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Women's Leadership Success: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Sabrina Braham MA MFT PPC
Since 1989, Women Business Leadership Skills and Career Development Advice. Interviews with Successful Women CEOs, Managers and Entrepreneurs to Help You Influence People, Improve Performance, Get Promoted, Increase Earnings and Enhance Your Job/Life Balance
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- 3 days ago39 min
Successful but Unfulfilled? 5 Hidden Forces Keeping High Achievers Stuck, and How to Break Free
Successful but Unfulfilled? 5 Hidden Forces Keeping High Achievers Stuck, and How to Break Free Last updated: October 27, 2026 Trusted by leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, MGM Grand Resorts, and Farmers Insurance Executive Summary If you feel successful but unfulfilled, you are not alone: 60% of senior women report frequent burnout (Women in the Workplace, 2025). Former McKinsey partner Ashish Kothari reveals five hidden forces that keep high achievers stuck and shares three practical steps to find more meaning in your success. Quick Takeaways Feeling successful but unfulfilled is a signal, not a personal failure or weakness. Five hidden forces hold you in place: identity, worthiness, routines, relationships, and expertise. Your body often registers misalignment before your mind can explain it. A one-week "field diary" reveals what energizes and drains you, hour by hour. Ten to twenty people can show you strengths you cannot see yourself. In This Article The Hidden Cost of Success "Perfection Is the Price": How the Climb Begins The 5 Hidden Forces That Keep You Successful but Unfulfilled It Wasn't Courage. It Was a Calling. 3 Steps to Find Your Authentic Path Your 7-Day Action Plan Common Mistakes to Avoid Unfulfilled vs. Fulfilled Success What's New in 2026 People Also Ask The Hidden Cost of Success: Why High Achievers Feel Successful but Unfulfilled As an executive leadership coach with more than 30 years of experience (MA, MFT, PCC) and host of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast, ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide with 57,000+ monthly downloads, I hear one quiet confession more than almost any other: "I have everything I worked for. So why do I feel successful but unfulfilled?" This is not a private problem. In the most recent Women in the Workplace report (McKinsey & LeanIn.Org, 2025), about 60% of senior-level women said they frequently felt burned out, compared with 50% of senior men. That is the highest level in five years, and many are recalculating whether the climb is worth it. My own story started in a very different place. I grew up poor, with food insecurity, and nobody expected much of me. I still ended up with anxiety after I "made it." That taught me something I now share with every client: achievement cannot fill an emptiness that only meaning can fill. When you understand that, you stop chasing the next title to fix how you feel, and you start building a career that actually feeds you. That is why I invited Ashish Kothari to the show. Ashish spent 17 years at McKinsey & Company, made partner in six years, and walked away from a seven-figure role to found Happiness Squad. He is the author of Hardwired for Happiness: 9 Proven Practices to Overcome Stress and Live Your Best Life and host of the Flourishing Edge podcast. In Part 1 of our conversation, he explains why so many high achievers feel successful but unfulfilled, and exactly how to change it. Hardwired for Happiness by Ashish Kothari When I asked Ashish what listeners could expect if they applied his advice, he did not hesitate: "I think they can go from being miserably successful to joyfully significant." — Ashish Kothari "Perfection Is the Price": How the Climb Begins Ashish's drive started with a story he told himself at age seven. He came home with 97 out of 100 on a math test. His mother, a PhD gold medalist in calculus, praised him and then pointed out the three questions she knew he could have answered. Next time, she said, check your work so you can get to 100. Her love never depended on his grades. But the seven-year-old inside him concluded something else. "The story was: perfection is the price I had to pay to be loved." — Ashish Kothari That story fueled him through IBM and a McKinsey partnership. Then, at 42, he began waking up anxious, though his health, marriage, and finances were fine. "My body knew it before my head knew it," he told me. The work mattered to clients, but not to what he personally cared about. He wasn't burned out in the classic sense. He rarely worked weekends and took real vacations. That's the part high achievers miss: you can have a balanced calendar and still feel successful but unfulfilled, because balanced hours are not aligned purpose. Coach's Note Many clients name their own "seven-year-old story" early, such as "I have to be the one who never drops the ball." Naming it lets you choose whether it still serves you. If anxiety persists, please also talk with a licensed health professional. The 5 Hidden Forces That Keep You Successful but Unfulfilled Ashish is building a nine-month fellowship called Escape Velocity for leaders in their 40s and 50s who have reached the top and cannot break away. The name comes from his framework: five forces, or "gravities," that hold high achievers in place long after the work stops feeding them. The 5 hidden forces that keep high achievers stuck 1. The Gravity of Identity "If I'm not a partner, if I'm not a CFO,
