Shows / Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
Bias, burnout, self-worth, and breaking barriers are not just buzzwords — they are the lived reality of women navigating leadership, workplace dynamics, and workplace culture every single day. Women's experiences take center stage here, exploring intersectionality, identity, and the invisible forces shaping professional visibility, belonging, and psychological safety at work.
Annette Garsteck, MBA, MPCC, is the author of Own Your Career: Take Control + Accelerate Your Professional Growth, a…
Episodes
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
062: Are You Helping Your Employees Grow, or Holding Them Back?
What happens when your manager thinks you're too valuable to let go? Simone McNitt once heard that very message from a manager. Rather than accept it as the…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
061: Dr. Wende Logan-Young: When Good Ideas Get Rejected at Work
What if the answer to your idea is no, but the idea itself is not the problem? Dr. Wende Logan-Young saw a gap in the care that patients could receive in cases…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
060: Who Will Step In? The Responsibility to Recognize, Interrupt, and Respond to Harm
What does stepping in actually look like when someone is in danger, or when someone trusts you enough to tell you they have been harmed? Sometimes it looks…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
059: When Silence Enables Harm: Culture, Power, and Speaking Up
The joke everyone laughs off. The colleague someone quietly warns you not to meet alone. The talented employee who walks away because saying why feels riskier…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
058: Who Does the System Protect? When Harm Meets Power
What does a system reveal when serious harm is reported? Not only through the policy it follows, but throughwho is asked to absorb the disruption that follows…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
057: Who Are You When You Don't Have to Perform?
What if the things people once told you to tone down are some of the clearest clues to who you actually are? Sandra and Annette usually talk careers…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
056: How Do You Know A Coach Is Right For You?
You’ve decided you need outside support. Maybe you’ve even decided coaching is the right place to start. Now comes another question: How do you know which…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality055: Professional Vulnerability Be Careful Who You Open Up To
How much of yourself should you reveal when you need help with something happening at work? A trusted partner may care deeply about you, but they also have a…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
054: Passed Over for a Promotion? What Kind of Support Do You Actually Need?
Getting passed over for an internal promotion can send you searching for an answer: Was it the company, the manager, the strategy, the skill gap, or something…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
053: When You Need an Outside Perspective at Work
Have you ever talked through the same workplace problem with three different people and still ended up in exactly the same place? Sometimes the issue is not…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
052: When the Door Doesn't Exist, Build One
What do you do when you've worked hard, developed the skills, invested in yourself, and realize the door you're trying to walk through might not actually…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
051: Resume Writing for Career Reinvention: Show Your Value, Not Just Your Job History
What if the problem with your resume is not that it leaves too much out, but that it is trying to carry too much? Sandra has not updated her resume in ten…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
050: Career Pivot: How to Know When It’s Time for a Change
Most career pivots do not begin with a resignation letter. They begin much earlier, with a question that keeps returning: Is this still the life I want to be…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
049: Intentional Visibility: The Story People Tell About You
What if visibility is not about becoming louder, but becoming clearer? People are already forming a story about your work, your leadership, and what they can…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
048: Visibility Starts with Safety: Why Choosing Yourself Changes Everything
Most advice about becoming more visible tells us to speak up, network more, or promote ourselves. But what if visibility isn't a confidence problem at all?…
- Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality
047: Uncovering Story through The Success Codex: Ankara Rose on Human Design and Astrology
On this episode, we continues exploring stories with our guest Ankhara Rose creator of The Success Codex. Since Episode 42, we've been exploring the stories we…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality046: Why We Create Stories About Other People at Work
How often have you convinced yourself you knew exactly why someone behaved the way they did? A delayed email. A difficult conversation. A decision you didn't…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality045: Why Smart Women Get Workplace Conflict Wrong: When We Assume We Know Someone's Intentions
What if one of the biggest causes of workplace conflict isn't what someone did, but the story we've created about why they did it? Sandra Wint and Annette…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality044 Human Design for Leadership Self-Awareness and Career Growth
What if the reason you've struggled at work isn't because you're doing something wrong, but because you've never fully understood how you're designed to work…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality043: What Stories Are Hurting Your Career? Human Design, Identity, and Self-Awareness
What if the story you've been carrying about yourself was never yours to begin with? Sandra and Annette explore how the labels, expectations, and stories we…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality042: Hidden Career Cost of Believing the Wrong Story
The stories we believe about ourselves often become the stories that shape our careers. In this episode, Sandra and Annette explore how labels like bossy…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality041: AI Is Making Information Free. Expertise Is Becoming Priceless.
