The Balanced Badass Podcast®

Feeling stuck in a job that’s draining you but too scared to make a change that looks crazy on paper? This one’s for you. 

I sat down with LauraAura, keynote speaker, coach, and host of The Gutsy Podcast, to talk about what it actually takes to make a bold move when you’re burned out and second-guessing everything. 

We get into why the thing you want most is usually hiding behind the thing you resist most,...

Six months into the season, I stopped to count what I was actually hearing. Across dozens of 1:1s, different jobs, different cities, different titles, the same five patterns kept walking in the door. So this is the episode where I name them, in the order they tend to happen to a person.

We start with the work, the kind that has no off switch. Then the person above you, and the Gallup finding that 70% of whether a team thrive...

This week I'm joined by Courtney Townley, a health and self-leadership coach and author of The Consistency Code. We get into integrity pain, that nagging discomfort when your daily choices don't match what you actually want for your life, why willpower isn't the fix, and the four practices behind her Consistency Code: awareness, organization, follow through, and realignment.

If you've ever set a goal, fallen off, and then be...

I'm a burnout coach, and I'm about to tell you why most burnout advice doesn't work. Including some of mine.

I'm unpacking the reframe that has changed how I work with every single client. The advice is not failing. The advice is answering a question that is not your question.

I'll walk you through the 5 Cs (Conditions, Culture, Convictions, Choices, and Capacity), the five drivers of burnout, and show you why most po...

What happens when the wellness coach burns out? Lisa Shubin knows.

She built a career helping people inside corporate and healthcare systems take care of themselves, then had to figure out how to take her own advice. In this episode, we talk about the gap between how organizations talk about wellness and how work actually gets done, the signals your body sends before a breakdown, and how her Ignite framework helps people build susta...

There's a reason you keep almost quitting but never do, and it has nothing to do with motivation. 

In this episode, I apply Kurt Lewin's three-stage Change Model to career change during burnout. You'll learn why unfreezing is harder than the actual move, what job search paralysis really is, and the stage most people skip that sends them straight back into the same burnout with a different logo on the door. 

Resource...

A 2025 New York Times piece asked whether women have "ruined the workplace," blaming flexibility and empathy for what's broken.

Alison Campbell, founder of unBurnt® and former Chief of Staff turned leadership researcher, joins me to set the record straight. We talk burnout, workplace design, working motherhood, and what her new research with Bentley University is uncovering about how people actually feel at work right now.

This is an...

In this episode, we sit down with Alli, founder of Work and Thrive HQ, to talk about how you can get trapped in the Chief Everything Officer role where you’re being the default for everything, saying yes by default, stepping in because it’s faster, and staying constantly available until you burn out.

Alli shares how she hit that point as a young director during COVID, working nonstop and realizing she needed outside coac...

Most of us built our careers around answers we gave before we really knew ourselves. Elizabeth has a front-row seat to how that plays out. She's an HR pro and founder of Cultivate Growth Co., who works with early career professionals every day.

In this conversation, we get into the expectations gap between what young people think work will look like and what it actually demands, why knowing who you are matters more than knowing what...

 In this episode, Tara breaks down the neuroscience of why burnout kills your joy, and why "just take a vacation" is some of the worst advice anyone can give. If you've ever sat on a free Saturday feeling nothing, or noticed that you can't stop thinking about work even when you desperately want to, this episode explains what's actually going on in your brain and what the path back actually looks like. 

Topics covered: ...

Feeling like you're constantly running on empty? In this episode, registered nurse and nervous system regulation coach Audrey Rose breaks down what it really means to regulate your nervous system—and no, it's not about being zen 24/7 or quitting your job.

We dive into Audrey's personal burnout story from her time as a lead nurse during the pandemic, the science behind fight-or-flight vs. rest-and-digest, and her four-step RISE...

Employee engagement just hit a 10-year low, dropping from 36% to 31% since 2020. That’s 8 million workers who’ve checked out.

But here’s what the headlines miss: role clarity collapsed, feeling cared about plummeted, and organizations are responding with “practice gratitude” instead of fixing anything.

In this episode, we’re breaking down what Gallup’s new data really reveals about systemic w...

Back in August, I posted a viral video about workplace mobbing and received overwhelming support from people who could finally put their experiences into words. Recently, another creator copied my content word for word, highlighting the issue of content theft. 

This incident made me reflect on how similar situations happen at work, where ideas are stolen without clear attribution. I discuss the importance of making your ideas t...

Your personal brand is being built right now, whether you're intentional about it or not. 

In this episode, media host and brand strategist Corey Andrew Powell joins me to explore how clarity, consistency, and connection shape the way the world sees you.

Corey shares why your seemingly ordinary story holds more power than you think, and how to stop shrinking yourself to make others comfortable. You'll hear about the soggy grille...

Think quitting your job will erase burnout? Think again. In this episode, we dig into the lingering effects of burnout even after you’ve left a toxic work environment. 

Learn about burnout aftershocks, rebuilding your sense of safety, and the slow, steady path to true recovery. 

We’ll explore how to recognize and rewire your burnout DNA, reclaim your value, and design your work-life balance with intention. Featu...

Ever felt like your boss is unintentionally making your life a living nightmare? 

In this episode, we get into how leadership habits and structural systems fuel burnout. Discover why it's not about you being weak, but about navigating and managing the power dynamics at play. 

Learn strategies to protect your sanity, communicate effectively, and regain your energy in a chaotic work environment. 

Check out the detailed sh...

Join Tara as she chats with Jesse, aka "Your Unfiltered BFF" on TikTok, who is known for her raw and hilarious takes on corporate life and HR nonsense. 

Jesse shares her journey on social media, unexpectedly becoming a voice of reason for many frustrated employees. Discover how small daily injustices and performative HR policies can undermine corporate culture and why unfiltered honesty is in high demand. 

Jesse offers insi...

In today's shorter episode, I'm sharing some personal thoughts on dealing with the emotional weight of recent events, including a mass shooting close to home and the constant barrage of political noise. 

We get into the concept of emotional spillover, why you're feeling extra stressed at work, and how to create temporary normals to cope. Forget "business as usual"; let’s talk about giving yourself permission to be human, ...

Ever been dropped into a surprise Monday morning meeting with bad news? In this episode, we're spilling the tea on surviving (and thriving) in a resource-strapped job where budgets are frozen and headcounts are shrinking. 

We'll break down practical strategies to stay effective without burning out, including the five Cs framework to diagnose your constraints, how to advocate for what you need with data (not drama), and smart wa...