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I can't believe it. Six years of the Dynamic Women Podcast! Over 300 episodes, countless incredible women interviewed, powerful conversations, and hard-earned leadership wisdom. When I launched this podcast, I never imagined how much it would grow or that I'd still be recording it every week.  The Mission: Amplifying Women's Voices The Dynamic Women Podcast was born from a desire to amplify women's voices. After publishing a series of collaborative books, Success Secrets, Confidence Secrets, Trailblazer Secrets, and the upcoming Leadership Secrets, I realized the need for a consistent, accessible platform to continue this mission. This podcast became that platform. It's not that men don’t have valuable messages. They do, but so many stages and speaking rosters still favor male voices. I’ve seen it firsthand as a speaker and attendee at events where the gender balance was clearly skewed. Creating space for women to share their stories, challenges, and successes unapologetically has always been at the core of what I do: for my clients when I’m coaching, for audiences when I’m speaking and for the attendees at my events. While I’ve considered bringing on a series of male guests in the future, the purpose of this podcast remains centered on women’s leadership and empowerment.  Thank You to My Community I want to thank all my guests and listeners. If you've never told me you listen, please send me a note at [email protected]. Let me know what you get out of this, how long you've been listening, and your favorite episodes. Sometimes I think I just talk to myself! Special thanks to my virtual assistant team Kristine and Karissa who publish and promote this podcast every week, and to Michelle from Amplifyou who helped launch this journey six years ago. Six Powerful Lessons Learned Let me share some personal reflections, coaching insights, and stories from this journey. Lesson 1: Showing Up Beats Perfection All of my episodes aren’t perfect and that’s how I stay consistent. I've had episodes I'm not fully proud of… times when I was traveling, sick, or stressed. But putting out episodes every single week was my commitment. You, the listener, can trust me to be consistent, even when my dad was in palliative care I had episodes. If you're thinking, "I don't have all my ducks in a row yet," my response is, “just go for it”. You'll learn along the way. As Michelle told me, "If your first episodes are really good, then you waited too long to start."  Lesson 2: Women Need Space to Share Their Wins Unapologetically So many potential guests are often overly humble, "I don't know if I should share my successes" or not as confident about their success, "I don't have anything really important to share." But once I start asking questions, they blow me away with their stories of overcoming challenges, their successes, and insights. I'm curious: who have been some of your favourite guests? Lesson 3: Humour is a Powerful Tool With humour, you can be more direct and honest without hurting feelings. I've learned this in coaching by using well-placed sarcasm. It helps defuse negative behaviour in workshops etc. Also, in stand-up comedy… the best jokes are ones your audience can relate to. This helps me pick stories and topics for episodes that connect us to each other and help us handle anything with a laugh. I don’t take myself so seriously and can find humour in bad situations. Lesson 4: High-Achieving Women Often Suffer in Silence High-achieving women share similar struggles: burnout, self-abandonment, not feeling enough, and lack of joy. These themes keep coming up in my journey and my guests' stories. We're all working to move toward happiness, fulfillment, and knowing we're enough. Note: Even though my social media might suggest I'm always busy, it’s the consistent work of my VA who helps me with my posts. Honestly, I have to keep myself in check. Last week was too busy; this week I'm trying to be less busy. Lesson 5: Delegation Isn't Optional: It's Smart I didn't start this podcast alone. My friend Michelle pushed me after I sat on the idea for a year and helped me to launch it. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and she did. Then for podcast management I delegated to Canadian assistants, and now my virtual assistants from the Philippines handle production. There's no way I could have maintained this show for six years without delegation. If you're struggling to be consistent with something like your newsletter, social media, or other tasks, delegate it. Lesson 6: Your Mission Will Grow Beyond Your Expectations I started with just a podcast, then added the book series, and now my mission has expanded even further. The podcast has opened many doors. This week I'm attending the Web Summit in Vancouver as media because they reached out due to the Dynamic Women podcast. FYI: Your calling will expand too. What's Next? I'm considering taking the show on the road for a podcast tour and focusing more on leadership content since our Leadership Secrets book launches June 11, 2025. You can register for our free launch event! Let me know: Who do you want me to interview? What topics interest you? What are your favourite episodes? You'll continue getting consistent weekly episodes on the podcast, YouTube, blog and panels of incredible women, solo interviews, and more humour. Until next time, share with a friend, and stay dynamic! Contact Diane at [email protected] to share your thoughts or suggest topics. Register for the Leadership Secrets book launch on June 11, 2025!