Artificial intelligence is making information, content creation, and problem-solving more accessible than ever before. But what happens when everyone has…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality040: The Human Advantage: What AI Still Can’t Do
Artificial intelligence is changing the way we work, market, hire, and build businesses, but what happens when everyone has access to the same tools? During…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality039: Why Professional Visibility Feels Unsafe for So Many Women
In this episode, Annette Garsteck and Sandra Wint explore the emotional side of professional visibility and why showing up online can feel deeply uncomfortable…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality038: Why We Still Love LinkedIn: A Better Way to Network, Learn, and Grow
In this episode of Exposing the Hidden Reality, Annette Garsteck and Sandra Wint explore how LinkedIn has evolved, why it remains their favorite professional…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality037: Leadership Visibility Starts Here: Using LinkedIn With Intention
Annette and Sandra explore how leaders can use LinkedIn intentionally to build visibility, recognize others, strengthen workplace culture, and create…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality036: Bias Disguised as “Culture Fit” with London Wolfe
Why “they’re not a good fit for our culture” often means “their brain works differently than ours”—and how this mindset quietly sustains bias in hiring and…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality035: Perimenopause: “You’re Not Too Young. You’re Not Imagining It.” with Jessica O'Sickey
Welcome to Exposing the Hidden Reality, a weekly conversation for women who are ready to ask better questions, challenge the narratives we’ve been handed, and…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality034: Building Your Own Blueprint: Claiming Space in the Trades with Claire Summers-Jones
Women in the trades are often told — directly or indirectly — that they don’t belong. Yet every shop, studio, and construction site proves otherwise. In this…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality033: From People Pleasing To Self Worth: Hypnotherapy, Labels, and Letting Go with Alyssa Zonghetti
Women are handed labels long before they are handed support. Wife. Widow. Single. Childfree. Caretaker. “Too much.” “Not enough.” We are praised for people…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality032: Unfunk Yourself: EQ, Mindfulness, and the Power of the Pause with Emily Hampton Morash
We are living in a world that rewards speed, reactivity, and constant output. Women are praised for multitasking, staying “on” all the time, and keeping…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality031: Beyond Busy: Escaping the Bottleneck of Stuff with Ann Rusnak
What if the problem is not that you need to “try harder” or buy a fancier planner, but that the entire productivity game was never designed with your life in…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality029: Stop Outsourcing. Start Partnering. A Real Talk on Hiring VAs with Rachael Davila
Today we’re talking with Rachael Davila, VA mentor, implementation strategist, and founder of Extra Hands Virtual Assistance. Rachael has spent twenty years…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality030: GET OUT! - The voice that saved my life with Dr. Sheri Lake
What happens when the life you built almost kills you? What if the voice that saves your life also asks that you burn your script? In this episode of Exposing…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality028: Leadership, Parenting and the Stories Women Carry with Shayna Bergman
Women in leadership are carrying more than titles. They are carrying stories. Expectations. Invisible labor. The cultural scripts that tell them to be…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality027: Boxless Living: Healing the Hidden Blocks with Sarah Stray
What if the thing holding you back isn’t mindset—but something deeper running beneath the surface? Today we sit down with Sarah Stray, founder of Boxless…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality026: The Illusion of Safety: When Security Becomes Self-Abandonment with Shelly Cannon
What happens when staying safe slowly becomes self-abandonment? In this raw and powerful episode, Shelly Cannon, powerlifter, entrepreneur, and stage IV breast…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality025: Empowering Authenticity at Work with Jen Jones Donatelli
What happens when we stop performing and start leading from a place of authenticity? Join us for an inspiring conversation with Jen Jones Donatelli, a…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality024: Scaling a Culture-First Brand in a Culture-Last Industry with Katy Spada
What happens when you build a brand rooted in memory, heritage, and purpose in an industry that rewards trends, polish, and sameness? In this conversation…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality022: Real Talk: Women, Work, Bias & Community with Annette Garsteck & Sandra Wint
Sometimes we pause the guest interviews to talk about what we’re seeing in real time. This episode is one of those. In this conversation, co-hosts Annette…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality023: Future by Design: From UN Leader to Sustainable Agency Founder with Mirjana Arlaud
What makes a woman leave a prestigious global career to build something on her own terms? In this episode, Mirjana Arlaud, Founder and CEO of Future by Design…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality021: Surviving Success: A Fortune 100 Leader’s Journey to Authentic Leadership with Beverly Flores
What if your greatest achievements left you feeling empty instead of fulfilled? In this honest and empowering conversation, Beverly Flores, Founder & CEO of…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality020: Women Drive the Shift Toward Purpose-Led Business with Lorraine Schuchart, APR
What happens when women stop chasing traditional definitions of success and start redefining business around purpose? In this inspiring episode, Lorraine…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality019: Find Your Fireflies | Find Safe Spaces & Practice Vulnerability
In this episode, we speak with Melissa Bauknight, founder of The Nova Global, to talk about rewiring how ambitious women and non-binary folks gather, lead, and…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality018: Numb Less, Live More - Values + Boundaries for the Sober Curious
What happens when a high-achieving athlete, corporate pro, and coach decides to get curious about alcohol and everything it was doing for her? Meet Renée…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality017: The Subtle Ways Women Give Away Power + How to Stop
"You don’t need a raise because you get child support,” that is what Gail D. Rudolph, boss said to her. At that moment, she realized something bigger was at…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality016: Comfort - The Real Power Move
How can we walk in comfort in our own shoes? That is our question today! Not just as a fashion statement but as a question of leadership as well. Footwear is…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality015: High-Performing Women + Narcissistic Relationships with Marysol James
High-achieving women don’t fall for the narcissist or abuser because they’re naive. They’re targeted because they shine. In this episode, bestselling author…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality014: Voice + Leadership in the Medical Field with Dr. Tonie Reincke
In this episode, we connect with Dr. Tonie Reincke, and have a great conversation about Voice and Leadership in the Medical Field. Dr. Reincke is an…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality013: Breaking the Fear of Messing Up
What happens when the fear of “messing up” keeps us from speaking, connecting, or including others? We are thrilled to welcome Brittany Martin Déjean, founder…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality012: Ditch the Fairy Tale - Breaking Motherhood Bias
DITCH the Fairy Tales! You know, the ones about Prince Charming, Happily Ever After, and the big "happy family". Today, we're talking about big, bold and…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality011: Breaking Barriers to Leadership
In this episode, we go deep with Jennifer Recla to discuss an important question: What keeps women leaders from rising? Jennifer is a coach, trainer, and…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality010: Building Global Connections Through Play
Curiosity is a muscle. Let’s train it young! In today's episode, we connect with Whitney Duenas Richardson, founder of Global Sprouts. We were not prepared for…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality009: Joy at Work - Reclaiming Leadership through Love
What does it mean to lead with love—especially when the world expects something harder, faster, tougher? Join us for what is sure to be a thoughtful and…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality008: Trusting Yourself
What happens when the stories you’ve carried from childhood, family, and society no longer fit who you are? In this episode of Exploring the Hidden Reality, we…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality007: Burnout, Hustle Culture & Women with Claire Campion
Burnout, hustle culture, and the invisible emotional load!!!. These are the topics that we need to discuss and challenge. Why? Because these challenges are all…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality006: Trusting Your Inner Compass
What does it take to choose a life you love? Does it just naturally happen or is it about taking and making deliberate bold moves? Today, we're having a deep…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality005: Subconscious At Work
Ever wonder why certain patterns keep showing up in your work life? Do you encounter self-doubt, find yourself overworking, or feeling unseen no matter how…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality004: From Corporate IT to Creative Freedom
What’s it really like being a woman in Corporate IT, and then deciding to step into the world of IT entrepreneurship? Join Annette Garsteck, Sandra Wint, GPCC…
Career Identity + Growth Conversations for Professional Women: Exposing the Hidden Reality003: Hanging in the Balance: Professional + Personal Lives
The pressure to do it "perfectly" is something all women know! In this episode, we talk with Tori Magers Smith, MBA, founder of Recruitfully. Tori’s building a…