What if the secret to building an authentic, successful career isn't a linear path, but embracing the chaos of a playground model and leveraging your most human qualities?

In this episode of Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors, Erica Rooney sits down with Ashley Faus, Head of Lifecycle Management at Atlassian and author of the upcoming book, Human-Centered Marketing, How to Connect with Audiences in the Age of AI. Ashley brings a fresh perspective, blending her deep expertise in marketing and technology with her background in musical theater and vocal performance.

Join them as they explore how the empathy skills of a theater kid translate directly into high-level business strategy, and how women can build true trust, authority, and influence using Ashley's four pillars of thought leadership.

Inside the Episode:

• The Theater Kid to Tech Leader Pipeline: Ashley reveals the surprising synergy between musical theater and marketing, explaining how stepping into a character's shoes directly translates into high-level audience empathy and strategic business connection.
• The Problem with "Bright Girls": A discussion on why the linear structure of traditional education is a disservice to high-achieving women, leading them to believe that career snags mean they're "not smart."
• The Career as a Playground: Why the traditional career funnel doesn't work and how to view your professional journey as a playground where you can climb the slide or use skills in "the wrong way" (e.g., a lateral move) for massive long-term growth.
• The Checkers vs. Chess Promotion Rule: Critical advice for ambitious women on how to play the "smart game of checkers" for 12 months after a promotion, avoiding the frustration of unrealistic growth expectations in large companies.
• The Four Pillars of Thought Leadership: Ashley breaks down her framework for building influence: Credibility, Profile, Being Prolific, and Depth of Ideas. Learn which pillar is likely your weakest point and how to strengthen it.
• Building Trust in the Age of AI: The three essential human elements (Logic, Empathy, and Authenticity) that are critical for building genuine trust and authority when the digital world is flooded with AI-generated content.
• The Minimum Viable Action (MVA): A practical strategy for managing your energy and relationships, maintaining a "warm" baseline (e.g., a quick text) so you don't always have to start from zero.

If you're ready to embrace a non-linear career path and use your innate human connection skills to build lasting influence and authority, this episode is your strategic guide.

🔗 Resources:

• Connect with Ashley Faus on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.
• Find her book, Human-Centered Marketing, How to Connect with Audiences in the Age of AI, wherever books are sold.
• Connect with Erica Rooney on LinkedIn.

BUY THE BOOK - Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Be a Book Launch Insider!!!

My FREE 5x5 Starter Kit for LinkedIn

FREE WEEKLY SUCCESS PLANNER

Join our Facebook Group!

Find me on Instagram

Check out our PINS on Pinterest

And YES - I'm on TikTok!

What if the secret to conquering the mental load and preventing burnout lies in using technology to center your core values—not just to boost productivity?

In this fireside chat, Erica Rooney is joined by Tara Ryan, a technology leader, certified Fair Play facilitator, and founder of Confidant AI. Tara shares her powerful journey from scaling corporate software teams and navigating infertility to building a women-centric AI tool that tackles the unseen labor that plagues high-achieving women.

Join them as they dive into the challenges of the invisible labor gap, the guilt of delegation, and how to harness emerging technology like Confidant AI to pause, self-regulate, and make values-based decisions every day.

Inside the Episode:

• The Invisible Labor Crisis: Tara breaks down the stark reality of the 35,000 small decisions women make daily and how this constant cognitive load leads to burnout and career barriers.
• Fair Play Explained: A breakdown of the Fair Play method and why it’s essential for creating a fair, not necessarily equal, division of unpaid labor and emotional management in the home.
• The Guilt of Delegation: How to overcome the guilt of redistributing labor by establishing a "minimum standard of care" with your partner, ensuring tasks are handled to a mutually agreed-upon level.
• The Systemic Barrier: Erica and Tara discuss how the lack of paid parental leave creates a "path dependency," preventing couples from renegotiating duties and locking women into the role of the default caregiver.
• Building Mother-Centric AI: A look inside Confidant AI and the groundbreaking concept of Vibe Coding—using creativity and language to build technology—to create tools that actually support women instead of just disconnecting them.
• Pre-Baby Conversations: Tara shares how her journey through infertility gave her and her partner the unique opportunity to have deep, intentional conversations about their core family values before their first child arrived.
• Revisiting Your Rules: The powerful advice Tara would give her younger self: to examine the unwritten rules and external expectations governing her life to ensure they align with her true, deeply held belief system.

If you’re ready to stop shouldering the entire mental load and explore how to use technology to live a more regulated, values-driven life, this conversation is your next step.

🔗 Resources:

• Learn more about Tara Ryan and her work at Confidant AI.
• Fair Play: Explore the book and methodology by Eve Rodsky (Tara is a certified facilitator).
• Vibe Coding: Look up resources on how to prompt AI to generate code.
• Connect with Erica Rooney on LinkedIn.

BUY THE BOOK - Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Be a Book Launch Insider!!!

My FREE 5x5 Starter Kit for LinkedIn

FREE WEEKLY SUCCESS PLANNER

Join our Facebook Group!

Find me on Instagram

Check out our PINS on Pinterest

And YES - I'm on TikTok!

What if the most impactful leadership strategy isn't focused on your team, but on the inner wisdom and grounding you gain from managing yourself?

In this episode of Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors, host Erica Rooney sits down with Margaret Andrews, author of Managing Yourself to Lead Others and the educator behind Harvard's most popular leadership program. Margaret reveals that true, authentic leadership unlocks when you first achieve self-mastery.

Join them as they explore the foundational questions needed to understand your own influences, values, and definitions of success. Learn why knowing yourself roots you, giving you the inner strength to lead without conforming to outdated molds, and how to use simple tools to make grounded decisions even under extreme pressure.

Inside the Episode:

• The Stinging Catalyst: Margaret's personal story of receiving harsh feedback ("You're not self-aware") that propelled her to create a revolutionary leadership program.
• The Foundational Questions: Identifying the deep questions necessary to understand who and what has shaped you, and what core values you're actually living.
• Beyond the Prescription of Success: Why women need to define success based on how they want to feel, not just outward achievements.
• Actionable Tools for Pressure: Simple techniques like "Write it out, shake it out" to handle big emotions and make grounded decisions.
• The Power of Being Rooted: How self-understanding makes you less knocked off balance by the behavior of others, allowing you to lead authentically.

If you're ready to stop conforming and unlock the unique, powerful leader only you can be, this episode is your playbook for inner transformation.

🔗 Resources:

• Find Margaret Andrews' book, Managing Yourself to Lead Others, wherever books are sold.
• Connect with Erica Rooney on LinkedIn.

BUY THE BOOK - Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Be a Book Launch Insider!!!

My FREE 5x5 Starter Kit for LinkedIn

FREE WEEKLY SUCCESS PLANNER

Join our Facebook Group!

Find me on Instagram

Check out our PINS on Pinterest

And YES - I'm on TikTok!