Career Espresso

Amanda Owen-Meehan
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Career Espresso gives you a weekly shot of career and leadership know-how in under 15 minutes. I’m Amanda, and each week I share real stories and practical ideas to help you handle the challenges of work. from dealing with tricky bosses to building confidence as a leader. These short, straight-talking episodes are designed to give you something useful you can try for yourself and with your team. No fluff, no jargon — just honest conversations about how we work, lead and grow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1D AGO

    Episode 110 - How to stop justifying every boundary you set at work

    How to stop justifying every boundary you set at work You said no to something last week. Or you tried to. What came out was closer to a small essay explaining why you couldn't, what else you had on, how sorry you were, and an offer to maybe look at it later. You walked away feeling like you'd run a negotiation when all you wanted to do was protect your time. This episode of Career Espresso is about why women over-explain their boundaries at work, and what it looks like when you stop. What you'll discover Why the lengthy justification isn't a confidence problem, and what you're actually trying to prevent every time you add another sentenceHow explaining your no in detail hands the other person exactly what they need to talk you out of itThe difference between a boundary that holds and one that opens a door you didn't mean to openWhat to do when someone keeps pushing after you've already been clearHow to recognise scope creep, last-minute requests, and unnecessary meetings before they quietly eat your weekWhy your emails are the place to start noticing the pattern Perfect for women who know where their limits are but keep exhausting themselves trying to make other people comfortable with them. Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts. Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox. Get the full episode transcript Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    13 min

  2. MAR 4

    Episode 109 - When "just speak up in meetings" isn't the answer

    You're speaking up. That's the frustrating part. You prepare, you contribute, you make your point clearly. And somehow it still doesn't land. Someone talks over you. Your idea gets a lukewarm response. Then someone else says it five minutes later and suddenly it's the strategy. And the advice you keep getting? Be more confident. Project your voice. Take up space. As if the problem is how you're delivering the message rather than who the room has decided to listen to. This episode of Career Espresso is about what's really going on when your contributions keep getting overlooked and what actually helps when confidence was never the problem. What you'll discover Why the "just be bolder" advice makes things worse when the room is already set up to hear certain voices over othersWhat's behind that slow retreat from contributing - and why going quiet is a rational response, not a personality flawThe small timing shift that changes how people experience your presence in a meeting before the usual dynamics kick inWhy one conversation before the meeting can do more than any amount of assertiveness in the momentWhat to do when you've tried everything and the problem is how the meeting runs, not how you show up in it Perfect for women who are sick of being told to speak up louder when they've been speaking up all along. Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts. Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox. Get the full episode transcript. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    16 min

  3. FEB 25

    Episode 108 - Building career options before you need them

    Everything's fine at work. Not exciting, but fine. You're getting on with it, you know what you're doing, and there's enough going on that you haven't had time to think about much else. Then the restructure gets announced. Or your manager leaves. Or your role is suddenly "under review." And you're scramblin. Updating a CV you haven't touched in three years, reaching out to people you've barely spoken to, making decisions from panic instead of from a position of choice. This episode of Career Espresso is about building career options before you're in that situation. Not a constant side hustle of networking and CV polishing. A quiet, deliberate approach that means if something shifts, you're never starting from nothing. What you'll discover Why the usual advice including networking constantly and always be looking, creates exhaustion before you've even started, and what actually works insteadThe specific dynamic that keeps women in roles and organisations longer than is good for them, and why thinking about your options doesn't make you disloyalThree types of leverage that give you real career options and why you probably have more of them than you realiseWhat to actually do with your network if traditional networking makes you want to run in the opposite directionWhy understanding your market value matters even if you're not going anywhere and how it changes how you show up every day. Perfect for women who want to feel like they have real choices at work, not just a job they're grateful to have. Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts. Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox. Get the full episode transcript Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    15 min

  4. FEB 18

    Episode 107 - How to be direct at work without the three-paragraph explanation

    How to be direct at work without the three-paragraph explanation You know what you want to say. That's not the problem. The problem is what happens between your head and the page. By the time it's written, or said, there's a disclaimer at the start, a softener in the middle, and another one at the end just to be safe. And somewhere in all of that, the actual point got lost. This episode of Career Espresso is about why this happens and what you can do differently, without sounding cold, blunt, or difficult. What you'll discover Why over-explaining isn't a bad habit, it's a response to a real pattern women experience at work.The filler words most people don't notice they're using, and what they signal to the people reading and listeningA simple way to structure what you need to say so the point lands first and the context actually helpsWhy you're probably anticipating a reaction that hasn't happened yet. And how that shapes everything before you've even started Perfect for anyone who knows what they need to say but keeps finding ways to bury it. Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts. Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox. Get the full episode transcript Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    12 min

