You can be brilliant, hardworking, and respected — and still feel like you’re running full-speed into an invisible wall. For many senior leaders (especially high-achieving women), the instinct is to push harder: take on more, prove more, hold more. But the higher you go, the more that strategy quietly limits influence, sponsorship, and sustainability.

In this episode, we explore the tension HR leaders see every day: individuals are trying to thrive inside systems that weren’t designed for them — and organizations keep investing in “fixes” that don’t address the real blockers. Carolyn Lawrence and Jennifer Laidlaw unpack why burnout is often a signal your mind is in survival mode, how “resisting the system” can unintentionally keep inequity in place, and what it looks like when inner leadership shifts meet system-level redesign.

About our guests
Carolyn Lawrence partners with organizations to redesign systems so they stop reinforcing outdated patterns — removing invisible barriers so talent can thrive without overperforming for legitimacy.

Jennifer Laidlaw is an executive coach focused on the inner transformation required of modern leaders, helping them achieve breakthrough results sustainably with strong teams and thriving culture.

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