Brilliant Balance
You deserve a big, full life and the freedom to enjoy it. The Brilliant Balance Podcast helps women in leadership design their next chapter for sustainable success—without burnout. Every week, host Cherylanne Skolnicki, a leading expert in work-life balance, leadership growth, and mindset coaching, shares ideas, inspiration, and insights to help high-achieving women align their ambition with personal fulfillment. Through conversations on leadership mindset, time management, and personal growth, you'll gain the tools to thrive in both your career and personal life. Whether you're considering a career pivot or craving more time for your personal life, you might find yourself asking: How do I advance my career—without working 24/7? Can I achieve my goals while still having time for my family? How do I stop feeling overwhelmed and start feeling in control? What's next for me—and how do I design it intentionally? If you've ever wondered how to fulfill your potential without breaking your life, this podcast is for you. In addition to sharing her own insights, Cherylanne sits down with experts, thought leaders, and ambitious women who reveal their strategies for burnout recovery, productivity for women, and redefining success on their terms. You'll love the Brilliant Balance Podcast if you like podcasts like: Unlocking Us or Dare to Lead with Brene Brown, Women at Work by Harvard Business Review, The Midlife with Reshma Saujani, We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle, The Mel Robbins Podcast, HerMoney with Jean Chatzky, So Money with Farnoosh Torabi
Episodes
How often do you find yourself saying, "Maybe I'll do it"?
In this encore episode, I'm revisiting the idea that we can't change our lives while staying stuck in a state of maybe. Whether you're considering a career change, a new opportunity, a relationship decision, or simply a different way of living, indecision can keep you standing at the starting line.
We'll look at why we get stuck in may...
What if creating the life you want isn't about doing more, but about creating the capacity to make space for what comes next?
In this episode, I'm sharing stories from my recent retreat at Canyon Ranch and the moments that reminded me what real growth can look like. From allowing yourself to receive and step away from the demands of daily life to building the infrastructure that makes that possible, we're ...
What happens when you step away from your career to make room for family life? In this episode, I'm joined by Neha Ruch, author of The Power Pause, to explore how a career pause can become an opportunity for growth, self-discovery, and a new sense of purpose.
We're talking about how to navigate identity shifts, redefine success, and make intentional choices about work and family without feeling like you ha...
Boundaries don't make you selfish or unkind. They help you make intentional choices about where you give your time, energy, and attention.
In this episode, I'm talking about why saying yes to someone always means saying no to something else. We explore people-pleasing, the pressure to be agreeable, and why it can be so difficult to recognize what we actually want.
You'll learn how to start str...
Building a business and raising a family can feel like two competing priorities. But what if the business you build could actually support the life you want?
In this episode, I'm joined by Beth Mazza, co-founder of Female Mavericks and a serial entrepreneur who built and sold two consulting firms while raising four children. Beth shares the lessons she and her business partner, Victoria, learned about choo...
When life gets busy, thinking time is often the first thing to disappear. But without space to step back, we can easily end up moving through life without checking whether we're actually headed in the right direction.
In this episode, I'm talking about the power of taking an entire day to think, plan, and solve problems with intention. I share how this practice became part of my own life, how it evolved in...
Nearly 40% of American mothers are now primary earners, but the culture hasn't fully caught up with what that actually requires.
In this episode, I'm joined by Alexis Contos, founder of The Breadwinners, a community built around the realities of building a career while raising a family. Alexis shares why she walked away from a 20-year corporate career, how one dinner at South by Southwest turned into a gro...
Have you ever looked at your calendar and realized you've created a week that works for everyone else, but leaves very little space for you? In this episode, I'm exploring how we end up in this pattern and what it takes to create a week that supports the life we actually want.
I'm talking about why "life is full" is a more empowering way to think about busy seasons, and why waiting until everything else is...
We all have good intentions. The challenge is turning those intentions into action.
In this episode, I'm revisiting one of the very first episodes of the Brilliant Balance podcast because the message is just as relevant today as it was then. As I navigate a busy season of travel, family transitions, and sending another child off to college, I'm putting this principle into practice myself.
If y...
Change is hard. But it isn't because people resist it.
In this episode, I'm joined by Kristy Ellmer, Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group and co-author of How Change Really Works. We explore why so many personal and organizational changes fail, what behavioral science teaches us about making change stick, and the simple shifts that can help us move forward with more confidence.
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What does it take to build an ambitious career without losing sight of what matters most?
In this episode, I'm joined by Betsy Hamm, former CEO of Duck Donuts and founder of Loud & Lifted. Betsy shares the unexpected career moves that took her from marketing iconic brands to leading a company through rapid growth, private equity, and international expansion. Along the way, she opens up about the invisi...
How many decisions do you make based on what you think other people will think?
In this episode, I'm unpacking the quiet fear of judgment that shapes so many of our choices. Whether it's speaking up in a meeting, showing up at a reunion, making a career change, or simply deciding what to wear, we often act as though everyone is watching our every move. The truth is, they're usually much more focused on the...
Have you ever finally done something you've been putting off and immediately wondered, Why did I wait so long?
In this episode, I'm exploring what avoidance really is and why so many of us stay stuck, even when we know exactly what we need to do. From difficult conversations and health decisions to everyday life admin, avoidance often looks like being busy or waiting for the "right time." But underneath it...
What makes someone command a room? It isn't having the perfect script.
In this episode, I'm sharing what I've learned from hundreds of speaking engagements, including the biggest mistake I made at my very first live event. It taught me that presence doesn't come from memorizing every word. It comes from connection.
Whether you're leading a meeting, giving a presentation, interviewing for a job...
Can you be both warm and ambitious? Kind and confident? Supportive and successful?
In this episode, I'm joined by organizational psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Alison Fragale to talk about why women often feel like they have to choose between being liked and being respected. We unpack the science behind status, influence, and reciprocity, and why the most successful women learn to build both warmt...
Have you ever tried to do something good for yourself, only to feel guilty the second someone else had a reaction to it? In this episode, I'm answering listener questions about what happens when self-care becomes visible and the people around us have feelings about it.
I'm talking about morning workouts, girls' trips, hobbies, and the guilt that can show up when we start making room for ourselves. Undernea...
Every Mother's Day, I see the same message on cards: Thank you for giving up everything for us.
But the cards my own kids write tell a different story.
In this episode, I'm talking about what we're teaching the people around us when we treat ourselves like we don't matter. I unpack the Type C pattern, why being endlessly capable gets rewarded, and the cost of always putting yourself last.
How do you grow your career and your family at the same time without losing yourself in the process? In this episode, I'm exploring why that question feels so familiar to high-achieving women.
I'm talking about the invisible math of work, home, and you, and why your own needs are often the first to get squeezed out. Instead of waiting to see what's left after everyone else gets your time and energy, I'm in...
Do you ever feel like you're measuring yourself against an invisible standard of what a "good mother" should be? In this episode, I'm unpacking the unwritten rulebook so many mothers follow without even realizing it.
I'm sharing a personal story from my son's preschool years that triggered a shame spiral over something he doesn't even remember. That moment helped me see how many standards I had absorbed fr...
It turns out I'm carrying an invisible operating system that runs beneath the surface of my entire life, and chances are, you are too.
This one is for the women who are tired. Not just physically, but tired of carrying so much that nobody else can even see. I explore why the people around us aren't oblivious on purpose, and what we can actually do to close the gap between how much we're doing and how...
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