The Career Clinic Podcast

Episode 94: Side-Hustling, New Roles & Staying Motivated | Ask OhHeyCoach The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Episode 94 — and the final episode of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series 🤎. Over the last four weeks, we've spent intentional time together resetting, recalibrating, and strengthening how you approach work, leadership, provision, and agency as you move into the year ahead. This final Ask OhHeyCoach episode brings the series home with listener questions about: Knowing when to leave a role Positioning yourself for opportunities that don't yet exist Doing more with less without burning out Building additional income streams responsibly Staying hopeful and steady in a difficult market This episode isn't about quick fixes. It's about discernment, preparation, and sustainable forward movement. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ How to make decisions when no option feels perfect ✔️ How to create opportunities instead of waiting for job postings ✔️ How to navigate "more work, fewer resources" without resentment ✔️ How to explore side income without jeopardizing your current role ✔️ Why motivation isn't enough — and what actually carries you through ✔️ How systems, community, and clarity support long-term momentum Key Themes from This Episode Decision-Making Without Certainty You won't always get clarity first. Often, clarity follows action — especially when you're honest about what you're optimizing for and the real cost of staying where you are. Creating Opportunity Many of the best roles are built, not posted. Relationships, visibility, and specificity make it easier for others to support and advocate for you. Capacity & Boundaries Doing more with less requires data, communication, prioritization, and boundaries. Silence and overextension are not sustainable strategies. Side Hustles & Additional Provision Building another stream of provision requires awareness of contracts, conflicts of interest, discretion, and timing. Protection and patience matter. Staying Steady in a Tough Market Motivation fades. Systems, inputs, community, and rest are what sustain you — especially when results take time. A Note of Gratitude 🤎 If you listened to one episode or all of them — thank you. Thank you for: Showing up for yourself Sharing this series with others Submitting thoughtful, honest questions Being part of this community This January Intensive has been one of the most meaningful projects Ronnie has created, and your presence made it what it was. What's Next for The Career Clinic Podcast 🎧 New episodes will drop weekly on Wednesdays. There's also a possibility of adding a second weekly episode on Mondays — more to come on that. The January Intensive will live here permanently, so revisit it anytime — and feel free to recommend it to someone who could use it. Stay Connected 🤎 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter Weekly reflections, tools, and leadership guidance delivered every Monday 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📸 Follow on Instagram @ronniedickersonstewart @ohheycoach 💼 Connect on LinkedIn Ronnie Dickerson Stewart 👉🏾 https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronniedickersonstewart/ 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach Submit questions for future episodes 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT Support the Podcast 🤎 If this series served you, please: Follow or subscribe to The Career Clinic Podcast Rate and review the show Share it with someone who could use it These actions help the podcast reach more people who need grounded, honest career conversations. Final Thought 🤎 You don't have to have everything figured out. You just have to stay connected — to yourself, to your people, and to what matters. Thank you for starting the year here. I'll see you next Wednesday.

Episode 93: How to Know When to Go The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Week Four — the final week — of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series. In Episode 93, Ronnie tackles one of the most consequential career questions many people face: How do you know when it's time to go? Not quitting reactively. Not staying out of fear, loyalty, or inertia. Not confusing a hard season with a finished one. This episode offers a grounded, practical approach to discerning when a chapter is complete — and when what's actually required is a pause, reset, or renegotiation instead of an exit. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why "stay or go" is rarely a simple yes/no decision ✔️ How to distinguish misalignment from normal discomfort ✔️ A practical framework to assess your current season ✔️ The difference between a Going Season and a Woahing Season ✔️ Why staying too long can quietly erode health and momentum ✔️ How to prepare for transitions without panic or urgency ✔️ What aligned leaving actually looks like The Core Framework: Earning, Learning, Leveraging ✍🏾 Ronnie introduces a decision-making framework she uses frequently with coaching clients navigating inflection points. Ask yourself three questions: 1. Am I earning? Not just salary — but fair compensation, resources, respect, and support relative to the value you're creating. 2. Am I learning? Are you still growing, stretching, or building skills that matter for your future? 3. Am I leveraging? Is this role, leader, or organization creating momentum, credibility, or access for what's next? If the answer is no to two or more, it's time to pause and evaluate — not panic, but pay attention. When It May Be Time to Go If earning, learning, or leveraging cannot be improved — even after conversations, negotiation, or boundary-setting — that's often a signal the season may be ending. Going doesn't require immediate action. It requires clarity. Key questions include: What would need to change for this to work? Is that change realistically possible here? If not, what provision and timeline would I need to exit well? Leaving well is a process, not a reaction. An Important Signal: Languishing 🤎 Ronnie names a signal that deserves serious attention: languishing. This isn't a bad week or temporary fatigue. It's the slow loss of energy, clarity, and connection to yourself. Languishing often costs: Physical and mental health Personal relationships Confidence and self-trust Long-term career momentum No role is worth sustained erosion. Going Season vs. Woahing Season This episode adds nuance using Ronnie's Five Seasons Framework, with a clear distinction between Going Season and Woahing Season. Going Season A season of intentional preparation to leave — a role, organization, identity, or chapter that no longer fits. The clarity here is steady and persistent, not emotional or reactive. Woahing Season A pause season. Not leaving — but slowing down, repacing, restoring energy, resetting boundaries, or addressing overextension. Woahing is about saying "Hold on", not "I'm done." Leaving during a Woahing Season often means carrying the same patterns into the next chapter. When Going Isn't Your Choice Ronnie also addresses involuntary transitions — layoffs, restructures, and role eliminations. Key reminders: These are business decisions, not reflections of your worth You still get to shape your narrative Preparation protects you, even if nothing changes Preparation can include: Maintaining relationships inside and outside your organization Staying visible without becoming performative Creating financial runway when possible Paying attention without spiraling What Going Well Requires If you're clear that it's time to go, this episode emphasizes three essentials: Clarity Know what you're moving toward — even if it's rest, recovery, or space. Planning Timeline, provision, and next steps matter. Grace Leaving is emotionally complex, even when it's right. Aligned exits are thoughtful, not dramatic. Listener Reflection 🤎 This week, complete an Earning, Learning, Leveraging audit. Then ask: Am I in a Going Season or a Woahing Season? What one step would bring clarity right now? Discernment is part of leadership. There's no rush. Links & Resources 🤎 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter Weekly reflections, tools, and leadership guidance 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach Submit a question for a future episode 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 🤝 Work With OhHeyCoach Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact info@ohheycoach.com

