Shameless Leadership

Abby Medcalf is a Relationship Maven, psychologist, author, podcast host, and Tedx speaker who has helped thousands of people think differently so they can create connection, ease, and joy in their relationships (especially the one with yourself)! With her unique background in both business and counseling, she brings a fresh, effective perspective to life’s struggles using humor and her direct, no-nonsense style.With over 30 years of experience, Abby is a recognized authority and sought-after speaker at organizations such as Google, Apple, AT&T, Kaiser, PG&E, American Airlines, and Chevron. She’s been a featured expert on CBS and ABC news, and has been a contributor to Huff Post, Women’s Health, and Bustle.She’s the author of the #1 Amazon best-selling book, “Be Happily Married, Even if Your Partner Won’t Do a Thing,” and the host of the top-rated “Relationships Made Easy” Podcast. Her new book, "Negative Thinking Sucks (and Not in a Good Way) will be out soon!Listen in to hear Abby share: How her path as a recovering heroin addict living in Israel led her to her current work Why competition, not communication, is crushing your relationships What competition in relationships looks like The concept of sharing, adding, and subtracting resources A total reconceptualization of sharing “plates” with your partner in terms of each other’s duties and responsibilities How to stop feeling like you’re always doing more than your partner The exact way to have a conversation around household duties and division of labor How to practice having faith in love and not fear How confirmation bias erodes our relationships and how to see your relationships through a healthier lense Acknowledging that we all want the same thing - to feel love, connected, and accepted Links mentioned: Get my free 15 Minute Manifest Connect with Abby Free Guide: The Complete Guide To Effective Communication In Every Relationship Instagram: @abbymedcalfthriving Facebook LinkedIn Twitter YouTube Channel: Abby Medcalf Thriving Thank you to our sponsor: Talkspace: To match with your perfect therapist for a fraction of the price of traditional therapy, go to talkspace.com, Make sure to use the code SHAMELESS to get $100 off your first month and show your support for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What if the struggles you shy away from sharing are actually the stories that give way to your superpowers?When we go through hard things, we often want to move away from them, forget they happened, and continue on our merry way without owning the profound impact of hard circumstances. Of course, this makes a ton of sense. I mean, sitting in hard things is never fun. But sometimes when we walk away without owning how our struggles have shaped us, we miss out on the huge opportunity to see how we are made so much stronger by what we have endured.When you take some time to look closely and critically at your struggles, you can see where there might be loose ends in the final chapters of the story. You might even see where you have left a story unfinished - and let it continue to nag at you, or even plague you.In this episode, we’ll look at the power you can find in looking closely at your struggles and their corresponding stories. We’ll talk through how you can rewrite the endings to these stories in order to own where you hold power.  This will help you see how that power has you poised to move forward in your life in bold and brave ways. Tune in to learn 6 steps you can take to reposition your struggles as stories that pushed you to grow & learn and shaped you into who you are todayLink mentioned:Get my free 15 Minute Manifest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

JoAnn Crohn, M. Ed is a parenting educator and former elementary teacher who helps moms feel confident in everything from raising empowered, self-sufficient kids to dropping the anxiety and guilt out of modern parenthood.She’s an accomplished writer, author, podcast host of the No Guilt Mom podcast, and speaker, appearing in national media and founder of the parenting site, NoGuiltMom.com. Her specialty is talking to both parents and kids - with her self-paced digital courses for kids and parents in handling big emotions, creating a morning routine, and conquering the homework drama.JoAnn created the most awesome book/workbook for kids, Me and My Friendships. After digging into the book myself, I knew I had to have her on the show to share with us how we can help our kids build healthy friendships. Listen in to hear JoAnn share: Her personal experience in friendship struggles as a kid that led her to writing a book about friendship for kids The key characteristics of being a good friend that we can teach our kids from an early age 3 tips you can use to help your kids have better friendships Why modeling listening, especially reflective listening, is so valuable to your kids How to help kids with self regulation during hard emotional moments What to do if your kids don't want to listen to your friendship advice What to do if your kid comes home from school complaining about a friend How to talk to your kids about being an upstander with friends When you should intervene in friendships vs when you should let them figure it out on their own Links mentioned: Get my free 15 Minute Manifest Connect with JoAnn and get her free workbook: No Guilt Mom Podcast: No Guilt Mom Book: Me and My Friendships by JoAnn Crohn Social Media: @NoGuiltMom (Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Becoming a better leader is a practice that requires thoughtful and intentional action over time. It’s all about how you repeatedly show up, how you