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2025 stretched a lot of founders and exposed some serious cracks in the way we lead.

In this episode, I’m unpacking the biggest leadership lessons I learned this year and the 3 high-voltage shifts I’m making to step into 2026 with more clarity, space, and CEO energy.

If you’ve been the bottleneck, the fixer, the Chief Everything Officer… this one’s for you.

Episode Highlights:

• ⚡ Why 2025 cracked open old leadership habits
• 📉 The real reason your team is still waiting on you
• 🧠 The 3 shifts to make if you’re ready to lead like a CEO
• 🛑 Why resourcing > rescuing (and how to stop carrying what isn’t yours)
• 🧾 The free resource I created to help you reset before 2026 hits

👉 Download the 2026 CEO Prep Worksheet — because 2026 requires a different way of leading.

And if you want support turning those insights into action, book a Spark Session with me and we’ll map out your next steps for January.

As the year comes to a close, I just want to say thank you for being here and for being part of this incredible community.

👉 Contact Cardinal Studios at: cardinalstudio.co or mike@cardinalstudio.co

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Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.

Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence.

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This episode is a wake-up call for every founder who's ever skipped lunch, powered through with coffee, or told herself she's “too busy” to use the washroom.

I'm joined by dietitian and women’s wellness expert Lindsay Martens for a refreshingly honest conversation about how self-leadership starts at the most fundamental level — with what your body actually needs to function, focus, and feel good.

✨ Episode Highlights:

• Why so many smart, successful women ignore basic needs
• How dehydration actually puts your brain in survival mode
• What it means to lead yourself first through food and self-awareness
• Why we overthink food — and how to make it simple again
• The fiber + protein combo that actually supports your hormones
• Why self-compassion might be your most powerful leadership tool

👉 Take Lindsay's “Quiet the Food Noise Quiz” to uncover your biggest food mindset blocks and get personalized tips to make food feel easier, calmer, and more intuitive: https://lindsaymartensnutrition.com/quiz/

👉 Book a Spark Session with me here.

👉 Contact Cardinal Studios at: cardinalstudio.co or mike@cardinalstudio.co

Support the show

Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.

Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence.

Send us a text

Have you ever found yourself up at 10 pm rewriting things, fixing mistakes, or just doing it yourself… even though you’ve hired a team to help you?

If you’ve been wondering why your team isn’t stepping up, this episode of Female Founder Unplugged is your wake-up call. Because truthfully? Your team isn’t the issue. But how you’re leading them... that might be.

In this episode, I’m breaking down what over-functioning really looks like, why it’s costing you freedom, and how to lead with clarity, trust, and intention.

✨ Episode Highlights

• 🚨 The truth about the “dream team” myth — and what no one tells you about hiring
• 📌 What over-functioning actually looks like (hint: it’s not just being busy)
• 📊 Why measuring tasks isn’t the same as creating accountability
• 💡 The real reason your team isn’t taking ownership — and how to fix it
• 🛠️ The four shifts that will create a culture of autonomy and results

We’re unpacking what better systems and clearer expectations can do for you and your business.

And if you’re ready for personalized support (if you’re still carrying the load and the clipboard), it’s time to make a shift. In a Spark Session, we’ll map out:

• Where you’re over-functioning
• What needs to be delegated
• How to create clarity and accountability that sticks

Just one hour and one clear path forward.

👉 Book your Spark Session now

Support the show

Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.

Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence.

Send us a text

If you’ve ever cried in your car, snapped at your partner, or wondered why everything feels heavy even when things look “fine” on paper — this episode is for you. I'm digging into the real reason female founders avoid asking for help, and why that pattern quietly slows your growth, drains your energy, and caps your leadership.

✨ Episode Highlights

• 😣 Why even the most capable founders struggle to ask for help
• 🧠 The saboteur chatter that fuels the “I should be able to handle this” loop
• ⚠️ The real cost of doing everything yourself — on your business and your health
• 💡 Why asking for help is wisdom, not weakness
• 🔎 The 5 clarity questions to uncover where you’re overwhelmed or pretending things are “fine”
• 🧭 How protecting your time + energy shifts you back into true CEO mode

📄 Download: The CEO Clarity Worksheet

Get the 5 questions from today’s episode in a printable worksheet to help you identify exactly where you need support — and why you’ve been avoiding it.

Find it inside my Resource Library.

⚡ Book a Spark Session

If this episode hit close to home, a Spark Session might be your next step.
One hour. One problem. Clear path forward.

Support the show

Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.

Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence.

Send us a text

If you’re constantly chasing people down, repeating yourself, and wondering why things keep slipping through the cracks — this one’s for you.

Here’s the truth: your team isn’t lazy. They’re confused. What looks like a motivation problem is usually a clarity problem — and when clarity disappears, accountability goes with it.

✨ Episode Highlights

• The real reason “reminders” don’t work — and what to do instead.
• The three gaps that quietly erode accountability on small teams.
• Why being the safety net kills ownership (and what to do instead).
• How to create clear ownership and a feedback loop that sticks.
• The mindset shift from “babysitter” to boundaried leader.

Because accountability doesn’t start with effort — it starts with structure.

👉 Ready to fix the accountability gap on your team before Q1? Book a Spark Session — one hour to create clarity, follow-through systems, and a culture where accountability actually sticks.

Support the show

Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.

Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence.

Send us a text

We wear “busy” like a badge of honour — but what’s it really costing us?

In this week’s episode of Female Founder Unplugged, I’m joined by Peggy Sullivan, author of Beyond Busyness: How to Achieve More by Doing Less. Peggy’s research and her own hard-won lessons reveal what she calls time poverty—that constant feeling of not having time for what really matters.

Together, we dig into why busyness has become the default mode for so many women leaders—and how to shift from autopilot to intentional action.

✨ Episode Highlights

• The truth about “time poverty” and why so many founders fall into it
• Peggy’s 3-step Busy Busting Framework for creating more time and joy
• Why happiness isn’t a destination—it’s a leadership strategy
• The 4 core values that drive fulfillment and sustainable success
• How micro-habits can transform your productivity and peace

Because success isn’t about doing it all—it’s about doing what actually matters.

👉 Grab Peggy’s book, Beyond Busyness: How to Achieve More by Doing Less, and try her free Busy Barometer tool at peggysullivanspeaker.com.

Support the show

Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.

Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence.

Send us a text

If you feel more like the Help Desk than the CEO, this one’s for you.

Somewhere between building your business and leading your team, you became the Chief Everything Officer — solving every problem, approving every decision, and holding everything together by sheer willpower. It’s not sustainable. And it’s not leadership.

⚡️ Episode Highlights

• 🚨 Why “firefighter mode” isn’t leadership — it’s survival
• 🧠 How over-functioning leaders create under-functioning teams
• 🤝 The truth about accountability (and why it starts with you)
• 🧭 The leadership shift from crutch → catalyst
• 💬 What it takes to let go without losing control

And if you’re ready for one-on-one help to step out of firefighter mode, book a Spark Session — one hour, one problem, one solution. Together, we’ll pinpoint where your boundaries are breaking down, so you can stop being the answer for everyone and start leading like the CEO again.

👉 Book your Spark Session

Support the show

Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.

Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence.

Send us a text

It’s spooky season — but let’s be honest, nothing’s scarier than trying to make your first (or next) hire. You’re standing at the edge of freedom in your business… but all you can think about are the horror stories.

In this episode of Female Founder Unplugged, I’m breaking down how to take the fear out of hiring and bring clarity back into your leadership.

✨ Episode Highlights

• 🎯 The #1 mindset shift: Stop hiring for relief and start hiring for results.
• 👥 How to define the real gap before you post the job.
• 🧭 The 5-step framework I use with my clients to make confident, values-aligned hires.
• 💡 What to measure so you’ll know if your new hire is truly working out.
• 🔦 How to spot (and stop) your own leadership traps before they derail a new team member.

You don’t need a magic potion — just a clear plan. Tune in now and let’s make your next hire one that helps you actually sleep at night.

And if you’re ready for one-on-one help to map out your hiring plan, book a Spark Session — one hour, one problem, one solution. Let’s make your next hire the best one yet.

👉 Book your Spark Session

Support the show

Our mission for Female Founder Unplugged is to impact 1000 female entrepreneurs every season, and we need your help to do that.

Please subscribe to the show, and share your favorite episodes with anyone you feel could benefit. We are growing a powerful community here, and everyone is welcome. Together, we can pave a path to giving more women a seat at the table, and providing opportunities for financial independence.