Episode 92: Managing Your Stakeholders (Without Losing Yourself) The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Week Four — the final week — of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series. This week is focused on designing your career on purpose, with practical tactics you can apply immediately. In Episode 92, Ronnie tackles a topic that consistently trips up capable, thoughtful professionals: managing your stakeholders — without burning out, people-pleasing, or losing yourself in the process. This conversation reframes stakeholder management away from "corporate politics" and toward self-advocacy, stewardship, and clarity. The goal isn't to perform or overextend. It's to ensure the people who influence your progress and provision actually understand your value, priorities, and boundaries. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ What "stakeholders" really means — beyond your direct manager ✔️ Why stakeholder complexity increases as you become more senior ✔️ How mismanaged relationships lead to burnout, resentment, and missed opportunity ✔️ The shift from passive to participatory career management ✔️ A practical framework for managing stakeholder relationships intentionally ✔️ How to advocate for yourself without shrinking or over-explaining ✔️ When it's time to adjust — or exit — a stakeholder relationship Who Are Your Stakeholders, Really? In this episode, Ronnie defines stakeholders as anyone who influences your progress or your provision. That can include: Your manager and leadership team Skip-level leaders Clients and vendors Cross-functional partners Board members Collaborators on key initiatives As careers advance, stakeholder webs become more complex — not simpler. Managing up, down, and across requires intention, not assumption. The Core Shift: Passive → Participatory A common mistake many people make is waiting to be understood. They assume: Stakeholders know what they're working on Stakeholders understand what they need Past performance will speak for itself But assumption is not a strategy. Ronnie emphasizes that stakeholder management means actively participating in shaping how your work, value, and priorities are understood — rather than leaving it to chance. The Four Pillars of Stakeholder Management ✍🏾 Ronnie introduces a practical framework built on four elements: Anticipation Understanding what your stakeholders care about before they have to say it. Communication Sharing information in ways that are useful to them, not just you. Translation Framing your work in language that resonates with their priorities. Consistency Showing up in predictable, reliable ways over time. These four elements create clarity, trust, and momentum. Not All Stakeholders Care About the Same Things A key insight from the episode: stakeholders optimize for different outcomes. For example: A manager may care about execution and morale A skip-level leader may care about risk and alignment One client may prioritize speed, another results One partner may value collaboration, another optics Treating every stakeholder the same often creates friction. Managing relationships well requires understanding what each person is measured on and worried about. How to Understand What Your Stakeholders Care About Ronnie offers seven diagnostic questions to help you gain clarity: What pressure are they under? What are they being measured on? What keeps them up at night? What do they need to feel successful? What does success look like from their perspective? How does your work help solve their problem? How does your contribution make their job easier or their goals more achievable? When you can answer these, you can manage relationships strategically — not transactionally. Say vs. Show: Managing Perception Stakeholders don't experience your intentions — they experience patterns. This episode revisits the idea of closing the gap between: What you say you are What stakeholders actually experience from you Visibility here isn't about noise. It's about intentional surfacing of: Wins Progress Challenges Context that needs translation What gets shown consistently is what gets trusted. When Stakeholders Are Misaligned or Difficult Ronnie addresses a reality many listeners face: Conflicting priorities between stakeholders Unclear or inconsistent leadership Relationships that create ongoing friction The guidance: Name what's true without dramatizing it Focus on what you can influence (communication, framing, boundaries) Adjust strategy without abandoning yourself Recognize when a relationship may no longer be worth the energy it requires Not every stakeholder relationship is meant to be preserved at all costs. A Practical Stakeholder Audit 🤎 Ronnie closes the episode with a clear, actionable exercise: 1. Identify Your Stakeholders List anyone who influences your progress or provision. 2. Clarify What They Care About Note their priorities, pressures, and success metrics. 3. Identify Gaps Where are you unclear, inconsistent, or silent? 4. Choose One Small Shift One conversation, one update, one boundary — not an overhaul. Small adjustments compound. What This Episode Reinforces Stakeholder management is about protection, not performance Clarity reduces friction Advocacy builds provision Relationships compound over time You don't need to manage everyone — just the relationships that matter most What's Coming Next Tomorrow's episode tackles one of the hardest career decisions many people face: when to stay — and when to go. Links & Resources 🤎 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter Weekly reflections, tools, and leadership guidance 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach Submit a question for a future episode 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 🤝 Work With OhHeyCoach Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact info@ohheycoach.com Final Thought 🤎 This is grown-folks career stewardship. I'll see you tomorrow.

Episode 91: Negotiation as Self-Advocacy The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Week Four — the final week — of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series. This week centers on designing your career and life on purpose, and in Episode 91, Ronnie reframes negotiation as something far bigger than salary discussions or offer letters. This episode positions negotiation as self-advocacy — a posture and practice that helps create provision and margin across your work and life. Whether you're staying put, stepping up, or preparing for what's next, negotiation is about shaping the conditions that allow you to succeed and sustain yourself over time. Negotiation isn't about winning. It's about aligning the terms of engagement with the life you're trying to live. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why negotiation is about more than compensation ✔️ The difference between negotiating outcomes vs. negotiating conditions ✔️ How provision and margin protect against burnout and resentment ✔️ Common negotiation moments people miss entirely ✔️ Why half-negotiating often leads to overwhelm later ✔️ How to prepare for negotiation conversations with clarity and confidence ✔️ How to frame negotiations as alignment, not demands The Core Reframe: Negotiation Creates Provision and Margin Ronnie introduces two key concepts that ground this episode: Provision The resources, support, authority, and clarity you need to do your work well and live well — including team size, budget, tools, access, decision-making power, and fair compensation. Margin The breathing room that makes work sustainable — flexibility, boundaries, time, rest, and space to think strategically instead of constantly reacting. Negotiation is how you actively shape both. Where Most People Stop Too Soon This episode names a common pattern: people negotiate the number, but not the conditions. Examples include: Negotiating salary but not team size or resources Accepting a promotion without clarifying decision authority Getting a raise without discussing the path forward Absorbing additional scope without resetting expectations Working unsustainable hours without renegotiating boundaries The result is often short-term wins followed by long-term strain. Missed Negotiation Moments to Watch For ✍🏾 Ronnie walks through several moments that are actually invitations to negotiate: Promotions or role expansions Strong performance reviews Increased scope or absorbed work Projects that fail due to structural gaps Unsustainable workloads or expectations Negotiation doesn't only happen at offer stage — it happens whenever the terms of engagement change. How to Prepare for Negotiation Conversations Ronnie offers a practical, repeatable approach: 1. Get Clear on What You're Asking For — and Why Know what success requires in real terms. 2. Invite the Conversation Use language that signals alignment and gives space to prepare. 3. Frame for Mutual Success Position the conversation around outcomes and sustainability, not demands. 4. Bring Context and Data Decision-makers don't always see what you see — help them understand. 5. Get Curious About Pushback Curiosity creates collaboration and better outcomes. 6. Offer Options, Not Just Problems Solutions invite partnership. What This Episode Is — and Isn't This episode is not about: Negotiating for sport Being adversarial Pushing without context It is about: Advocating for yourself clearly Designing conditions that support long-term success Treating negotiation as a leadership skill Understanding that the terms you accept shape the life you live This Week's Reflection 🤎 Identify one upcoming moment where a negotiation is needed — a review, role change, scope shift, or workload concern. Ask yourself: What do I need to succeed here? What conditions would make this sustainable? How can I frame this as alignment? That's the work. What's Coming Next The next episode continues this thread with a focus on stakeholder management — and how to build partnerships that support your success instead of leaving you to carry everything alone. Links & Resources 🤎 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter Weekly reflections, tools, and leadership guidance 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach Submit a question for a future episode 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 🤝 Work With OhHeyCoach Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact info@ohheycoach.com Final Thought 🤎 Negotiation isn't about asking for more. It's about asking for what makes success possible. The terms you accept today shape the life you live tomorrow. I'll see you in the next episode

