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Leadership Beyond the Title

Leadership Beyond the Title

By: TaSheena Braxton| Mom Executive Leadership & Team Coach
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Leadership Beyond the Title is hosted by TaSheena Braxton, Executive Leadership & Team Coach, mother of four, and a woman who learned how to lead long before she ever held a formal title. This podcast is for leaders who know they're capable of more — with or without the job title to prove it. Every week, we disrupt the outdated belief that leadership is tied to hierarchy, proximity to power, or navigating corporate politics. Leadership isn't given. Leadership is shown — through impact, visibility, strategic relationships, and the courage to show up as who you are. I created this podcast because I know what it feels like to be overlooked, underestimated, or told (implicitly or explicitly) that you aren't a leader until someone grants you permission. And I also know what it looks like to lead anyway — to influence without authority, to build trust across teams, to navigate power dynamics, and to grow a reputation that gets you opportunities you were never "supposed" to have. Inside this podcast, you'll learn how to: • Lead in any room — regardless of your title • Grow visibility without burning out • Build relationships that accelerate your career • Navigate identity, systems, and workplace politics with clarity • Position yourself as a leader people want to follow Our conversations will help you move from untapped, unseen, and under-recognized to someone who leads movements, shapes culture, and makes an undeniable impact — title or not. If you're ready to lead from who you are — not what your title says — you're in the right place.TaSheena Braxton| Mom, Executive Leadership & Team Coach Career Success Economics Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • They Tried to Block My Promotion. Here's How I Got It Anyway.

    They Tried to Block My Promotion. Here's How I Got It Anyway.
    Jun 17 2026

    I was doing everything right. I had the degrees, the certifications, the relationships. And when the perfect role finally opened up — someone was quietly working behind the scenes to block me from getting it.

    This week, I'm telling the full story: how I went from administrative assistant to certified coach, three levels up. The gut instinct that made me turn down a role I'd already accepted. The coach who told me I'd be good at this when I didn't even know what coaching was. And the advocates who had my back when someone was trying to push me out.

    This is a story about trusting yourself, building real relationships, and refusing to do more to prove what you've already earned.

    In this episode:

    • My real career story — from retail to biotech to coaching, and the moment someone tried to block my promotion
    • Why I turned down a role 24 hours after accepting it — and why trusting your gut matters
    • How advocacy showed up from every direction: a skip-level manager, a peer leader, and a manager who wrote the letter for me
    • Why administrative assistants are some of the most strategic people in the building (and why people sleep on them)
    • The difference between a mentor and a sponsor — and why one sponsor isn't enough

    The 3 things I want you to focus on:

    1. Build your strategy — get advocates from different angles (your manager, a skip-level, a peer who isn't your boss)
    2. Know your non-negotiables — your title, your pay, your market value, and where you stand next to everyone else
    3. Know your sell — learn to name the impact you create, because nobody else will do it for you

    What I want you to walk away with: Your skills, your credentials, and your relationships are your leverage. Diversify them — don't put all your eggs in one basket. And remember, the goal isn't for everyone to like you. It's for them to respect what you bring to the table.

    🔗 Work with me 1:1 — The Career Lab: Three months of weekly coaching for the woman who's ready to get promoted, navigate someone blocking her, or grow into a leader even without the title. Book a call: https://coachingwithtasheena.as.me/sales

    📬 Read my Substack — Off the Org Chart: New research-backed articles every Sunday.

    https://substack.com/@tbraxtoncoach

    Connect with me:

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coach_tasheena/

    TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@coachtasheena

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tasheena-braxton-msod-cpcc-orscc-ccmp-pcc-11b14a69/

    🎧 New episodes every Wednesday. Missed last week? Summer Series Episode 2 "Code Switching Is Not a Strategy. It Is a Tax." — is the perfect lead-in to this one.

    If this episode resonated, share it with someone who needs it and leave a comment — it helps others find the show.

