"You should smile more." We've all heard it, usually said like a compliment but landing like a command or even a demand. Sometimes it comes when you're giving hard feedback, holding someone accountable, or just being neutral.

This episode isn't about convincing you to smile. It's about the empowerment that comes from smiling when it's chosen by you, not demanded by others.

Tune in this week discover the significant difference between smiling because someone told you to and choosing to smile for yourself. You'll learn how to discern when feedback about smiling is someone trying to diffuse your power versus when it comes from genuine goodwill, the neurological research behind a chosen smile, and my own story of how letting myself be more human, more playful, and yes, smiling more, didn't weaken my authority but made me more trusted, more connected, and gave me way more fun in my leadership role.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: www.aspire-coaching.co/67

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanndang/

Mentioned in this episode:

You're Invited: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

This is a 3-day live, interactive workshop where high-achieving women stop overperforming and start leading with the presence, power, and authority only they can bring. When: Feb. 20, 23 and 26, 12PM - 1:30PM EST each day Where: Live on Zoom Format: 3 × 90-minute interactive sessions with guided reflection, practice, and live coaching Investment: $47 Register: https://thebalancedleader.captivate.fm/be-heard

Click here to register for Leadership Lab: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

Join me for a 3-day live workshop where high-achieving women stop overperforming and start leading with the presence, power, and authority only they can bring.

When: Feb. 20, 23, and 26, 12PM - 1:30PM EST

Where: Live on Zoom

Format: 3 × 90-minute interactive sessions with guided reflection, practice, and live coaching

Investment: $47

Replays: Available for all registered participants.

Click here to grab your spot: thebalancedleader.captivate.fm/be-heard

If you're a woman who's ever felt invisible in a room where decisions are being made, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, I sit down with Sonali Fiske, master storyteller and my TEDx speaker coach, to explore why the people who shape rooms, cultures, and futures aren't always the loudest or most credentialed. They're the ones who can move people, and nothing moves people like story.

Listen in this week as Sonali and I discuss why storytelling is a power skill for women leaders. learn why owning your internal narrative is the foundation of powerful external storytelling, and what happens when women stop minimizing their stories to make them professional enough. We explore how leadership doesn't begin with visibility but with authorship, and why the cost of women not telling their stories is that culture gets shaped without us. If you've been waiting until you're ready to share your story, this episode will challenge that thinking.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: www.aspire-coaching.co/66

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanndang/

Connect with Sonali here: https://calendly.com/sonali-fiske/30min

Mentioned in this episode:

You're Invited: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

This is a 3-day live, interactive workshop where high-achieving women stop overperforming and start leading with the presence, power, and authority only they can bring. When: Feb. 20, 23 and 26, 12PM - 1:30PM EST each day Where: Live on Zoom Format: 3 × 90-minute interactive sessions with guided reflection, practice, and live coaching Investment: $47 Register: https://thebalancedleader.captivate.fm/be-heard

Click here to register for Leadership Lab: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

There is a moment in every powerful woman's life when she realizes something quietly devastating: she's been playing someone else's power game. Power as force, power as control, power as dominance, power as being the hardest working, smartest person in the room.

Maybe that worked once, but not anymore. In this episode, I'm exploring why the old definition of power no longer fits, and what happens when you finally see that power isn't who dominates, but who defines the game.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: www.aspire-coaching.co/65

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanndang/

Mentioned in this episode:

You're Invited: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

This is a 3-day live, interactive workshop where high-achieving women stop overperforming and start leading with the presence, power, and authority only they can bring. When: Feb. 20, 23 and 26, 12PM - 1:30PM EST each day Where: Live on Zoom Format: 3 × 90-minute interactive sessions with guided reflection, practice, and live coaching Investment: $47 Register: https://thebalancedleader.captivate.fm/be-heard

Click here to register for Leadership Lab: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

You've broken ceilings. You've navigated power dynamics. You've proven yourself time and time again. Yet somehow, you wake up asking yourself, “Why am I so tired when I've done everything right?”

Here's a truth that might surprise you: you're not burnt out because you're weak. You're burnt out because your nervous system never learned that you win. Think about it. When was the last time you truly savored a victory? When did you last let your body feel the power of what you've accomplished?