Episode 90: Stop Waiting for Permission The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Week Four — the final week — of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series. This week brings together the core themes of the series: agency, design, decision-making, and forward movement. In Episode 90, Ronnie names a pattern she sees repeatedly among capable, accomplished people: waiting for permission. Permission to apply. Permission to pivot. Permission to leave. Permission to want something different than what once made sense. This episode is a grounded conversation about reclaiming agency, understanding the cost of waiting, and learning how to move forward with intention — even when certainty isn't available. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why permission rarely arrives — especially later in your career ✔️ How "being prudent" quietly turns into self-delay ✔️ The difference between strategic patience and stalled movement ✔️ Why certainty almost never comes before action ✔️ How external validation slowly erodes leverage ✔️ What it looks like to design your next chapter on purpose Why We Wait for Permission Ronnie breaks down common reasons people get stuck waiting: Wanting certainty before moving Seeking validation from others Believing there is a "right" way to want success Fear of undoing credibility already earned Feeling bound to past decisions At a certain point, waiting stops being thoughtful — and starts limiting momentum. The Real Cost of Waiting This episode names what waiting often costs: Time Time spent waiting is time not spent building toward what matters now. Opportunity Movement creates learning. Waiting delays it. Leverage The longer you wait, the more approval starts to matter. Agency Over time, waiting teaches you to defer your own judgment — and that's hard to reverse. A Personal Story on Self-Permission Ronnie shares her own experience leaving a successful corporate career to build OhHeyCoach — not impulsively, but intentionally. She talks through: How long the decision took Why permission never came What planning actually looked like Why clarity followed action, not the other way around The takeaway is practical: permission is something you give yourself — after thought, reflection, and design. How to Stop Waiting and Start Designing ✍🏾 1. Name the Permission You're Waiting For Be specific. Vague waiting is harder to move through. 2. Ask: "What Would I Do If I Already Had Permission?" This question surfaces clarity quickly. 3. Design the Thing You're Waiting On Draft the role, the pivot, the next chapter — even if it's rough. 4. Identify the First Two Steps Not the full plan. Just the next right moves. What This Episode Is — and Isn't This is not a call to be reckless or impulsive. It is a reminder that: Thoughtful decisions don't require unanimous approval Readiness often follows movement You are allowed to evolve beyond old definitions What's Coming Next The next episode continues this theme with a focus on negotiation as self-advocacy — reframing negotiation as a life skill, not just a workplace tactic. Links & Resources 🤎 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter Weekly reflections, tools, and leadership guidance 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach Submit a question for a future episode 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 🤝 Work With OhHeyCoach Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact info@ohheycoach.com Final Thought 🤎 You don't need permission to think clearly, plan thoughtfully, or move forward with intention. You are allowed to decide — and design — what's next. I'll see you in the next episode. 🤎

Episode 89: Introversion, Rebuilding Networks & Awkward Moments | Ask OhHeyCoach The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Ask OhHeyCoach Friday during Week Three of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series. In Episode 88, Ronnie responds to listener-submitted questions that get very real about networking fatigue, introversion, rebuilding dormant relationships, and the awkwardness that often comes with reconnecting — especially after long periods of silence. This episode builds directly on the week's themes of voice, visibility, connection, and provision, offering grounded coaching for listeners who want to stay connected without forcing themselves into spaces, behaviors, or strategies that don't fit who they are. This Week's Coaching Focus This Ask OhHeyCoach episode centers on: Rebuilding relationships after time and distance Navigating networking as an introverted or energy-protective person Releasing guilt, apology loops, and transactional pressure Understanding networking as a long-term practice, not a crisis response Creating provision through consistency, generosity, and proximity Listener Questions Answered in This Episode 1. "How do I reconnect with someone after years of silence without it feeling awkward or transactional?" Ronnie reframes awkwardness as a natural gap — not a failure — and encourages listeners to lead with honesty, specificity, and humanity instead of apologies or immediate asks. Reconnection doesn't require justification; it requires presence. 2. "I'm introverted, and networking events drain me. How do I build a strong network without forcing myself into spaces that don't work for me?" This response dismantles the myth that networking must be loud, extroverted, or performative. Ronnie shares why many introverts are exceptional network builders — through depth, intentionality, small groups, asynchronous connection, and even creating their own spaces. 3. "What if I realize I've been 'not working' instead of networking for years and my network has gone cold? Is it too late to build provision now?" Ronnie answers this question with clarity and compassion: it's never too late — but it does take time. She encourages listeners to start with proximity, rebuild trust through generosity and consistency, and remember that most people are more forgiving than we imagine. Key Coaching Takeaways ✍🏾 ✔️ Awkwardness is not a stop sign — it's a transition point ✔️ You don't need to apologize for silence to reconnect ✔️ Introversion is not a networking disadvantage ✔️ Depth beats volume every time ✔️ Provision is built through relationships tended over time ✔️ Generosity and goodwill rebuild trust faster than urgency Reframing Networking Throughout the episode, Ronnie reframes networking as: Connection, not collection Stewardship, not extraction Consistency, not intensity Networking doesn't require a personality change. It requires alignment with how you best build and sustain relationships.   This Week's Invitation ✨ Choose one small action: Reach out to one person you've been thinking about Send a note with no agenda Re-engage a relationship with honesty and warmth Offer support, insight, or generosity without expectation Connection compounds when practiced consistently. What's Ahead Next week, we enter the final week of the January Intensive, focused on designing on purpose — including negotiation, decision-making, provision, and knowing when to stay, grow, or pivot from a place of strength rather than desperation. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach: Have a question you'd like answered on a future episode? Submit it here: 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded leadership guidance. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com   Final Thought ✨ Network in ways that honor who you are — and tend the relationships that already matter. Thank you for your questions, your honesty, and for staying in the work. I'll see you Monday for our final week. 🤎

Episode 88: Networking vs. Not Working The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Week Three of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series. In Episode 88, we take on a word that makes a lot of capable, thoughtful people tense up: networking. This episode reframes networking not as performative relationship-building or forced small talk, but as proximity, intention, and stewardship of relationships. Ronnie names why opting out of networking may feel safe or principled — yet at a certain point in your career, it quietly limits momentum, access, and provision. This is a grounded, honest conversation about how opportunity actually moves — and why tending relationships before you need them matters more than ever in today's shifting professional landscape. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why "opting out" of networking is no longer a neutral posture ✔️ The difference between networking and not working ✔️ How most opportunities actually come to fruition ✔️ Why proximity matters more than volume ✔️ The role relationships play in provision, protection, and momentum ✔️ How to activate the network you already have ✔️ Why networking isn't a crisis response — it's a practice The Core Truth: Opportunity Moves Through People Ronnie shares a powerful personal reflection: across her entire career, nearly every meaningful role, promotion, and opportunity came through relationships — not applications. Not because of strategy or hustle, but because of: Proximity Conversations Reputation People saying her name when she wasn't in the room This episode makes clear: your network doesn't just carry you when things are good — it carries you when things shift. Networking vs. Not Working ✍🏾 Ronnie defines not working as: Waiting to be remembered Assuming people still know what you do Believing past work will speak on your behalf indefinitely Telling yourself, "If it's meant for me, it'll come" Staying silent to avoid discomfort While understandable, this posture often leads to stalled momentum — especially as industries restructure, roles compress, and access becomes more relational than procedural. The Data Backs This Up 📊 Ronnie references compelling research that confirms what many have experienced firsthand: Up to 85% of jobs are filled through networking Roughly 70% of roles are never publicly posted Employee referrals account for 30–50% of hires Most opportunities are filled through personal and professional connections This episode isn't motivational — it's realistic. Proximity vs. Periphery: A Critical Distinction Ronnie introduces a key framework: Proximate Network People who know your work, character, and receipts. They're more likely to advocate, protect, and connect you. Peripheral Network More distant connections, future collaborators, or lapsed relationships. These often require more intentional nurturing. The insight: most people try to go wide when they actually need to go deeper. Immediate leverage lives in proximity. Future leverage lives in the periphery. Networking as a Stakeholder Ecosystem This episode reframes networking as stakeholder management, not card-collecting. A stakeholder is anyone who: Impacts your work or outcomes Is impacted by your decisions Holds influence or power in your ecosystem Ronnie explains how mapping stakeholders by interest and influence helps you: Focus your energy Reduce overwhelm Be strategic without being transactional Stop feeling guilty about not "keeping up with everyone" Always Be Connecting (ABC) Ronnie introduces her ABC principle — not "always be closing," but: Always Be Connecting Connection can look like: Sharing insight or gratitude Mentoring or advocating Offering support or introductions Showing up consistently Being present and memorable Influence is built through frequency, integrity, and relevance — not volume or noise. Three Actions to Take This Week ✨ 1. Reach Out to Someone Proximate Send a text, email, or voice note with no agenda. "Thinking about you. How are you?" is enough. 2. List Your Key Stakeholders Name five people who matter most to your current work or next move. Write down how you're actively tending those relationships. 3. Practice Goodwill Make one introduction. Advocate for someone not in the room. Share an opportunity — without keeping score. These small acts compound into real provision over time. What Gets in the Way — and How to Move Through It Most people don't struggle with networking because they don't care. They struggle because of: Overwhelm Lack of planning Waiting until crisis The invitation here is simple: build consistently, before you need it. Looking Ahead Tomorrow is Ask OhHeyCoach Friday, where Ronnie responds directly to listener questions from this week and beyond. If this episode stirred something for you — you're not alone. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach: Submit your questions for a future episode: 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded leadership guidance. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com Final Thought ✨ Networking isn't about collecting people. It's about cultivating relationships. You don't need to overhaul everything. You just need to stay connected to the people who matter. You're not doing this alone. I'll see you tomorrow. 🤎  

