UNSHAKEABLE HER: Silence imposter syndrome, build real influence and get promoted on your terms
Doing brilliant work and still getting overlooked?
Unshakeable Her is for ambitious, capable women tired of second-guessing themselves and exhausted by navigating workplace rules nobody explains so you can grow your influence & get promoted.
Hosted by Caroline Esterson, who has spent 30 years helping thousands across hundreds of organisations uncover what is really going on and still get promoted.
This podcast offers practical, repeatable ways to build influence, confidence, and career momentum.
Each week, you’ll learn:
- How to grow your influence without becoming someone you don’t like
- The science behind imposter syndrome and what actually works to overcome it
- How to build confidence so you can stop being overlooked, and finally get the promotion you deserve
With new episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, ‘Unshakeable Her’ delivers stories, strategy, and insight to help you become someone nobody can shake.
New here? Start with fan-favourite #56 or jump into Imposter Syndrome with #7
Episodes
90 episodes
#89 | Why AI Is Exposing the Leadership Gap and What Every Smart Leader Needs To Do Right Now To Secure Their Influence
Are you worried that AI could replace your job, or wondering what makes some people more valuable while others become easier to replace?As AI rapidly changes the workplace, many professionals are focusing on learning new tools, earning c...
#88 | Get Promoted for the Work Nobody Sees With These 3 Moves That Make the Invisible Tax Visible
What if the solution to your invisible tax isn't working less - but making your contribution impossible to ignore?After uncovering the hidden costs of invisible work throughout the week, this episode shifts the focus from frustrat...
#87 | The Hidden Tax Draining Your Influence And Tanking Your Promotion Prospects (And Why it's WOMEN Who Are Expected To Pay For It)
What if the work that's making you indispensable is also the work that's holding your career back?If you've ever been the person who organizes, mentors, supports, covers, coordinates, or keeps the peace, this episode explains why ...
#86 | The Unexpected Way You're Building Colleague’s Influence At Work While Quietly Losing Your Own Promotion Case
What if the work that makes you invaluable is the very thing preventing your promotion?If you've ever stayed late to help a colleague, onboarded new team members, solved problems that weren't yours, or kept your team running smoot...
#85 | The 3 Essential Moves That Turn Promotion Into Irresistible Influence
Would your team still choose to work for you if they had another manager available tomorrow?In this episode, we move from theory to action. After exploring the stories and science behind followership, you'll learn three practical leaders...
#84 | 3 Surprisingly Simple Science Facts That Prove Old School Management Is Killing Your Influence
What if the biggest factor affecting your team's performance isn't skill, experience, or motivation—but trust?In this episode, you'll discover the science behind genuine followership and why teams willingly give discretionary effort to s...
#83 | 3 Signs Your Traditional Management Style Is Damaging Trust & Influence (And How To Fix It)
Why do some managers inspire lifelong loyalty while others struggle to earn even basic trust from their team?In this episode, you’ll discover why the old leadership rulebook is failing modern managers and how genuine followership is buil...
#82 | Be The Calm In The Storm: The Foundation That Creates A High-Performing Team
What do you do when one comment, one email, or one look completely throws off your leadership presence?In this episode, you’ll learn practical nervous system resets and calm leadership techniques you can use immediately before difficult ...
#81 | How To Create Calm Even When Everyone Else Is Panicking (Imposter Syndrome, Influence & Promotion)
Why do some leaders calm an entire room before they even begin speaking?In this episode, we unpack the neuroscience behind calm leadership, nervous system regulation, and the hidden biological signals shaping every meeting you lead. You’...
#80 | When Imposter Syndrome Kicks In Before High Stakes Moments, Steal Maggie’s 3 Preparation Moves To Boost Your Influence
What happens when your team looks to you for calm… and you don’t actually feel calm yourself?In high-pressure moments, your leadership is shaping more than decisions and communication. Your pace, posture, breathing, and presence directly...
#79 | 3 Surprisingly Simple Moves For High Performers To Keep Their Spark, Build Their Influence And Remove Imposter Syndrome
What happens when the thing you love doing starts becoming the thing you dread most?In this episode, we bring together the psychology, neuroscience, and career strategy behind sustainable high performance. Using Alicia Keys’ “Girl on Fir...