decide to shine, how you share your gifts with the world. Last week we talked about why it’s important to follow inspirational leaders, take uncomfortable action (and talk about it), own and acknowledge all the places you’re already leading, and create affirmations that position you as a leader #everydamnday. This week we will dig into 4 more ways you can lean into leadership in your daily life - in order to build confidence and conviction as a leader; in order to have greater impact; and in order to build the relationships you need to take your leadership to the next level.Whether you are the bright and bold leader type or the more quiet and thoughtful leader type, learning how to practice leadership will light you up in ways that will totally fill your cup, as well as inspire and inform who you are becoming and the impact you can have on the world. Let’s LEAD, my friends.Links mentioned:Get my free 15 Minute Manifest Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2016, Sarah left a successful, decade-long career in corporate healthcare in favor of work that better aligned with her passion and purpose. After serving for two years as a freelance consultant to small businesses and start-up nonprofits, Sarah founded The Beautifull Project - a storytelling collective that invites women back to their bodies and into a world where they belong with substance and with strength.Sarah is a gifted storyteller with a skill for using her own experience as a woman navigating the world in a fat body to invite her audience to encounter the parts of themselves they hide away from the world - the parts they believe to be “too much”.Addressing everything from too-big bodies to a fear of failure that cripples confidence, Sarah amplifies a message that moves beyond a body positive sentiment and creates a movement that makes room for everybody to tell their truth and take up space. She draws out confidence and courage. She believes in being free and full. And she will make a believer out of you, too.Sarah was a guest on the show a couple years ago. That incredible conversation led me to asking her to be a part of our 2021 Shameless Mom Con Collective. As I predicted, Sarah blew us away with her poignant and powerful storytelling. I was so moved by her talk that I asked her if I could share this conversation with you all. I’m so delighted and grateful that she said yes. Listen in to hear Sarah share: How her Ted talk landed her naked on stage The rules and limitations that are put on bodies - even as we embrace a wider range of “acceptable” body types The constant conflict of taking up space Her process of ending her marriage, starting her entire life over again - and finally saying yes to her body and her sexuality The power of letting your shoulders down and letting go Her 3 tenants of taking up space Links mentioned: SMA Ep 366 with Sarah Stevens: The Beautifull Project: The Truth About Fatness and Thin Allies Connect with Sarah: The Beautifull Project or By Sarah Stevens Sarah on social: @bysarahstevens and @thebeautifullproject Thank you to our sponsor: Thrive: Start thriving and help women in need today by going to ThriveCausemetics.com/shameless for 15% off your first purchase! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am constantly reminding moms that - even if you didn’t sign up for it - you are already a leader. You lead in your households and in your communities. You lead in your relationships and your workplaces. There is no way around it. You are a leader. You might be a loud and proud leader. Or you might be the quiet and mighty type.You might be timid, but thoughtful about how you lead.Or you might be the wild and impulsive type.No matter how you lead, there is always room for improvement. Because with improvement comes the opportunity for great impact and more ripples of impact. Over the next two weeks, I’m going to share specific steps you can take to become a better leader, no matter what your current leadership style is.This week, we will cover how to find leaders who inspire you, how to take uncomfortable and talk about it publicly, how to own your title of leader, and 5 affirmations you can use to step into leadership with more confidence and pride. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Founder, leader, and community builder, Shannon Siriano Greenwood knows the benefits of building her network with meaningful relationships over bountiful connections. As the CEO of the Rebelle Brand, her work supports working women in creating meaningful connections that will support them both professionally and personally.Women network differently. And quite frankly, most of us hate networking all together, but now more than ever we recognize that having a supportive community is a vital human need. Rebelle brings together women who are building their Wolf Pack, as defined by Abby Wambach, “a crew of brave and honest women to support you.”I invited Shannon on the show to talk about her entry into motherhood and the mental health journey that took her years to find her way to a diagnosis. We covered everything from Postpartum Depression to mental health medication to why women shy away from talking about their mental health.Listen in to hear Shannon share: Her journey into motherhood - experiencing anxiety and depression from the day her first child was born Her 2-year journey to finally being diagnosed with Postpartum Depression The pervasive inner dialogue of her anxiety and depression Her AHA moment of sitting in the pediatrician’s office sobbing for no particular reason The differences in how Postpartum Depression showed up between her first and second child Her life changing, potentially