Episode 87: Executive-Level Visibility The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Week Three of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series. In Episode 87, we continue this week's focus on voice, visibility, and connection by going deeper into what Ronnie calls Executive-Level Visibility — the kind of visibility that creates provision, optionality, and stability in an increasingly uncertain and shifting professional landscape. This episode reframes visibility as more than posting online or being "seen." Ronnie explores visibility as a strategic asset — one that ensures your name is in the room (even when you aren't), your value is understood by decision-makers, and your career currency remains spendable through transitions, restructures, and market shifts. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why your work has never truly "spoken for itself" — and what actually does ✔️ The difference between default visibility and designed visibility ✔️ Why visibility is a form of career provision and protection ✔️ How internal and external visibility work together ✔️ What career currency is — and how visibility makes it usable ✔️ The real reasons high-performing leaders avoid visibility ✔️ Practical steps to intentionally curate executive-level visibility The Core Truth: Visibility Creates Provision Ronnie introduces a powerful reframe: visibility is not about attention — it's about access. Access to: Opportunities you didn't know existed Advocacy when you're not in the room Agency to choose what's next instead of waiting to be chosen Protection during restructures, freezes, or leadership compression In today's hybrid, distributed, and increasingly parasocial work environment, decisions about your career are often made by people who don't interact with you regularly — if at all. Visibility ensures your impact is understood beyond proximity. Default vs. Designed Visibility This episode introduces a critical distinction: Default Visibility Based on title, tenure, company brand, or proximity Passive and circumstantial Fragile during disruption Designed Visibility Intentional, strategic, and aligned with your goals Curated by you Sustainable through change, transition, and market shifts Ronnie challenges listeners to ask honestly: Am I visible by default — or am I designing my visibility? Internal Visibility: The Often-Missed Lever Many leaders assume internal visibility will "take care of itself." This episode names why that's risky. Internal visibility includes: Being known by skip-level and senior leaders Cross-functional partners understanding your strategic value Decision-makers being able to articulate why your work matters Ronnie explains how leaders can be beloved by their teams yet invisible three levels up — and why that gap often shows up during promotions, restructures, and succession conversations. External Visibility: Creating Options Beyond Your Role External visibility ensures opportunity is not dependent on your current employer. This includes: Industry reputation Recruiters, boards, and partners knowing your name Being associated with a point of view or expertise Creating mobility, leverage, and choice The magic isn't either/or — it's both internal and external visibility working together. Career Currency & Why Visibility Makes It Spendable Ronnie introduces the concept of career currency — the trust, expertise, results, relationships, and impact you've been building for years. The key insight: Currency only has value if people know you have it. Without visibility: Your expertise can't be converted Your impact remains invisible Your receipts go unused Visibility is what makes your currency spendable. Why Visibility Feels Hard (and How to Reframe It) Ronnie names the most common blockers: It feels self-promotional You're too busy doing the work to talk about the work You don't know where to start or what to say Social platforms feel performative or inauthentic The reframe: visibility isn't about ego — it's about stewardship. Stewardship of your work, your people, your ideas, and your future. A Practical Visibility Framework 📝 1. Audit Your Current Visibility Who knows you? Who knows what you do? Where are the gaps? 2. Define What Visibility Needs to Get You Promotion? Mobility? Protection? Options? Clarity here drives strategy. 3. Build Internal Visibility Intentionally Get in front of decision-makers Translate work into business impact Cultivate skip-level relationships Use internal channels thoughtfully Document and share wins strategically 4. Build External Visibility Selectively Choose a reach/frequency model that fits your goals and capacity. One platform. One practice. Consistency over volume. 5. Make Visibility Routine, Not a Project Small, weekly actions compound. Systems create sustainability. This Week's Invitation Choose one: Connect with one internal stakeholder Share one insight publicly Raise your hand for one opportunity Do not overthink it. Do not wait for perfect timing. Looking Ahead Tomorrow's episode continues Week Three with a conversation on Networking vs. Not Working — and why many leaders unintentionally limit opportunity through how they network. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach: Submit questions on visibility, networking, or leadership for future episodes: 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly insights, tools, and grounded leadership guidance. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com Final Thought ✨ Visibility isn't about being louder. It's about ensuring your impact is known, valued, and protected. You've earned your currency. Now make it usable. I'll see you tomorrow. 🤎

Episode 86: Your Voice: Your Most Important Asset The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Week Three of The Career Clinic Podcast January Intensive Series. This week, we shift our focus to voice, visibility, community, and connection — starting with the foundation of it all: your voice. In Episode 86, Ronnie leads a direct, honest conversation about why your voice — both literal and figurative — is one of your most important professional and personal assets. Many high-performing leaders are skilled at using their voices on behalf of organizations, teams, and clients, yet hesitate when it comes to advocating for themselves, sharing their expertise, or naming what they want and deserve. Your voice is not a soft skill. It is a strategic asset — one that creates opportunity, alignment, provision, and choice over time. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ What it really means to use your voice beyond "speaking up" ✔️ Why leaders often underuse their voice on their own behalf ✔️ How institutional roles can unintentionally mute self-expression ✔️ The cost of silence in your career and life ✔️ Why expertise without voice leads to invisibility ✔️ How voice creates leverage, visibility, and optionality The Core Idea: Your Voice Creates Opportunity This episode makes one thing clear: your voice is how opportunity finds you. Ronnie reflects on her own career journey — from corporate leadership to entrepreneurship — and names a powerful truth: the same skills that help you rise inside institutions are the skills that create possibility when you step outside of them. When the institutional veil disappears, what remains is you — your perspective, your experience, your point of view. Learning to use your voice without hiding behind a brand, title, or role becomes essential. Your voice is how you: Identify problems and advance solutions Advocate for scope, compensation, and resources Share earned expertise Create new roles and pathways Build credibility and long-term visibility When Your Voice Goes Quiet ✍🏾 Ronnie names a hard truth with care: silence has a cost. When you don't use your voice, you may: Stay invisible Remain in roles that no longer fit Be overlooked or under-resourced Miss opportunities you are fully qualified for In a moment where generic content is everywhere, earned perspective and lived expertise matter more than ever. A Provocation to Sit With Why are you acting like you're new to this — when you're true to this? This episode invites listeners to examine how they may be: Waiting for permission to speak Softening expertise to avoid standing out Deferring to louder voices with less experience Playing smaller than their actual capacity You don't need permission to name what you know. The Voice Audit 📝 Ronnie offers a simple reflection exercise: Where am I holding back my voice or expertise? What is it costing me — personally or professionally? What might change if I used my voice more fully? The goal isn't performance. It's awareness. Looking Ahead Tomorrow's episode builds on this foundation as we move into visibility — specifically, how leaders build visibility that supports provision, opportunity, and sustainability. Voice comes first. Visibility ensures it reaches the right places. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach: Have a question you'd like answered on a future episode? Submit it here: 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded leadership guidance. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com Final Thought ✨ You are not new to this. You are true to this. Your voice has already carried you far — and it will carry you forward, if you let it. I'll see you tomorrow. 🤎