This week, I dive into why so many brilliant women leave the game right before they win, and how to build the fortitude to stay. You’ll learn what fortitude is all about in leadership, why burnout isn’t actually about your workload, and how to teach your nervous system what power feels like through celebration and integration.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: www.aspire-coaching.co/64

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanndang/

Mentioned in this episode:

You're Invited: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

This is a 3-day live, interactive workshop where high-achieving women stop overperforming and start leading with the presence, power, and authority only they can bring. When: Feb. 20, 23 and 26, 12PM - 1:30PM EST each day Where: Live on Zoom Format: 3 × 90-minute interactive sessions with guided reflection, practice, and live coaching Investment: $47 Register: https://thebalancedleader.captivate.fm/be-heard

Click here to register for Leadership Lab: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

External validation creates a constant hamster wheel where you're putting your self-worth and safety on the line for other people.

Self-validation, on the other hand, is about learning to have your own back, especially when tough criticism comes your way or when others are disaffirming you. It's a simple skill that helps you feel less stressed, trust yourself, walk into any room and feel like you belong, and exude confidence in the toughest circumstances.

Join me this week as I share why ambitious women need to master self-validation to break free from this exhausting cycle and lead on their own terms.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: www.aspire-coaching.co/63

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanndang/

Mentioned in this episode:

You're Invited: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

This is a 3-day live, interactive workshop where high-achieving women stop overperforming and start leading with the presence, power, and authority only they can bring. When: Feb. 20, 23 and 26, 12PM - 1:30PM EST each day Where: Live on Zoom Format: 3 × 90-minute interactive sessions with guided reflection, practice, and live coaching Investment: $47 Register: https://thebalancedleader.captivate.fm/be-heard

Click here to register for Leadership Lab: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

What if the reason you're exhausted isn't because you're doing too much, but because you're mothering everything and everyone except yourself?

Your work, your team, your family, your vision, your next level. You hold it all. You anticipate. You stabilize. You make it work. And your own needs? They get handled later. In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Gertrude Lyons, a transformational leadership and development coach who believes something that stops most women in their tracks: every woman is a mother, with or without children.

Join us this week as Dr. Lyons and I explore why rewriting how we mother is one of the most powerful identity shifts a woman can make. You’ll learn why self-mothering is the leadership skill no one taught you, the difference between sensing others' emotions and knowing your own, and simple morning rituals that rewire your nervous system for presence. This conversation will change how you lead in the year ahead forever.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: www.aspire-coaching.co/62

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanndang/

Check out Dr. Gertrude Lyons' work here: https://www.drgertrudelyons.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

You're Invited: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

This is a 3-day live, interactive workshop where high-achieving women stop overperforming and start leading with the presence, power, and authority only they can bring. When: Feb. 20, 23 and 26, 12PM - 1:30PM EST each day Where: Live on Zoom Format: 3 × 90-minute interactive sessions with guided reflection, practice, and live coaching Investment: $47 Register: https://thebalancedleader.captivate.fm/be-heard

Click here to register for Leadership Lab: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

Have you ever wondered why some women seem to command a room effortlessly while others struggle despite having all the qualifications?

In this episode, you're witnessing something extraordinary: real women in a live coaching session with me, discovering exactly how their thoughts create their leadership presence. These aren't rehearsed success stories or theoretical concepts. These are actual high-achieving women working through real workplace challenges in real time.

Tune in this week to hear women naming emotions, catching automatic thoughts, and having breakthroughs as they trace their experiences backward. We discuss the power of the executive pause, a simple framework that helps you generate confidence on purpose, and why naming your emotions in real time gives you more leadership power, not less.

Get full show notes, transcript, and more information here: www.aspire-coaching.co/61

Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanndang/

Mentioned in this episode:

You're Invited: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men

This is a 3-day live, interactive workshop where high-achieving women stop overperforming and start leading with the presence, power, and authority only they can bring. When: Feb. 20, 23 and 26, 12PM - 1:30PM EST each day Where: Live on Zoom Format: 3 × 90-minute interactive sessions with guided reflection, practice, and live coaching Investment: $47 Register: https://thebalancedleader.captivate.fm/be-heard

Click here to register for Leadership Lab: How to Be Heard in a Room Full of Men