Gentle Power 34. Practicing saying no & smiling with your voice
This week on Gentle Power, we’re joined by Shawna Samuel, an executive consultant who focuses on supporting executive-working mothers in demanding roles.
Shawna began her career in global finance, where she spent two decades shaping partnerships across the US and Europe. When she became a mother, the structure that had supported her career started to feel less stable. Her responsibilities grew while the available support didn’t grow with them, and she began questioning the default assumption that people should simply adapt without help. That turning point led Shawna to create The Mental Offload, where she helps clients reclaim time, influence, and steadiness in both their professional and personal lives without sacrificing career trajectory.
This conversation will be valuable to anyone who is career-focused but also has big responsibilities outside of the office.
Our conversation covers:
How to frame your asks around the business value you create rather than treating adjustments as favors
Why silence can be a powerful tool and how to use it to guide a negotiation
Practicing saying no in small, everyday ways so that boundaries shift from feeling uncomfortable to normal
Why people do better work when the responsibilities they carry outside of the office are acknowledged and supported
Learn more about Shawna and The Mental Offload here: Website | Spotify | Apple | LinkedIn
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