Episode 85: Crews, Calendars, and Self-Commitment | Ask OhHeyCoach The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Ask OhHeyCoach Friday and the close of Week Two of The Career Clinic January Intensive. In Episode 85, Ronnie responds to listener-submitted questions that bring this week's themes together in real, lived ways — your calendar, your capacity, your crew, and your ability to keep commitments to yourself without guilt, perfectionism, or burnout. This conversation reinforces a central idea from the week: improving your say vs. do ratio isn't about doing more. It's about designing systems, supports, and commitments that reflect your actual reality — and then honoring them with integrity. This Week's Coaching Focus Throughout this episode, Ronnie addresses how to: Close the gap between what you say matters and what your calendar reflects Move forward without certainty through testing and learning Assemble support without over-engineering or awkwardness Rebuild self-trust through small, kept commitments Release guilt and self-judgment in favor of honest design Listener Questions Answered in This Episode 1. "My calendar is telling on me." A listener shares that while they say health, rest, and boundaries matter, none of those priorities show up on their calendar — leading to guilt and self-doubt. Ronnie reframes this as a design issue, not a character flaw, and offers a grounded approach to rebuilding self-trust through evidence, not intention. 2. "I overthink everything — even small tests." This question explores perfectionism and analysis paralysis. Ronnie names overthinking as a form of self-protection and introduces a gentler reframe: moving from "Is this the right decision?" to "Is this safe enough to test?" Action becomes possible when learning, not certainty, is the goal. 3. "I know I need a crew, but asking for help feels awkward." A listener asks how to build support without it feeling transactional or forced. Ronnie normalizes the discomfort of vulnerability and emphasizes that most meaningful support starts awkward — and honest. A human ask, not a polished one, is often all that's needed. 4. "Where do I even start with assembling a crew?" This question names the overwhelm of coordinating people and securing buy-in. Ronnie reminds listeners that a crew is not built all at once. Support grows incrementally, starting with identifying one gap and inviting in one person or resource that can help lighten the load. Key Coaching Takeaways ✍🏾 ✔️ Your calendar provides feedback — not judgment ✔️ Self-trust is built through small promises kept ✔️ Testing replaces perfection as the path to progress ✔️ A crew carries you and carries things with you ✔️ Support does not need to be perfectly coordinated to be effective ✔️ Alignment grows through honest, incremental change What This Episode Reinforces You don't need a new planner to change your life — you need an honest one You don't need certainty to move — you need permission to learn You don't need a massive support system — you need intentional support You don't need to do this alone This episode ties together the practical and emotional realities of designing a year that reflects what actually matters. Looking Ahead Next week, we begin Week Three of the January Intensive, focused on provision through visibility, voice, community, and connection — and how showing up with clarity (not performance) creates opportunity. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach: Submit your questions for a future Ask OhHeyCoach episode. 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded leadership guidance. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com Final Thought ✨ Alignment doesn't come from big declarations. It comes from honest design, supportive systems, and small promises kept. Thank you for your questions, your trust, and for showing up for yourself this week. I'll see you next week. 🤎  

Episode 84: Assemble Your Crew The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Day Four of Week Two of The Career Clinic January Intensive. In Episode 84, we name a foundational truth that often gets overlooked in conversations about leadership, growth, and execution: we are not meant to do this alone. This episode explores what it means to assemble your crew. Not just people who help you stay accountable to what you said you would do, but people and resources who carry you and carry things with you — and who hold you to your truth, not just your plans. A crew supports execution, yes. But just as importantly, a crew supports alignment. They notice when your words and your well-being drift apart. They help you tell the truth about what's changing. And they walk alongside you as you grow and pivot. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why carrying everything alone quietly erodes capacity and joy ✔️ What a crew is — and what it isn't ✔️ The difference between accountability and being held to your truth ✔️ Why support is a strategy, not a weakness ✔️ How crews carry you and carry things with you ✔️ Why every season of life benefits from intentional support The Core Idea: A Crew Carries You — and Carries Things With You A crew doesn't replace your agency or responsibility. They carry you — emotionally, relationally, and energetically — when things feel heavy. And they carry things with you — ideas, logistics, execution, and perspective — so you're not holding everything alone. Just as important, a crew doesn't only hold you accountable to your to-do list. They hold you to your truth. They help you notice when: What you said you wanted no longer fits Your capacity has shifted The season has changed You need to pause, pivot, or renegotiate We all need a crew — not to rescue us, but to walk alongside us. What a Crew Can Include ✍🏾 A crew isn't limited to one role or relationship. It can include a constellation of people and resources that support you in living and working with integrity and sustainability, such as: Mentors who help you see around corners Peers who understand your context Accountability partners who check in consistently People who celebrate you and ask honest questions Experts with skills you don't have Technology, AI tools, and systems that reduce friction Contractors, assistants, childcare, and everyday support Support doesn't only come in human form — and this episode invites you to widen your definition. Examples of Crew in Action 🙌🏾 Ronnie shares lived examples of what intentional support can look like, including: A leadership retreat that evolved into an ongoing accountability and support crew Former MAIP interns who intentionally invested in group coaching and peer support as they advanced in their careers Using AI and technology as part of a modern crew — without outsourcing core thinking Hiring a virtual assistant during wedding planning to protect focus, capacity, and peace Each example reinforces the same point: support is intentional, not accidental. Common Hesitations — Addressed Honestly This episode also names why many people hesitate to assemble a crew: "I don't have time." Support reduces friction and unnecessary overextension. "It feels awkward to reach out." Honest reconnection is usually welcomed. "I don't want it to feel transactional." Healthy crews are reciprocal, not transactional. "I'm already at capacity." That's often a signal that support would help. How to Be a Good Crew Member Crews work best when care flows both ways. Being a good crew member includes: Showing up consistently without overstimulation Being clear about how you can support — or asking how Celebrating wins and checking in during hard moments Practicing reciprocity without scorekeeping Treating paid support with respect and clarity Strong crews are sustained through trust and mutual care. Your Three Actions from This Episode ✨ 1. Name Your Crew List the people and resources currently supporting you. 2. Tend the Relationships Choose one small action this quarter to nurture each connection — a check-in, thank-you, or practical update. 3. Invite Support In Identify one additional person or resource that would support your next season and define the next step to engage them. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach: Submit questions for Friday's Ask OhHeyCoach episode. 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections and tools delivered every Monday. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com What's Coming Next Tomorrow's episode is Ask OhHeyCoach Friday, where Ronnie responds to questions submitted throughout the week. Final Thought ✨ A crew doesn't just help you get things done. They help you stay honest. They help you stay aligned. They help you keep going. We all need a crew. I'll see you tomorrow. 🤎