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In this special segment from the Dynamic Women podcast, we explore how collaboration and community with other women leaders influence leadership perspectives. I engage in an insightful conversation with Carol Surbey, Karen Ta, and Gigi Blair about their experiences. One of the questions I asked them was, “How has collaboration with other women leaders influenced your perspective on leadership?” Here are their answers.  Carol: When I lived in Vancouver, I belonged to a couple of women's networks, and they were invaluable. They allowed me the opportunity to put language to what I was experiencing. I was in a world of men who weren't great communicators. As we've already determined, communication is huge. Stepping out and stepping in, trusting other women to help you articulate what you're feeling and thinking when you might not have the language around it, that has been absolutely huge for me. Diane: Yes, other women get it. I remember being invited to a high-income-earning mastermind that happened to have only men in it. They said I could bring my spouse, and I asked, "What is my husband going to do with all the ladies?" Their response: "Oh, they normally go shopping." When I asked what the group of members normally do for fun at the end of the mastermind, they said, "We got a big screen TV on the roof and watched the basketball game." I wondered about the kids, and they said, "Oh, the wives take care of the kids." Wow! I was not going to fit into this group. This really highlights the importance of being with your people, whoever that may be, whether it's other women, other business owners, or in Karen's case, women who culturally understand her. Karen: I'm really lucky because I get the chance to work with a lot of smart women who bring strengths that I may not necessarily have. I should clarify that I've met many capable men as well who have influenced my leadership style. Both women and men bring in strengths from a collaboration standpoint.  When I think about the inclusion network I built and the smart women I worked with, my co-chair was really great at navigating politics and strategic thinking, whereas I was more on the implementation and team-building side. When you mentioned community, Diane, that brought in another thought. Women do have a different lens. There are specific things that women struggle with personally, and talking to another woman creates that safe space to show up authentically as a leader. I'll give a quick example: We were both co-chairs leading the inclusion network. There was a specific initiative I was super passionate about, but I was also dealing with something personally; my mom was going through surgery. I had to take a step back and change my focus. Just her understanding of the pressure I was under, including the additional cultural pressures as a daughter of an immigrant mom, there's heavy reliance on the daughter doing many things for the mother, made it easier for me to explain without going through excessive details. I didn't have the luxury to outsource or delegate in this circumstance, and she understood without requiring much explanation. She created a community and a safe space for me to share so I could show up differently as a leader while fulfilling my responsibilities as a daughter. Diane: I'm glad you brought men into the conversation because there are many amazing men out there. What we're doing with the Dynamic Women podcast and the Dynamic Women Leadership Secrets book is giving a voice to women, and we're collaborating together. I appreciate your example of you and your co-chair, that ability to share vulnerably to get the proper support you need is so important. Gigi: Most women leaders (probably leaders in general) would describe themselves as continual learners. They study, read, and listen a lot. But I believe that connecting with a group of peers in structured, facilitated dialogue is a critical column and the secret sauce of being able to live and lead well.  There's nothing that I have found to replicate that experience that comes from that space, which ends up becoming really sacred for the people in the group. We hear it over and over—leadership can be lonely. Everybody on this panel knows that, everybody listening knows that. Being connected in a group of peers that are dealing with similar issues takes a lot of the loneliness out of it and gives strength and courage, as well as best practice sharing and problem-solving. You can make progress quicker on many different issues. I'm a firm believer in the community piece of peer groups. Diane: As you were saying, facilitated groups are key. Everyone is accountable to showing up and the facilitator keeps things moving, fair and accountability. Gigi: Yes. Not just getting on the phone and chatting, which has its place too at the coffee shop. Structured, led dialogue facilitated by a skilled facilitator is the secret sauce. Diane: Remember that even if you are a leader with hundreds of people working with you, it can still be lonely because you can't complain down, and sometimes you can't complain up. Having other people at the same level who understand you and giving yourself permission to lean on them is crucial. If we're in the wrong places or wrong facilitated groups where we're trying to lean on someone who can't hold us, it's going to cause us to fall back. So readers, make sure you have an amazing community of people around you. This interview is part of the Dynamic Women podcast, where we explore leadership, business, and personal development topics with successful women leaders. This panel was composed of four authors in the Dynamic Women Leadership Secrets Book. We invite you to join the Book Launch party happening on June 11, 3:30-5:30PM PDT. Save your spot here.