    Media Credits: Images and visual content created with Canva and licensed via Storyblocks.
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    48 mins
  • The Bleacher Years: What Leadership Looks Like From the Stands

    The Bleacher Years: What Leadership Looks Like From the Stands
    Jun 3 2026

    You're at your kid's game, phone in hand—technically present, but are you really there?

    In this deeply personal kickoff to her summer series Leading Through Every Season of Life, Coach TaSheena unpacks the difference between being in the room and being present in it. After a night at her son's basketball game made her confront a years-long pattern of showing up without actually being there, she started connecting the dots between the life you live outside of work and the leader you become inside it.

    Drawing on Harvard research on parental presence, Gallup's end-of-career regret data, and a University of Texas study on phones and connection, she makes the case that how you show up at home is the same muscle that makes you a better leader at work.

    In this episode:

    • Why quality of engagement—not quantity of time—shapes how our kids turn out
    • What people actually regret at the end of their careers (it's never the extra emails)
    • The leadership link most people miss: presence at home and presence at work are one practice
    • Three tools to shift from distracted to dialed-in—the Countdown, the Intention Check, and the Weekly Audit

    Your question for the week: Where are your bleachers? Who is asking for your full presence and getting something less—and how many summers do you have left in it?

    Count your summers. They're going by whether you're present for them or not.

    🎧 Book a coaching call (https://coachingwithtasheena.as.me/sales) • Follow on Instagram @coach_tasheena

    New episodes every Wednesday.
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    26 mins
  • Stop Skipping Your Skip Levels: The Visibility Strategy That Gets You Promoted | Ep #60

    Stop Skipping Your Skip Levels: The Visibility Strategy That Gets You Promoted | Ep #60
    Feb 18 2026
    📜 Summary Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught to stay in our lane. Don't rock the boat. Be loyal. Let your manager handle the relationship with leadership. And whatever you do — don't go over your boss's head. And maybe that advice came from a good place — but it's keeping you invisible to the people who actually make decisions about your career. In this episode, I'm unpacking the belief that causes so many talented, accomplished women to avoid one of the most powerful career-building tools available to them: the skip level meeting. We explore: Why skipping your skip levels feels like loyalty — but is actually costing youThe difference between going around your boss and building relationships across the organizationThe agent and the athlete analogy — and why even LeBron doesn't let his agent handle everythingWhat happens when your boss is the only person telling your story in rooms you've never enteredWhy visibility isn't arrogance — it's agencyA 6-step approach to walking into your next skip level prepared, confident, and strategicWhat to do after the meeting to keep the relationship warm and build on the foundation you created A skip level is not going around your boss. It's taking responsibility for making sure the right people know who you are — before opportunities are announced, before decisions are made, and before someone else's name comes up instead of yours. Your boss can open doors. But you have to walk through them. If you've ever avoided a meeting with senior leadership because it felt wrong, disloyal, or like it wasn't your place — this conversation is for you. 📥 Grab the free Storyteller Framework: LINK 📖 Chapters 00:00 The Belief That's Keeping You Invisible 05:30 Your Boss Is Not Your Only Advocate 13:00 What It's Costing You to Stay Invisible 16:30 How to Prepare for Your Skip Level 24:00 What Letting Go of This Belief Unlocks 🔗 Work With Me: 1:1 Leadership & Career Coaching If you're a woman of color who wants to grow your career without becoming someone you don't recognize—this coaching is for you. Together, we'll define your leadership on your terms, create visibility that doesn't require performance, and strengthen the relationships that actually shape decisions—so you stop waiting to be picked and start being pursued. 🔗 Apply for 1:1 coaching by booking a call here:BOOK A CALL HERE Where to Find TaSheenaSign up for "A Seat At The Table," my Weekly Newsletter that empowers WOC leaders and their teams to build their own seats at the table. LinkedIn | Instagram | Website | TikTok
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    31 mins
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