Episode 83: Test and Learn: Executing Sans Perfection The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Day Three of Week Two of The Career Clinic January Intensive. In Episode 83, we tackle one of the most common blockers to execution for smart, capable, high-performing people: perfectionism. Specifically, the belief that you need certainty, clarity, or a flawless plan before you can take action. This episode introduces "test and learn" as a practical execution strategy — one that allows you to move forward without waiting to feel ready, confident, or 100% sure. Rather than treating action as a permanent decision, this approach reframes action as experimentation, giving you permission to learn, iterate, and adjust along the way. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why perfectionism often masquerades as preparation ✔️ How waiting for certainty keeps capable people stuck ✔️ What "test and learn" actually means in practice ✔️ Why action does not require perfect execution ✔️ How short, defined tests reduce anxiety and increase momentum ✔️ How to build trust with yourself through small, intentional action The Core Idea: Action Without Certainty Perfectionism convinces us that action must be flawless — or that it's better not to act at all. This episode challenges that belief by introducing test and learn as a way to take action without the pressure of permanence. Instead of asking, "Is this the perfect decision?" the question becomes: "What can I learn if I try this for a defined period of time?" When action is framed as a test, movement becomes safer, lighter, and more accessible. Why Testing Beats Waiting ✍🏾 Waiting for perfect clarity often leads to no clarity at all. As discussed in this episode, perfection never actually arrives — and waiting for it only delays progress. Testing and learning removes the emotional weight of "forever" and replaces it with curiosity, data, and feedback. Small tests create: Faster learning cycles Real-time course correction Reduced fear of failure Increased confidence through evidence The Test & Learn Framework (Simple, Not Simplistic) Ronnie walks through a clear, repeatable structure for running a test: Identify an opportunity or obstacle Confirm the test is worth your time and energy Hypothesize what actions might help Define a clear start and end date Decide how you'll measure success and learning Set a specific evaluation point A test is intentional. It has boundaries. And it's designed to teach you something — not prove anything. What This Looks Like in Real Life 🙌🏾 Throughout the episode, Ronnie shares personal examples of testing and learning, including: Trying new work rhythms and locations Testing posting cadence and platforms Adjusting schedules to protect energy Exploring creative and physical routines without over-committing From dance classes to writing habits, the message is clear: testing prevents over-investment before alignment is confirmed. Why This Matters for Your Say vs. Do Ratio Earlier this week, we named the gap between intention and action as the place where trust erodes — especially trust with yourself. Testing and learning helps close that gap without pressure, shame, or all-or-nothing thinking. You don't need to commit for a year. You need to commit to a test. Momentum is built through small, intentional actions, not one perfect decision made in January. This Week's Challenge Identify one area of your personal or professional life where you want growth, change, or clarity. Design a small, manageable test you can run over the next few weeks: Define what you're testing Set a clear timeframe Decide how you'll evaluate it Commit to learning, not perfection Start small. Start imperfectly. Just start. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach: Submit a question for Friday's Ask OhHeyCoach episode. 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded guidance delivered every Monday. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com What's Coming Next Tomorrow's episode focuses on Assembling Your Crew — the people, partnerships, and support systems that make follow-through possible. Final Thought ✨ You don't need to be certain to take action. You don't need perfection to move forward. You need a willingness to test, learn, and trust yourself — one small step at a time. I'll see you tomorrow. 🤎

Episode 82: Consider This: A 12-Week Year The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Week Two of The Career Clinic January Intensive. I want to be clear at the top of this episode: I love and swear by the 12-Week Year framework outlined in the book The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington, and I actively use this approach with my clients. It has fundamentally shaped how I think about execution, accountability, and follow-through for people who already have vision — but want to see real movement. In this episode, we explore why long, annual timelines often work against us, and how working in 12-week cycles helps close the gap between what you say matters and what you actually do. While the framework is outlined in the book, this conversation focuses on how it shows up in real life and how to apply it in a way that supports clarity, integrity, and sustainable progress — not hustle or burnout. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why annual planning often leads to procrastination and drift ✔️ How shorter timelines create focus and urgency without panic ✔️ Why constraints and accountability can be freeing ✔️ The difference between pressure and supportive structure ✔️ How 12-week cycles improve execution and follow-through ✔️ Practical ways to use this framework without overcomplicating your life The Core Idea: Shorter Timelines Change Behavior Most people don't struggle with ambition or vision — they struggle with execution. A 12-month year can feel expansive and forgiving, which makes it easy to delay action. The 12-Week Year framework shortens the distance between planning and doing, creating faster feedback loops and more honest self-check-ins while there's still time to adjust. This episode reframes constraints not as restriction, but as structure — a way to protect your word and move with intention. Accountability That Protects Integrity ✍🏾 Accountability in this context isn't about pressure or shame. It's about keeping your word to yourself. Working in 12-week cycles makes misalignment visible early — in January or February — instead of at the end of the year when it's harder to course-correct. The question becomes simple and grounding: Did I do what I said I would do? What This Looks Like in Practice 🙌🏾 In this episode, Ronnie shares how she applies the framework with clients by: Focusing on a small number of priorities Breaking goals into weekly actions Using simple tools and planners aligned to the framework Holding short, consistent weekly check-ins Creating accountability that fits real schedules and real lives The goal isn't doing more. It's doing what matters — consistently. This Week's Invitation If you entered the year with strong intentions but can already feel how easy it would be to drift, this episode invites you to consider a different approach. Ask yourself: What might change if I worked in focused 12-week cycles instead of a vague year? What if I checked in weekly instead of waiting until December? What if accountability supported my integrity rather than draining my energy? You don't need better goals. You need a better way to activate the ones you already have. Links & Resources 🤎 📘 Book & Framework Reference: The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran & Michael Lennington (The framework discussed in this episode) 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach: Submit questions for Friday's Ask OhHeyCoach episode. 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded guidance delivered every Monday. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com What's Coming Next Tomorrow's episode focuses on testing and learning — how to execute and move forward without waiting for certainty or perfection.

Episode 81: Improving Your Say vs. Do Ratio The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Week Two of The Career Clinic January Intensive. In Episode 81, we turn our attention to one of the most consequential gaps in leadership, career growth, and personal trust: the space between what you say matters and what you actually do. This episode isn't about setting better goals or crafting prettier intentions. It's about follow-through, integrity, and building a year where your actions consistently back up your words. You'll learn why most resolutions fail, how trust erodes when intention and behavior drift apart, and what it actually takes to stay in the small percentage of people who follow through long after January ends. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why goals alone don't change outcomes ✔️ The real reason most people abandon resolutions by February ✔️ How the Say vs. Do gap erodes self-trust and credibility ✔️ Why your calendar tells the truth faster than your intentions ✔️ How alignment between words and actions creates integrity ✔️ A simple but powerful practice to close the gap — starting now The Core Teaching: Say vs. Do Is About Trust Every time you say something matters — and then don't act accordingly — trust erodes. Not just with others, but with yourself. This episode explores how: Unaligned actions teach your nervous system that your word is negotiable Self-doubt and resentment creep in quietly through broken promises Integrity is built through alignment, not aspiration Your calendar, energy, and habits tell the truth long before your goals do. A Reality Check: Intentions Without Infrastructure Don't Work ✍🏾 Vision boards, notebooks, and beautifully written goals don't change lives on their own. What does change outcomes: Shifting behaviors Increasing accountability Adjusting environments Eliminating friction Without structure, motivation fades. With structure, follow-through becomes possible. This Week's Practice: Choose a Word (or Phrase) of Intention Rather than chasing dozens of goals, this episode introduces a powerful anchor: one word or phrase that embodies what you will do this year. Not what you hope for. Not what sounds good. What you will do. Examples shared in the episode include: Stretch — taking brave, identity-shifting action Love myself too — pouring into yourself alongside others Step — moving forward with full presence and commitment Your word becomes a filter, a compass, and a decision-making aid — layered on top of your requirements and capacity. Your 24-Hour Challenge 🙌🏾 Within 24 hours of listening to this episode: Choose your word or phrase of intention Write it down Say it out loud Put it somewhere you'll see it daily Waiting weakens commitment. Action builds momentum. A Companion Practice: Look Back Before You Move Forward Before rushing into the week ahead, pull up last week's calendar and ask: Where did my time actually go? What got my best energy? What did I say mattered — and did my actions match? Observation, not judgment, is the starting point for change. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach (Submit Your Question): Submit questions anonymously or by name for Friday's Ask OhHeyCoach episode. 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded guidance delivered every Monday. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design for individuals and organizations. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com What's Coming Next In Episode 82, we'll introduce a practical framework for closing the Say vs. Do gap — turning your word of intention into structure, accountability, and consistent action. Final Thought ✨ You don't need better goals. You need better follow-through. Alignment between what you say and what you do builds trust, integrity, and momentum — one decision at a time. Let's close the gap. All of 2026. I'll see you tomorrow. 🤎

