Episode 1 - Welcome to the She Leads Collective Podcast

Why do so many brilliant women still question their confidence? Why do some of the biggest challenges leaders face never make it into the boardroom conversation?

In this first episode, I introduce the why behind the She Leads Collective Podcast—and the stories we need to hear if we want to lead with more courage, clarity, and humanity.

You’ll hear the themes we’ll explore—confidence, bias, allyship, and the ‘undiscussables’—and why I believe now is the time to change the conversation.

This podcast is for women leading teams, businesses, or bold ideas—and for anyone who wants to create workplaces where people feel seen, valued, and safe to show up fully.

🎧 Pull up a chair—let’s begin.

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✨ Produced by Mary Gregory Leadership Coaching

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this very first episode of She Leads Collective Podcast. I'm Mary Gregory, leadership coach, facilitator, and someone who's spent a lot of time working with some brilliant women who often wonder if they're enough. And I've also worked with some incredible allies of all genders who want to do more to create a fairer, more inclusive world of work.

So why this podcast? Well, today I'm gonna take you through the ethos that is behind this podcast and the, one of the reasons that I've set it up is because I've seen what can happen when women lead and when allies lean in, and when we also start talking about the things that we don't necessarily talk about, um, that can make a difference to how we show up at work.

So I believe all of these stories need space not just to be heard, but to be felt shared and acted upon. Let me offer you something straight away to reflect on when was the last time you truly felt seen and valued in the leadership space. And if you haven't, what do you think might be behind that? Just a couple of questions to get you thinking straight away, but I hope that the discussions on this podcast will help you explore some of the challenges that we all face when it comes to creating greater fairness and parity in the workplace, and give you insights as well as actions that you can take away.

I. So let's talk a bit about the heart behind this podcast. As I've mentioned, I've worked with many men and women leaders who are all at top of their game leaders who are brilliant, strategic, respected, and without doubt, they still experience self-doubt at dropping. Confidence can creep in sometimes. So what's the difference that I've, I've observed when it comes to different genders?

Firstly, what I see is that many men may have a drop in confidence, but they have a much quicker access to support and sponsorship, which means they're more likely to recover much more quickly. Men are much more likely to be championed behind closed doors. They're invited into succession plans, or they're backed when they're not yet ready.

In fact, studies have shown that men are much more likely to be sponsored while women tend to be mentored. In fact, what tends to happen is that women, I know a lot of women who don't get mentored, but when women do get mentored, they tend to be over mentored. It's almost like women need to be developed to become the leaders they need to be.

Whereas men, it's of often taken that they're, they're given, they're ready for the leadership role already. So women are mentored, but they're not actively advanced. And in support of this, there was one report that came through from the Harvard Business Review that found that men are 23% more likely than women to be offered sponsorship in the corporate environment.

I. So these dynamics aren't about individual shortcomings. They're about the expectations that society places on gender and the unconscious biases that we view gender through. Men are often raised to be confident, assertive, and leader ready. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to be socialized, to be modest, agreeable.

And to wait to be invited. And I'm thinking about my own childhood here and how I was brought up. It was all about, you know, look nice, be good. And don't necessarily make things awkward. Don't be rude to anybody. Don't speak out. I. A lot of women are raised this way to be modest. So one of the reasons I set up the She Leads Collective podcast is because I feel there's an imbalance between male and female energy and that we need to make sure we balance that up, which is why the focus is on the she.

But I don't want it to be anything about excluding men either. Whilst we wanna make sure that women's experiences are at the center of this podcast, I also wanna make sure that we draw attention to the challenges that men face too. In fact, men face serious challenges when it comes to their mental health.

In the UK alone three times as many men die by suicide compared to women, it's the leading cause of death for men under 50. So these are not separate struggles. They're symptoms of the same system, and this system tells men that they must be invulnerable, they must be strong, and women that they must prove themselves twice over.

We all need support and we all need to be part of the solution. That's why the role of allies is so valuable because real change happens when we all pull together, not when we pull apart. And then there's the whole area of masculine and feminine energy. Whatever your gender. We all both, we all hold a blend of both, and it's the combination not one or the other.

That fuels effective leadership. In fact, in today's fast changing world, more than ever, we need that balance and when it's outta balance. That's when things start to go wrong and things start to get tricky. We need to make sure that we bring the relational element of feminine energy along with a directive element of masculine energy to solve the complex challenges that the world faces today.

I. Think about it, feminine energy is sitting with uncertainty, listening deeply and trusting what emerges. How valuable is that? When we think about the complexity of some of the situations that we might face in the world today, particularly in the world of work, and try to sort out complex problems or dilemmas.

But that needs to be balanced with the muscular energy of setting direction, making clear decisions and driving focus. Both are absolutely invaluable, so we'll be exploring these dynamics in more depth in future episodes. And then there are the conversations no one brings into the boardroom. So an example of this was many years ago, menopause was never spoken about and that was had a huge impact on how women were able to perform in the workplace.

