For years, we’ve been taught to see success as climbing higher. But what if your career doesn't have to follow a straight line?

Shruti Rustagi has built an international career across India, Dubai, and the United States while raising two children, working in corporate strategy, and growing her own leadership coaching business. As the Founder of Compounding Leadership, she helps others shift their mindset through coaching, workshops, and keynotes.

In this conversation, Shruti shares why asking for what you want can change your career, why rejection shouldn't hold you back, and how she learned to build a life around what matters most instead of trying to do everything perfectly.

We discuss:

• Why you should ask for what you need

• How to overcome the fear of rejection

• Techniques for handling limiting beliefs

• Why your career doesn't have to be a ladder

• Building a business without immediately leaving corporate

• Using small experiments to make big career decisions

• The power of intentional productivity

• How to identify what truly deserves your time

• Why quality time can matter more than quantity

• Building a village and learning to outsource

Shruti's journey is a reminder that there is no single formula for success. You can pivot, experiment, change direction, and design a career around the life you want to live.

What would change if you stopped following the traditional career path and started designing your own?

Struggling to find the right child care? Get a video interview of your ideal nanny at https://www.momsub.com/child-care-options

#WomenAndWork #WomenInLeadership #CareerGrowth #WorkingMoms #Mindset

What happens when you stop accepting the traditional rules of work and start designing a career around the life you actually want?

Celeste Warren spent nearly three decades in corporate America, rising to executive leadership and serving as a Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company. Along the way, she learned to advocate for herself, challenge inequity, and create opportunities for herself and others.

As a working mother, Celeste negotiated flexible work arrangements, built a family structure where her husband became the stay-at-home parent, and learned to protect her time so she could succeed at work while being present for her children.

Eventually, she left the corporate world to launch her own consulting business—a decision driven by her desire for autonomy, continued growth, and the freedom to chart her own path.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Advocating for yourself when you're being overlooked

• Recognizing bias through data rather than assumptions

• Creating flexibility for working parents

• Navigating mom guilt and career ambition

• The power of employee resource groups

• Knowing when it's time to leave corporate and start your own business

• Building a career around the life you want

What would change in your career if you felt completely comfortable asking for what you need?

If you want to explore how to transform corporate culture by tapping into three decades of experience in human resources and organizational development, go to www.CRWDiversity.com.

Struggling to find the right child care? Get a video interview of your ideal nanny at https://www.momsub.com/child-care-options

#WomenAndWork #WorkingMoms #CareerGrowth #Leadership #WomenInBusiness

When your career keeps evolving, sometimes the biggest challenge is figuring out what kind of work is truly worth building your life around.

After years navigating male-dominated industries, leading large corporate teams, and adapting to completely different professional environments, Karen Ahrens eventually realized that being intellectually challenged wasn't enough. She wanted to create something she believed in—something that could become part of her legacy.

Now, as co-founder and CEO of Wait For Me, a personal assistant app, Karen is building a business while navigating motherhood, entrepreneurship, and the realities of starting over.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Navigating male-dominated workplaces

• Building confidence and adapting to different environments

• Why Karen left a successful corporate career

• Becoming a founder and taking the leap into entrepreneurship

• Motherhood, work, and finding flexibility

• What she learned about delegation and buying back time

• Why mentorship can change someone's career

• Building work that feels meaningful

What would you do differently if you had more confidence in your abilities earlier in your career?

If you’re looking for help with errands, projects or even someone to stand in line for you, check out www.uwait4me.com.

Struggling to find the right child care? Get a video interview of your ideal nanny at https://www.momsub.com/child-care-options

#WomenAndWork #WomenInLeadership #Entrepreneurship #WorkingMoms #CareerGrowth