Episode 80: Regrets, Requirements, Reality, and Capacity | Ask OhHeyCoach The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Episode 80 and the first Ask OhHeyCoach Friday of the January Intensive. This episode brings us into real time, real context, and real life. Rather than tidy answers or aspirational soundbites, today's conversation sits at the intersection of coaching theory and lived reality — including uncertainty, instability, cultural chaos, and the very human tension between what we need and what feels possible right now. The questions in this episode explore regret, survival, capacity limits, competing requirements, and the fear of advocating for yourself in precarious environments. This is not about fixing everything. It's about naming the truth, reclaiming agency, and taking the next right step. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why you can't "think" your way out of the red zone — and what actually helps ✔️ How to use regret as instruction without staying stuck in self-blame ✔️ How to navigate competing requirements without forcing false choices ✔️ What real human capacity actually looks like (and why you're not failing) ✔️ How to advocate for your needs without ignoring context or risk ✔️ Why agency is built through small, strategic decisions — not grand gestures The Questions Answered in This Episode ✍🏾 1. The Red Zone Question "I've been stuck in fight, flight, fear, freeze for months — maybe years. How do I get out of the red zone when the threat is still real?" This answer explores nervous system regulation, micro-moves, resourcing (not gaslighting), and how to create moments of safety while you sort through real threats. 2. The Regret That Feels Unfixable Question "I stayed with a manager who destroyed my confidence. I've left, but I still hear her voice. What's the lesson when harm already happened?" We talk about naming what was taken, collecting evidence that contradicts the damage, practicing discernment, and formally resigning from voices that no longer belong in your head. 3. The Warring Requirements Question "I need financial stability, but I also need meaningful work and flexibility. My requirements feel at war with each other. Do I have to choose?" This answer reframes requirements as weighted, seasonal, and sequenced, not all-or-nothing. The real question becomes: What's the smartest order? 4. The Capacity Reality Check Question "I only have 3–4 hours of real focus a week, but my job expects 8–10 hours of 'on' time a day. Am I bad at this — or is everyone else faking it?" We unpack real human cognitive capacity, maintenance vs. focus work, visibility myths, and how to design your days honestly inside imperfect systems. 5. The Timing & Advocacy Question "I require flexibility to pick up my kids, but my company is going through layoffs. Should I wait to ask or ask anyway?" This response explores requirements vs. preferences, testing before formal asks, framing needs as trades (not takes), and how to read the room without abandoning yourself. Key Reframes from This Episode 🙌🏾 You are not broken — your nervous system is responding to reality Surviving is important, but you deserve more than survival Regret doesn't mean failure; it can be instruction Requirements don't disappear because timing is inconvenient Agency is built one decision at a time Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach (Submit Your Questions): Submit questions anonymously or by name for future Friday episodes. 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded guidance delivered every Monday. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design for individuals and organizations. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com What's Coming Next Next week in the January Intensive, we'll focus on improving your "Say vs. Do ratio" — how to align commitments, priorities, accountability, communication, and follow-through with what you say you want for the year ahead, after the new year energy wears off.  I'll see you next week. 🤎

Episode 79: Updating Your Weekly Operating System The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Day Four of The Career Clinic January Intensive. In this episode, we bring the work of the week together and zoom in on the most practical question of all: How are you actually setting up your weeks? Rather than starting each week in reaction mode, this conversation introduces a simple, repeatable rhythm for designing your time with intention. You'll learn how to create a Weekly Operating System that helps you prepare instead of scramble, protect what matters most, and show up grounded and resourced — even in high-pressure seasons. At the center of this episode is a practice I use personally and with my clients: the Mission Control Meeting. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why preparation matters more than productivity ✔️ How to stop letting your calendar "take you away" ✔️ What a Weekly Operating System actually looks like in practice ✔️ How to design your week around alignment, not urgency ✔️ Why consistency beats perfection when building sustainable rhythms The Core Practice: The Mission Control Meeting ✍🏾 A Mission Control Meeting is a 30–45 minute weekly check-in you run for yourself (or with your team) to prepare for the week before it gets away from you. This meeting isn't about creating a longer to-do list. It's about designing your week around three essentials — what I call the Three B's. The Three B's of Your Weekly Operating System 1. Big Rocks Your big rocks are the 3–5 things that deserve your best time, energy, and attention this week. These might include deep work, meaningful conversations, rest, health, or time with people you love. If it's not on your calendar, it's not real. 2. Boundaries Boundaries are the decisions you make to protect what matters — regardless of what others are doing. They might include meeting limits, communication cutoffs, protected focus time, or guardrails around people or situations that drain your energy. You can't control whether others respect your boundaries, but you can control whether you hold them. 3. Buoyancy Buoyancy is what keeps you out of the red zone and grounded in the blue zone — where creativity, clarity, and connection live. This might include movement, laughter, rest, music, nature, or intentional pauses. Don't wait until you're drowning to look for a life raft. Be your own. How to Run Your Mission Control Meeting 🙌🏾 Set aside 30–45 minutes once a week (same day, same time if possible) and ask yourself: What are my big rocks this week? What boundaries do I need to protect them? What will help me stay buoyant and grounded? Block the time. Make it recurring. Keep it simple. This one practice can save you hours of spinning and overwhelm. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach (Ask, Oh Hey Coach Fridays): Submit your questions for Friday's Q&A episodes — I read every one. 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded guidance delivered every Monday. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design for individuals and organizations. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com What's Coming Next Tomorrow is Ask OhHeyCoach Friday, where I'll answer the questions you've been WAITING to ask a coach. Final Thought ✨ A weekly pause to prepare can change how you experience every other hour of your week. Block the time. Run your Mission Control. Design your week on purpose. I'll see you tomorrow. 🤎  

Episode 78: Clarifying Your Capacity The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Day Three of The Career Clinic January Intensive. In this episode, we shift from intention to infrastructure and take an honest look at capacity — not as a vague feeling, but as something that can be designed, protected, and managed with clarity. Too often, we move through our weeks and years reacting to what lands on our calendars, mistaking busyness for value and availability for capacity. This conversation invites you to slow down, zoom out, and design the year ahead from a place of truth — not pressure, urgency, or other people's expectations. This is about reclaiming your energy so you can show up fully for what actually matters. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why capacity is about energy, not just time ✔️ How reacting to your calendar creates burnout and resentment ✔️ What "marquee moments" are and why they should shape your year ✔️ How to plan buffers before and after demanding seasons or events ✔️ How to identify time leaks and misaligned commitments ✔️ A practical framework for reducing friction in your day-to-day life Tool #1: Identify Your Marquee Moments ✍🏾 Instead of starting with goals or to-do lists, this episode asks you to look at your year as a whole. Marquee moments are the events, milestones, projects, and experiences that matter most — professionally and personally. These might include major work engagements, travel, launches, conferences, celebrations, or family milestones. Your first task is to: Identify your marquee moments for the year Block them on your calendar now (even tentatively) Add buffers before and after to allow for preparation, presence, and recovery This is how you prevent the year from getting ahead of you. Tool #2: Track Your Time for One Week Most people think they know where their time goes — until they track it. For one week, document how you actually spend your time. Then categorize each activity as: High value (energizing or moving you forward) Neutral (necessary but not energizing) Low value (draining or misaligned) This is not about judgment. It's about awareness. You can't protect or redesign what you can't see. Tool #3: The Four D's Framework Once you spot friction or time leaks, this episode introduces a simple decision-making tool to help you reset: Delegate – Transfer responsibility where appropriate Divest – Reduce energy spent on something that no longer requires the same investment Dump/Delete – Fully release what no longer serves you Dream – Reimagine a commitment or situation entirely This framework helps move your energy from friction to flow. This Week's Easy Win: Friction → Frictionless 🙌🏾 Choose one commitment or situation currently creating friction. Ask yourself: Which of the Four D's applies here? What would become possible if I made this shift? One decision. One action. One step toward reclaimed capacity. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach (Ask, Oh Hey Coach Fridays): Submit your questions, reflections, or capacity challenges to be answered in an upcoming episode. 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded guidance delivered every Monday. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Work With Ronnie / OhHeyCoach: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design for individuals and organizations. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com What's Coming Next Tomorrow, we'll build on this work by updating your weekly operating system — ensuring your week is designed to serve you, not the other way around. Final Thought ✨ Capacity isn't about doing more or doing things perfectly. It's about having the energy to show up for what matters most — and designing your days in a way that honors that truth. I'll see you tomorrow.