#78 | Why Saying Yes To Everything Might Be Destroying Your Influence and Your Promotion Prospects
What if the reason your performance is slipping isn’t lack of discipline — but lack of recovery?In this episode, we unpack the neuroscience behind burnout, chronic overperformance, and why high achievers are often the last people to real...
#77 | How One Woman Went From Burned Out And Imposter Syndrome To Rebuilding Her Influence
How long has it been since you truly switched off without guilt, pressure, or the feeling that you should be doing more?In this episode of Unshakeable Her, we unpack the hidden cost of high performance and why so many cap...
#76 | 3 Simple Strategies To Explain Your Career Pivots to Overcome Imposter Syndrome and Build Influence In Interviews
What if your unconventional career path is not something to hide, but something to wear with pride?If you’ve ever stared at your LinkedIn profile or CV wondering how to make your zigzag career look more “normal,” this episode will...
#75 | How To Build Career Confidence By Turning Pivots Into Proof | Imposter Syndrome, Influence and Promotion
What if every career pivot you’ve made has been quietly building the exact kind of capability today’s workplaces need most?If you’ve ever worried that your nonlinear career looks messy, unfocused, or hard to explain, this episode ...
#74 | Why You Need A Zigzag Career Strategy To Build Unshakable Influence and Combat Your Imposter Synrome
Have you ever felt the need to apologise for a career path that looks more like a zigzag than a ladder?If your CV includes pivots, pauses, reinventions, sideways moves, or roles that do not fit neatly into one clear story, this ep...
#73 | 3 Tiny Moves To Restart Your Confidence Loop After Redundancy | Imposter Syndrome, Influence & Promotion
What do you do when the career knockback was months ago, but your confidence still hasn’t come back?After a redundancy, restructure, rejection or career setback, there comes a point where everyone else expects you to be “moving on...
#72 | Why You Need A Transferable Skills List To Rebuild Your Career Confidence After Redundancy | Imposter Syndrome, Influence, Promotion
Why does a career knockback make you question who you are, not just what you do next?When redundancy, restructure, rejection, or a toxic role knocks you off course, the impact is not just practical. It can disrupt your identity, i...
#71 | How One Woman Found Her Starting Point After A Career Knockback Broke Her Confidence | Imposter Syndrome, Influence and Promotion
Who were you at work before the knockback changed the way you saw yourself?A redundancy, a restructure, a missed promotion, or a role that slowly grinds you down does not just affect your career plans. It can shake your identity, ...
#70 | How High Performers Grow Their Promotion Opportunities: The Direct Ask Strategy To Build Influence
What would you actually do if you felt undervalued at work right now?In this Friday episode, Caroline serves you up a handpicked banger to anchor your commitment to action and move you from insight to action. After unpacking the s...
#69 | Does Your Promotion Strategy Lack Influence? Here’s How To Fix It Right NOW
Have you ever wondered why being overlooked at work can feel so much more painful than it “should”?In this Wednesday science episode, Caroline breaks down the psychology and neuroscience behind feeling undervalued at work. From th...
#68 | Should You Start Signalling Your Wins If You’re Trying To Build Your Influence And Get A Promotion Faster?
Have you ever worked incredibly hard, delivered brilliant results, and still watched someone else get the credit or the opportunity?This episode is for the woman who is tired of being quietly competent while less capable people ge...
#67 | 3 Smart Ways To Reclaim Headspace So You Can Lead, Influence And Nail A Promotion.
What could change in your career if you had more headspace for strategic thinking, influence, and bold moves?In this episode, Caroline shifts from awareness to action with practical ways to reduce mental load and reclaim cognitive...
#66 | How Mental Load Hijacks Your Brain Making Imposter Syndrome Louder And Undermining Your Influence And Promotion Opportunities.
What if the reason you cannot switch off is also affecting your ability to think strategically, lead confidently, and move toward promotion?In this episode, Caroline goes deeper into the science behind mental load and explains why...
#65 | How One Woman’s ‘Normal Morning’ Reveals a Hidden Career Cost That is Crushing Your Influence and Reducing Your Chances of Promotion.
Could the invisible mental load you carry every day be affecting your influence at work more than you realise?In this episode, Caroline explores the hidden mental load so many women carry at home and at work, and why it does not j...