321: How to Be a Likeable Badass
Finding Brave
What if the very traits you’ve been told to soften, like being collaborative or agreeable, are actually essential to your success, not obstacles to it? In this episode of Finding Brave, we explore why so many professionals, especially women, feel trapped between being liked and being respected, and what it really takes to be both. In this episode, Kathy Caprino speaks with , an organizational psychologist, professor at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, and bestselling author of . Drawing on her extensive research on status, power, negotiation, and influence,...
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320: Be Yourself at Work: Show Up, Stand Out, and Lead from the Heart
Finding Brave
What does it really mean to be yourself at work without hiding, performing, or shrinking to fit expectations? In this Finding Brave conversation, we explore why authentic presence is not a soft skill or a personal indulgence, but a powerful leadership practice that builds trust, connection, and impact in today’s fast-moving, emotionally complex workplaces. Today’s inspiring guest is , the world’s first Chief Heart Officer at VaynerX, where she partners with CEO Gary Vaynerchuk to shape culture and leadership at scale. A sought-after speaker and the author of , Claude brings a...
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319: A Talent for Giving: Creating a More Generous Society for All
Finding Brave
The world around us has transformed dramatically—but has philanthropy kept up? For our Finding Brave guest today, , American-British investor and humanitarian and the author of the new book , this question isn't academic—it's deeply personal. His philanthropic journey began humbly, volunteering at a soup kitchen as a teenager. Today, he's recognized globally for transformative work addressing homelessness through London's Passage Day Centre and championing emerging artists through the . In the U.S., he serves on the boards of The J. Paul Getty Trust, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the...
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318: How Organizations Need to Change Their Narrative In Challenging Times
Finding Brave
Everybody wants to believe in something, but the truth is, if you're a leader who shies away from asking tough questions, you're making it harder for people to believe in you. In this Finding Brave episode, we are joined by , known as the Rapid Growth Guy and storytelling expert responsible for five multi-million dollar business success stories. He is the author of and has been featured in Forbes and listed by Global Gurus as one of the Top 30 Sales Professionals. In this conversation, we explore what it truly means to lead through authentic, compelling story, not spin. Matthew unpacks how...
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317: How to Attract Great Investors For Your Products and Business
Finding Brave
Protecting your ideas is a critical step for attracting excellent aligned investors. In this episode of Finding Brave, I sit down with intellectual property expert and attorney , senior partner at , to demystify what it really takes to secure funding and safeguard innovation. Drawing on his extensive experience helping inventors, entrepreneurs, and creative professionals, David shares how a strong IP strategy serves as both protection and proof of your business’s credibility. A registered patent attorney and professor at Temple University, Parsons School of Design, and Radzyner Law School,...
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316: Taking the Brave Leap to Live Your Life Purpose
Finding Brave
Why would someone walk away from a lucrative, 15-year career in software engineering? For , it came down to one thing: learning to prioritize the "spirit mind" over the "material mind.” That perspective shift gave him the inner clarity—and the bravery and courage—to finally move into a life and career of deeper purpose. Jeffrey is a spiritual teacher and energy healer whose work has empowered thousands of people, through ’s Healing Programs and through his own courses, trainings and years of individual and group work with thousands of people around the globe. His mission is to make...
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315: FAWNING: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves
Finding Brave
On the surface, you may look like the model employee, partner, or friend: always dependable, always agreeable. But beneath the surface, you may be carrying a lifetime of survival strategies that keep you invisible in your own life. This is the story knows both personally and professionally, and it’s the story she helps so many of us begin to rewrite. Dr. Ingrid Clayton is a licensed clinical psychologist with advanced degrees in transpersonal and clinical psychology. She has maintained a thriving private practice for more than fifteen years and writes the popular Psychology Today blog, ,...
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314: You Are Not Your Trauma: How You Can Heal Your Life Experience
Finding Brave
What if the parenting behaviors you dislike most in yourself aren’t really “you”? What if they’re trauma responses your brain learned long ago to survive, and what if you could change them? In this episode of Finding Brave, explores how trauma shapes our parenting and what we can do to change the cycle. Dr. Koslowitz is a trauma expert, child psychologist, and author of the new book . She treats children, adolescents, and families at the , and hosts the Post-Traumatic Parenting and . In this conversation, she explains how trauma responses can surface in family life through yelling,...
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313: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change
Finding Brave
Uncertainty has become the defining condition of our time, yet most of us still struggle to find our footing in it. What if you could reframe change itself as a source of strength? Today on Finding Brave, we’re joined by global change advisor, futurist, and author to uncover how to cultivate a “flux mindset” and discover the hidden opportunities within constant change. April, a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and one of Forbes’ 50 Leading Female Futurists, is a trusted advisor to organizations from Airbnb and Nike to the World Bank. She is the author of , a book that helps...
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312: How Confidence Is The Key and How You Can Get It, Build It and Keep It
Finding Brave
Thank you for listening to our Finding Brave show, ranked in the Top 100 Apple Career Podcasts! “Whether you’re on an athletic team, a sales force, or a symphony orchestra, you better be honest about what you think about yourself. What you think about yourself and what you think about all the things that happen day by day, that’s what constitutes your confidence.” – Dr. Nate Zinsser Confidence is a character trait that has relatively little to do with what happens to you, but rather it’s a function of how you think. Today’s Finding Brave guest reveals how you can change your...
info_outlineWhat if the key to career growth isn’t doing more but recognizing what you’ve already achieved? Today on Finding Brave, we’re joined by inspiring author and career coach Octavia Goredema to discover how true visibility begins with valuing yourself.
