The Mental Offload Podcast

Shawna Samuel
  • 5.0 (22)
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

The Mental Offload podcast is the podcast for women who want to excel as leaders without sacrificing a fulfilling life. Whether you're struggling with imposter syndrome and perfectionism at work, mom guilt, or the overwhlem of the mental load of parenthood, the Mental Offload podcast offers both evidence-based strategies and real-world strategies for high-achieving women. Combining business leadership, feminism, and coaching tools, we'll have important conversations about passions, priorities, perseverance and power. Hosted by Shawna Samuel, Yale MBA and Certified Feminist Coach.

  1. Reverse Engineer Your Annual Review

    FEB 24

    Reverse Engineer Your Annual Review

    If you recently had your 2025 annual review, you're probably in one of three places: You're relieved. You're frustrated. Or you're thinking, "what do I have to do to get the recognition I deserve?!" Maybe you worked your butt off…only to be met with a "meets expectations" rating. Maybe you were told you're "an asset to the team" and "a real team player" — but the raise made you feel like a bit player. Or you walked out with good news, but it came at the cost of deep anxiety and overwork. What I've seen over and over as a coach is that annual reviews don't reward effort.  They reward memorable impact. And in most corporate environments, the bar gets raised every year. Reliability becomes baseline. Over-functioning becomes the expectation. Good performance is simply table stakes. If you want a strong year end review this year, you cannot simply work hard and hope for the best. (Well, you can do that. But it won't guarantee you the strongest results.) In this week's podcast episode, I'm breaking down how savvy women reverse engineer a fantastic annual review. Starting in Q1, as goal setting is underway. This is not about working longer, harder hours. It's not about turning yourself into a self-promoter. It's about making a few key decisions now that will shape your year.  So that you're not left scrambling and sweating at year-end as you try to cobble together a self-assessment that lands you the ratings and recognition you deserve. Your 2026 review is already being written. The question is whether you're shaping it. What You'll Learn: Why "work hard and you'll be rewarded" is a fairy tale What's missing if you're an under-rated hard worker Strategic steps to take as you commit to 2026 goals If you're in goal-setting mode right now, this is the episode to listen to if you don't want to be overworked and overlooked in 2026. For more information, visit The Mental Offload.

    31 min
  2. What's Your Word of the Year?

    JAN 27

    What's Your Word of the Year?

    I'll be honest, I've never found much success with New Year's Resolutions. And I know I'm not alone - most resolutions get abandoned by this point in January.  So, what can you do if you love a good goal, but the idea of resolutions feels…tired. There are seasons when ambitious, detailed goal planning feels energizing. And there are seasons when it feels completely disconnected from reality. When your energy is limited—by health, parenting demands, work pressure, or just life—you don't need a longer list. You need clarity. You need direction. And you need simplicity. That's where a Word of the Year comes in. In this episode, I share how one word can shape your approach to work, leadership, and family life – even if you've got real constraints, real unknowns, and limited time. This episode isn't about "manifesting your goals" or creating the perfect plan. It's about defining a simple north star that keeps you aligned with your values. Especially when you're tempted to push past your limits. If you're balancing a big job and small kids, you don't need more pressure or a more detailed plan in order to reach your goals. You need something simpler. And the surprising part? A simple word can help you on track to achieve big goals. What You'll Learn: Why traditional goal-setting often fails in full, complex seasons of life How to choose a Word of the Year that aligns with your values 4 reflective questions that help your word emerge naturally Using your word as a practical decision-making compass throughout the year For more information, visit The Mental Offload.

    23 min

  3. JAN 13

    Best Of: The Home Team

    Look just about anywhere these days, and it's hard to escape the tradwife-lite look. You know, the perfectly curated content that seems designed to sell us on the lie that women should be managing the home and child-rearing without any help.    Or that, if we do get some kind of support – paid or unpaid – we're lucky.    It's a narrative that's, frankly, disturbing.    And yet, it can make even most badass women believe that we're somehow shameful to need help at home.    Or that we should be grateful to get any.    No and no.   There's that old adage that "behind every successful man, stands a great woman." But behind every successful woman stands…what exactly?   In most cases, there's a team. And while more women are open about this than they were in the past, women are still absorbing messages that the "ideal" is one that leaves them doing it all.   Time to turn down that noise.   What You'll Learn: the trouble with the nuclear family ideal Math vs. drama around the mental load Transferring team-building skills at work to team-building at home   For more information, visit The Mental Offload.

