want  FREE executive job search tips each week? Click here to join my newsletter.
Get a copy of my ebook Turn Age Into Your Advantage
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram 
Watch my podcast on YouTube 
 
Follow Heather on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-l-powers/
Get Heather’s book: The Power Lane: Why Keeping Moms in the Workforce REVS the Economy 

How To Stop Being A Hostage In Your Job Search | Scott Walker

“Kidnappers are just businessmen looking for a great deal” 
 
That’s how Scott Walker, legendary hostage negotiator reframes his work (with a 93% success rate) in high stakes situations you can apply to yours. 
 
Let’s call a spade a spade. You can feel like a hostage in your job search. 
 
Every interview can fire off an emotion. 
Your future, in limbo. 
Your finances handcuffed
Your head, unclear who to trust, including yourself. 
 
We can all learn from Scott starting with:
 
The River of Emotion: 
A metaphor to overcome emotional hijacking. 
His tip, observe NOT absorb.
Stand on the riverbank without swimming in the current.
 
The 3-2-1 Formula: 
Sort your challenges into three buckets:
What you can control, influence, or must ignore
 
Trust as the Golden Thread: 
Understand how trust is the foundation of all successful negotiations. 
The simple (but not easy) principle: do what you say you're going to do.
 
Embracing Conflict: 
Learn why the "conflict call" is often necessary to establish boundaries and expectations. Having direct, candid, kind conversations enhances your value and presence.
 
The 30-Second Reset: 
Practice pausing throughout your day to feel the feeling and drop the story.
 This simple habit builds the emotional muscle needed for higher-stakes situations.
 
Negotiating our emotional regulation isn't limited to hostage situations or boardrooms - it's simply "a conversation with purpose" that we all engage in daily. 
 
Like what you hear? Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a 5-star review!
Suggest a topic or ask a question for me to answer on the show! 
Want  FREE executive job search tips each week? Click here to join my newsletter.
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram 
Watch my podcast on YouTube 
 
Follow Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottaw/
Elevate Your Negotiation Game: https://winanynegotiation.com/pages/negotiation-training
To order a copy of Scott's book, 'Order Out of Chaos', click here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/order-out-of-chaos/scott-walker/9780349434988

Doubt is Death. My 3 Secrets To Certainty In Your Search I Loren Greiff

Doubt kills your job search faster than any market condition. It's not just hesitation—it's resistance holding hostage everything you want.
The antidote? Certainty. That inner knowing that transcends credentials, perfect keywords, and competitive threats.
My 3 secrets and your shifts: 
Be a swordfish, not a whale 
Swordfish slice forward with explosive acceleration and channel all energy toward their target. 
Whales circle aimlessly, stuck in familiar patterns, deliberating endlessly.
Your forward momentum creates the flywheel that attracts everything. 
No momentum, no results.
Success leaves clues, start collecting them
Talk to five people daily who have what you want. 
Stop guessing. Ask them: "What would you do differently if starting now?" Their answers create your shortcut.
Replace mediocrity with mastery 
Your search is an audition for the role you want.  
Half-measures telegraph self-doubt. No one gets hired for "good enough Not minimum effort
Define the top three most meaningful elements that make you the best at what you do, who you do it for and why. Message it, and refine it relentlessly. 
Cut corners and certainty can’t shine through. 
Commit to excellence and signals turn green. 

The 5 Keys To Lasting Confidence I Nicole Kalil

"Confidence isn't built—it's practiced."
 
The Confidence Myth
What we call confidence is often just comfortable competence. 
But true confidence is revealed precisely when we don't know what we're doing.
 
The 5 Confidence Killers
External Validation: Outsourcing your worth makes you one criticism away from collapse.
Comparison: Every minute comparing is a minute not creating. Comparison assassinates action.
Overthinking: Analysis paralysis is fear wearing a lab coat.
Fear of Failure: Confident people see failure as data, not definition.
Broken Self-Trust: Every broken self-promise erodes your confidence foundation.
Building Unshakeable Confidence
Build Self-Trust: Make tiny commitments and keep them. Watch trust compound.
Use Failure: The question isn't "Will I fail?" but "What will I learn?"
Take Action: Confidence isn't built in contemplation—it's forged in movement.
Speak to Yourself Like Someone You Love: 
Your internal dialogue creates your reality. 
Choose Daily: Confidence is a choice. Choose it before you feel it.
Nicole Kalil is one of the most inspiring women I’ve met in a long, long time.
 