- 1 weeks ago28 min
Signs of Manager Burnout: 10-Minute Fix for Leaders 2026
Signs of Manager Burnout: How One Leader of 18 Got Her Energy Back — and the 10-Minute Meeting That Helped Last updated: October 16, 2026 Trusted by leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, MGM Grand Resorts, and Farmers Insurance Executive Summary: Managers keep hitting deadlines while quietly running on empty. Gallup reports manager engagement fell to 22% in 2025. In WLS 170, Sabrina Braham shares the signs of manager burnout, how Martha recovered after suddenly leading two teams of nine, and a 10-minute Monday meeting any leader can start this week. Quick Takeaways: Manager engagement dropped from 27% to 22% in 2025 alone (Gallup, 2026). Strong results can hide the signs of manager burnout — watch for postponed one-on-ones. Ask a stretched manager: "What's become harder, and what support are you missing?" A 10-minute Monday meeting — wins, roadblocks, ideas, recognition — re-energized two teams. Coaching changes how you lead; organizations must still fix the conditions you lead in. Jump to: Why It's Missed · 6 Signs · Martha's Story · The 10-Minute Meeting · The Results · For Senior Leaders · Action Plan · Mistakes · FAQ · 2026 Trends As an executive leadership coach with more than 30 years of experience (MA, MFT, PCC) and host of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast — on air since 2007, ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide, with 57,000+ monthly downloads — I see the signs of manager burnout long before most companies do. The deadlines still get met. The problems still get solved. But listening, developing people, and thinking ahead quietly disappear. The numbers explain why this matters now. Global manager engagement fell from 27% to 22% in 2025, and managers are now no more engaged than the people they lead (Gallup, 2026). Meanwhile, the average U.S. manager now leads 12.1 direct reports, up from 10.9 a year earlier (Gallup, 2026). When I posted an infographic on the signs of manager burnout on LinkedIn, it drew more than 40,000 impressions. So in Episode 170, my co-founder Tim Warren interviewed me about Martha — a director moved to manager in a downsizing and handed two teams — and the 10-minute meeting that helped her lead again. Key moments in this episode 00:00 — When managers run out of energy to lead 02:30 — Why results hide the signs of manager burnout 03:00 — What senior leaders should notice 04:10 — Martha's story: director to manager of two teams 06:30 — Where coaching began: listening and strengths 09:00 — The 10-minute Monday meeting 12:25 — The agenda and "How can we help you?" 16:50 — What companies must change after downsizing 20:55 — One conversation to have this week 22:10 — Where Martha landed Why the Signs of Manager Burnout Are So Easy to Miss in 2026 Managers are expected to deliver results, solve problems, develop people, and keep morale up — all at once. Many keep meeting deadlines while exhausted. As I told Tim, the results can hide how much they're struggling. Manager engagement is falling fastest Gallup's latest State of the Global Workplace report shows manager engagement has dropped nine points since 2022. In the prior year's report, female manager engagement fell by seven points (Gallup, 2025). That matters because Gallup attributes about 70% of the variance in team engagement to the manager. When managers run on empty, their teams follow. The "Great Flattening" is stretching managers thin Companies are cutting management layers. The leaders who remain absorb larger teams and more work. Gallup finds 97% of managers also carry individual contributor work, and more managers now report burnout, stress, and job-seeking than a few years ago. Martha's 18 direct reports were triple Gallup's median of five to six. Senior women are feeling it most About 60% of senior-level women report frequent burnout, compared with 50% of senior-level men — the highest level in five years. Among senior women with five or fewer years at their company, it's 70% (McKinsey & LeanIn.Org, 2025). The cost of missing the signs of manager burnout Ignored, the signs of manager burnout become a team that disconnects and a high performer who quietly starts job-hunting. For you, it can mean losing the energy and visibility that get leaders promoted. Running on empty — and worried it's showing up in how leaders see you? Send Sabrina a direct message on LinkedIn. Tell her what's become harder, and she'll point you to your next best step. Name what's draining your capacity to lead Find one change to propose to your leader this week Protect the energy and visibility that get leaders promoted DM SABRINA ON LINKEDIN 6 Signs of Manager Burnout Senior Leaders Should Notice Just like success leaves clues, so does struggle. Here are the six signs of manager burnout from the infographic that sparked this episode. The infographic that drew 40,000+ impressions on LinkedIn. One-on-ones become status reports. Or they get postponed entirely. There's little time left for coaching. They so
