To celebrate 10 years since I turned my life upside down in pursuit of happiness, I’m sharing the 10 most powerful lessons I’ve learned since walking away from a 16-year executive career.

If you’re craving a more meaningful, aligned, and impact-led life and career, this episode is your road map. Inside, I share the hard truths that changed everything for me, along with practical takeaways and reflection prompts to help you redefine success on your terms.

This one’s especially for the ambitious woman who’s done everything “right,” yet still feels like something’s off. You don’t need to blow it all up to start creating work that matters but you do need to begin. Consider this your start point.

Resources

Craving clarity and impact? Book a discovery call and let’s make your next brave move a reality.

Leadership isn’t about fitting into a system that was never built for you. It’s about reshaping that system to reflect how you lead best.

In this episode of Pennyology, I sit down with Tamara Somers—globally recognised sustainability strategist and Impact Maker—to unpack what leadership looks like when you turn bold strategy into real, systemic change on your terms.

We dive into the power of engaging the right stakeholders, why sustainability is the leadership imperative, and how women like Tam are challenging performative norms to lead with purpose and long-term impact.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why sustainability is leadership—not a side project
• How to engage stakeholders who unlock systemic change
• The difference between performative action and purposeful impact
• How Tamara redefined leadership through the Impact Makers community
• Why If Not You, Then Who? is a question every woman should be asking

Resources

Apply for Impact Makers here

Want to help redefine leadership on women’s terms?

I’m interviewing 25 women as part of my latest research project.

👉 Apply here

Find out more about Sumday here

What if the traits women are criticised for today, like compassion, inclusion, and emotional intelligence, are exactly what the future of leadership demands?

In this episode of Pennyology, I explore why compassionate leadership is fast becoming the most strategically relevant skill for impact-driven women and how you can start building it today. I share insights from my Psychology Honours thesis, lessons from coaching hundreds of women in leadership, and three simple, science-backed practices to help you lead with more clarity, humanity, and influence.

If you’re tired of outdated leadership models and ready to lead with substance, this one’s for you.

What We Cover:

• Why compassion isn’t soft—it’s smart strategy
• The evidence behind wise, compassionate leadership (yes, HBR backs it too)
• Why it matters now more than ever
• 3 simple ways to build your compassionate leadership muscle
• How Impact Makers helps women stop waiting and start leading differently

Resources

Apply for Impact Makers here

Apply to be part of the If not you, then who research here

Checkout Harvard Business Review's Wise Compassionate Leadership Matrix

Read the Forbes' article on integrity here

What does it really mean to lead when the system wasn’t built for you?

In this episode of Pennyology, I sit down with award-winning change-maker Charmaine Hunzwi — a woman leading powerful change at the intersection of corporate, cultural, and community spaces.

Named one of Women’s Agenda’s Women to Watch in Leadership for 2024, Charmaine is redefining leadership through the art of impact making — showing that leadership isn’t about titles, it’s about courage, belonging, and creating spaces where others can thrive.

We dive into:

• How Charmaine leads from the margins without shrinking her ambition
• The creation of Safe Space Media and its role in shifting mainstream narratives
• How navigating spaces not designed for you can sharpen, not silence, your leadership
• What it means to turn intention into real-world impact
• How the Impact Makers program helped Charmaine transform visibility into influence

If you’ve ever questioned where leadership really begins — or how to own your impact without losing yourself — this conversation is your roadmap.

Resources

You can find Charmaine on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠LinkedIn⁠

Want to help redefine leadership on women’s terms?

I’m interviewing 25 women as part of my latest research project.

Apply ⁠here

Leadership is broken and I know I’m not the only one who feels it.

In this episode of Pennyology, I’m calling out a system that no longer serves women like us. After years of working with ambitious, purpose-driven women who want to make a real difference, I’ve seen the same reaction time and time again: they look at traditional leadership—built on ego, noise, and short-term wins—and quietly think, “If that’s leadership, I want no part of it.”

Feel familiar?

That’s exactly why I launched If Not You, Then Who?—a research-led movement to redefine leadership on women’s terms.

In this episode, I share why women aren’t rejecting leadership—they’re rejecting how it’s been modelled. I dive into the disconnect, the unspoken barriers, and how your lived experience can help reshape leadership into something more inclusive, compassionate, and sustainable.

If you’ve ever wished leadership felt different—this is your chance to make it real.

Resources

Apply share your views on leadership in the If not you, then who research here.

After 149 episodes, I knew it was time to evolve. The Pennyology Podcast is a new chapter, one that reflects where my work has landed and where women like us are headed.

In this first episode, I share why I’ve rebranded the podcast, what Pennyology stands for, and how it’s designed to support ambitious, purpose-driven women who are tired of being boxed in by outdated leadership models.

We’re talking about:

• Why the system still rewards silence, shrinkage, and self-sacrifice
• How I became a behavioural scientist focused on disrupting broken leadership norms
• What you can expect from Pennyology — no fluff, no hustle worship
• How to start building the bridge between your ambition and real-world impact

If you’ve ever felt overlooked, under-leveraged, or stuck playing by rules that weren’t built for you — this is your invitation to lead differently.

Resources

Join Impact Makers

Pennyology Podcast Guest Application Form

What do you do when self-doubt creeps in, even after proving more than once that you are a force to be reckoned with?

In this episode, I want to tackle the uncomfortable truth about Imposter Syndrome and its insidious grip on high-performing women. Drawing inspiration from a powerful dinner conversation, together you and I will dive into the shared experiences of insecurity that often lurk beneath our confident facades.

We’ll explore the real impact of this inner critic and why it’s a barrier to the influence and success we seek. If you’re ready to tame the imposter within and unleash potential beyond that which you imagined for yourself, this episode is made for you.

Thanks for listening to this week's episode! If this resonated and supported you in stepping closer to the impact you seek, please head over to iTunes, subscribe to the show, and leave an honest review.

It's your reviews that enable me to empower more women to become impact experts and shape a more inclusive and compassionate future!

Resources

Download The No Excuses Cheatsheet here

Apply for the Impact Makers ecosystem here

Drop me an email here with any future topics you'd like me to cover on the podcast

Read the meta analysis here on Gender differences in impostor phenomenon: A meta-analytic review

Learn more about Tara Brach's RAIN tool here

Why should women fade from view as we age? What if your 50s and your 60s could be your most empowering phase yet? Di Gillett is a role model in challenging what a woman should be in her 60s.

With over 30 years’ experience as a head-hunter, at the age of 59, she channeled her interviewing skills into reinvention in the service of greater impact. She started The Power of Women podcast sharing powerful narratives and amplifying the rich-lived experiences of inspiring women around the world.

Join us for a no BS chat on how to visibly own your power in order to get what you want from life.

Thanks for listening to this week's episode! If this resonated and supported you in stepping closer to the impact you seek please head over to iTunes, subscribe to the show, and leave us an honest review.

It's your reviews that enable me to empower more women to become impact experts and shape a more inclusive and compassionate future!

Resources

Listen to The Power of Women here

Connect with Di here

Download your copy of the Hidden Figures Whitepaper here