Ever felt anxious about negotiating your pay? Wondered why it feels so risky when you already know you’re beyond pulling your weight at work?

Here’s the truth I see as a coach for marginalized leaders who don’t like office politics: We've been taught that asking for what we want is risky. Greedy. Aggressive. Ungracious.

But here's the thing.

Women and minorities aren't bad negotiators. We've just been sold a lie about what negotiation actually is.

In this episode, I'm sharing why I walked away from a six-figure tech career to become my own boss and an independent coach.

And I'm showing you the one mindset shift that changed everything for me and my clients. We're talking sovereignty, locus of control, and why that metaphorical tiara (as in: recognition and respect) you're waiting for? You have to put it on your own head.

Stick around. This one's foundational.

[Quick note: This is a recording of a live training we ran earlier this year called “Exit Negotiations: How to Get Better Paid So You Can Become Your Own Boss.” To stay in the loop for the next live training, take the 2-minute Leadership Archetype quiz at www.jamieleecoach.com and subscribe to the weekly newsletter.]

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What happens when the pressures of work intensify AND parenting intensifies at the same time? Senior-level mothers are caught in a two-way trap—and many are quietly burning out, believing it's a personal failure rather than a systemic one.

In this episode, I talk with Shalene Gupta, staff editor at Fast Company, about her groundbreaking investigation into how senior-level women are coping with the impossible. After putting out a call on LinkedIn, Shalene received over 100 responses—48,000 words' worth—revealing both the ingenuity and the despair of working mothers trying to have it all.

Discover the creative solutions that are actually working: job-sharing arrangements that have lasted 13 years, radical transparency about boundaries that builds trust, and companies (like Cakes) that are redesigning the workplace from the ground up. But also understand why these individual hacks aren't enough—and why the real answer requires systemic change.

If you're a working parent, an ambitious woman in corporate America, or someone who wants to understand what's really happening behind closed doors, this is a conversation you need to hear. Because as Shalene says: "It's not you. The system is broken. And it can be redesigned."

Featuring:

• Fast Company article: Corporate America is Crushing Senior-Level Mothers. Here's How They're Coping by Shalene Gupta
• The 13-year job-share that changed everything
• How transparency becomes a negotiation superpower
• Why women entrepreneurs are building their own solutions and winning
• What real support for working mothers actually looks like

SHALENE GUPTA BIO:

Shalene Gupta is a staff editor at Fast Company covering work life and leadership. Her investigative journalism on women, work, and wellness has appeared in The Atlantic, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, ESPN The Magazine, and TIME. She is co-author of The Power of Trust and author of The Cycle: Confronting the Pain of Periods and PMDD. Shalene holds an MS from Columbia Journalism School, a BA in creative writing and psychology from Johns Hopkins University, and is a Fulbright grant recipient. Her work focuses on the systemic barriers women face in corporate America—from motherhood to menopause—and the creative solutions women are building to survive (and thrive) in broken systems.

Connect with Shalene on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shalenegupta/
Connect with Jamie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leejieunjamie/

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

Everything worthwhile is on the other side of a risky conversation—especially when it comes to women’s health, birth, and career.

In this episode, I sit down with professional investor–turned–hypnobirthing educator Maria Lernerman to talk about how hypnosis, birth preparation, and self-advocacy can transform one of life’s most intense experiences into a joyful, empowering memory.

Maria shares how she navigates being a daytime asset manager and nighttime hypnobirthing educator, hypnotist, lactation counselor, and mom of three, and why talking openly about hypnosis in a buttoned-up industry was a risky (and worthwhile) career conversation.

You’ll learn what hypnobirthing actually is (beyond the woo), how it helps many parents have calmer births—often with less or no medication—and why these tools become “meta skills” you can use in high-stakes work situations, from boardrooms to hospital rooms.

Maria also offers grounded advice for women and couples planning to grow their families, including those going through IVF or navigating “high-risk” labels in the medical system.

If you care about self-advocacy, emotional regulation, and having real choices in your healthcare, this conversation will expand what you think is possible—for birthing, working, and beyond.

Timestamps

• 00:00 – Who is Jamie Lee? Introducing executive coaching, “risky conversations,” and guest Maria Lernerman
• 03:17 – Maria’s “risky conversation”: bringing hypnobirthing and hypnosis into a traditional investment career
• 09:24 – What is hypnobirthing? The Mongan Method, full-spectrum birth prep, and why partners matter
• 14:12 – How can birth be more comfortable with little or no medication? Fear, tension, relaxation, and the body’s design
• 18:08 – Maria’s own birth stories: from terrified first-time mom to hypnobirthing educator (and the Uber-driver tipping point)
• 23:12 – Self-hypnosis as a meta skill: staying grounded in chaotic hospitals, high-stakes meetings, and everyday conflict
• 26:22 – Client success stories: natural births, empowered C-sections, partners stepping up, and redefining what a “good birth” looks like
• 31:55 – Advice for women and couples (including IVF and “high risk”): choice, providers, and protecting your sense of agency

You can learn more about Maria’s work at DiscoverYourPowerBirth.com and about the Mongan Method at hypnobirthing.com.

Learn more about bespoke executive coaching with Jamie Lee at JamieLeeCoach.com and book a free hour-long consultation with Jamie here.

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