- Sep 28, 202628 min
Get Promoted Faster: Dolphin Strategy Guide 2026 | WLS 169
Get Promoted Faster: How the Dolphin Strategy Took One Stuck Supervisor to VP — and What It Means for Women Leaders Last updated: September 26, 2026 Trusted by leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, MGM Grand Resorts, and Farmers Insurance Executive Summary: Have you been told you "don't have the personality" for promotion? Sabrina Braham shares how her coaching client Martin, stuck five years as supervisor, reached VP using five moves: decode feedback, recruit dolphins, build your voice, make the Half-Point Ask, and volunteer for visibility. Use them to get promoted faster. Quick Takeaways: Vague feedback like "personality" isn't a verdict — translate it into observable behaviors. Recruit "dolphins": allies in the room who back your ideas when you speak. Employees with sponsors are twice as likely to be promoted (McKinsey & LeanIn.Org, 2025). Ask your manager for a 1–10 rating, then ask what earns one more half point. Martin: five stuck years, then manager in six months — then director and VP. Jump to: Martin's Story · Why You're Stuck · The 5 Moves · The Results · Action Plan · Mistakes to Avoid · FAQ · 2026 Trends As an executive leadership coach with over 30 years of experience (MA, MFT, PCC) and host of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast — on air since 2007 and ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide — I hear one question more than any other: how do I get promoted faster when I'm already doing a great job? The question is urgent. By September 10, layoffs.fyi counted more than 128,000 tech layoffs in 2026 — already more than all of 2025. And McKinsey and LeanIn.Org's Women in the Workplace 2025 found only about half of companies still prioritize women's advancement. Good work alone won't help you get promoted faster. In Episode 169, the tables turned. My co-founder and executive producer, Tim Warren, interviewed me about Martin — a Fortune 500 supervisor told he "didn't have the personality" to be a manager. He believed it. Then, step by step, he proved it wrong. His story is the clearest map I know to get promoted faster, especially if you're the only one like you in the room. The Feedback That Kept Martin Stuck for Five Years At Martin's company, supervisors usually became managers within a year. Martin had been a supervisor for five. His numbers were strong, his people loved him, and his leaders said he was doing a great job. Then came the "but": he just didn't have the personality to be a manager. Martin grew up speaking English as a second language, was the first in his family to attend college, and graduated with honors. None of that protected him. When someone with authority labels you, you tend to believe it. I know that feeling. I was raised in a blue-collar family, and when someone with authority said I had a flaw, I assumed it was true. It took me years to unlearn. If you've absorbed a label like Martin's, take this from his story: the label can be wrong, and you can change the evidence behind it. His question to me was painful: could he change his personality to move up? Why Talented Leaders Don't Get Promoted Faster in 2026 Martin's situation isn't rare. A strong performer gets fuzzy feedback, loses confidence, goes quiet in the rooms where promotions are shaped — and stalls. Here's why that pattern makes it harder to get promoted faster right now. The "broken rung" is still broken For every 100 men promoted to first-level manager, only 93 women are promoted (McKinsey & LeanIn.Org, 2025). That first step — the one Martin was stuck on — shapes every level above it. The sponsorship gap is real At entry level, 31% of women have a sponsor versus 45% of men, and employees with sponsors are about twice as likely to be promoted. The finding that matters most: when women and men get equal career support, the gap in promotion ambition disappears. The problem isn't drive. It's backing. Being "the only" changes how you're heard Roughly one in five women are often the only woman in the room, more for senior and technical women (LeanIn.Org). Being "the only" tends to make people cautious about sharing ideas — less visibility when you need more. The cost of waiting In 2026's market, "I'll speak up once I feel confident" is a risky plan. To get promoted faster — or stand out after a layoff — treat visibility as a skill you practice. Ready to get promoted faster — before you feel fully ready? Leading Before You're Ready — a practical playbook for leaders stepping into bigger roles. Inside, you'll find: Language for speaking up with confidence before you feel fully ready Ways to build trust fast with the decision-makers who shape your next role A framework for positioning yourself as promotion-ready — actively, not passively GET THE COMPLIMENTARY PLAYBOOK The Dolphin Promotion Framework™: 5 Moves to Get Promoted Faster Here's exactly what Martin and I worked on. None of it required a new personality — just consistent, specific action. Each move helps you get promote