Episode 77: Reconfirming What You Require The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome back to The Career Clinic January Intensive. In Episode 77, we slow things down to examine one of the most foundational and overlooked questions in career and life design: What do you require? Not what you want. Not what would be nice. But what must be true for you to show up as your best, most grounded self in this season. This episode invites you to name your requirements honestly, without judgment or performative restraint, and introduces a powerful framework I use with executive clients: your personal Rider. When you understand what you require, you gain clarity, permission, and a roadmap for aligned decision-making in 2026 and beyond. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why most people have never been asked what they truly require ✔️ The difference between requirements and preferences (and why it matters) ✔️ How unmet requirements create friction, burnout, and dissatisfaction ✔️ Why naming your requirements is not "rocking the boat" — it's learning how to navigate it ✔️ How your requirements evolve with your season, capacity, and priorities The Core Concept: Your Personal Rider Borrowed from the entertainment world, a Rider outlines the conditions that must be true for a performer to show up at their best. In this episode, you'll learn how to apply that same thinking to your own life and career. Your Rider is not about being difficult or demanding. It's about self-awareness, sustainability, and knowing what allows you to thrive. Your Rider becomes a filter for decisions, opportunities, partnerships, and trade-offs — now and in the future. Today's Tool: 15 Minutes of Truth ✍🏾 Set a timer for 15 minutes and answer this prompt honestly and without editing yourself: "To exist and operate as my best possible self in 2026, I require…" List everything: Professional and personal Big and small Practical and emotional Do not judge what comes up. Do not worry about feasibility yet. Naming your requirements does not mean demanding them tomorrow — it means telling yourself the truth. Keep the list. Let it guide you. Let it protect you. Links & Resources 🤎 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach (Ask, Oh Hey Coach Fridays): Submit your questions, reflections, or aha moments — they may be featured in an upcoming Friday episode. 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Weekly reflections, tools, and grounded guidance delivered every Monday. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 🤝 Let's Work Together: Executive coaching, leadership development, and career design for individuals and organizations. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact: info@ohheycoach.com What's Coming Next Tomorrow in the January Intensive, we'll focus on clarifying your capacity — how to get real data about where your time and energy are actually going before you try to redesign anything. Final Thought 🙌🏾 Naming what you require isn't entitlement.It's strategy. And it's how sustainable, aligned lives and careers are built. You're allowed to have requirements. You're allowed to honor them. And you're allowed to design your life around them. I'll see you tomorrow.

Episode 76: Putting the Year to Bed | The January Intensive Begins The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview Welcome to Episode 76 and the official kickoff of The Career Clinic January Intensive. This episode sets the foundation for the month ahead and invites you to do something most people skip entirely: pause long enough to actually process the year you just lived. January often rushes us straight into fixing, planning, and performing. But before we build new systems or set new intentions, we need space to reflect, extract truth, and close the year with intention. This episode guides you through a simple but powerful audit designed to help you clear cognitive debt, ground yourself, and move forward with clarity rather than reactivity. Think of this month as being in daily community with me—less than 30 minutes a day, real tools, real reflection, and support for you as a whole human. What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why processing must come before planning ✔️ How to avoid carrying unfinished emotional and cognitive "tabs" into a new year ✔️ Why reflection creates steadiness in seasons of change ✔️ How this January Intensive will build week by week ✔️ A client-tested reflection tool you can use in under 10 minutes The Four Reflection Questions from This Episode ✍🏾 Take your time with these. Pause the episode, write them down, and answer them honestly. What were your most trying or friction-filled moments of 2025? What brought you the most joy or ease in 2025? Where or when did you feel most like yourself in 2025? What is the most significant or consequential lesson you learned in 2025? Links & Resources 🤎 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Get my reflections, tools, and insights straight to your inbox every Monday. 👉🏾 www.ohheyjoin.com 📝 Ask OhHeyCoach (Ask, Oh Hey Coach Fridays): Submit your question for the January Intensive and it may be featured in an upcoming episode. 👉🏾 https://form.typeform.com/to/ja89DHpT 🤝🏾 Let's Work Together! If you're a leader or organization looking for executive coaching, leadership development, or career design support, we'd love to partner with you. 👉🏾 www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Want to Connect? Email us at info@ohheycoach.com Final Thought  Not properly closing a year you couldn't wait to leave is like leaving a document downloading forever in the background. It drains energy, clouds clarity, and creates unnecessary cognitive debt. This month is your invitation to pause, reflect, and reset — with intention, support, and community. I'll see you tomorrow. 🤎

2026 Vision & Expansion: Why Community, Access, and Service Matter More Than Ever | The Career Clinic Podcast Host: Ronnie Dickerson Stewart Episode Overview In this final episode of The Career Clinic Podcast for the year, Ronnie pulls back the curtain on what's ahead—for the podcast, for OhHeyCoach, and for the people navigating an increasingly uncertain world of work. Against the backdrop of industry disruption, layoffs, and shifting economic realities, this episode is both a reflection and a recommitment. Ronnie shares why Serve, Serve, Serve is her guiding theme for 2026, what she's learned while writing her debut book, and how she's expanding access to leadership and career support through new and returning community offerings. This conversation is for anyone rethinking their relationship with work, craving real community, or seeking steadier ground as they design what's next. Career Clinic_ 2026 Vision and … What You'll Learn in This Episode: ✔️ Why marketplace disruption hits harder than headlines—and what people actually need in moments of career upheaval ✔️ How community, companionship, and access are becoming essential career resources ✔️ The behind-the-scenes reality of writing a book while running a sustainable business ✔️ Why Ronnie recalibrated her business model around capacity, integrity, and seasonality ✔️ The difference between accessible resources and effective support—and why that gap matters ✔️ What's returning in 2026 (The Collective) and what's launching brand new (The Career Clinic Community) ✔️ How "Serve, Serve, Serve" shows up as a philosophy, not a marketing line Links & Resources: 📩 Join the OhHeyMonday Newsletter: Get updates, early access, and community drops first—every Monday. Sign up at www.ohheyjoin.com 🎧 Listen to The Career Clinic Podcast: Catch up on past episodes wherever you stream podcasts. 🤝 Work With OhHeyCoach: Learn more about executive coaching, leadership development, and upcoming community offerings at www.ohheycoach.com 📬 Contact the Team: Reach us at info@ohheycoach.com 🔥 If this episode resonated, share it with someone in your circle who could use community, clarity, or support right now—and tag me on LinkedIn or Instagram (@ohheycoach). 💡 Final Thought: You don't have to navigate uncertainty alone. Community isn't a luxury—it's infrastructure. And in 2026, we're building more of it.