What would change if you stopped agreeing to take on everything at work? If you have perfectionist and overachiever tendencies like I do, it’s possible this question has never even occurred to you. In the race to the top, it can feel like everything is urgent and our responsibility. But there’s a better way. A new trend floating around social media recently caught my attention, and it’s called “strategic detachment.”

In this episode, I take a look at a more thoughtful approach to workload management and delegation, especially as it applies to team leaders. The professional landscape is transforming so rapidly in so many ways—this might just be the trend we need to survive 2026.

Hop off the overachieving hamster wheel and onto your true career trajectory. Tune in to learn:

• The unintended consequences leaders create when they won’t step back;
• What strategic detachment really means (and what it doesn’t);
• Why you might need to examine your fear to avoid burning out.

Related Links:

• Episode 403, How First-Time Managers Can Embrace Coaching - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode403
• Episode 368, What Quiet Quitting Can Help…or Hurt - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode368
• LEVEL UP: a Leadership Accelerator for Women on the Rise - https://www.bossedup.org/levelup
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

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How often have you heard the rhetoric that if you want success badly enough, if you work hard enough, you’ll find success? As women, we grow up with a promise—from little girls who can “be whatever we want to be” to full-grown “girl bosses,” the world is our equal-opportunity oyster.

But the data doesn’t prove this out. It’s that data Stefanie O’Connell breaks down and picks apart in her new book, The Ambition Penalty, and in our honest and research-backed conversation. As her book’s tagline says, “corporate culture tells women to step up―and then pushes them down.” Whether this feels all too real to you or you’re skeptical, Stefanie’s exploration of the metrics and the myths will get you thinking about how you challenge inequality in every environment where it still thrives.

Stop blaming yourself and start challenging the status quo:

• Why prioritizing self-optimization can backfire;
• The systems we should be holding accountable for the ongoing inequality;
• The problem with the male victimhood narrative;
• What happens when we model healthy power and gender dynamics to our children?

Related Links:

• Listen to Episode 408, Women and the Ambition Penalty - https://www.bossedup.org/podcast/episode408
• Connect with Stefanie on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanieoconnell/
• Pre-order The Ambition Penalty - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-ambition-penalty-how-corporate-culture-tells-women-to-step-up-and-then-pushes-them-down-stefanie-o-connell/bf6de978036a09ff
• Subscribe to Too Ambitious on Substack - https://tooambitious.substack.com/
• Follow Stefanie on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stefanieoconnell/
• TAKE ACTION with Bossed Up - https://www.bossedup.org/takeaction
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When someone at work shares an opinion you don’t agree with, what’s your response? Do you move on with an agreeable nod, or do you push back? All too often, we take the former route. So many of us are taught not to rock the boat by expressing disagreement. But here’s my hot take: you can share your honest and dissenting opinion in a way that wins you major leadership points.

In fact, I firmly believe that disagreeing shouldn’t be as rare as it is, especially from those in leadership positions. Disagreeing without being disagreeable changes how people perceive you and can open some promising doors for both your career and your team’s future.

So let’s embrace these three steps to highlight your critical thinking skills and earn respect:

• Ask this key follow-up question that directs your dissent;
• Embrace an accessible hack for the hard part: sharing your hot take
• And finally, the thoughtful structure that showcases your thought leadership.

Related Links:

• SPEAK UP: A Live Assertive Communication Course for Women in the Workplace - https://www.bossedup.org/speakup
• Buy Bossed Up, the book - https://www.bossedup.org/book
• Bossed Up Courage Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/927776673968737/
• Bossed Up LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7071888/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.