- Sep 14, 202639 min
Women Leaders Psychological Safety: Real Feedback Guide
Women Leaders Psychological Safety: How Kerry Siggins Turned "You're Erratic" Into Her Best Leadership Lesson Last updated: September 3, 2026 Trusted by leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, MGM Grand Resorts, and Farmers Insurance Executive Summary: The word that stung most in StoneAge CEO Kerry Siggins' toughest feedback moment was the word that was true. Here's her litmus test for real feedback, how she builds psychological safety without losing accountability, and how women leaders navigate the double bind. Quick Takeaways: If feedback "stings," there's probably truth in it worth examining Psychological safety and accountability aren't opposites — done right, they build each other The double bind is real: women who are direct risk being called aggressive Influence matters more than being right — and it changes how feedback lands U.S. employee engagement hit a decade-low of 31% in early 2026 Jump to:The Feedback Story · Spotting Valid Feedback ·Safety vs. Accountability · The Double Bind ·Action Plan · FAQ As an executive leadership coach with over 30 years of experience (MA, MFT, PCC) working with Fortune 50–1000 companies, I've watched brilliant women leaders freeze in two different ways: some can't tell which feedback to take seriously and which to release, and others have been burned so badly by being called "too direct" that they've gone quiet. Both patterns erode psychological safety — theirs, and their team's. This is Part Two of my conversation with Kerry Siggins, CEO of StoneAge and author of Talk With Trust: How to Own Feedback, Spark Growth, and Build Stronger Teams. In Part One, we walked through her SHARES framework for difficult conversations. Here, we go deeper into the moment that started it all — the day a trusted colleague told her she was "erratic" — and what she's learned since about telling real feedback from noise, building psychological safety without losing accountability, and the double bind that so many women leaders still navigate every day. The Feedback That Almost Cost Kerry Siggins Her COO — And Changed Her Leadership Kerry had spent a year having what she thought were deep, honest conversations with her COO. Then, in a discussion about his role and growth path, it came out all at once: "You think you're this inspiring CEO who disrupts the industry, but really what you are is erratic, and you're really hard to work for. You're the problem." Kerry's first instinct was to fire him. She paused instead — because, as she told me, "I don't want to react in the moment." That pause is the whole story. Kerry went home, sat with the feedback, and asked herself a simple question: what's true about this? She landed on one word — erratic — and traced it back to something real: her fast pace and love of new ideas could look, from the outside, like constant direction-changing. She decided, in that moment, to become a "cool, calm, and collected, unflappable leader." It changed how she led. It also cost her the relationship — the way the feedback was delivered damaged the trust between them beyond repair, and her COO eventually left the company. Both things were true at once: the feedback was a gift, and the delivery broke something. That tension is exactly why psychological safety matters — not as comfort, but as the structure that lets hard truths get said before they explode. How to Tell Valid Feedback From Noise Kerry's litmus test is disarmingly simple: if it stings, there's probably some truth to it. She described being called "disingenuous" by someone recently and letting it go completely — because it didn't sting. She knows who she is on that dimension. But "erratic" stung, because some part of her recognized it. That sting is data. The follow-up question matters just as much: is this feedback about who I am, or about someone else's perception and unmet need? "Just because something hits your identity," Kerry said, "doesn't mean that person is right or wrong — it just means they're seeing things differently." Her advice for women leaders receiving feedback that challenges their identity: get curious, ask for examples, and then decide. "Do you want to be right, or do you want to be accurate?" Accuracy requires asking questions. Being right just requires defending your position. She also named something every leader has lived: most of what reaches you has already been filtered. The brain can only process a tiny fraction of available information, and the person giving you feedback is filtering it further through their own fear of your reaction. The fix is direct: ask "what are you not saying right now?" and genuinely invite the rest. Psychological Safety vs. Accountability: Why They're Not Opposites Most leaders treat psychological safety and accountability as a tradeoff — soft versus firm, safe versus serious. Kerry rejects that framing entirely. "There can be accountability in how you're addressing any kind of challenge through dialogue," she said. Her practice