Her website; https://nicolekalil.com/
Subscribe to This Is Woman’s Work  her Top 0.5% podcast 
Book: "Validation is for Parking: How Women Can Beat the Confidence Con"
Free Confidence Assessment: confidenceassessment.com
 

Stop With The Age Labels : Shedding "OK Boomer" & "Entitled Millennial" I Sheila Callaham

We've created a system of fictional generational boxes that don't exist in reality.
"Boomer," "Gen X," "Millennial" - arbitrary labels with zero scientific basis.
Yet we use them daily to dismiss, categorize, and stereotype people who were simply born during a random year span.
The cost? 
Innovation stifled. 
Talent wasted. 
Workplaces poisoned.
The coming demographic shift (longer lives, fewer births) will expose this charade.
The winners will be those who see people, not labels.
The question isn't which generation you belong to.
It's whether you'll perpetuate the myth or break it.
In this fierce conversation with Sheila Callaham, Executive Director & Board Chair | Global Educator | Forbes Contributor
We break down: 
The Great Age Label Myth The arbitrary boxes assume people think identically because they were born within 15-20 year spans. We'd never accept this for race or gender – why tolerate it for age?
The Demographic Time Bomb Leaders remain dangerously oblivious: people are living longer while birth rates plummet. The talent pool is shrinking, yet organizations continue discarding experienced workers. This talent sustainability crisis will explode within five years.
The Longevity Revolution The Age Equity Alliance's Longevity Mindset Index measures how "future-ready" companies are through employee perceptions. 
The Action Plan
Recognize when age-based assumptions infiltrate conversations
Call it out – respectfully but firmly
Focus on skills and competencies, not birth years
Ask people what they want rather than assuming based on age
 
For more information, visit ageequityalliance.org or connect with Sheila Callaham on LinkedIn.

5 Secrets To Packaging Your 40+ Deep Experience

There's a gap in the marketplace—a gap between what you know and how you share it.
Most professionals +40 make the fatal mistake of assuming experience speaks for itself. 
 
It doesn't. 
Experience without relevance is a timeline 
Past tense. 
 
The marketplace invests in your future contributions
 
That’s what gets you hired. 
 
This week I reveal my 5 secrets for transforming decades of experience into what’s relevant – (and hiring managers can’t ignore)
Craft a "Tomorrow Story"  Stop documenting history and start narrating potential. Your narrative must project forward, not just recite backward.
Speak the Language of Metrics Decision-makers are fluent in numbers. Not ambiguities like more, grew or improved without context
Learn Visibly Your adaptability matters more than your accumulated knowledge. Here’s where I share the  uncomfortable truth about how learning signals trump experience signals in today's hiring landscape.
Inclusivity as Currency The modern workplace values connectors and bridge-builders. Hear the surprising way clients leverage inclusivity stories to outcompete younger candidates.
Evolution Over Stability Career stability used to be an asset. Now it's often misread as stagnation. Discover how to reframe your consistent track record as deliberate evolution.
Why This Matters Now
"Your decades of experience are either your greatest asset or your heaviest anchor. 
The difference isn't in what you've done—it's in how you package it."
 
This isn't about tips and tricks. 
 
It's about the fundamental mindset shift that transforms how decision-makers perceive your value in a marketplace that often mistakes youth for innovation.

How do I get AI tech-literate without losing my human-ness? I Kate O’Neill

The game of life (and work) has changed.
 
It’s no longer about whether to use AI, but how to wield it while preserving what makes us irreplaceable.
 
Kate O’Neill isn’t just another tech pundit.
 
As an early Netflix employee and a sought-after “human technologist,” she sits at the intersection of algorithms and imagination.
 
I pulled Kate away from her book tour and speaking engagements to help us uncover:
•Why and how tech literacy is crucial in today’s job market—and how to approach it
•The gaps between AI capabilities and human skills
•How AI differs from past technological revolutions
•Practical strategies to stay current—without feeling overwhelmed
 
The Danger Zones
•Rash leadership decisions to replace humans wholesale
•The defeatist mindset that surrenders before the battle even begins
•The “keeping up” treadmill that never stops accelerating
 
Where You’ll Win
•Contextual awareness that AI can’t replicate
•Emotional intelligence that machines merely simulate
•Curiosity that transforms anxiety into an advantage
 
You won’t master every tool—and that’s not the point.
 