    35 min

  4. 12/16/2025

    Best of: Cinderella Syndrome

    Cinderella syndrome is the ultimate corporate fairy tale. The belief that if you do your work perfectly, take on more responsibilities without complaint... ...one day, Prince Charming (aka a powerful leader in your company) will discover your talent and rescue you. With the glass slipper of a promotion in hand. Women have been fed a version of this corporate fairy tale since childhood. If you want to get ahead, you're told you should: ✳️ deliver exactly what's asked of you ✳️ keep your head down (and smile) ✳️ be lucky enough that someone notices and chooses you This mindset has created an epidemic of strong, capable, ambitious female leaders… ...who are chronically overworked, burned out, and strung along with perpetually out-of-reach promises of promotion. This week, I sit down with Dr. Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj, associate professor in entrepreneurial leadership and diversity at HEC Paris in Doha to discuss these dynamics and more. One of the first to write about Cinderella Syndrome, she shares her expertise in gender dynamics, leadership, and how to escape the fate of a modern Cinderella at work. What You'll Learn: How the Cinderella story keeps us waiting on "Prince Charming" in the workplace The double bind for female leaders, and how we're encouraged to play "nice" How leaders can break out of Cinderella syndrome and claim their power I can't wait for you to hear this powerful episode. For more information, visit The Mental Offload.

    44 min

  5. 12/02/2025

    Responding to a Negative Performance Review

    If you've ever walked into a performance review expecting a gold star, and walked out feeling rattled, or even a little angry, you're not alone. In fact, you'd be in good company. Many highly competent women have had a review in their career that left them questioning their abilities, their reputation, or their future at the company.  Sometimes, it's a specific piece of feedback that stings. But often, it's something that cuts deeper. A sense that you're unrecognized, unseen, or unjustly targeted.  And, it can leave you panicking as you wonder: how can I defend myself, without making it worse? You want to stand up for yourself, but not seem defensive. You want to correct the record, without escalating the conflict. You want to protect your career, but it's hard to trust your boss. That tension is exactly why I recorded this week's episode. I walk you through the immediate steps to take when you're hit with a negative review. And, more importantly, how to respond in a way that keeps your reputation intact and your leadership presence strong.  This is the guide I wish every woman had before walking into a review that goes sideways. Because the most common advice on performance reviews is extremist: Either you're encouraged to swallow your concerns and smile meekly as you promise to do better next time…  …Or people will tell you must draft a point-by-point rebuttal, so that "their side" doesn't stain your permanent record. Neither approach works, when your goal is to protect your career and reputation. In this episode of The Mental Offload Podcast, I walk you through a more strategic response to a bad annual review. One that lets you advocate for yourself, without getting labelled combative or insubordinate. One that helps you call out bias, without looking like "the enemy". One that helps you rebuild your footing quickly, even if the review wasn't fair. In this episode, you'll learn how to move through the initial panic of a bad review, and how to respond in a way that positions you as an even stronger leader. What You'll Learn: • The first thing you must do after hearing a negative review, especially if it caught you off guard • Why you need to pay attention to facts and perceptions • Impactful scripts for correcting the record, without sounding argumentative • What to do when the critique feels biased, vague, or rooted in the motherhood penalty If you've ever been knocked off balance by a performance review, this episode will help you get back up stronger. For more information, visit The Mental Offload.

    42 min

  6. 11/18/2025

    Air Cover

    Tell me if you've seen this play out before: You get handed a seemingly impossible goal, and you want to prove you're up to the task. But as soon as you start making the tough calls…you realize you're on your own. No support. No boss backing you up. No signal from anyone above that your decisions are good. It's a situation that can leave you feeling exposed. And alone. Soon, you're choosing your words more carefully. You're managing reactions instead of driving outcomes.  And you're questioning whether you misread the room, misread the politics, or overstepped your own authority. Sometimes, the problem isn't confidence, competence, or clarity. It's air cover. Air cover is the support you get from the people above you in your chain of command.  The public and private reinforcement that allows you to lead, take risks, and make decisions. Without bracing for fallout you'll have to handle alone. When you have air cover, you move differently. When you don't, you know it (often, too late in the game). In this week's episode of the podcast, I break down what air cover actually is, how to recognize whether you have it, and why it's so critical to your ability to lead.  If you've ever wondered, "Is it too risky for me to make this decision?", this episode will give you the language and the lens to answer that. What You'll Learn: What air cover looks like in the real world (and what its absence looks like, too) How to diagnose whether you've got air cover or not The strategic moves to make when you don't have the air cover you need Practical steps to provide air cover for your team I hope this episode gives you clarity about how to get the air cover you need. And how to stop carrying more risk than you should. For more information, visit The Mental Offload.

