Leadership Variations: Unfiltered
Season 1: Cracking the Code – From Underestimated to Undeniable spotlights senior women in STEM who’ve broken barriers and redefined success. If you’re a woman in science, tech, engineering, or math—or you lead teams in these fields—this series offers real stories, bold leadership, and hard-won insight you won’t hear anywhere else. These candid conversations go beyond inspiration—they offer career insight, leadership lessons, and visibility strategies for STEM women leaders navigating executive paths.
Each episode features unfiltered stories from women who’ve risen to executive roles in industries that weren’t built for them. We unpack how they navigated bias, burnout, reinvention, and visibility—without apology and without a playbook.
Leadership Variations: Unfiltered is a limited-series podcast exposing the messier side of leadership—the parts no one talks about, but every leader lives. Each series explores a different high-stakes topic: rising without apology as a woman in STEM, redefining success after burnout or reinvention, busting leadership myths that don’t hold up in the real world, making bold talent decisions without a clear playbook, and leading when the politics are real—but the guidance is vague.
If you’re leading through complexity, developing leaders others overlook, or navigating visibility at the top—this podcast is for you.
Hosted by Dr. Amy Bladen Shatto—a leadership strategist and executive coach with 25+ years of experience advising senior leaders and developing talent in high-growth and Fortune 100 companies
Learn more at www.leadershipvariations.com
Leadership Variations: Unfiltered
Cracking the Code: From Underestimated to Undeniable with Dr. Natalie Crawford, DVM, Veterinary Pathologist, Operations EXEC, & Coach
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Leadership Variations: Unfiltered | Series 1, Episode 4
Leadership Challenges & Growth with Dr. Natalie Crawford, DVM, Veterinary Pathologist, Operations EXEC, & Coach
In this powerful episode of Leadership Variations: Unfiltered, Dr. Natalie Crawford shares the unfiltered truth about leadership growth, identity, and resilience as a woman of color in STEM. With 20+ years across animal health, pharma, and medical devices—and a rare blend of scientific rigor, operational leadership, and DEI expertise—Natalie reveals what real leadership looks like behind the résumé.
She opens up about:
- Shifting from subject-matter expert to global leader
- Learning to lead without being the “expert in the room”
- Navigating identity, visibility, and underrepresentation in STEM
- Why feedback, coaching, and a personal “board of directors” changed everything
- How she overcame self-doubt, isolation, and high-stakes leadership pressure
- And the one undeniable truth for women ready to rise into senior roles
This episode is raw, insightful, and deeply grounding—a masterclass in leadership maturity for anyone advancing in STEM or navigating complex career transitions.
Podcast Chapters:
00:31- Meet Dr. Natalie Crawford
02:01 - Leadership Skills You Don’t See on Resume
03:54 - Leading During Difficult Moments
07:26- From STEM Specialist to People Leader
08:54 - The Identity Crisis of Leadership Advancement
12:17 - How to Advocate for Your Own Coaching
13:26 - Women of Color in STEM
15:21 - Holding Identity Strong While Breaking Barriers
18:20 - What She’d Do Differently (Or Not)
20:07 - The Undeniable Take
Subscribe & Stay Connected
🔔 Subscribe on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@leadershipvariations
📰 Join The Brief newsletter for unfiltered leadership insights: http://bit.ly/unfilteredbrief
🌐
Watch & Subscribe
🎥 Watch this conversation and explore more Unfiltered leadership content: www.youtube.com/@leadershipvariations
Work with Dr. Amy Bladen Shatto
📈 Tired of being underestimated? Partner with a coach who specializes in helping leaders in STEM break barriers and accelerate impact. Book a consultation → https://calendly.com/abladenshatto/30min
🌐 Learn more → https://www.leadershipvariations.com
🔗 Connect on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/amybladenshatto
🔗 Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadvarunfiltered/
🔗 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leadvarunfiltered/
About the Host
Leadership Variations: Unfiltered is hosted by Dr. Amy Bladen Shatto, PhD, PCC, BCC — an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist with over 25 years of experience helping organizations make faster, smarter leadership decisions. She specializes in science-based assessment, executive coaching, and leadership development strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes.