In this episode of Risky Conversations, I sit down with global storytelling expert Gabrielle Dolan, author of Story Intelligence: The craft of authentic storytelling made smarter with AI.

Gabrielle shares how one risky career conversation led her to leave a secure executive role at a major bank to build a global storytelling practice, eventually training leaders at the Obama Foundation.

Together, we unpack why personal, values-based stories are the most underused yet powerful tool for leadership, promotion, and influence. You’ll learn

• Practical tips to uncover your own stories,
• How to avoid sounding braggy or AI-generic, and
• How to communicate in a way that feels real, memorable, and unmistakably you.

Featured:

• Connect with Gabrielle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/
• Follow Gabrielle on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/
• Keeping It Real with Jac and Ral Podcast:
• https://podfollow.com/keeping-it-real-with-jac-and-ral
• Gabrielle's Website: https://gabrielledolan.com/
• Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leejieunjamie/
• Follow Jamie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamieleecoach/
• Jamie's Website: https://www.jamieleecoach.com/

Text me your thoughts on this episode!

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• Don't miss an episode, listen and subscribe via Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
• Leave me a review in Apple Podcasts.

Connect with me

• Book a free hour-long consultation with me. You'll leave with your custom blueprint to confidence, and we'll ensure it's a slam-dunk fit for you before you commit to working with me 1:1.
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Email me at jamie@jamieleecoach.com

Informational interviews, job interviews, and offer negotiations: these are the "risky" conversations that stand between you and a career you actually love. But what if you could de-risk these moments and catapult yourself into a new dimension of success?

That is exactly what my client, Sarah-Neel Smith, PhD, did. In this episode, Sarah-Neel pulls back the curtain on her journey from feeling "stuck" in academia to pivoting into a high-impact career in philanthropy.

By combining well-structured informational interviews with coaching to advocate for her potential, she transformed her professional life—negotiating a 7% increase on her first offer and a staggering 50% pay bump on her second.

We discuss how to build self-trust, create meaningful connections, and find the "creative sharpness" that only comes when you stop grinding and start advocating for your value.

Take the next step in your own career transition:

• Join my free training for smart women who are tired of being the over-utilized yet under-appreciated "secret weapon" in their workplaces. On May 20th: Exit Negotiations: How to Get Better Paid So You Can Be Your Own Boss
• Check out Sarah-Neel's workshop on informational interviews: Small Conversations Big Impact

Text me your thoughts on this episode!

Enjoy the show?

• Don't miss an episode, listen and subscribe via Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
• Leave me a review in Apple Podcasts.

Connect with me

• Book a free hour-long consultation with me. You'll leave with your custom blueprint to confidence, and we'll ensure it's a slam-dunk fit for you before you commit to working with me 1:1.
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Email me at jamie@jamieleecoach.com

Many people think I'm a negotiation coach, but I'm really a practitioner of change working at the intersection of ancient Eastern philosophy and modern Western neuroscience.

The Science: Quantum physicists like David Bohm and Zen masters in the mountains agree: Everything you think is "solid" (your desk, your body, your obstacles) is actually 99.9999999% empty space. Similarly, neuroscientists like Michael Gazzaniga have found that there is no singular, fixed "I" in your brain. You are a "Society of Mind," an aggregate of different parts negotiating conflicting and inherently empty impulses in real-time.

The Philosophy: In Zen, this is encapsulated in a single character: Mu (無). It often gets translated as “empty,” but it can also reference a kind of boundlessness.

The Intersection: When you realize matter is mostly space, the "solid" walls in your mind begin to soften. You realize you are not your self-talk, the very thoughts that lie at the root of professional stress.

Instead, you are the boundless potential behind the action.

What you'll learn in this episode:

02:15 – The Humble, Good News: Why you don’t need a PhD or to become a monk to benefit from these fundamental truths

04:30 – Your "Society of Mind": How the illusion of being a fixed, singular "I" is dismantled by both modern neuroscience and ancient wisdom.

06:50 – Tyranny of Self-Talk: Getting to the root of all professional stress when external circumstances don't seem to go your way.

07:45 – The Liberation of "Mu": What becomes possible when new perspectives enable new ways of thinking, feeling, and responding to circumstance beyond our control.

09:30 – The 3 Stages of Change: A roadmap through Dissolution (of negative self-talk), Mental Rehearsal, and Embodied Brave Action.

11:00 – The Fortress of Trust: Why true trust comes from realizing your "self" is not a fragile, solid thing that can be broken.

12:15 – Creator & Masterpiece: When tangible results like getting promoted and better paid are the byproduct of accessing a deeper truth of who you really are.

To learn more about working with me 1:1, come on over to https://www.jamieleecoach.com/apply

Text me your thoughts on this episode!

Enjoy the show?

• Don't miss an episode, listen and subscribe via Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
• Leave me a review in Apple Podcasts.

Connect with me

• Book a free hour-long consultation with me. You'll leave with your custom blueprint to confidence, and we'll ensure it's a slam-dunk fit for you before you commit to working with me 1:1.
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Email me at jamie@jamieleecoach.com