I Am The Damn Table: On Confidence, Solo Adoption & Self Trust
In this episode of In The Room, On Purpose, Alyssa sits down with leadership strategist and founder of Primrose Leadership Solutions, Jennifer, for a conversation on self-trust, whole human leadership, solo adoption, and what it means to contribute in the room you worked so hard to enter.
From selling rocks on the side of a gravel road as a child to leading inside Fortune 50 companies and eventually building her own coaching and leadership development firm, Jennifer shares the through-line that shaped her life: confidence, curiosity, and the willingness to keep playing.
Together, Alyssa and Jennifer unpack leadership without ego, motherhood through solo adoption, learning to stop “borrowing trouble,” and why women need to stop shrinking once they finally get a seat at the table.
This conversation is reflective, funny, deeply honest, and full of practical wisdom for women building careers, businesses, families, and identities on their own terms.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
* Why confidence is something you can practice and build over time
* The difference between controlling outcomes and trusting your future self
* How whole human leadership creates stronger teams and healthier workplaces
* What Jennifer learned through the solo adoption process and becoming a mother
* Why your value in the room comes from contribution—not just earning the seat
CHAPTER TIMELINE
00:00 — “Hold My Beer”: Jennifer’s energy and confidence from day one
02:30 — Selling rocks, childhood confidence, and being your own hype person
06:45 — “Keep Playing” and leaving corporate America
10:30 — Entrepreneurship, leadership consulting, and learning through experience
15:00 — Internal champions, navigating resistance, and leading through conflict
20:30 — Trying on leadership before stepping fully into management
23:00 — Whole human leadership and emotional honesty at work
29:30 — Control, ego work, and trusting your future self
31:45 — Jennifer’s journey into solo adoption and motherhood
36:00 — Adoption realities, identity, and difficult conversations
42:30 — Women in leadership, communication styles, and speaking in bullets
46:00 — Control vs influence and redefining success through entrepreneurship
48:30 — Being the only woman in the room and knowing why you belong there
52:00 — Female friendships, accountability, and building while being seen
54:45 — Pilates, burnout recovery, and slowing down
57:30 — Build It or Leave It
1:02:00 — Final reflections on confidence, purpose, and being “the damn table”