In one of our Leadership Secrets panels on the Dynamic Women Podcast, I was joined by some of the authors of the upcoming Dynamic Women® Leadership Secrets book, Barb Stuhlemmer, Katherine Johnston, and Jeanine Becker, to discuss how women succeed and overcome challenges.  One of the questions I asked these authors is “Have you ever faced any resistance or biases in your leadership roles—or in working with leaders? And how did you navigate that?” I am going to share their answers to this question in this blog. Jeanine: Yeah, I spent 15 years as an attorney in tech, so often the only woman in the room doing large-scale transactions, bringing multiple parties together for negotiations. The bias showed up in multiple ways—in the work I was given or the questions about the work I was given, and the assumptions about expertise and leadership. I would say that it's a little bit about the biases. How I navigated that bias was remembering that allies matter, right? Who stands with you influences whose voice is heard. That's something I continued to build on as I taught negotiation and collaboration at Stanford for a decade. One of the things I would often talk to my students about was: Who’s going to be the most powerful messenger? And maybe it’s not you—and that’s okay. There was a moment when I was teaching negotiation at Stanford and buying a car. I know the research about how women are treated buying a car, so I brought one of my students to negotiate for me. I wanted a man in that conversation for that moment. He knew everything that I wanted, and we were going to do it together. I wanted to see what would happen when he showed up versus when I went by myself into the dealer. Really thinking about: Who is the most potent spokesperson? Who’s going to get the ear that you need? Sometimes being willing to both fight the biases and put ego aside to actually keep your eye on what’s needed in the moment.  The last thing I would say and what I often do with teams around navigating change and resistance is this: often leadership teams go through a lot of churn and discussion and pushback on what the next step is, and when they roll it out, they hope people will just jump on board. Of course, some will—those early adopters. But there’s always resistance. My number one advice for leaders in those moments is to invite it. Invite the dialogue. Pull people out of denial that we can just go backwards. Embrace the idea that if somebody’s resisting, they’re at least engaging. There's curiosity. It’s a stage they need to move through on the arc of change. So invite it in and dialogue with it—as though it's part of the sales process, rather than a blocker. Diane: I’m hearing a lot of perspective shifts in your answer. I just want to repeat what you said: “Who stands with you influences whose voice is heard.” and “Embrace the idea that if somebody’s resisting, they’re at least engaging.” I love these two. Katherine, how about you? What challenges have you faced with resistance or bias? Katherine: A couple of things came to mind. I guess it’s been more age and gender. I was working for Coke, this time in a southern state in the U.S., and I came to one of the facilities to do these operational audits. This gruff guy meets me, and he says, “I’ve been working here longer than you’ve been alive, girly.” I replied, “And you’ll probably be here long after I’m gone.” Because I was only there for a week. So for me, it was important to use humor and diffuse the situation without putting him down, because I needed a positive, constructive working relationship for the rest of the week. Same thing, happened when I had just graduated with a four-year university degree, and I go to my brother’s graduation from a boarding school in Ontario. The headmaster says, “And when will you be joining us?” I said, “Hmm, I just finished my four-year B.A. I think that might be a little redundant.” The one thing I want to say because almost 20 years of my professional career was in Norway, and Norway is very female-friendly. There’s a lot more gender equality, family-friendly policies, and I didn’t work in industries that were more biased toward women. As a consultant, when I’m hired, I’m brought in because I’m seen as an expert, so I’ve felt it less, but I acknowledge it may be felt more in other countries or industries. Diane: Yeah, I appreciate your point that no matter where it happens, when you’re faced with these biases, to not just be quiet but also not take it personally—and to use some humor. That’s how I get away with a lot of stuff. I can say little comments back or speak the hard truth to my clients and others. Humor helps, and it makes people think. Thank you for sharing that, Katherine. How about you, Barb? Have you faced resistance or biases? Barb: Oh yes. I love what Jeanine and Katherine have said. A lot of their experiences align with things that have happened in my life as well. Interestingly, I don’t know how, but throughout my life, I’ve always had women bosses, or I worked for companies that were very diverse and inclusive. One male mentor I worked for had a very diverse company, even though it was small, we were all very different, and everyone was accepted. I’ve been very fortunate that way. Looking out at societal biases, the expectations that women can’t do something, or assumptions about income or success, I didn’t experience that firsthand most of the time. When I did, I just thought, “Who are you?” I didn’t have to use humour like Katherine, but for me, my biggest resistance is the internal stuff: “I’m not enough,” or “Who do you think you are?” I don’t know where that language comes from because no one ever spoke that way to me. My father was supportive. He’d say, “I didn’t get to my high school graduation, and look at you. I don’t even understand what you’re learning, but you’re amazing.”  