    26 min

  7. 11/05/2025

    What's Working for Job Searches in 2025

    It used to be the case that, if you were unhappy in your job, friends would tell you, "maybe it's time to look for a new job." But these days, people will tell you "hang onto whatever you've got." Because a lot of people are getting burned in the current job market.  The job market in 2025 looks dramatically different from what it did 2 years (or even 12 months) ago. So, if you're feeling stuck in your job – or going through a layoff – it might feel like you should be grateful for any job you can get.  Even if you love your job, you might be anxious about looming layoffs, hiring freezes, or rumors of a punishing return-to-office mandate. This week on the podcast, I'm taking some of the uncertainty out of the current job market. I break down why so many talented women are spinning their wheels in this market. And I share the exact moves my clients are using to land better, more flexible roles right now. This episode is for you if you're ready to stop waiting for the market to "get better," and start landing your next, best role. What You'll Learn: 5 key trends shaping the 2025 job market The traditional job search strategy that is bombing in the age of AI The networking mistake that you think is getting you referrals, but is leading nowhere A key technique for finding the companies that line up with your values and work-life balance needs …and a whole lot more You'll walk away with clarity, focus, and a fresh sense of what's actually possible for you—no matter what the headlines say. For more information, visit The Mental Offload.

    1 hr

  8. 10/21/2025

    How to Manage an Underperformer

    If you manage enough people in your career, I guarantee that at some point, you'll have an underperformer on your team.   Sometimes underperformance is glaring. But most of the time, it's smaller stuff: a missed deadline here and there, work full of typos, or a subtle bad attitude.    Working with someone like this can be positively maddening.    You start out patient. You give feedback. You remind, nudge, maybe even redo the work yourself, just to protect your own reputation.    But when you don't see improvement, you're the one staying late to fix other people's mistakes, carrying twice the load, and wondering how you ended up here.   This is one of the most frustrating realities of leadership — especially if you strive for excellence in your work. Managing an underperformer can quietly eat away at your time and your energy for everything else — including your family.    So you slowly drown in work…and resentment.   And yet, many leaders feel like there's no way out.   You don't want to be "the heavy." You don't want to seem mean or micromanaging. The underperformance doesn't rise to the level of a fireable offense. And because your own leaders only see the great end product, they may not take the problem seriously.   The reality is, almost no one gets taught how to manage an underperformer when they take on a leadership role. And yet, this is one of the most important skills to develop as a leader.   So, in this week's episode of The Mental Offload Podcast, we're diving into exactly how to handle underperformance in a way that's direct, compassionate, and effective — without guilt or sacrificing yourself in the process.   What You'll Learn: The two leadership traps women often fall into when faced with an underperformer (and how to avoid them) The best framework for diagnosing the root cause of underperformance, so you can address it  A simple step-by-step process for addressing performance issues with clarity and confidence How kind leaders handle difficult conversations (with some scripts you can steal)   If you've been quietly fixing someone else's mistakes or carrying more than your share, this episode will show you how to lead underperformers effectively, without sacrificing your time and energy in the process.   For more information, visit The Mental Offload.

    40 min
See All (129)

Trailers

5
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

The Mental Offload podcast is the podcast for women who want to excel as leaders without sacrificing a fulfilling life. Whether you're struggling with imposter syndrome and perfectionism at work, mom guilt, or the overwhlem of the mental load of parenthood, the Mental Offload podcast offers both evidence-based strategies and real-world strategies for high-achieving women. Combining business leadership, feminism, and coaching tools, we'll have important conversations about passions, priorities, perseverance and power. Hosted by Shawna Samuel, Yale MBA and Certified Feminist Coach.

Information