Lead to Soar

How to Lead High Performers in a Dysfunctional Organization

What happens when your team is genuinely excellent but the organisation around it is a mess? In this episode, Michelle and Mel unpack a real coaching scenario: a high-performing project management team that had convinced itself the problem was its own communication skills. It wasn't. The problem was accomplishment amnesia, structural invisibility, and a leadership layer that hadn't yet connected delivery to business outcomes. Michelle shares the frameworks she used in that room, why middle managers need to be both a bulldozer and a barrier, how to articulate your team's value in the language of outcomes, and what it takes to know when the ledger has tipped too far and it's time to pass the baton. This one is for every leader who's ever been the best-kept secret in their own organisation. Get full access to Lead to Soar Podcast at leadtosoarpodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://leadtosoarpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Is the Beauty Industry Keeping Women Broke and Busy?

Business Insider launched a series called "Hot at Work." Susan Colantuono called it what it is: a content delivery system dressed as journalism, selling women an invoice and calling it empowerment. Mel and Michelle got involved. This episode takes the glam tax apart. That is the additional cost women pay just to participate in professional life. It covers the money (one woman spends $12,000 a year on Botox, hair, nails, and fitness), the math (invest that at average market returns over 20 years and you're looking at close to $780,000), and the newest entry on the list: lifting weights to prove you belong in the executive suite. Who taught you to feel not good enough? And who profits from it? No judgment. Just information. Make an informed choice. Mel and Michelle are on Substack. Subscribe to Lead to Soar for every episode, editorial, and truth bomb. If you want direct access to Mel, Michelle, and a community of women asking the same questions, the Lead to Soar Network is where that conversation happens. Get full access to Lead to Soar Podcast at leadtosoarpodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://leadtosoarpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

What Is Patriarchy Chicken? How Women Stop Giving Way at Work

Patriarchy Chicken is a game women have been playing for decades. British historian Professor Charlotte Riley gave it a name. Michelle gave it a T-shirt moment on the streets of Melbourne. In this episode, Mel and Michelle take the concept straight into the workplace: who gets interrupted, whose ideas get claimed, which jobs get handed to men before any woman has a chance to apply. They break down the moves that actually work in the room, and why holding your ground alone is much harder than building a deliberate, collective strategy to do it together. Want more? Every episode and editorial goes to all subscribers. To get direct access to Mel, Michelle, and the Lead to Soar Network community, join as a monthly or annual subscriber. Find out more at the link below. https://bit.ly/4rmjqiW [https://bit.ly/4rmjqiW] Get full access to Lead to Soar Podcast at leadtosoarpodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://leadtosoarpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Sponsors Over Mentors: What Ambitious Women Leaders Must Know

Women leaders are over-mentored and under-promoted. The mechanism that actually closes that gap is sponsorship, and there is a significant difference between the two. In Episode 217, Mel and Michelle break down what sponsorship is, how it works in practice, what ambitious women need to do to earn it, and what leaders with the power to sponsor need to hear. Essential listening if career progression is serious for you. If you found this useful, please do share it with a woman who needs to hear it. Free subscriber? The conversation continues on the Lead to Soar Podcast, with new episodes every week. Consider upgrading to a paid Substack subscription to get full access to every editorial, every episode, every week. Already a paid subscriber? The Lead to Soar Network is where the work goes deeper. Coaching, community, and the people who take this stuff seriously. Come find us. Get full access to Lead to Soar Podcast at leadtosoarpodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://leadtosoarpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

WTF Do I Actually Do? How Women Can Navigate a Broken System of Work

Last week Mel and Michelle called out the problem. This week they talk about what women can actually do about it. Six strategies for navigating a workplace that was never designed for women. From getting clear on where you actually stand, to building the business acumen that makes you harder to dismiss, to knowing when it is time to cut your losses and make a strategic move. This is not a fix yourself episode. It is a survive, advance, and eventually change the system episode. Michelle shares personal stories from her own career, including taking a demotion that turned out to be one of the smartest decisions she ever made. Practical, direct, and grounded in what actually works. Want more? Every episode and editorial goes to all subscribers. To get direct access to Mel, Michelle, and the Lead to Soar Network community, join as a monthly or annual subscriber. Find out more at the link below. https://bit.ly/4rmjqiW [https://bit.ly/4rmjqiW] And if you missed last week’s episode, where Mel and Michelle called out the five signs you are inside a broken system, go back and listen first. 5 Ways Women Are Not the Problem. The System Is. Get full access to Lead to Soar Podcast at leadtosoarpodcast.substack.com/subscribe [https://leadtosoarpodcast.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]