Lead to Soar: Career Advice and Guidance for Ambitious Women Leaders

Technology is racing ahead — but courage and conscience must lead the way. In this episode, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher explore how women leaders can be the dissenting voices that keep ethics, empathy, and humanity at the centre of progress.

Your future self is counting on you. In this episode, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher explore how ambitious women can play the long game — building strategy, visibility, and momentum that leads to real career success.

Competence alone doesn’t create credibility. Michelle and Mel reveal why visibility and credibility must work together if you want to be chosen for high-value work. They share how to talk about your achievements without the cringe, use language that lands with decision-makers, and demonstrate leadership that moves the business forward.

Hope is not a strategy. Michelle and Mel show you how to define your full potential, state your ambition with a business lens, and build a roadmap that aligns your moves to revenue, margin, and growth outcomes. Practical prompts and language you can use this week.

In this episode of Lead to Soar, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher tackle a quiet but costly leadership issue: the boss who’s “too nice to lead.” They’re kind, approachable, and well-intentioned—but decisions stall, standards slip, and teams burn out.You’ll learn how to recognise this pattern, manage up with evidence and courage, and raise the standard without burning out or doing their job for them. Michelle also unpacks why organisations keep rewarding comfort over competence, and what real leadership development should look like.

Why being busy and obedient is a poor strategy for ambitious women. Michelle and Mel share why obedience isn’t leadership, how to ditch non-promotable tasks, and why radical accountability drives career growth.