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.

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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.

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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.

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Are you sprinting toward the end of the year on fumes, feeling the pressure to achieve "perfection" when you're already doing the work of three people?

In this solo episode, host Erica Rooney flips the script on the year-end hustle. She argues that finishing the year strong doesn't mean doing more, it means choosing better and slowing down on purpose to align your efforts. This is the antidote to the corporate finish line chaos.

Erica introduces her simple, three-part weekly audit designed to replace emotion with evidence, cut the endless activity that keeps you stuck, and ensure your time is spent on tasks that guarantee future growth, not burnout.

Inside the Episode:

• The Year-End Pressure Cooker: A candid look at the relentless demands of Q4—from performance reviews and budget season to the inevitable holiday hosting and perfectionism.
• Activity vs. Impact: Why being busy doesn't mean you're being valuable. Erica shares how to stop doing the "busy work" (like organizing your makeup drawer!) and identify the three things that truly move the needle toward your goals.
• The Energy Check: The importance of tracking your physical state. Learn the color-coded calendar method to identify what activities (meetings, projects, or people) leave you energized versus totally drained.
• Eating the Frog Strategically: How to make dreaded, energy-sucking tasks less draining by strategically placing them in your schedule to clear up mental space and anxiety.
• The Alignment Test (Bridge vs. Cliff): A crucial test for any task:
  • Bridge Activities: Set you up for future growth, recognition, and long-term alignment.
  • Cliff Activities: Take your time and energy but get you nowhere toward your long-term vision. (Hint: Reformatting slides is a cliff!)
• Your Weekly Action Plan: A simple, low-effort routine for Friday evening to map your calendar, cut the drains, and prioritize the bridge activities that guarantee you start the new year rested and ahead of the curve.

If you are ready to get off the corporate hamster wheel and create a life you don't have to feel like you're escaping from, this episode is your strategic guide to ending the year aligned, not exhausted.

🔗 Resources:

• Revisit the SNAP Method (Stop and Notice) in previous episodes for an easy way to check in with your body.
• Connect with Erica Rooney on LinkedIn.

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In this episode of Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors, Erica Rooney sits down with Claude Silver, Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia and author of Be Yourself At Work. Claude leads a global organization by proving that emotional intelligence is not a "soft skill," but a core business function that drives sustainable, high-growth culture. She shares the origin story of her unique role, revealing how to infuse empathy from the top down and why showing your full humanity is the ultimate strategy for success in a fast-paced, high-pressure world.

Inside the Episode:

• The Chief Heart Officer (CHO) Role: Claude details the evolution of her groundbreaking role, defining it as the executive responsible for the "heartbeat" of the entire organization.
• Be Yourself At Work: The core message of her book, written for anyone who has felt the need to "shapeshift" or "code-switch" to survive the corporate day.
• The New Work Paradox: How the emerging Gen Z and Gen Alpha workforce is demanding self-awareness and mental health resources, forcing companies to move beyond toxic cultural norms.
• Emotional Intelligence as a Superpower: How women can reframe and own their EQ, transforming the "too emotional" label into their most valuable leadership asset.
• Shutting Down the Inner Critic: Claude introduces the LIE Exercise—a science-backed method for combating imposter syndrome.
• Fierce Empathy in Action: What kind candor looks like when delivering tough feedback, fostering "genuine care" so that hard conversations are seen as connection, not correction.
• The Non-Technical Skill of Tomorrow: Claude argues that empathy is the single most critical skill for future leaders.
• Advice for the Un-Evolved Workplace: How to continue being your authentic self and a champion for others, even in environments that don't support it.

If you’re ready to stop hiding who you are and learn how to make your humanity your biggest competitive advantage, this episode is a powerful call to action.

🔗 Resources:

• Download the first chapter of Be Yourself At Work for free at https://www.google.com/search?q=beyourselfbook.com.
• Visit Claude's website at claude silver.com.
• Connect with Claude Silver on LinkedIn.

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What if the fear and self-doubt you feel in a toxic job are intentionally manufactured by the company—and you hold more power than you think?

In this episode of Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors, Erica Rooney sits down with Dan Goodman, founder of the Dan Goodman Employment Advisory. As a corporate veteran who witnessed unfair tactics from the inside, Dan now acts as the strategic counter to HR, having helped employees negotiate over $11.4 million in severance increases in the last 27 months.

Join them as they pull back the curtain on predatory PIPS, severance negotiation, and why "your employer is not your family" is the most important lesson for every high-achieving woman.