My mom was very supportive too. I’ll talk about that more when we discuss collaboration—about the incredible women in my life who made it easy for me to just say, “Who are you?” when facing resistance. I’ll share one quick story, that Jeanine reminded me of with the car-buying story. I went into a higher-end car dealership to buy a new car. I showed up in a suit, ready to buy. But I had an older car, and not one single person acknowledged me. No one looked at me, no one talked to me—except this little guy in the back selling a different brand. He said, “Oh hi! Come on in!” I didn’t even want to look at that car, but I went in and took a test drive. I didn’t buy it, but I’d recommend him because of how he treated me. I won’t badmouth the company, but I would never recommend that dealership based on how I was treated. I thought, “Never mind. I don’t need you.” And I got a fantastic car somewhere else. Diane: Thanks so much for sharing Barb. It’s interesting how our worth can come from others and our worth can be taken from us when we don’t feel confident. So we need to choose our thoughts and actions so we can be uplifted by those who believe in us. Read my other blogs:
Have you been feeling like delegation is impossible? In this blog, I'll share why you struggle to hand things off.  When we look at business, people hand off work all the time. So why, as solopreneurs, do we struggle with delegation? Are we just making it hard for ourselves? There might be a feeling of panic when someone offers to help you, and your brain screams, "No!" It's almost like delegating feels like handing your baby to a stranger for the first time – you're nervous and wondering if they'll be able to take care of them properly. Will they handle the task correctly? Will they be able to reply to emails from your leads or clients? Will they make things look how you want them to look? Your Delegation Kryptonite If you're a high achiever, a perfectionist, or a recovering control freak, this is your kryptonite. This mindset is:
You need to be working on the great things that bring your business forward and help you increase your income. The Delegation Cocktail It's basically a cocktail of issues:
But spoiler alert: "Later" never comes. You end up doing everything yourself, all the time. One small task passed off that can be repeated daily, weekly, or monthly will give you relief, more time, and allow you to focus on your zone of genius. What Delegation Is NOT Sometimes when we think we're delegating, we're not. The first time I hired someone to write my blog and create social media posts, I failed… I would rewrite it or change my mind or not use it. That's not delegation – that's babysitting. You're passing off work but then doing extra steps. If you've ever said, "Please do this" and then ended up doing it yourself or spent tons of time editing it, you're not truly delegating. Side note: Ready to delegate? I do have a program called "Virtual Assistant Made Easy" where we match clients with our team of virtual assistants from the Philippines. You get your own vetted Dynamic VA, and I share my systems, processes, training videos, and checklists so you can delegate with ease. The Coffee Metaphor Imagine delegation like teaching someone to make your morning coffee. At first, it's frustrating – they don't know where things are, which mug you like, or how you take your coffee. They might add sugar when you don't take any, use milk instead of cream, or hand you lukewarm coffee.  But over time, they learn your style and preferences. Eventually, they anticipate your needs, handing you your perfectly made coffee at the right temperature in your favorite mug – all while you're still in your robe! That's when delegation starts to taste amazing. The Hard Truth I keep meeting people who say they're writing a book, creating a program, updating their website, or planning a vacation, but months later, nothing has happened. Why? Because THEY are the bottleneck. When you refuse to delegate, you're not being efficient, even if you think, "It's faster when I do it myself." What's actually faster is someone else doing it for you while you focus elsewhere. By not delegating, you're:
The Joy of True Delegation The joy I personally experience is that I get to show up and record this content – whether you're watching on YouTube, listening to the podcast, or reading this blog. I get to speak, share my thoughts and ideas, and talk to you.  What I don't have to do is:
All of this is done for me. Imagine if you could focus on just the creative part and pass everything else off! Peace of Mind True delegation gives you peace of mind because you're able to work faster and smarter, knowing someone has your back. You cannot and won't scale when you're hoarding all the tasks – you'll just burn out. If you're saying, "It's fine, I'll just do it" through gritted teeth, if you're hanging on by a thread, staying up late at night, or not seeing the income you want, you need to delegate. And if you have someone, but you're secretly redoing their work, that's not moving you forward either. The key is to delegate and then work with them to ensure they reach the point where they can anticipate your needs – like that perfect cup of coffee. Your Next Steps This week, think about what tasks in your business you need to pass off. If you've never delegated before, what's the first thing you could hand over? If you're already delegating, what else can you let go of? Delegation isn't giving up control – it's choosing where to put your energy where it actually matters. You're not lazy for having help. You're not taking the easy road. You’re a smart CEO. If you think you can't afford someone, consider trading in the beginning, hiring for just a few hours, or even using a credit card to get started. Work hard, sell your products or services, and get to the point where your assistants pay for themselves. Stop stepping back. Start stepping up. Start stepping forward into where you want your business to be. Scaling isn't about doing more – it's about systemizing and doing less, better, because you've passed off work. What's your takeaway today? I'd love to hear it! Shoot me a message at [email protected] or comment on whatever platform you're on right now. Read my other blogs:
Ever feel like time slips through your fingers faster than sand at the beach? You’re productive, you’re busy—yet somehow, you’re constantly out of time. Sound familiar? Let’s break down why time always seems to be in short supply, what’s truly draining it, and how you can reclaim your hours with smarter boundaries and better habits.  When Productivity Isn’t the Problem Many people think they just need better time management. But here’s the truth: that’s only half the solution. Most of us are already highly efficient. We’re streamlined. We have systems. But there’s a limit to how much we can fit into a day. What we’re really struggling with isn’t time—it’s capacity. The real challenge? Emotional fatigue, decision overload, and patterns that silently drain your energy and attention. Before you rearrange your calendar again, let’s uncover what’s actually going on. Try the 72-Hour Time Detective Challenge Start by tracking your time for three days straight, for 72 hours. Be brutally honest.
Write everything down. This will expose the surprising drains and patterns you’ve normalized. Hidden Time Leaks That Drain Your Energy 1. Multitasking & Context Switching Studies show multitasking drops efficiency by up to 40%. When you switch between tasks—like writing an article then jumping into emails—you lose momentum and clarity. Try pairing a mental task with a physical one. For example, listen to an audiobook while folding laundry. Don’t try to do two mentally demanding tasks at once—it’s a fast track to burnout.  2. Micro-Decisions That Add Up What to eat, wear, work on—it all adds up. Constant small decisions create fatigue. Instead, streamline where you can and if not make decisions the night before: set out clothes, plan meals, choose your top 3 tasks. Also, give others around you space to decide. Ask your team, “What would you do?” Encourage independence. 3. Being Everyone’s Backup Plan If you’re the go-to person when others drop the ball, you’re constantly in cleanup mode. Set clear boundaries. Let others handle their responsibilities and create space for your own high-priority work. 4. Invisible Emotional Labor Even if you love your work, it can still be emotionally demanding—especially if you’re always “on” or hiding your own exhaustion. Schedule buffer time before and after meetings or events. Protect your energy like you protect your calendar. 5. Perfectionism in Disguise Perfectionism often shows up as procrastination: “It’s not ready yet.” “It could be better.” Let good enough be enough. Done is better than perfect. And progress is more powerful than polish. Time Traps That Keep You Stuck Beyond leaks, there are traps—habits and beliefs that eat up your hours. 1. False Urgency Not everything is urgent. Some tasks are simply important and can be scheduled. Avoid letting someone else’s poor planning become your crisis. Turn off notifications. Screen your calls. Protect your time from the “everything is urgent” mindset. 2. Low-Impact Tasks Busy doesn’t equal productive. If your day is filled with admin or errands, you’re burning energy with little return. Shift focus to high-impact tasks—those that drive income, results, or deep joy. Delegate or drop the rest of the tasks. 3. Indecisiveness Being stuck in decision limbo drains time and mental clarity. Instead, go with your gut or set a time limit for decisions. If it’s not a “heck yes,” maybe it’s a “no” or “not now.”  4. Tying Your Worth to Busyness Your value isn’t measured by how full your calendar is. Constant busyness doesn’t make you more important. It just makes you more exhausted. Start detaching your self-worth from your productivity. You are valuable, regardless of how much you do. What Actually Needs Managing? Your Boundaries. The secret isn’t more time management… it’s better boundary management. Once you do the 72-hour challenge, you’ll see where boundaries need to be tightened with people, your calendar, and even your own expectations. Here’s what to try:
Final Thoughts: Reclaim Your Time, Reclaim Your Energy You don’t need 30 hours in a day. You just need a better handle on what’s leaking your energy and stealing your minutes. Track your time. Set boundaries. Prioritize what actually matters. And ask yourself this: What’s your biggest time bandit right now? Once you spot it, you can fix it. If you want help building a strategy around it, I’d love to support you. Until next time—stay dynamic. —Diane Read my other blogs:
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