  5. FEB 11

    Episode 106 - What to do when your authority keeps getting questioned

    What to do when your authority keeps getting questioned? You make a decision. A clear one. And before you've even finished explaining it, someone's already pushing back. Not with better information. Not with a genuine concern. Just... pushing. So you explain more. You walk through your reasoning. You try to bring them along. And somewhere in all of that, the decision stops feeling like yours. If this keeps happening to you, it's not a coincidence. And it's not a confidence problem. This episode of Career Espresso is about what to do when the questioning isn't a one-off but a pattern. Not the "just be more assertive" advice you've already heard. The real work of understanding why this keeps happening and what actually shifts the dynamic. What you'll discover Why some people's decisions get accepted without question while yours get picked apart and what's really behind that differenceThe subtle things you might be doing that are accidentally inviting the pushback you're trying to stopHow to tell the difference between someone who genuinely needs clarity and someone who's testing you and why your response to each should be completely differentThe conversation most leaders avoid having and why having it sooner changes everythingHow to communicate decisions so they land as decisions, not suggestions Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts. Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox. Get the full episode transcript Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    17 min

  6. FEB 4

    Episode 105 - Making your invisible work visible (without feeling like you're bragging)

    You fixed the problem nobody else could sort out. You built the process that made everything run smoother. You're the one people come to when things are on fire. And when promotion time comes, someone else gets it. Because their work was "more visible." This episode of Career Espresso is about making invisible work visible. Not the theory of self-promotion. The actual work of translating what you do into language that systems recognise. What you'll discover - Why your work stays invisible (it's structurally designed that way, especially for women who do the glue work)The three types of invisible work and why each one needs translating differentlyHow to move from describing what you did to describing what changed because you did itWhy "I just helped" and other minimising language makes your contributions disappearThe shift from activity to outcome that makes your work tangible without sounding like you're boasting Perfect for anyone whose real contributions happen behind the scenes and don't show up on dashboards or in performance reviews. Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts. Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox. Get the full episode transcript Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    16 min

  7. JAN 28

    Episode 104 - How to stop taking work back after you've delegated it

    Delegation fails when you hand something over with vague expectations, skip the checkpoint until it's too late, then quietly stay late fixing it yourself. The problem isn't that you can't let go. It's that you're missing the setup that makes letting go possible. This episode tackles why women leaders get stuck in the delegate-then-reclaim cycle, and the boring but essential process that stops it happening. What you'll discover • The three things you need in place before you hand work over (most people skip all three, then wonder why they're redoing everything at 10pm) • Why waiting until work is 95% done to check in leaves you with only two options: accept substandard work or fix it yourself • What "good enough" actually looks like when you write it down before delegating and why this one step prevents most rework • The questions to ask yourself before you silently take work back (because sometimes taking it back is the right call, but it should be a decision, not a habit) Perfect for leaders who know they need to stop doing everyone's work but aren't sure how to make delegation stick without things falling apart. Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts. Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox. Get the full episode transcript Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    16 min

  8. JAN 21

    Episode 103 - How to ask for more at work (and what to do when the script falls apart)

    How to ask for more at work (and what to do when the script falls apart) You've rehearsed this conversation a hundred times. You know exactly what you're going to say. And then your manager responds with something you didn't expect and suddenly your brain goes blank. The script you'd prepared just evaporates. You find yourself nodding along, saying "I understand" or worse, backing down entirely. This episode of Career Espresso is about how to actually ask for more when the conversation doesn't follow your plan. Not the theory of negotiation. The real work of staying grounded when things go sideways. What you'll discover Why most advice focuses entirely on preparation but misses what actually happens in the room when things go off-scriptThe specific ways women are conditioned to backpedal when conversations get uncomfortable (and why recognising this helps)What to say when you get hit with budget constraints, the praise pivot, or "I need to check with HR"Why this is rarely one conversation and how to follow up without feeling like you're being annoyingCommon patterns that keep women stuck: preparation as procrastination, the grateful trap, the "one shot" mentality Perfect for leaders who've rehearsed these conversations but still find themselves accepting less than they came in asking for. Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts. Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox. Get the full episode transcript Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    17 min
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About

Career Espresso gives you a weekly shot of career and leadership know-how in under 15 minutes. I’m Amanda, and each week I share real stories and practical ideas to help you handle the challenges of work. from dealing with tricky bosses to building confidence as a leader. These short, straight-talking episodes are designed to give you something useful you can try for yourself and with your team. No fluff, no jargon — just honest conversations about how we work, lead and grow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Amanda Owen-Meehan
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    119
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2023 Career Espresso
  • Show Website
    Career Espresso