Fortunately, it is starting to be spoken about much more and actions being taken around it, but we still don't talk much about other elements that affect both men and women's, um, performance and ability to be their best at work. For example, loss of a child or baby loss. Um. Male mental health, as we've already mentioned, uh, the fact that women still bear the brunt of unpaid labor.

It's women that usually, um, carry the mental load and the emotional load looking after their families or their elderly parents. Um, there is so much that still needs to be talked about. Domestic violence is another example. Um, how women often are suffering abuse and that will affect their, their performance at work and how they show up at work.

Contributes to masses of the amount of emotional, mental, and physical fatigue. And we really want to make sure that we have conversations that raise these, um, matters so that we're more thoughtful and mindful of the things that people might be going through. It's not just all about are you hitting your targets this week, but it's also where is the human being in amongst all of this.

And these aren't just side stories. They're real life and they really do shape how we lead and how we show up. And I think they also completely impact what we believe we deserve. So that's why I created this podcast, not just to inspire, but to tell the truth, to bring visibility to what's invisible, to show that leadership isn't about being perfect.

It's about being real. So what can you expect over the coming episodes? Well, each season we'll be focusing on three different kinds of conversations. Firstly, what I call real models, which actually are role models. So they're real women who are leaders in the corporate world, or entrepreneurs who've created successful businesses, and they'll be coming on to share their stories, the challenges they've faced, and the wisdom that they've learned along the way.

I. We're not talking about the highlight reel, we're talking about the real reel here. And then this the case of allies. We wanna invite some allies onto, um, the podcast because these are people, men and women who are championing change, people who are in positions of privilege, who can really make a difference from senior leaders to grassroots advocates.

People who can actually make sure that we get the conversation going about how can we keep creating more equity when it comes to being at work together. And then there's the undiscussables, those raw, honest conversations about the things that we don't talk about enough. Baby loss, neuro diversion, domestic abuse, class, age, menopause, all those things that impact the way we show up at work and that we need to be mindful of in terms of how we treat people, particularly when it comes to creating a fair workplace.

So this podcast isn't just about women, it's about leadership that values humanity. It's about hearing from people who are widening the lens on what it means to lead well. Well, I hope that you'll en enjoy this podcast and you'll join me if you're a woman who is leading a team, a business, or a community, and still questioning your confidence or still wanting to learn more about how to navigate the challenges that you might be facing at work.

Or you are someone of any gender who wants to lead with more honesty and humanity. Maybe you're tired of outdated leadership models that don't necessarily reflect how people really thrive, or you are an ally ready to listen, learn, and do better whether you are commuting, walking the dog, or winding down after work.

I want this podcast to feel like a deep breath and a powerful nudge forward. This isn't a show of easy fixes, it's a space for celebration. We wanna celebrate those women who are succeeding and we wanna celebrate those allies who are doing a great job. But we also want to be curious, courageously curious, and certainly my intention as host is to always come from a place of curiosity, joining with you, the listener, as we learn together.

So why does this co podcast matter now? Well, for me it's, we are living in such complex times. Burnout is high, workplace changes, accelerating, there is worrying rhetoric coming from certain leaders in the world, and also actions being taken to silence. Voices that are speaking out for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

And I hear from so many leaders, especially women, saying there must be a better way. And I believe there is. I believe we create something extraordinary when we lead, both from strength and softness when we bring our whole selves to work, and when we dare to tell the truth about what's really going on.

I'm reminded of a story from one of my leadership programs where a woman leader was preparing for a high stakes meeting with a senior manager who had a bit of a reputation. She was nervous, understandably, and when he began raising his voice, she could feel herself shrinking back, but instead of retreating, she drew on what she'd been working on.

She paused and she noticed her emotional response and said. I'm starting to feel a bit uncomfortable now in this conversation, and I'm not sure why, but I think it might be something to do with how you're coming across. They agreed to pause the conversation and to re-meet later in the week, and when they did, he came back and was really apologetic.

He was shocked by the fact that she'd actually given that feedback in the moment and wanted to postpone the meeting. But when he'd reflected, he openly came with an apology and said that he wanted more feedback from her. This was something he'd had an issue with for a long time, that people weren't opening up to him and he didn't know why.

So receiving the feedback from this woman leader was really, really an important moment for him. So for me, this illustrates that, that one moment of courageous truth telling not only strengthened their relationship, it helped him reflect on how he was showing up, and it helped her discover the power of speaking truth with care and clarity.

These are the moments that really affect change. Not grand gestures, but real human conversations that start with noticing and choosing to show up differently. I really hope that that's what comes through in the conversations that we have in the coming episodes. Thank you for being here. I don't take your time or your presence for granted.