Inside the Episode:

• The Great Severance Lie: Dan shares his origin story—a pivot from commission verification to helping employees fight back—and the staggering financial impact his advisory has had.
• Why the PIP is Despicable: A raw, experienced-based take on why predatory PIPS (Performance Improvement Plans) shouldn't exist, and how they are intentionally designed to blindside high-performers and make them quit.
• The "Gerbil Wheel" of Stress: Understanding the intentional plan to undermine your mental health, confidence, and trust, and how to stop spiraling down the "rat hole" of personalized self-doubt.
• HR Is Not Your Family: Why the Human Resources department is primarily there to protect the company's interests, and how to use HR only when you are ready to strategically plan your exit.
• Your Documentation Playbook: The three crucial buckets of information you need to gather (starting on Day One) to build your case and protect yourself before you are locked out of your systems.
• Severance Negotiation: Before You Arrive: Why executives should negotiate their severance and restrictive clauses before taking the job, and why a C-Suite member should expect a full year of compensation upon termination.
• Flipping the Script: The most powerful technique for women facing termination: moving from defending yourself against the employer's false narrative to articulating your truthful narrative, backed by their actions.

If you are a high-achieving woman facing unfair treatment, a PIP, or simply want to know how to protect your career and your worth in the corporate world, this conversation is an essential guide to fighting back.

🔗 Resources:

• Connect with Dan Goodman on LinkedIn and check out his daily content.
• Find his services at dangoodmanea.com.
• Connect with Erica Rooney on LinkedIn.

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What if your "stress" isn't one big mess, but three distinct types of challenges that require entirely different solutions?

In this episode of Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors, host Erica Rooney sits down with Allison Graham, a leading voice on strategic resilience, and author of books like Take Back Your Weekends. Driven by her own journey through chronic pain and adversity, Allison offers a science-backed framework to help high-achievers stop sacrificing their sanity and manage challenges more efficiently.

Join them as they dissect the "tangled up stress mess" we all live in and learn how to separate Adversities (life-changing issues), Obstacles (repeat problems), and the endless Task Circle (the to-do list) so you can regain control and dramatically reduce unnecessary stress.

Inside the Episode:

• The Triple Resilience Model: Allison's revolutionary framework for separating your challenges:
  • Adversities: Catastrophic life events that require survival stress (and self-compassion).
  • Obstacles: Repeating moments of angst that you are paid to solve (requiring problem-solving).
  • Tasks: The endless to-do list that needs zero emotional contribution.
• The "Task Circle" Trap: Why expecting to ever close the loop on your to-do list is a fantasy that drains your capacity and steals your happiness.
• Stop the Spiral: How to use the "better word game" to neutralize your language (e.g., swapping "awful" for "mildly irritating") and reverse-engineer the emotional swirl of destructive stress.
• The X Then Y Fallacy: Why putting off happiness until after you get caught up or after the chaos subsides is a recipe for perpetual unhappiness.
• Taking Back Your Weekends: The biggest mistake high-achievers make—allowing others to control their schedule—and simple, strategic boundaries to reclaim your time.
• Awareness Over Judgment: Why approaching your bad habits with compassionate curiosity (e.g., "Hmm, that's interesting that I did that again") is key to creating lasting change.

If you're ready to stop the overwhelm and start approaching your life with strategic calm, this episode is your essential guide to building real, practical resilience.

🔗 Resources:

• Learn more about Allison Graham and her work, including the Live Your Best Life Club, at allisongraham.net.
• Connect with Erica Rooney on LinkedIn.

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What if the biggest barrier to gender equality isn't who does the dishes, but who has to remember the dishes need doing?

In this episode of Glass Ceilings and Sticky Floors, host Erica Rooney sits down with Allison Daminger, a groundbreaking sociologist and author of What's On Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life. Allison's viral research shines a light on the mental load—the planning, anticipating, and managing of all the things—that disproportionately falls on women.

Join them as they dissect why even in "woke" partnerships with hands-on dads, women's brains never get to turn off. Allison reveals the societal structures and deep-seated norms that keep this imbalance sticky and, crucially, how we can start an honest, constructive conversation to create a more equitable home life.

Inside the Episode:

• Defining the Invisible Labor: The difference between the physical execution of a chore and the taxing mental work of planning and anticipating that precedes it.
• The "Nothing" Response: Erica shares a powerful personal anecdote of asking her husband what he was thinking about, only to receive the one-word answer that perfectly summed up the mental load gap.
• The Next Frontier of Equality: Why sharing the mental load is the final, sticky frontier in achieving true gender parity, even as men do more physical labor than previous generations.
• The Policy Problem: Erica and Allison connect the mental load directly to the lack of paid parental leave in the US, arguing that early exposure to a child's needs is key to long-term equity.
• Superhumans vs. Bumblers: Allison’s favorite part of her research, revealing why women are overwhelmingly perceived as the "superhumans" (naturally organized) and men as the "bumblers" (go-with-the-flow)—and why this is a harmful myth.
• The Truth About Changing Roles: Insights into how the mental load impacts women's career progression, and why couples with higher-earning women still often see the woman carrying the mental burden.
• The Unjudged Reality: A liberating conclusion: it's okay if changing the load is too much work, as long as you're clear-eyed and okay with the current arrangement.

If you've ever felt deeply frustrated by having to manage all the things for your family, this episode will make you feel seen, validated, and equipped to start the conversation you need to have.

🔗 Resources:

• Find Allison Daminger's book, What's On Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life, wherever books are sold.
• Connect with Erica Rooney on LinkedIn.

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