Leading Women in Tech Podcast

You know something is wrong with your team. Maybe it's the missed deadlines that have become the norm. The low energy in meetings. The friction nobody's naming. The high performer who's gone quiet. Or just a general flatness — a team that's functional but nowhere near what you know it could be. In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis gives you the honest, practical framework for turning a struggling team around — including the part most leadership advice skips: the leader's own role in the system. What's covered: ➡️The four types of team struggle — and why getting the diagnosis right before you act is the most important thing you can do. The wrong solution applied with confidence makes things worse. ➡️The over-functioning trap — why managing around a problem signals to your whole team that the problem is acceptable, and what it's costing your best people right now ➡️Why your team is not where you are — the emotional and informational gap between you and your team, and why moving at your pace without accounting for theirs leaves people behind ➡️The three conversations you've been avoiding — performance, expectations, and recognition — and why the difference between a team that stays stuck and one that turns around is almost always the conversations the leader wasn't having ➡️How to retain your high performers when the team is struggling — because they're always the first to leave, and they always have options ➡️The honest question about your own leadership — and why understanding your role in the system is what makes the rest of this possible ➡️Where to start this week — three specific actions, not twenty Whether you've inherited a struggling team, watched one develop on your watch, or just know things need to change and aren't sure where to start — this episode gives you the framework. Related episodes: ⏹ Episode 152 — How to Give Feedback: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/152-how-to-give-feedback ⏹ Episode 174 — What to Do When You Inherit a Poor Performer: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/174-what-to-do-when-you-inherit-an-underperformer ⏹ Episode 172 — When You Need to Let People Go: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/172-when-you-need-to-let-people-go ⏹ Episode 178 — How to Lead and Retain High Performers: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/178-how-to-lead-and-retain-high-performers ⏹ Episode 250 — Leading Through Change: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/250-leading-through-change ⏹ Episode 158 — Unleashing Team Performance: Simple Coaching Approaches: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/158-unleashing-team-performance-the-power-of-simple-coaching-approaches Book a complimentary strategy call: tonicollis.com/lets-chat/

When everything is shifting — a restructure, a board crisis, a project on the edge of collapse, or just the relentless uncertainty of leading a team through sustained change — the expectation is that you hold it together. You stay steady. You have the answers. But nobody tells you how. In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis builds out the adaptive leadership toolkit every senior leader needs for navigating a genuine crisis — not the kind of crisis leadership that sounds good in a conference keynote, but the practical, honest, unglamorous work of staying grounded when everything around you is shifting. This is not about eliminating the pressure. It is about developing the specific capabilities that let you remain clear, present, and effective within it. What's covered: Why crisis leadership is a trainable capability, not a personality trait — and why the unruffled leader you're comparing yourself to is a fiction The team-speed problem: why your team is not where you are emotionally, and what it actually means to meet people where they are Crisis communication as a leadership skill — not just a PR function. The specific language that calms, orients, and aligns your team when they're in crisis mode. And why you need to say it far more times than you think The internal dimension: staying grounded in yourself before you can hold space for anyone else Protecting decision quality when the stakes are highest — the difference between genuine urgency and anxiety-driven urgency The blame game, why a crisis is never the time to play it, and the story from early in Toni's career that has stayed with her ever since The isolation of senior leadership in a crisis — and the structural responses that make it manageable Related episodes: Episode 170 - Does it have to be lonely at the top? Drawing the line between being a boss and a friend Episode 243 - Struggling to Be Heard? Master Leadership Communication Strategies and Coach Upwards Episode 248 - Recognizing the Signs: Identifying Early Indicators of Burnout Episode 250 — Leading Through Change Episode 274 - How to Stop Overthinking at Work: Tools for Clear, Confident Leadership Decisions. Episode 278 - When No One Listens — How to Lead When Your Voice Isn't Heard Episode 294 — Burnout-Proof Leadership Episode 298 - When the Stakes Are High, Does Your Voice Go Quiet? How to Communicate With Clarity Under Pressure Ready to work through a genuinely difficult period with support? Book a strategy call: tonicollis.com/lets-chat

Are you brilliant at your job — but starting to wonder if this is really it? One of the most common and least-talked-about challenges facing senior women in tech is the moment when something needs to change, but you don't know exactly what, and the fear of getting it wrong is keeping you exactly where you are. This is not a "how to find a new job" episode. It is an episode about how to think clearly and strategically about career pivots — before you make a reactive decision you spend the next two years recovering from. Whether you're bored and feeling guilty about it, you know you need to leave but can't see where to go, or you're ready to pivot but don't know where to start — this episode is for you. Keep listening to learn more about: Why the restlessness you're feeling is not a character flaw — it's a signal worth taking seriously The four types of "something needs to change" — and why getting the diagnosis right is what separates a strategic pivot from a reactive one The full range of options available to you — including internal pivots, functional moves, smaller organisations, fractional leadership, and entrepreneurship A five-step framework for thinking through a career pivot strategically without making a decision from your most exhausted place What's really underneath the fear — and why the identity question is the thing that keeps most women stuck What a good career pivot actually looks like — and the one first step to take this week Whether you're actively planning a change or just starting to sit with the question, this episode will help you think more clearly about what you actually want next.

Three hundred episodes. Approaching 1500 women coached across corporate tech, startups, and academia. And a long list of things I used to believe that I no longer do. Episode 300 of Leading Women in Tech is different from any episode I've made before. This is not a tips episode. It is not a framework. It is my honest account of what seven years of conversations and nearly 1500 coaching relationships has actually taught me about women in leadership — including the places where the conventional wisdom is wrong, the advice I've heard given to women again and again that has caused real damage, and what I would say now that I would not have said at Episode 1. In this episode I cover: Why leaning in was the wrong answer — not because the system is unfair, but because it asks women to lean into a male model that was never designed for them Why getting a seat at the table was never the whole answer — and what the goal actually is The real problem with "just speak up more" and "just be more confident" — and why telling women to be more confident before they've had the chance to build it is one of the most common ways we set them up to fail Why "you can have it all, just not at the same time" does so much quiet damage — and what to say instead The zone of genius trap that nobody warns you about — and why staying in it is the goal, but only if you notice when it has changed Why you need a mentor, a coach, and a sponsor — and why most senior men in tech have all three while most women have only one What working harder actually costs women — and what to invest in instead Why we are more individual than society would have us believe, and what happens when women stop performing someone else's model of leadership And why, despite everything, I am genuinely optimistic. This episode is for the women who have been listening since the beginning, and for the women who are finding this podcast for the first time. It is my most honest episode yet.

Fractional leadership positioning is one of the most misunderstood — and most important — parts of building a successful fractional career. In this episode Toni breaks down why so many senior women struggle to gain traction in fractional roles, how positioning differs from full-time leadership, and what it really means to be hired for judgement rather than execution. Here's what you'll learn in this episode ⏹ Why experience alone doesn't translate into fractional opportunities ⏹ The difference between employee positioning and fractional leadership positioning ⏹ Why fractional leaders are hired for judgement, not capacity ⏹ The most common positioning mistakes that keep leaders invisible ⏹ How to pressure-test your own positioning without "selling yourself" ⏹ What comes next if you want to move from interest to paid fractional work What's coming next In next week's episode, we'll go one step further and explore how fractional leaders actually get hired — what genuinely leads to opportunities, and what doesn't. Want support with your positioning? If this episode highlighted gaps or uncertainty around how you're currently positioned, you can book a free strategy session or fractional leadership positioning audit — here: 👉 https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

If performance were enough, more women in tech would already be promoted. They're not. In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis breaks down executive presence for women in tech — what it actually means, why being good at your job isn't enough at senior levels, and how leaders are really evaluated when promotion, influence, and trust are on the line. This episode is for high-performing women who've been told they need "more executive presence" — without ever being given clarity on what to change. You'll learn why executive presence is not about confidence theatre or personality, why women are often misread at senior levels, and how to build leadership presence without changing who you are. In this episode, you'll learn: ◾ Why performance alone doesn't create executive presence ◾ What executive presence for women in tech really looks like at senior levels ◾ How leaders are evaluated on judgement, framing, and decision-making ◾ Why executive presence is harder for women (and how bias actually shows up) ◾ The difference between confidence and leadership presence ◾ Practical ways to build executive presence without becoming someone else 🔗 Resources & Links ◾ Book a free strategy call: https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat ◾ Learn more about Toni Collis: https://tonicollis.com

If the idea of going fractional feels exciting and terrifying at the same time — you're not alone. In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, we explore what fractional leadership really looks like for senior women who want more autonomy, impact, and alignment — without blowing up their careers. This episode is for you if: ◾You're curious about fractional work but worried about legality, stability, or time ◾You've been asked to "advise" startups or former colleagues — informally and often unpaid ◾You want meaningful, senior-level work without the full-time corporate trap ◾You're wondering if a portfolio or fractional career could be a smart next step Rather than hype or hustle culture, this conversation focuses on clarity. You'll learn: ◾What fractional leadership actually is (and what it isn't) ◾The three most common starting points women have when exploring fractional work ◾How to explore fractional leadership safely alongside a full-time role ◾The real fears women have — about contracts, confidence, pricing, and visibility — and how to address them ◾Why most fractional experiments fail (and how to avoid those mistakes) ◾How to test fractional work intentionally, without quitting or burning bridges This episode is not about deciding everything today. It's about understanding what's possible — so you can make your next move with confidence. 🎯 Next step: If this episode resonates and you'd like to talk through your own fractional career options, you can book a complimentary strategy session with me to design your own fractional career right here: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule/64a6bd61/appointment/86825111/calendar/3066450?appointmentTypeIds[]=86825111

Most leaders start the year with good intentions — but by February, meetings, emergencies, and team issues take over. And suddenly, your career is something that just happens to you. In this solo episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis walks you step-by-step through how to create your 2026 Leadership Roadmap — a clear, strategic plan to move your career forward intentionally, not reactively. This episode is for you if: • You're working hard but not seeing progression • You feel overworked, under-recognised, or invisible • You're ready for promotion but not being tapped • You want to stop reacting and start leading strategically You'll learn: • Why "trying harder" doesn't create career acceleration • How senior leaders actually plan their growth • The difference between productivity goals and leadership goals • How to define your 2026 North Star • The key visibility, influence, and strategic gaps holding you back • A simple 5-pillar leadership roadmap framework • Why subtraction and boundaries are essential for leadership growth • How to turn your roadmap into a quarterly, sustainable plan This episode bridges mindset → action, helping you design a year that supports the leader you're becoming — not the role you've outgrown. 🎯 If you want support turning this roadmap into real momentum, you can book a discovery call at tonicollis.com/lets-chat #LeadershipRoadmap #WomenInTech #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerPlanning #WomenInLeadership #ExecutivePresence #PromotionReady #LeadershipGrowth #StrategicLeadership #LeadingWomenInTech #ToniCollis