- Aug 27, 202634 min
Women Leaders Difficult Conversations: The SHARES Framework Kerry Siggins Uses to Build Trust
Last updated: August 27, 2026 Trusted by leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, MGM Grand Resorts, and Farmers Insurance Executive Summary: Most women leaders avoid difficult conversations to protect relationships — and that avoidance is what actually destroys trust. StoneAge CEO Kerry Siggins built the six-step SHARES framework after a piece of brutal feedback changed her leadership. Here's exactly how it works. Quick Takeaways: Difficult conversations delayed almost always get harder, not easier, over time The SHARES framework has six steps you can prepare in under ten minutes Organizations with regular feedback see 14.9% lower turnover rates Wanting to "be right" is the single biggest killer of workplace trust Feedback without a credible next step leaves people hopeless, not motivated Jump to: Why It Happens · The SHARES Framework · Examples · Action Plan · FAQ As an executive leadership coach with over 30 years of experience (MA, MFT, PCC) working with Fortune 50–1000 companies, I hear the same confession from brilliant, accomplished women leaders almost every week: "I know I need to have this conversation. I just keep putting it off." If you've been carrying a difficult conversation you haven't had yet — with a direct report, a peer, a boss, even a spouse — you are in very good company, and it is costing you more than you think. On this episode of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast, I sat down with Kerry Siggins, CEO of StoneAge (an employee-owned manufacturer of high-pressure water jetting equipment) and author of the new book Talk With Trust: How to Own Feedback, Spark Growth, and Build Stronger Teams. Kerry built her career on hard conversations — including one that nearly ended her leadership before it began. What she learned from it became the SHARES framework, a six-step system for women leaders navigating difficult conversations without torching the relationship in the process. Take the 2-minute survey at WomensLeadershipSuccess.com/survey Why Women Leaders Avoid Difficult Conversations — And What It Actually Costs Nobody avoids a hard conversation because they're lazy. Women leaders avoid difficult conversations because they're afraid of the consequence: a damaged relationship, an angry reaction, a reputation for being "too much." As Kerry put it on the show, "We're all not having a conversation that we know we need to have because we're afraid of the consequences." The problem is that the consequence of silence is almost always worse than the consequence of speaking. The research backs this up. Recent workplace data shows organizations with regular employee feedback see 14.9% lower turnover, while highly engaged teams — the kind built through honest dialogue — report 21% greater profitability (Careertrainer.ai, 2026). On the trust side, the numbers are sobering: employer trust fell to 76% in the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, and a 21-point gap now separates how much executives trust their organizations (91%) versus how much individual contributors do (70%). Every unspoken conversation widens that gap. Kerry's own turning point came from a conversation she didn't get to control. Her COO — her right-hand operational partner — had been quietly building resentment for a year. It came out in a blowup: "You think you're this inspiring CEO who disrupts the industry, but really what you are is erratic, and you're really hard to work for." Kerry's instinct was to fire him on the spot. Instead, she went home and sat with it. That single piece of painful, poorly-delivered feedback became the foundation for Talk With Trust — and for the SHARES framework she now teaches leaders everywhere. Your team is asking themselves this question constantly, whether they say it out loud or not: can I trust you? I broke this down recently on LinkedIn into three pillars — and it's the exact groundwork that makes a framework like SHARES actually work, instead of just sounding good on paper. Trust isn't built in one big moment. It's built in the small moments people learn they can count on you. — Sabrina Braham, MA, MFT, PCC Notice how closely this maps to what goes wrong in most difficult conversations. Performance trust breaks when someone overpromises or makes excuses instead of owning a miss. Authenticity trust breaks when someone says what people want to hear instead of what's true, or hides a mistake to protect their image — the exact trap Kerry's "articulate your experience" step is built to avoid. And reliability trust breaks when standards shift with someone's mood, or follow-through only happens when it's convenient — which is precisely why the SHARES framework's final step, endorsing a path forward, matters so much: a plan you don't follow through on costs you more trust than no plan at all. This is the same shift Kerry made the day she got called "erratic" — she stopped waiting to feel ready to lead differently and just did it. The SHARES Framework: Six Steps for Difficult Conve
