Leading Women in Tech Podcast

How fractional leaders get hired isn't random — but it does follow a very different logic than most people expect.
If you've been having good conversations, receiving positive signals, and still not seeing those conversations turn into paid work, this episode will help you understand what's really happening on the hiring side.
In this episode, we step out of the leader's perspective and into the mindset of the organisation making the decision — because fractional leadership hiring doesn't follow a traditional job search or sales process.
Instead, hiring happens when recognition, trust, and timing align.
In this episode, we explore:
Why fractional leadership opportunities don't follow a linear funnel
The difference between visibility and recognisability
The three conditions that consistently lead to fractional leadership hiring
Why timing matters more than effort
How trust is built before a hiring decision is ever made
Why so many capable leaders get stuck in "almost" conversations
 
This episode is for senior women in tech who:
Are fractional-ready but not yet chosen
Are getting interest, but not conversion
Want to stop guessing — without resorting to hustle or salesy tactics
Listen if you want to:
Understand how fractional hiring decisions are actually triggered
Feel calmer and more in control of the process
Make your leadership easier to recognise and hire
Next steps:
Book a Strategy Session (Positioning + Hiring Clarity) 👉 https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat



Continue listening to the Fractional Series:
Episode 284 — Am I Ready to Be a Fractional Leader?
Episode 288 — How to Position Yourself as a Fractional Leader

Chat to me to learn more about the Fractional Accelerator:  👉 https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

Fractional leadership positioning is one of the most misunderstood — and most important — parts of building a successful fractional career.
In this episode Toni breaks down why so many senior women struggle to gain traction in fractional roles, how positioning differs from full-time leadership, and what it really means to be hired for judgement rather than execution.
Here's what you'll learn in this episode
⏹  Why experience alone doesn't translate into fractional opportunities
⏹  The difference between employee positioning and fractional leadership positioning
⏹  Why fractional leaders are hired for judgement, not capacity
⏹  The most common positioning mistakes that keep leaders invisible
⏹  How to pressure-test your own positioning without "selling yourself"
⏹  What comes next if you want to move from interest to paid fractional work
What's coming next
In next week's episode, we'll go one step further and explore how fractional leaders actually get hired — what genuinely leads to opportunities, and what doesn't.
Want support with your positioning?
If this episode highlighted gaps or uncertainty around how you're currently positioned, you can book a free strategy session or  fractional leadership positioning audit — here:
👉 https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

If women don't experiment with AI now, we risk hard-coding today's leadership gaps into tomorrow's technology.
In this episode I'm joined by Kendra MacDonald, CEO of Canada's Ocean Supercluster, to explore the intersection of women in leadership, AI readiness, representation, and emerging technology.
This conversation goes beyond theory. It tackles the real risks and opportunities facing women leaders as AI, climate tech, and other emerging technologies reshape how leadership works — and who gets to shape the future.
In this episode, we discuss:
◾ Why representation in leadership matters more than ever in emerging tech
◾ How AI adoption in the workplace can either reduce or reinforce gender bias
◾ Why women's hesitation to experiment with AI is a leadership issue — not a technical one
◾ What it takes to lead confidently in male-dominated industries like tech and ocean  innovation
◾ How leadership pipelines for women are shaped early — at work, at home, and through education
◾ The role of experimentation, confidence, and visibility in closing the leadership gap
Kendra shares her own journey — from stepping away from STEM early in life to leading large-scale innovation and commercialisation — and offers practical insight into how women leaders can engage with AI and emerging tech without needing to be technical experts.
If you care about:
✔ women in tech leadership
✔ AI readiness for leaders
✔ gender diversity in leadership
✔ bias in AI algorithms
✔ emerging and sustainable technology
this episode is for you.
If you're ready for your next  level explore how to strengthen your leadership clarity, visibility, and career trajectory by booking a discovery call via the link in the description.
 
**Useful links**
Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Kendra MacDonald:
◾  W: kendramacdonald.com
◾ Substack: https://substack.com/@saltwatersignals 
This episode was sponsored by our guest, Kendra MacDonald. Thank you Kendra for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

If performance were enough, more women in tech would already be promoted.
They're not.
In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Toni Collis breaks down executive presence for women in tech — what it actually means, why being good at your job isn't enough at senior levels, and how leaders are really evaluated when promotion, influence, and trust are on the line.
This episode is for high-performing women who've been told they need "more executive presence" — without ever being given clarity on what to change.
You'll learn why executive presence is not about confidence theatre or personality, why women are often misread at senior levels, and how to build leadership presence without changing who you are.
In this episode, you'll learn:
◾ Why performance alone doesn't create executive presence
◾ What executive presence for women in tech really looks like at senior levels
◾ How leaders are evaluated on judgement, framing, and decision-making
◾ Why executive presence is harder for women (and how bias actually shows up)
◾ The difference between confidence and leadership presence
◾ Practical ways to build executive presence without becoming someone else


🔗 Resources & Links
◾ Book a free strategy call: https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat
◾ Learn more about Toni Collis: https://tonicollis.com

If you've ever worried that an unconventional career path in tech leadership might hold you back — that your background isn't "technical enough," linear enough, or traditional enough — this episode will fundamentally challenge that belief.
In this conversation, Toni Collis is joined by Lisa Ferrante-Walsh, SVP of Engineering at Native Instruments, whose career journey spans music, computer science, engineering leadership, mergers and acquisitions, and even stepping into an acting CTO role. Lisa's story is a powerful example of how a nonlinear career path in tech can become a strategic advantage rather than a liability.
Toni & Lisa discuss what it really takes to move from individual contributor to people leader, how to lead engineering teams through M&A without losing trust or momentum, and why executive confidence, decision-making, and visibility matter even more when your background doesn't fit the "expected" mould.
This episode is essential listening if you're a woman in tech navigating a career transition into senior leadership, leading through organizational change, or questioning whether you truly belong at the executive table.
 
Connect with today's guest and sponsor, Lisa Ferrante-Walsh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisaferrantewalsh/
This episode was sponsored by our guest, Lisa Ferrante-Walsh. Thank you Lisa for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!