Leading Women in Tech Podcast

In today's episode, we're going deep into one of the most urgent leadership topics of 2025: cybersecurity, AI risk, and the new era of digital trust. This is no longer a technical issue — it's a leadership issue. I'm joined by Karen Kaukol, Chief Marketing Officer at Entrust, a global leader in identity, security, and trust. Karen brings decades of experience across global payments, financial services, and technology, including senior leadership roles at First Data and Graebel Relocation.  Karen has a unique superpower: she translates complex cybersecurity and AI challenges into clear, actionable insight for business leaders. Together, we explore: ⏹   How AI is reshaping cybersecurity — fast ⏹   Why trust is now the #1 competitive advantage for every company ⏹   What leaders (not just CISOs) must understand about AI agents inside their systems ⏹   The new expectations boards have around cybersecurity risk ⏹   Why high performers need to adopt AI tools, not avoid them ⏹   How marketing and communications are being transformed by AI ⏹   How to build a culture of trust, resilience, and cross-functional alignment ⏹   What it really means to lead through a cybersecurity crisis If you're a senior leader or aspiring executive — especially a woman in tech — this episode will help you build literacy in AI governance, cybersecurity strategy, digital trust, and leadership communication in an environment where the stakes have never been higher. About Karen Kaukol Karen Kaukol is the Chief Marketing Officer at Entrust, leading global marketing, brand, and strategy across a company at the forefront of identity, trust, and security innovation. She previously served as CMO at Graebel Relocation and spent 17 years at First Data (now Fiserv) in senior global marketing leadership roles. She holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree from Indiana University.   Connect with Karen and Entrust: ⏹    https://www.entrust.com/  ⏹    https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenkaukol/ This episode was sponsored by our guest, Karen Kaukol. Thank you Karen for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

If you're ending the year exhausted, mentally overloaded, or stuck in a spiral of self-doubt… this episode is your reset. In today's conversation, we're breaking down the inner critic, the mental load of leadership, and why high-performing women struggle most with overthinking, decision paralysis, and confidence dips at this time of year. You'll learn self-coaching techniques for leaders, practical executive mindset tools, and the exact thought-reframing strategies I use with my clients to help them create clarity before burnout makes the decisions for them. Because you don't need more confidence going into 2026 — you need more clarity. And this episode will help you build it.   What You'll Learn in This Episode ⏹  Why your inner critic gets louder during year-end cycles ⏹  How burnout affects clarity, decision making, and self-trust ⏹  The neuroscience behind overthinking (and how to interrupt it) ⏹  Self-coaching techniques for leaders you can use right away ⏹  Thought reframing for executives: how to shift fear-based thoughts ⏹  The Neutral Question Reset ⏹  The Thought Ladder Reframe ⏹  The Executive Decision Filter ⏹  How to create decision-making clarity at leadership levels ⏹  The mindset shifts required to lead with confidence in 2026 ⏹  Why clarity → confidence (not the other way around) ⏹  How to prepare your leadership thinking before planning next year   ​​Free Leadership Resources Say It Like a Leader Scripts → tonicollis.com/sayitlikealeader  Promotion Readiness Scorecard → tonicollis.com/scorecard  Self-Coaching Toolkit (coming soon!) Connect With Toni LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tonicollis Website: tonicollis.com  

Career stagnation isn't caused by a lack of talent — it's caused by the wrong strategy. If you're a high-performing woman in tech who's STILL feeling stuck (despite delivering more than everyone around you), this episode is going to hit home. In today's conversation, Master Executive Coach Dr. Toni Collis breaks down why you're overperforming but overlooked, why hard work stops working at senior levels, and how brilliant women end up trapped in career stagnation even when they're doing everything "right." You'll learn: ✨ Why you're not getting promoted (even with exceptional performance) ✨ The 4 hidden barriers behind feeling stuck at work ✨ How overperformance creates the Invisible Leader trap ✨ Why leadership visibility matters more than output ✨ The difference between proving your value vs positioning yourself as a leader ✨ The 5 strategic levers that actually get women promoted ✨ How to know if you've outgrown your leadership strategy ✨ What to do next if you're ready to break your career plateau If you've been Googling things like "why am I not getting promoted?", "career plateau," or "how to get noticed at work," this episode will give you the clarity and direction you've been missing. If This Episode Spoke to You… You're not stuck because you're not good enough. You're stuck because you've outgrown your old strategy. And that means you're closer to your next level than you think. Make sure you're here next week for our special pre-2026 Episode — Silencing the Inner Critic: Rewiring Your Mindset for 2026 Confidence. We'll dive into how to shift your self-talk, build unshakeable confidence, and finally stop overthinking your way out of the opportunities you deserve.  

Struggling to feel heard at work? You share ideas, offer solutions, repeat yourself — and still nothing lands. Then someone else says the same thing, and suddenly it's brilliant. You're not imagining it. Being unheard isn't a personal flaw — it's a neuroscience and systems problem. In this episode, Dr Toni Collis unpacks why even great leaders struggle to be heard, and how to change that dynamic without shouting louder or working harder. You'll learn: ✨ The neuroscience of leadership communication — why some voices carry more weight than others ✨ How bias, bandwidth, and cognitive overload make great ideas disappear ✨ The Outcome – Process – Ask framework to get your message to land ✨ How regulating your nervous system changes how people hear you ✨ Ways to model listening that build trust and influence across your team If you've been told to "be more strategic" or "speak up more," this episode gives you the science-backed tools to be heard, seen, and respected — without changing who you are. Key Takeaways ◾ Being heard is about clarity, calm, and connection, not volume. ◾ Bias and overload affect who gets airtime — but you can shift perception through structure and tone. ◾ Listening is contagious: when you model presence, others follow. Free resource Need help writing your resume? Download my free guide to make resume writing quick, fast, simple & impactful here: tonicollis.com/resume.   

AI is changing how people get hired — and it's happening fast. In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, Dr. Toni Collis sits down with Nicole Bugenske, a recruiter from Robert Half, to unpack what's really going on in the 2025 tech job market. From fake résumés and AI-generated cover letters to the rise of quiet hiring and risk-averse employers — we're breaking down what job seekers and hiring managers need to know right now. Learn how to stand out as the human signal in a sea of AI, what recruiters are really looking for, and how to future-proof your career in tech leadership. If you're applying for jobs, leading a team, or planning your next career move — this episode will help you navigate the new hiring landscape with clarity, authenticity, and strategy. What You'll Learn How AI-written résumés are flooding the job market (and how recruiters are spotting them) Why 1 in 4 candidate profiles may now be fake — and how hiring managers are adapting What to do when applying through job boards vs. networking directly The truth about quiet hiring and the hidden job market How to show strategic visibility instead of applying to hundreds of roles What makes a candidate a "safe bet" in today's risk-averse hiring climate Real recruiter insights on résumés, references, and interview trends What hiring looks like for women in tech leadership in 2025 Want to make your résumé stand out — without sounding like a bot? Download my free AI-Powered Résumé Writing Guide to learn how to use AI ethically and effectively to land more interviews: 👉 tonicollis.com/resume-guide Ready to connect with today's guest? Find Nicole online at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-bugenske-46165958/  Learn more about Robert Half Recruitment at: https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en