- Aug 6, 2026
Workplace Betrayal Recovery: A Leadership Guide 2026
Executive Summary: Workplace betrayal doesn't just cost you a relationship — it costs you trust in your own judgment. Dr. Debi Silber joins Sabrina Braham to unpack a stage-based path back to confidence, using real coaching stories instead of easy platitudes, so leaders can rebuild what betrayal breaks: themselves. Quick Takeaways: Betrayal breaks trust in yourself, not just in the person who betrayed you Losing your voice in meetings is often a betrayal symptom, not a confidence problem Recovery moves through stages — you can't skip to "just get over it" Your intuition can be rebuilt with a simple daily practice 78% of employees say they trust their employer most of any institution (Edelman, 2026) As an executive leadership coach with over 30 years of experience (MA, MFT, PCC), I've sat across from directors, VPs, and C-suite leaders who could run a board meeting flawlessly and still couldn't shake the feeling that they didn't trust their own read on people anymore. That's what workplace betrayal does. It doesn't announce itself as trauma — it shows up as hesitation, over-checking, and a leader who used to speak up in meetings suddenly going quiet. In this episode of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Debi Silber, a holistic psychologist and founder of the PBT Institute, for a workplace betrayal recovery conversation about what betrayal actually does to a leader's confidence, judgment, and career trajectory — and what it takes to rebuild. Why Workplace Betrayal Hits Differently Than Other Career Setbacks Most leadership content treats betrayal like a subcategory of stress or conflict. Dr. Silber's central point in this conversation is that it isn't. A layoff, a missed promotion, even a bad performance review — these are painful, but they don't usually make you question your own perception. Betrayal does. When someone you trusted — a boss, a peer, a mentor — acts against you, the injury isn't just what they did. It's that your internal compass, the one that told you this person was safe, was wrong. That's a different kind of damage, and it requires a different kind of recovery. This distinction matters for women in leadership specifically. Executive presence is built on decisiveness and trust in your own judgment — the "gravitas" that research consistently identifies as the core pillar of how leaders are evaluated for advancement. When betrayal quietly erodes that self-trust, it doesn't just hurt personally. It shows up publicly, in hesitation during exactly the moments a leader is expected to be most sure of herself. A Client Story: When Betrayal Shows Up as "Losing Your Voice" I shared a story with Dr. Debi about a client I'll call Jenny. Jenny was sharp, capable, and well-respected — until a workplace betrayal knocked something loose. She stopped negotiating. She stopped advocating for herself in meetings where she used to be the first voice in the room. From the outside, it looked like a confidence problem. It wasn't. It was betrayal doing exactly what it does: convincing a capable leader that her own instincts couldn't be trusted anymore. The Real Cost: What Betrayal Quietly Takes From Leaders Left unaddressed, workplace betrayal tends to produce three patterns in otherwise strong leaders: Loss of personal power. Leaders stop negotiating for themselves — raises, promotions, credit for their work — because some part of them no longer trusts that speaking up is safe. Self-protective isolation. As Dr. Debi put it in our conversation, many people conclude it's "better to keep everyone at a distance than risk that chance that someone may get close to us again." It feels like self-protection. It functions like a ceiling on your influence. Eroded intuition. The instinct that once flagged red flags in coworkers or bosses goes quiet, because the last time it "worked," it still let you get hurt. Ready to rebuild the confidence workplace betrayal quietly took from you? Download our FREE Leading Before You're Ready playbook and get: ? A framework for rebuilding executive presence when your confidence has taken a hit ? Practical language for reclaiming your voice in meetings within days, not months ? The mindset shift that lets you lead before you feel "fully ready" again ? Tools used with clients who've gone on to earn promotions and six-figure roles Get the Leading Before You're Ready Playbook ? How to Notice You're Still Carrying It One of the most useful moments in this conversation is Dr. Debi's answer to a simple question: how does someone even realize betrayal is still affecting them? Her answer wasn't a checklist of symptoms — it was three places to look: your health, your work, and your relationships. If any of those three areas feels "off" in a way you can't quite explain, unresolved betrayal is worth considering as a root cause, not just stress or burnout. Workplace Betrayal Recovery: Why You Can't Skip to "Just Move On" A recurring frustration Dr. Debi and I discu
- Jul 13, 2026
AI Strategic Thinking Women Executives: 2026 Guide | WLS 165