This is: Approach tech with strategic playfulness, reimagining possibilities through your human lens. Instead of asking, “What can this do?” ask, “How might I do this differently?”
 
Connect:
 
Website: KOinsights.com
Latest Book: What Matters Next (Available now)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateoneill/
 
About Kate O’Neill
•Featured in Wired Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Inc.com, and The New York Times
•One of the first 100 employees at Netflix
•Nearly 30 years working in technology
•Author of What Matters Next and several other books on technology and human experience

The 5 Leadership Voices & Languages We Miss I Masi Willis

Leadership is one of those words that gets thrown around like authenticity or value. Everyone nods. Few translate.
 
This week, we sat down with Masi Willis, Founder of The Mason Effect.
She caught up with us between her work travels, helping individuals and businesses better communicate to understand each other.
 
What changes when that happens? Everything.
 
Here’s what I learned from Masi—and you can too:
 
The Sherpa Principle
Leaders don’t climb alone. They guide others up the mountain while ensuring everyone arrives healthy. The summit isn’t the goal—getting there together is.
 
The Platinum Rule
Forget the Golden Rule. Leadership that transforms follows the Platinum Rule:
Do unto others as they would want done to themselves.
 
Most leadership fails at this first turn—understanding both the mirror and the window.
 
The Support-Challenge Matrix
Four leadership types emerge:
•Protectors → Create comfortable mediocrity.
•Dominators → Create fear, not performance.
•Abdicators → Create organizational zombies.
•Liberators → Create growth worth having.
 
Great leaders aren’t gardeners who treat every plant the same. They calibrate the sunlight and water each person needs.
 
The Voice Mismatch
The fundamental disconnect: Organizations hire the 16% (pioneers/creatives) to lead the 73% (nurturers/guardians) without creating a shared language.
 
It’s like expecting someone to follow directions in German when they speak Japanese.
 
The Authenticity Trap
Your natural leadership voice emerged before the world told you what you ought to be.
 
Burnout isn’t from working too hard—it’s from working against your wiring.
 
Follow Masi Willis:
🔗 Take your free 5 Voices Assessment here
📄 Download the Five Voices PDF Tool
 

FOPO: Fear Of Overvaluing Other People’s Opinions I Erica Rooney

You want to feel seen, heard and accepted. 
You want to feel appreciated
And you want to feel like you’re doing the right thing.
 
But when FOPO (Fear Of Overvaluing Other People’s Opinions) creeps in, you cave. 
 
Putting ultimate goals of happiness and fulfillment aside
Devaluing the accolades you worked for
Discounting the achievements you earned
 
Why? 
 
You listened to them, but that led you to staying stuck. 
 
Our guest this week is Erica Rooney is a stuck expert, keynote speaker and author of
Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors. 
 
You ask what are sticky floors? 
 
The internal barriers that keep us all stuck.
Struggles with perfectionism 
Imposter syndrome 
And systemic barriers (like age, drinking and how things are supposed to look)
 
So how do you get the stick off? 
Short answer, you don’t
 
But in the episode you’ll find out: 
 
> How to use the SNAP framework to manage it
> How to balance the tricky nuance between feedback and FOPO
> How to overcome personal challenges to achieve greater personal and professional growth
Follow Erica Rooney 
Get Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors 
 
Follow me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorengreiff/
Interested in my coaching programs: portfoliorocket.com

Welcome To The End Of Career Victimization I Loren Greiff & TJ Bennett

If you’re seeking job security, it’s gone. Long gone.  
That means that you're in charge. 
Your career is YOUR business. 
No business can survive with outdated systems, an ill informed team or strategy that doesn’t meet today’s demands. 
Same for you. 
This week I share some of my interview with TJ Bennett, host of The DesuckifyWork® Podcast. 
We talk about my mission to end career victimization and how you can free yourself from it with: 
Examples of sticky story telling. 
The truth behind the ATS
Why being qualified doesn’t make you hireable
How to replace job security with career adaptability
And what it means to stay relevant in your career
 
Because here's the thing: You're going to live longer than you think. 
The question isn't whether you'll find another job. 
The question is: What are you going to do with the next 10, 15, 20 years of your life?
 
Follow me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorengreiff/
Interested in my coaching programs: portfoliorocket.com
 
Follow TJ Bennett here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teejaybee/
Check out his website: thepuddingfactory.net
And his substack: tjbennett.substack.com