Career Espresso

What to do when your authority keeps getting questioned?You make a decision. A clear one. And before you've even finished explaining it, someone's already pushing back. Not with better information. Not with a genuine concern. Just... pushing. So you explain more. You walk through your reasoning. You try to bring them along. And somewhere in all of that, the decision stops feeling like yours.If this keeps happening to you, it's not a coincidence. And it's not a confidence problem.This episode of Career Espresso is about what to do when the questioning isn't a one-off but a pattern. Not the "just be more assertive" advice you've already heard. The real work of understanding why this keeps happening and what actually shifts the dynamic.What you'll discoverWhy some people's decisions get accepted without question while yours get picked apart and what's really behind that differenceThe subtle things you might be doing that are accidentally inviting the pushback you're trying to stopHow to tell the difference between someone who genuinely needs clarity and someone who's testing you and why your response to each should be completely differentThe conversation most leaders avoid having and why having it sooner changes everythingHow to communicate decisions so they land as decisions, not suggestionsWant more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox.Get the full episode transcript

You fixed the problem nobody else could sort out. You built the process that made everything run smoother. You're the one people come to when things are on fire.And when promotion time comes, someone else gets it. Because their work was "more visible."This episode of Career Espresso is about making invisible work visible. Not the theory of self-promotion. The actual work of translating what you do into language that systems recognise.What you'll discover - Why your work stays invisible (it's structurally designed that way, especially for women who do the glue work)The three types of invisible work and why each one needs translating differentlyHow to move from describing what you did to describing what changed because you did itWhy "I just helped" and other minimising language makes your contributions disappearThe shift from activity to outcome that makes your work tangible without sounding like you're boastingPerfect for anyone whose real contributions happen behind the scenes and don't show up on dashboards or in performance reviews.Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox.Get the full episode transcript

Delegation fails when you hand something over with vague expectations, skip the checkpoint until it's too late, then quietly stay late fixing it yourself. The problem isn't that you can't let go. It's that you're missing the setup that makes letting go possible. This episode tackles why women leaders get stuck in the delegate-then-reclaim cycle, and the boring but essential process that stops it happening.What you'll discover• The three things you need in place before you hand work over (most people skip all three, then wonder why they're redoing everything at 10pm)• Why waiting until work is 95% done to check in leaves you with only two options: accept substandard work or fix it yourself• What "good enough" actually looks like when you write it down before delegating and why this one step prevents most rework• The questions to ask yourself before you silently take work back (because sometimes taking it back is the right call, but it should be a decision, not a habit)Perfect for leaders who know they need to stop doing everyone's work but aren't sure how to make delegation stick without things falling apart.Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox.Get the full episode transcript

What to do when your energy doesn't match your ambitionYou know exactly what you want to do. You've got the plan. You might even have the opportunity sitting right in front of you. And yet... you can't seem to make yourself do it. You're not confused about what needs to happen. You've got ambition coming out of your ears. But somewhere between knowing and doing, there's this gap. This heaviness. This "I know, I know, but I just... can't right now."This episode of Career Espresso is about what to do when your drive is intact but your fuel tank is empty. Not motivation tips. Not goal-setting advice. The real work of keeping going when you've got nothing left to give.What you'll discoverThe difference between "I've given up" and "I'm depleted" and why that distinction mattersWhat minimum viable progress looks like when you're running on emptyWhy pushing harder when you're exhausted just digs a deeper holeHow to match your actions to your actual energy instead of the energy you think you should haveThe extra costs women carry that often go unacknowledged and how they drain you fasterListen to this episode if you still care about your goals but haven't got the energy to chase them right now.Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox.Get the full episode transcript

Why your career doesn't need a January resetIt's January and somewhere between the break ending and the first full week back, the pressure kicked in. New year, new you. Time to have a plan. Time to finally figure out what you're doing. And if you haven't got all that sorted yet, there's this creeping feeling that you're already behind. That everyone else has it together and you're still just working it out. This episode of Career Espresso is about why you don't need to start over, and why continuing is actually a much stronger position to be in.What you'll discover-Why the January reset pressure hits women differently and lands on top of everything else you're already carrying-The difference between genuine motivation and pressure-driven anxiety, and how to recognise which one is in the driving seat-Why treating yourself like something that needs demolishing and rebuilding every January keeps you in a permanent state of starting over-What actually counts as progress, including all the quiet stuff you've been dismissing-How recalibration beats reset when you're feeling the pressure to change everything-Perfect for women who feel behind in January but don't actually need to throw everything out and start again.Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox.Get the full episode transcript

You're a better leader than you think you are.At the end of every day, you notice what went wrong. The conversation that didn't land. The decision you're still second-guessing. The person on your team you're not sure how to reach. What you don't notice is everything that's working. The fact that your team is functioning. That work is getting done. That you're the one making that happen.This episode of Career Espresso is about seeing something you might be missing. How much you've already grown, and how much better you're doing than you think.What you'll discover-Why women leaders underestimate themselves constantly and why it's structural, not a confidence flaw you need to fix-The signs you're doing better than you think, even when no one's telling you-What good leadership actually looks like versus the polished ideal in your head-How to recognise your own growth when you're too close to see it clearlyPerfect for women leaders who care about getting it right but struggle to see how far they've come.Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox.Get the full episode transcript

I can't stop doing everything myselfYou're reviewing something your team has done and it's good. But you find yourself tweaking it anyway. Adjusting the wording, reorganising a section, adding something they didn't think of. Or someone asks you a question and instead of pointing them toward figuring it out, you just answer it. Because it's quicker. Because it's easier than watching them work through it.This episode of Career Espresso is about how to actually let go when letting go feels uncomfortable. Not the theory of delegation. The real work of stepping back when every instinct tells you to stay involved.What you'll discover-What genuinely changes when you get this right (not just time back, but the mental load that's exhausting you)-Why letting go is so hard for women leaders specifically and why it's not just that you haven't found the right system yet-How to hand things over properly so they actually stay handed over instead of boomeranging back to you-What "good enough" actually means when you're used to controlling the output-Why waiting until delegation feels comfortable means you'll be waiting foreverPerfect for leaders who know they need to stop doing everything but aren't sure how to actually let go without things falling apart.Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox.Get the full episode transcript

How to find your people as a leaderYou're in a leadership role and something's shifted. The people you used to talk things through with? That's complicated now. Your team can't be your sounding board because you're their boss. Your own boss has their own agenda. And the networking advice you see everywhere feels exhausting when what you actually need is someone you can be real with.This episode of Career Espresso is about finding people who actually get what you're dealing with. Not networking contacts or professional visibility. Actual people who understand leadership from the inside.What you'll discover* Why isolation isn't just uncomfortable - it makes you make worse decisions and lose perspective on how you're doing* The three criteria that define your actual people (not just professional contacts)* Where to look for peer relationships that work, including the people you're probably overlooking* How to start these connections without it feeling awkward* What keeps leadership relationships alive when you're overwhelmedPerfect for women leaders who need people they can be honest with, not just a professional network.Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox.Get the full episode transcript