You don’t suddenly lose motivation at work.
It usually happens little by little.

You feel drained.
Less engaged.
Less recognised.

In this episode of The Brilliantly Branded Podcast, María Lucia Romero speaks with Raphael H Cohen, professor and leadership expert, about toxic behaviors in organisations and how abuse of power impacts people, teams, and performance.

Professor Cohen explains how these behaviors can be recognised by their impact. Feeling diminished, de-energised, unmotivated, and not recognised. He also explains why organisations often tolerate this behavior, how some people manage to shine upward while creating damage below, and why the real cost often stays invisible.

During the conversation, he shares a free tool that allows organisations to observe engagement levels and understand how managers influence people’s desire to give their best.

👉 Access the free Employee Appreciation Score (EAS) tool here:
https://www.eazymirror.com/EAS?c=BBfriend

This episode gives words to experiences many professionals already live.
And offers a concrete way to observe what is happening inside teams.

Networking is often misunderstood.
For many people, it feels uncomfortable, forced, or even exhausting.

In this episode of the Brilliantly Branded Podcast, I welcome Caroline Durand, entrepreneur and corporate trainer, for a conversation about what networking truly means.

We talk about why traditional networking approaches often fail, how mindset shapes the quality of our connections, and why building relationships based on service and shared values creates stronger, more sustainable opportunities.

Caroline shares practical reflections on:
• Why networking is not about selling
• How to approach conversations without pressure
• The importance of purpose, values, and follow-up
• How to build an ecosystem of trusted professionals over time
• Where AI can support networking without replacing authenticity

This episode is an invitation to rethink networking as a human experience rather than a transactional one.

If networking has ever felt heavy or unnatural for you, this conversation will help you see it from a new perspective.

In this episode of the Brilliantly Branded Podcast, we talk about something many professionals recognise but rarely name. Masking to fit.

Bruno Wozniak, digital innovation consultant and now author of The Reinvention Playbook, shares how years of adapting to corporate expectations slowly muted his real self.

From reading the room and softening opinions, to constantly changing his behaviour to match what others wanted, he built a solid career but felt his energy and curiosity fade over time.

Our conversation starts with a simple question. What happens when we stop managing appearances and start showing up as real in our work, our leadership and our life.

Bruno explains how the concept of “masking” entered his vocabulary through a course on neurodiversity, and how he suddenly realised that he had been doing the same thing for years.

Not lying, but letting situations decide who he was.

We talk about.
• The difference between healthy adaptation and losing yourself to please the room.
• The subtle signals that you are disappearing behind a professional mask, even if your career looks good from outside.
• How authenticity changed his teaching style, his consulting work and the level of trust he builds with clients.
• Why saying “I don’t know, let us figure it out together” can create more authority and connection, not less.
• How a period without a job became the starting point for his book The Reinvention Playbook, and the five part process he developed to rebuild identity, direction and confidence after a job ends.

If you feel you are performing a version of yourself at work, if you are in a transition after leaving a role, or if you want to lead with more humanity without losing respect, this episode will speak to you.

Listen in to explore how to use masks intentionally when you need them, how to stop wearing them all the time, and how to reconnect with the parts of you that bring real energy, creativity and impact to your work.

You can get Bruno’s book through the link.:

https://a.co/d/cWnNiFK