Career Espresso cover art

Career Espresso

Career Espresso

By: Amanda Owen-Meehan
Listen for free

About this listen

 Career Espresso gives you a weekly shot of career and leadership know-how in under 15 minutes. I’m Amanda, and each week I share real stories and practical ideas to help you handle the challenges of work. from dealing with tricky bosses to building confidence as a leader. These short, straight-talking episodes are designed to give you something useful you can try for yourself and with your team. No fluff, no jargon — just honest conversations about how we work, lead and grow.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

© 2023 Career Espresso Career Success Economics Management Management & Leadership Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • Episode 99 - I can't stop doing everything myself

    Episode 99 - I can't stop doing everything myself
    Dec 10 2025
    I can't stop doing everything myself
    You're reviewing something your team has done and it's good. But you find yourself tweaking it anyway. Adjusting the wording, reorganising a section, adding something they didn't think of. Or someone asks you a question and instead of pointing them toward figuring it out, you just answer it. Because it's quicker. Because it's easier than watching them work through it.
    This episode of Career Espresso is about how to actually let go when letting go feels uncomfortable. Not the theory of delegation. The real work of stepping back when every instinct tells you to stay involved.
    What you'll discover
    -What genuinely changes when you get this right (not just time back, but the mental load that's exhausting you)-Why letting go is so hard for women leaders specifically and why it's not just that you haven't found the right system yet-How to hand things over properly so they actually stay handed over instead of boomeranging back to you-What "good enough" actually means when you're used to controlling the output-Why waiting until delegation feels comfortable means you'll be waiting forever
    Perfect for leaders who know they need to stop doing everything but aren't sure how to actually let go without things falling apart.
    Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.
    Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox.
    Get the full episode transcript


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    14 mins
  • Episode 98 - How to find your people as a leader

    Episode 98 - How to find your people as a leader
    Dec 3 2025
    How to find your people as a leader


    You're in a leadership role and something's shifted. The people you used to talk things through with? That's complicated now. Your team can't be your sounding board because you're their boss. Your own boss has their own agenda. And the networking advice you see everywhere feels exhausting when what you actually need is someone you can be real with.


    This episode of Career Espresso is about finding people who actually get what you're dealing with. Not networking contacts or professional visibility. Actual people who understand leadership from the inside.


    What you'll discover


    * Why isolation isn't just uncomfortable - it makes you make worse decisions and lose perspective on how you're doing

    * The three criteria that define your actual people (not just professional contacts)

    * Where to look for peer relationships that work, including the people you're probably overlooking

    * How to start these connections without it feeling awkward

    * What keeps leadership relationships alive when you're overwhelmed


    Perfect for women leaders who need people they can be honest with, not just a professional network.


    Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.
    Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox.


    Get the full episode transcript

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    17 mins
  • Episode 97 - Why doesn't good enough feel good enough?

    Episode 97 - Why doesn't good enough feel good enough?
    Nov 26 2025
    Why doesn't good enough feel good enough?


    You're exhausted. You're managing a thousand things at once. At the end of every day, you look back at everything that went wrong, everything you didn't get to, everything that's still not quite right. What you're not noticing? Your team is functioning. Work is getting done. Things are moving forward. You're the one making that happen but it doesn't feel like enough.


    This episode of Career Espresso is about recognising what's actually working, even when it doesn't feel like anything is.


    What you'll discover


    • Why your attention naturally goes to problems and how that creates a skewed picture of reality
    • The research on why women attribute success to luck but blame themselves entirely for failure
    • The exhausting pattern of constantly preparing for the next crisis instead of noticing what's going well
    • How to see the full picture instead of just the problem-shaped bits


    Perfect for women leaders who are doing better than they think but can't quite believe it.


    Want more support with real-world leadership challenges? Head to How to Build a Leader on Substack for in-depth guides and scripts.


    Never miss an episode. Sign up for the weekly Espresso Brief email and get each episode with quick takeaways in your inbox. Get the full episode transcript

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    12 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.