Executive Summary AI strategic thinking for women executives is no longer optional — it's the dividing line between leaders who get exposed and those who get elevated. Executive coach Sabrina Braham and author Barry O'Reilly reveal how to build your judgment system, accelerate decisions, and think strategically at the highest level. Quick Takeaways Barry O'Reilly's defining insight: "AI is not going to replace leaders — it's going to expose them." Most executives have never documented their judgment system — and AI makes this gap impossible to hide. Decision velocity + decision advantage are the two metrics separating leaders who accelerate from those who stall. Misty Schaefer, VP at American Airlines, uses AI voice notes and scenario planning for orders-of-magnitude better decisions. The biggest missed opportunity in AI leadership is not learning together — yet the fastest learners do exactly that. There's a line on the back of Barry O'Reilly's new book that every woman executive needs to sit with: "AI is not going to replace leaders. It's going to expose them." AI strategic thinking for women executives is no longer a competitive edge — it's fast becoming the baseline expectation at the director, VP, and C-suite level. I'm Sabrina Braham, executive leadership coach (MA, MFT, PCC) with 30+ years of experience, and host of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast — top 1.5% globally with almost 900,000 downloads. My clients include leaders at Stanford University, Ernst & Young, and Autodesk. And what I see in my coaching practice right now is a clear divide emerging: women executives who are building AI-enhanced judgment, and those who are still relying on invisible, inarticulate intuition they've never made explicit. AI is about to make that gap impossible to hide. This is Part 2 of my conversation with Barry O'Reilly — author of Artificial Organizations: Build Better Judgment, Speed, and Results with Machine and Human Intelligence, keynote speaker at Gartner's CFO Conference, and one of the most sought-after AI leadership advisors in the world. In Part 1, we covered how women leaders can use AI to build personal career confidence and grow into bigger roles. Here, we go deeper — into the strategic leadership capabilities that will define who rises at the executive level in 2026 and beyond. New research from Chief and The Harris Poll (2026) confirms that 85% of senior women leaders are now active players in their organization's AI strategy — and 68% are focused on using AI to amplify human talent, not replace it. The leaders pulling ahead are those who've moved beyond productivity tools into something more fundamental: AI-enhanced judgment systems. The Uncomfortable Truth: AI Will Expose Leaders Without a Judgment System When Barry walks into executive rooms around the world, he asks a deceptively simple question: "Show me your system for making this decision." The silence that follows is telling. "Often, a lot of the time, they just don't have a system," he explains. "They've never systematically written down all the steps they're going to go through to make an actual decision." For most leaders, the judgment system — the internal algorithm for weighing options, prioritizing inputs, and reaching decisions — has never been made explicit. It works. But it has four critical limitations: It's not visible — others can't observe or learn from it. It's not repeatable — it can't be consistently applied by or handed off to others. It's not challengeable — if it's in your head, no one can push back on its blind spots. It's not improvable — you can't deliberately tune what you can't see. In my 30+ years of executive coaching, this is one of the most consistent patterns I see in women leaders who are passed over for promotion despite exceptional performance: their judgment is excellent — but it's invisible. They can't teach it, transfer it, or demonstrate it in the way boards and senior leaders need to see. AI strategic thinking for women executives forces this reckoning, and the leaders who embrace it rather than resist it will define the next decade of leadership. Here's what my Leading Before You're Ready playbook addresses directly: building the judgment, presence, and strategic clarity that precedes you into every room — before you hold the formal title. AI doesn't change that mission. It accelerates it. What Is a Judgment System — and Do You Have One? A judgment system is the explicit process and criteria you use to make leadership decisions: the information you seek first, the variables you weigh, the sequence you follow, and the principles that guide your final choice. For most leaders, this system exists — but it lives entirely in their heads, accumulated through years of experience and pattern recognition. It works. But it has critical limitations that AI strategic thinking for women executives can
- Jun 30, 202632 min
Women Leaders AI Career Growth: Traits, Tools, Confidence | WLS 164 Sabrina Braham & Barry O’Reilly
