324: Avoiding the Biggest Job Application Mistakes Today
Finding Brave
What if you feel you’re doing everything right in your job search and it’s still not bringing you results? In today’s uncertain market, even highly capable professionals are facing longer searches and lower response rates. On this episode of Finding Brave, we explore what is really happening in today’s hiring landscape and why so many smart and capable professionals are struggling. is one of the founding team members of , an AI-powered resume builder and job search platform. Drawing from analyses of over 1.6 million applications and hundreds of one-on-one coaching conversations, he...
info_outline
323: How to Negotiate Success in Your Work, Relationships and Career with Scott Tillema
Finding Brave
Our inspiring podcast guest today, , is an award-winning keynote speaker and negotiation expert who helps leaders navigate difficult conversations with confidence, influence, and trust. Drawing on more than 20 years in law enforcement, including his work as an FBI-trained hostage negotiator and a business negotiator trained through the Harvard University Program on Negotiation, Scott brings rare, real-world insight into what it takes to lead effectively in high-stakes moments. His work focuses on showing leaders how to connect first, influence second, and create outcomes that move people and...
info_outline
322: How to Powerfully Market Your Small Business with AI
Finding Brave
Are you using AI to its full potential to meet your marketing, small business, and branding needs? Today’s guest, , is a dynamic speaker, DJ, and marketing expert with nearly twenty years of sales and marketing experience in retail and service industries. His passion for helping small businesses thrive translates into practical guidance on how to leverage AI and freemium apps to create a big impact with your marketing on a small budget. Driven by the belief that people buy from a person before they buy from a brand, his unique approach at helps his clients leverage humor and education to...
info_outline
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,...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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,...
info_outline
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...
info_outline
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, ,...
info_outlineWhat 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 Alison Fragale, an organizational psychologist, professor at the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, and bestselling author of Likeable Badass: How Women Get the Success They Deserve. Drawing on her extensive research on status, power, negotiation, and influence, Alison helps individuals understand how respect is formed and how it can be intentionally built without compromising your authenticity.
In our conversation, Alison breaks down the two core dimensions that shape how others evaluate and perceive us: warmth and competence. She explains how our behaviors signal, or fail to signal, competence, how feedback like “you’re too nice” is often misunderstood, and why pulling back on warmth is rarely the right answer. Through powerful examples from her research, consulting career, and personal experience, she reveals how small behavioral shifts can dramatically change how others perceive your authority and credibility.
This episode offers practical, science-backed insight for anyone navigating leadership, visibility, or influence at work. If you have ever felt misunderstood or unsure of how to show up fully and effectively while being your true self, this conversation will give you a new lens and and transformative ways forward.
Key Highlights From This Episode:
- Introducing Alison Fragale and her research on status, power, and influence. [01:00]
- Lessons from Alison’s early consulting career at McKinsey and how career dissatisfaction can drive self-awareness and meaningful change. [04:44]
- The science behind status, why respect matters, and the “likeable badass” framework. [12:51]
- Understanding the two key ways people evaluate others: warmth and competence. [14:35]
- How gender bias shapes status and perception in the workplace. [17:26]
- Ways that feedback like “you’re too nice” often miss the point, what it’s actually communicating, and how to signal capability without sacrificing warmth or authenticity. [21:28]
- Why asking for advice, not feedback, leads to clearer insight and stronger allies. [25:37]
- Alison’s personal story about self-deprecation and learning from direct feedback. [28:07]
- Unpacking key distinctions between power and status, and their effects. [33:32]
- Final takeaway: How talking up others builds status and influence, and is one of the most rewarding, fruitful and joyful things we can do. [37:50]
For More Information:
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Alison’s book, Likeable Badass: How Women Get the Success They Deserve
———————
READY FOR A HUGE SHIFT TO ACHIEVE MORE SUCCESS, IMPACT AND FULFILLMENT IN YOUR CAREER?
Work with Kathy and get hands-on, transformative CAREER & LEADERSHIP GROWTH COACHING SUPPORT today!
Join me today in one of my top-requested career and leadership growth 1:1 coaching programs and take 20% off the price this week with coupon code ‘FBRAVE20 as my thank-you for tuning in!
Visit my Career Help page, or click the links below for more information and to register today and save 20%:
– Jumpstart Your Career Success (3 sessions)
– Career & Leadership Breakthrough program (6 sessions)
– Build Your Confidence, Success and Impact (10 sessions)
———————
GOT A BURNING CAREER OR PROFESSIONAL GROWTH QUESTION? Ask me on Hubble
I’m thrilled to be an Advisor on the terrific Hubble Expert Advisory group, a curated and knowledge-packed platform for thoughtful and helpful conversations and honest advice on life, work, startup and business growth and navigating professional, career and leadership challenges.
I often hear from people worldwide seeking guidance on careers, leadership, executive, and personal growth, and making a bigger impact. Now, connecting with you and answering your questions is easier than ever—Hubble lets you book a one-off call or recurring sessions with me in just seconds.
Book some time with me here on Hubble - I'd love to support your top goals: https://app.hubble.social/kathycaprino
———————
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
———————
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!
Inspiring Quotes from Today’s Show:
“The best job in life is one that you love, and the second best job is one that you hate, because when you are unhappy in your work situation, it will motivate you, like nothing else, to really understand yourself – and figure out how [to improve your situation].” — Alison Fragale [0:05:48]
“When we talk about a person being a “high-status' individual, we're saying people highly regard them. And what that means is: your status is an opinion in other people's minds. But it turns out to be a really important opinion for our own happiness and for our career success.” — Alison Fragale [0:13:11]
“The two things we pay attention to are: do you care, and are you capable?” — Alison Fragale [0:14:49]
“When a man and a woman walk into a situation, if everything else about them is equal, there’s a very high likelihood that the audience is going to immediately give more status to the man than the woman.” — Alison Fragale [0:20:06]
“I'm not going to pull back on being nice, but I am going to show you that I know what I'm doing. You can rely on me. I'm results-oriented, I'm capable.” — Alison Fragale [0:22:35]
“Smiling is a warm behavior, apologizing is a warm behavior, giving somebody a compliment is a warm behavior, putting yourself down is actually a warm behavior, because it shows you're humble. But some of these behaviors are better than others at showing how capable you are.” — Alison Fragale [0:24:10]
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!