Octavia is the CEO of Fire Memos, a passionate advocate for helping people unlock their full potential at work, the author of PREP, PUSH, PIVOT, and host of two Audible Originals, Brand Yourself for Success and How to Change Careers. Previously featured on Finding Brave (check out Episode 248!), she returns to share new insights on personal branding, professional visibility, and why it’s more important than ever to own your worth and leverage more fully your amazing talents, abilities and experiences.
In this episode, you’ll learn why great work alone isn’t enough to stand out in today’s competitive job market and how many high performers remain invisible despite their incredible contributions. We also unpack the connection between visibility and self-recognition and how naming your strengths and tracking your accomplishments form the foundation of a strong personal brand.
Octavia also offers empowering tips on embracing personal branding without feeling “cringy,” even for those who avoid the spotlight, and shares the traits that define her own brand. (And the fascinating responses Octavia offered in answer to my impromptu question her own brand were very enlightening!).
Want to learn how to build a memorable personal brand that embodies who you truly are? Tune in today!
Key Highlights From This Episode:
- Why visibility begins with self-recognition (and why so many people struggle with this). [04:55]
- How naming your strengths, even the most obvious ones, is key to owning your worth. [08:43]
- Using discomfort as a diagnostic tool to guide your next steps and fuel growth. [17:23]
- The power of sharing your struggles: it might be the inspiration someone else needs! [21:45]
- Embracing authenticity and aligning your brand with who you truly are. [25:21]
- Tips for identifying the key traits of your personal brand and building a presence for it. [27:41]
- Redefining success by how you honor your own progress, not others' opinions of it. [39:38]
For More Information:
PREP, PUSH, PIVOT: Essential Career Strategies for Underrepresented Women
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Listen to Octavia on Finding Brave in Episode 248: ‘Essential Career Strategies for Underrepresented Women’.
Watch Kathy’s TEDx Talk, 'Time To Brave Up'.
Check out Shawn Achor's TEDx Talk, ‘The happy secret to better work’.
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Ready to Take Your Professional Life and Leadership to the Next Level FAST in a supportive group/community environment?
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Over 8 weeks, I’ll personally coach you and an inspiring small group of professionals around the global to build your confidence, step into expanded leadership, speak up for what you want, job search and interview more successfully, connect with influential mentors, and finally make the career shifts, improvements and changes you’ve been dreaming about.
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If you’re ready for a big positive shift in how you’re working and what you’re achieving today in your career AND want to experience private, one-on-one career coaching and consulting - let’s make that happen for you!
In my 6-session Career & Leadership Breakthrough 1:1 coaching program or my 10-session Build Your Confidence, Success and Impact program, I help men and women get what they want most, which includes more confidence, impact, advancement, financial reward, and fulfillment and exponential growth and reach.
I’ve worked with over 25,000 professionals across 6 continents, and before that, I served as a therapist, and before that, I was a corporate VP, managing multi-million dollar budgets and global initiatives.
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Check out the links above if you’re ready for a big positive shift this year. I hope you’ll register now. I’d love to support you!
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Order Kathy’s book The Most Powerful You today!
In Australia and New Zealand, click here to order, elsewhere outside North America, click here, and in the UK, click here.
If you enjoy the book, we’d so appreciate your giving the book a positive rating and review on Amazon! And check out Kathy’s digital companion course The Most Powerful You, to help you close the 7 most damaging power gaps in the most effective way possible.
Kathy’s Power Gaps Survey, Support To Build Your LinkedIn Profile To Great Success & Other Free Resources
Kathy’s TEDx Talk, Time To Brave Up & Free Career Path Self-Assessment
Kathy’s Amazing Career Project video training course & 6 Dominant Action Styles Quiz
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Sponsor Highlight
I'm thrilled that both Audible.com and Amazon Music are sponsors of Finding Brave! Take advantage of their great special offers and free trials today!
Quotes:
“Self-promotion can feel so hard, or cringy, or icky. To get past that feeling, we have to connect with ourselves. Before we can talk to anyone else, whether that's a co-worker, or our boss, or our networks about the work that we're doing, we have to recognize our value ourselves.” — @OctaviaGoredema [0:05:14]
“Personal branding starts with owning your narrative unapologetically.” — @OctaviaGoredema [0:16:18]
“Growth is so uncomfortable in the moment, but it's so important because that's actually what helps you identify where the misalignment is. You might not be able to snap your fingers and change it immediately, but it's giving you indicators.” — @OctaviaGoredema [0:19:50]
“Ultimately, what you're doing [in building a personal brand] is embodying who you are and building trust around who you are and what you do. It really is that simple.” — @OctaviaGoredema [0:27:03]
“If you are investing in [a social media presence], it’s not about likes and it’s not about the number of followers that you have. It's actually about the authenticity of what you share.” — @OctaviaGoredema [0:38:59]
“The [real] measure of success is taking the time to privately recognize your progress and to honor that and to celebrate that.” — @OctaviaGoredema [0:39:48]
Watch our Finding Brave episodes on YouTube!
Don’t forget – you can experience each Finding Brave episode in both audio and video formats! Check out new and recent episodes on my YouTube channel at YouTube.com/kathycaprino. And please leave us a comment and a thumbs up if you like the show!