life saving decision to get on medication and how it’s impacted the last 3 years of her life The role of shame in moms keeping quiet about the truths around their mental health The importance of having various friend groups & social circles to meet your various needs in order to thrive Why connection with new people - especially new people who are different than you - is so important Her perspective on what connection and gatherings will look like as we transition out of the pandemic Links mentioned: Join our membership community, Momentum Mamas Connect with Shannon Social media: @ssiriano and @readytorebelle Thank you to our sponsor: Talkspace: To match with your perfect therapist for a fraction of the price of traditional therapy, go to talkspace.com, Make sure to use the code SHAMELESS to get $100 off your first month and show your support for the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever turned down an opportunity in leadership because you assumed that it would just be too much work? Yeah, me too.Have you ever stopped yourself from applying for a position in leadership because you assumed you weren’t quiiiite qualified? Yeah, me too?Have you ever shoved a dream to the far back burner because you haven’t seen anyone like you accomplish something similar, so you can’t even imagine how you might make it happen? Yeah, me too.When it comes to going for the big stuff, stepping up to lead, and showing up in new ways, we often let doubt be our default.You assume you aren’t qualified and that someone else can do it better. You look around and don’t see any examples of people like you who have done it before, so you assume it’s not for you.You think through what it would look like to be successful in a new role or new space of leadership and you’re immediately exhausted by your own perfectionism and the idea of how hard you’d have to work to be the perfect fit, that you sit down before you even start to stand up.Let’s take a closer look at why you’re holding yourself back from leading in bigger and bolder ways. It’s likely that your self-doubt default is holding you back - perhaps for good reason. Listen in to dive deep into 4 reasons women shy away from leadership and how you can (lovingly) get over yourself in order to stand up in all the places you want to take up space.Links mentioned:Join our membership community, Momentum Mamas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Danielle is a mom to three kids and two rescue dogs. She and her husband, Adam, started Marriage and Martinis while going through the most intense, chaotic time in their lives. Their goal is to show a real marriage at its core; one in which both people greatly love each other, but also in which it has been difficult and messy.Danielle and I connected as newbie podcasters a few years ago. From the moment I learned of her show and started stalking her ridiculously funny Instagram account, I wanted to be friends with her. She is real and raw to the core; she is not afraid to dig into hard, messy conversations; and she is so eager to support others as they wade through all the work that comes with marriage. After you listen to this conversation, you are definitely going to want to subscribe to the Marriage and Martinis podcast and go get Danielle’s book, Date Night Questions.Listen in to hear Danielle share: The importance of talking about life and your personal evolution with your partner - not just always talk about points of contention and the hard parts of your partnership Why Danielle and Adam started a podcast at a low-low in their marriage The truth about the smoke & mirrors of all marriages What it has felt like to be completely open, honest, and vulnerable with their life/marriage in such a public way Her two truths about marriage that she couldn’t see coming when they started the show - that might totally help you in your marriage How to frame questions and conversations for healthy communication and growth in your partnerships All the goodies about her and Adam’s ebook, Date Night Questions, and how to use the book to support healthy, fun, and productive conversations in your marriage or partnership Links mentioned: Join my free workshop, 5 Ways to Shine Like A Mother Podcast: Marriage & Martinis Get your copy of Date Night Questions Instagram: @marriageandmartinis Facebook: @marriageandmartinis Twitter: @marriagemartini YouTube: Marriage & Martinis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It might sound suspicious to you when I suggest there is a downside to positive thinking. But, hear me out….Positive thinking serves us well when it’s authentic - because of course, it feels good to feel good. But pushing ourselves into positive thinking does not serve well when it’s inauthentic. If we feel like crap, sometimes we need to honor the crap and embrace the suck - not invalidate it by trying to force a smile and a good attitude. In honoring the crap and embracing the suck, we ultimately become more resilient and resourceful. We more deeply understand ourselves as well as the human condition. This creates more space for us to be compassionate and empathetic humans who can survive, cope and thrive under a wider variety of experiences.Listen in to learn why positive thinking does not always serve you - and how it can be downright dangerous at times. You’ll also learn how to work toward neutral thinking instead of emotionally bypassing hard feelings. This can be a game changer in how you experience emotions and manage your thoughts and feelings in the long run. Links Mentioned:Join my free workshop, 5 Ways to Shine Like A Mother Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices