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Shedding the Corporate Bitch

Shedding the Corporate Bitch

By: Bernadette Boas
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Welcome to Shedding the Corporate Bitch — the podcast where executive leadership gets real.

Hosted by executive coach, strategist, and unapologetic truth-teller Bernadette Boas, this show is built for senior leaders, CHROs, and HR executives who are done with surface-level leadership advice and ready for the conversations that actually move the needle.

Drawing from 25 years in corporate — including being fired — and over a decade coaching leaders at the highest levels, Bernadette delivers the raw insights, honest dialogue, and practical strategies you won't find in a leadership textbook. Each episode tackles what's really happening in today's organizations: toxic cultures, burned-out teams, leadership gaps, talent retention crises, and the fear, doubt, and imposter syndrome that quietly undermine even the most accomplished executives.

Joined by world-class leaders, HR innovators, and organizational experts, Bernadette doesn't just identify the problems — she hands you the tools to solve them.

This is the podcast for leaders who are ready to shed what's holding them — and their organizations — back, and build something that actually works.

Follow now. Your next level starts here.

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Episodes
  • New Series: From Stuck to Leading - Ep 1 Leadership Identity: The Question That Stops Executives Cold

    New Series: From Stuck to Leading - Ep 1 Leadership Identity: The Question That Stops Executives Cold
    Jun 30 2026
    We'd love to hear from you. Send us fan mail!In this 5-part series premiere of From Stuck to Leading, a five-part self-coaching experience on Shedding the Corporate B!tch, executive coach Bernadette Boas opens with the question at the foundation of every coaching engagement she runs: Who are you as a leader when no one is watching? Not your title, not your results, not your LinkedIn profile, but the leader who shows up when the pressure is on, the recognition is absent, and the next five minutes are going to reveal everything about who you actually are.Drawing on 18 years of coaching over 400 executives, Bernadette walks Powerhouses through two diagnostic spotlight questions from her Leadership Gap Diagnostic — a free 25-statement assessment that places leaders in one of four performance tiers. The gap between how you intend to lead and how your leadership actually lands, and the gap between knowing you need to develop and actively closing that gap, are the two fault lines most leaders have never honestly examined.This is the coaching experience designed to change that — without the price tag of private coaching. Download the free Leadership Gap Diagnostic and start the series with your full baseline in hand. What You Will Learn Throughout The Series:• How to close the gap between the leader you perform and the leader you actually are• Why self-awareness in leadership is about accuracy, not self-indulgence — and how most executives are overestimating theirs• The difference between intending to close your leadership gaps and actively doing it• How one executive went from being passed over for VP to landing the role, at a different company, on her own terms, in 18 months• How to use the free Leadership Gap Diagnostic to establish your baseline for all five episodes in this series Key Quote: "The leaders who sustain their impact, the ones who lead well under pressure, who earn genuine trust, who grow over decades instead of burning out, they are not the smartest or most talented. They are the ones who know who they are, clearly, honestly, and without the title doing the work for them." — Bernadette Boas Episode Chapters: 00:00:00 — Series Hook: Who Are You When No One Is Watching?00:01:00 — Welcome + Series Introduction: From Stuck to Leading00:02:00 — Bernadette's Story: From Fired to Foundation00:03:00 — How to Use the Leadership Gap Diagnostic00:05:00 — Branded Intro / How the Episode Works00:06:00 — Spotlight Question 1: Do You Know How Your Leadership Actually Lands?00:08:00 — Spotlight Question 2: Are You Actively Closing the Gap?00:10:00 — The Four Leadership Tiers + Diagnostic Reminder00:11:00 — The Identity Question: Returning to Who Are You When No One Is Watching?00:13:00 — What Shaky Leadership Identity Looks Like00:14:00 — Bernadette's Firing Story: The Identity Problem00:16:00 — Client Story: Dana's Path to VP00:18:00 — The I Dare You Challenge00:19:00 — Wrap Up: What to Take Away Today00:20:00 — Series Commitment + Subscribe CTA00:21:00 — Preview of Episode 2: What Are You Avoiding? ABOUT THIS SERIES — From Stuck to Leading: The Five-Part Self-Coaching ConversationEvery other Tuesday, Bernadette Boas asks one coaching question — the same question she asks every private client. Five episodes. Five questions. One complete leadership transformation arc.• Episode 1 — Who Are You as a Leader When No One Is Watching? [YOU ARE HERE]• Episode 2 — What Are You Avoiding That's Quietly Costing You Everything? [LINK WHEN LIVE]• Episode 3 — [Coming every other Tuesday]• Episode 4 — [Coming every other Tuesday]• Episode 5 — [Coming every other Tuesday]Subscribe to Shedding the Corporate B!tch on YouTube (@ShedtheCorpBitchTV) or your podcast platform so you never miss an episode in the series.About Bernadette Boas:Bernadette Boas is an executive coach, speaker, author, and founder of Ball of Fire Coaching. With 25+ years in corporate America — including VP and Chief Knowledge Officer roles — and 18 years coaching 400+ executives across Fortune 500 and high-growth organizations, she is the host of Shedding the Corporate B!tch. balloffirecoaching.com | coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall Related Episodes:• I Got Fired So You Could Lead — The story behind the framework: HERE• The TIMER Framework Solo Episode: HERE• Why Your Team Ignores You: HERE Subscribe & Follow:New episodes of the From Stuck to Leading series release every other Tuesday at @ShedtheCorpBitchTV on YouTube. Subscribe and hit the bell so you're notified when Episode 2 drops — it goes deeper on the question every executive has been avoiding. All episodes are also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms.Download the free Leadership Gap Diagnostic: tiny.cc/leadershipgapdiagnosticSupport the ...
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    22 mins
  • How to Handle Workplace Disputes Before They Become Lawsuits — with Felicia Harris Hoss

    How to Handle Workplace Disputes Before They Become Lawsuits — with Felicia Harris Hoss
    Jun 23 2026
    We'd love to hear from you. Send us fan mail!Workplace dispute resolution is one of the least discussed and most costly blindspots in executive leadership. In this episode of Shedding the Corporate B!tch, executive coach Bernadette Boas sits down with Felicia Harris Hoss, of Harris Hoss Mediations & Arbitration, a nationally recognized mediator with 30 years of trial law experience, to break down early dispute resolution and why it is one of the most powerful, underutilized tools available to corporate executives and HR leaders.Felicia explains why less than five percent of filed lawsuits ever reach trial, what that means for how executives should be approaching conflict, and why the decision to mediate early is not a sign of weakness, it is a strategic move that preserves relationships, resources, and reputation. She walks through the four Cs of mediation, the questions every executive should be asking their attorney, and how to shift from a reacting posture to a responding one in any dispute.If you lead people, manage HR concerns, or sit in any seat where workplace conflict can escalate into legal action, this conversation will change how you think about resolution. What You Will Learn• What early dispute resolution (EDR) is and why it is ABA official policy• When to engage a mediator before a lawsuit is filed• Why litigation means surrendering control — and what executives can do instead• The four Cs of mediation: confidentiality, control, creativity, certainty• What questions to ask your attorney about workplace disputes and resolution options• How the respond vs. react mindset shifts negotiation outcomes• What 'winning' actually looks like in a corporate dispute Key Quote"If you go to the courthouse, you pass that baton called control to strangers. — Felicia Harris Hoss" Episode Chapters00:00:00 — The Legal Dispute Already Living in Your Organization 00:02:00 — Why Staying in the Room Changes Everything 00:03:00 — Meet Felicia Harris-Hoss: From Trial Partner to Neutral 00:06:00 — What Mediation Actually Is (And Isn't) 00:09:00 — Workplace Scenarios That Call for a Mediator 00:12:00 — Why Early Mediation — Before Positions Harden 00:13:00 — The Human Cost Behind Every Corporate Lawsuit 00:15:00 — Why Early Mediation Wasn't Working — And What Changed 00:17:00 — Ego, Fear, and the Real Reason Leaders Avoid Resolution 00:18:00 — The Courtroom Hands Control to Strangers 00:21:00 — The Four C's of Mediation: Confidentiality, Control, Creativity, Certainty 00:26:00 — Key Questions Every Leader Should Ask Their Attorney 00:27:00 — What to Know Before You Bring a Dispute to HR 00:31:00 — Why Even Lawyers Get Confirmation Bias 00:32:00 — Respond, Don't React: The Mindset That Changes Outcomes 00:34:00 — Bernadette's Takeaways for Every Leader and HR Professional About the GuestFelicia Harris Hoss, of Harris Hoss Mediations & Arbitration, is a 30-year trial attorney and nationally credentialed mediator who specializes in early dispute resolution for executives, corporations, and complex business conflicts. She co-authored Resolution 500 for the American Bar Association, which was unanimously adopted in 2024, making early dispute resolution official ABA policy. She also helped establish the American Arbitration Association's EDR Mediation Panel.Learn more at HarrisHossPLLC| Connect on LinkedIn HERE Related Episodes Employee Engagement Strategies That Actually Move the Needle with Ian Watts— HEREYour Calendar is Lying - The Timer Leadership Framework— HERESlow Down To Go Fast with Loretta Stagnitto — HERE Subscribe CTAIf this conversation gave you a new way to think about conflict, leadership, and control, subscribe to Shedding the Corporate Bitch on YouTube at @ShedtheCorpBitchTV for new episodes every week. You can also DOWNLOAD our free Leadership Gap Diagnostic and identify where your leadership needs the most attention right now. Support the show
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    37 mins
  • I Got Fired So You Could Lead Better

    I Got Fired So You Could Lead Better
    Jun 16 2026

    We'd love to hear from you. Send us fan mail!

    The 5-Step Transformation Framework That Turns Your Biggest Leadership Gap Into Your Greatest Strength

    About This Episode:
    After 25 years in corporate America as VP, Chief Knowledge Officer, global team leader, Bernadette Boas was fired and labeled a tyrant. What she built out of that experience is a proven, five-step leadership transformation framework she has since used with 400+ executives across SMB - Fortune 500 companies and high-growth organizations.

    This episode is for the manager who is still in the seat, not facing termination, but feeling the gap between the leader they are today and the leader they know they are capable of being. That gap is showing up in your team, your results, and the exhaustion of performing a version of leadership that doesn't actually feel like you.

    Bernadette walks you through every step of her Shift to Riches Formula — Discover, Confront, Shed, Create, and Accelerate, and gives you three specific actions to begin your own transformation today.

    What You'll Learn
    • Why the gap between the manager you are and the leader you want to be starts on the inside, not in your title or your org chart

    • How to identify the fears, insecurities, and ego-driven behaviors quietly costing you trust and results

    • The 5-Step Shift to Riches Formula — Discover, Confront, Shed, Create, Accelerateand how to apply each step immediately

    • Why building new goals without confronting old patterns is performance, not transformation

    • The three requirements for sustaining leadership change when organizational chaos pulls you back

    • Three actions to take today, not next week, to begin your own leadership shift

    Key Quote
    "The leader you are today was shaped by the fear you chose not to confront. The leader you're meant to be is waiting on the other side of that work." — Bernadette Boas

    The 5-Step Shift to Riches Formula
    • Step 1 — Discover: Who you are, who you want to be, and what internal fears and insecurities are getting in the way

    • Step 2 — Confront: Looking directly and honestly at what you discovered — without rationalization, blame, or shame

    • Step 3 — Shed: Releasing the behaviors, beliefs, and patterns that are no longer serving your leadership

    • Step 4 — Create: Building new behaviors, a new leadership identity, and new goals grounded in who you are choosing to become

    • Step 5 — Accelerate: Sustaining the transformation through iteration, accountability, and continued investment in your growth

    Your Three Actions From This Episode
    1. Name your dominant internal fear or insecurity — fear, ego, self-doubt, imposter syndrome. Write it down. That is your Discover work.

    2. Identify one behavior to shed — just one — that is showing up in your leadership and costing you trust, impact, or peace. Name it.

    3. Write one sentence about the leader you are choosing to create. Not the leader your organization needs. The one you want to be. That sentence is your north star.


    Resources & Links
    Free Leadership Gap Diagnostic: balloffirecoaching.com/opt-in

    Book a Discovery Call with Bernadette: coachmebernadette.com/discoverycall

    Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@ShedtheCorpBitchTV

    Bernadette's Website: balloffirecoaching.com

    Podcast Page: balloffirecoaching.com/podcast

    About Bernadette Boas
    Bernadette Boas is an Executive Coach, keynote speaker, and founder of Ball of Fire Coaching. A former Global VP and Chief Knowledge Officer, she has coached 400+ executives across Fortune 500 companies and high-growth organizations over 16 years. She is the author of Shedding the Corporate Bitch, published in 2011, and is currently authoring its sequel — Shift to Riches: The Guide to Your Success.

    Support the show
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    36 mins
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