Executive Summary: Most women leaders know AI could accelerate their careers—but don't know where to start. Executive coach Sabrina Braham and author Barry O'Reilly reveal the Traits, Tasks, and Tools framework that eliminates AI paralysis, builds confidence in unfamiliar leadership roles, and helps women leaders AI career growth into bigger opportunities—starting this week. Quick Takeaways: 69% of women say AI has opened new career pathways—but only for those who start using it now (ANSR Women in Tech Report, 2026). The Traits, Tasks, Tools framework reveals how to match AI to the way you personally do your best work. Use AI to pressure-test your thinking—never to hand over your judgment. That distinction changes everything. Asking AI "What questions should I be asking as a VP?" instantly elevates your perspective without years of experience. The worst thing you can do in a time of AI uncertainty is nothing. You must be in it to learn it. You know you should be using AI. You've heard the urgency, seen the headlines, maybe even opened ChatGPT, stared at that blinking cursor—and quietly closed the tab. Here's what I want you to know: that moment of hesitation doesn't mean you're behind. It means you haven't yet found your entry point. I'm Sabrina Braham, executive leadership coach (MA, MFT, PCC) with 30+ years of experience, and host of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast—top 1.5% globally with over 950,000 downloads. I coach senior women leaders at Stanford, Ernst & Young, Autodesk, and across the tech industry. And one of the most common things I hear from directors, VPs, and C-suite executives right now is: "I don't know where to start with AI." New research backs this up: Chief and The Harris Poll surveyed 1,000+ senior women leaders in 2026 and found that while 85% are active players in their organization's AI strategy, the approach matters enormously. The leaders who get ahead aren't the ones who automate the most—they're the ones who build human capability alongside AI. And according to the ANSR Women in Tech Report 2026, 69% of women who do engage with AI report it opens entirely new career pathways in product strategy, transformation leadership, and AI governance. In this episode of the Women's Leadership Success Podcast, I welcome back Barry O'Reilly—author of Artificial Organizations: Build Better Judgment, Speed, and Results with Machine and Human Intelligence, keynote speaker at Gartner's CFO Conference, and one of the most sought-after AI leadership advisors in the world. Since our last conversation, Barry has been traveling globally—observing how leaders at every level are (and aren't) adapting to AI. His findings are equal parts sobering and energizing. This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Here, we focus on women leaders using AI for personal growth, confidence, and career advancement. In Part 2, we go deeper into how AI can transform your strategic thinking and decision-making as an executive leader. Why Women Leaders Are Paralyzed at the AI Starting Line After keynoting Gartner's CFO Conference and spending months in leadership rooms across North America, Barry reports seeing the same pattern everywhere: hesitation. "People don't really know where to start," he says. "They constantly hear about new tools arriving in the market. They hear that everything they were meant to do last week is no longer the right thing to do this week. And it all leads to hesitation—which, counterintuitively, is the worst possible response." I know this directly from my coaching practice. I've spoken with women leaders who are brilliant, accomplished, and deeply capable—who are also avoiding AI entirely because they don't know what to do first. And I understand it, because I was there too. When I first started exploring AI, I treated it as if it were smarter than me—as if whatever it said must be right. That mindset kept me small. What changed? Doing the exercises in Barry's book. Going through them shifted me from intimidated observer to active director. Now, AI is my servant—I correct it, challenge it, redirect it. My creative and analytical output has genuinely expanded as a result. "Counterintuitively, the worst thing you can do when there's uncertainty is do nothing. Because you don't learn anything." — Barry O'Reilly This matters especially for women in tech, where the stakes are already high. The ANSR 2026 report found that despite women producing 43% of the world's female STEM graduates, only 14% hold C-suite seats. The gap isn't pipeline—it's systems. AI fluency is rapidly becoming one of those systemic differentiators. The women who build it now will have compounding advantage; those who wait will face a steeper climb. My Leading Before You're Ready playbook is built on exactly this truth: you don't wait to feel fully prepared. You use every available tool—coaching, community, AI—to think and show up at the level you're stepping into. The Traits, Tasks, and Tools Framework: The Smarter
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About Women's Leadership Success
Since 1989, Women Business Leadership Skills and Career Development Advice. Interviews with Successful Women CEOs, Managers and Entrepreneurs to Help You Influence People, Improve Performance, Get Promoted, Increase Earnings and Enhance Your Job/Life Balance
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