Shedding the Corporate Bitch
Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch — the podcast where executive leadership gets real.
Hosted by executive coach, strategist, and unapologetic truth-teller Bernadette Boas, this show is built for senior leaders, CHROs, and HR executives who are done with surface-level leadership advice and ready for the conversations that actually move the needle.
Drawing from 25 years in corporate — including being fired — and over a decade coaching leaders at the highest levels, Bernadette delivers the raw insights, honest dialogue, and practical strategies you won't find in a leadership textbook. Each episode tackles what's really happening in today's organizations: toxic cultures, burned-out teams, leadership gaps, talent retention crises, and the fear, doubt, and imposter syndrome that quietly undermine even the most accomplished executives.
Joined by world-class leaders, HR innovators, and organizational experts, Bernadette doesn't just identify the problems — she hands you the tools to solve them.
This is the podcast for leaders who are ready to shed what's holding them — and their organizations — back, and build something that actually works.
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Shedding the Corporate Bitch
Rowing into Leadership: What Crossing an Ocean Can Teach Us
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I am hooked! I can't stop watching and listening @TarynSmithMovement on Instagram.
She is rowing across the Atlantic all by herself... she's on roughly, Day 44.
What can a 24-year-old rowing solo across the Atlantic teach seasoned corporate leaders about courage, endurance, fear, and leadership?
More than you think.
In this episode, we explore leadership through an unexpected but powerful lens: crossing an ocean alone. This is not an adventure story—it’s a leadership case study on how to lead when certainty disappears, fear shows up, and endurance matters more than intensity.
If you’re navigating ambiguity, pressure, burnout, or high-stakes decisions, this episode will challenge how you think about strength, courage, and what leadership actually requires today.
⏱️ CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – Opening
Leadership when the horizon disappears
02:10 – Why an Ocean Is a Leadership Classroom
Uncertainty, isolation, and sustained effort
04:45 – Leadership vs. Management
Why leadership must work without clarity
07:30 – Endurance Over Intensity
Why you can’t sprint leadership (or an ocean)
11:15 – Burnout and Corporate Myths
Why exhaustion is not a credential
14:20 – Fear as Data, Not Danger
How leaders misuse fear—and how to use it properly
18:30 – When Fear Becomes Taboo
The innovation cost of fear-based cultures
22:10 – Beginner’s Mind and Adaptability
Why leaders must become students again
25:40 – Solo Doesn’t Mean Alone
Vulnerability, support, and leadership trust
28:45 – Practicing Courage Daily
You don’t need an ocean to lead boldly
31:00 – Final Reflection & Call to Action
What’s the ocean you’re facing right now?
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KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Leadership isn’t proven by certainty—it’s revealed by consistency under uncertainty
• Endurance beats intensity in long-term leadership effectiveness
• Burnout is not a leadership credential
• Fear is information; suppressing it kills innovation
• Cultures that shame fear create cautious leaders, not bold ones
• Beginner’s mind is a strategic advantage, not a weakness
• Vulnerability builds trust without eroding authority
• Courage is a daily practice, not a personality trait
🎯 CALLS TO ACTION: Reflect on these three leadership questions this week:
1️⃣ Assess your courage
What conversation, decision, or risk are you avoiding?
2️⃣ Become a student again
Where are you relying on past success instead of learning what’s changed?
3️⃣ Model vulnerability
How can you build trust by being honest—not performatively confident?
Leadership isn’t about knowing the way.
It’s about moving forward anyway—one stroke at a time.
CONNECT & FOLLOW
🎙️ Podcast: Shedding the Corporate Bitch
📍 Host: Bernadette Boas
📺 Watch on YouTube
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts and all major platforms
👉 Subscribe, rate, and share this episode with a leader who’s navigating uncertainty.
