If you’ve ever found yourself dreading a meeting with your boss or wondering how to navigate a tricky relationship with them, you’re not alone. In this episode of Influence & Impact for Leaders, I’m joined again by the brilliant Jennifer McCanna – accredited coach, podcast host of My Emotional Work Life, and expert on navigating the emotional highs and lows of work.

Together, we explore why our relationship with our boss has such a huge impact on how we feel at work, the different “types” of difficult bosses you might come across, and how to work more effectively with them – without losing your sanity or confidence.

We cover:

• The most common “types” of difficult boss
• How to understand what’s driving your boss so you can partner with them
• Simple tools to stay calm and grounded before tough meetings
• Ways to make sure you’re not accidentally someone else’s “difficult boss”

If you want to feel calmer, more in control and more influential in your relationship with your boss, this episode is packed with ideas and tools you can start using right away.

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

My Emotional Work Life Podcast

Ep 03: The difficult boss survival guide | Jen McCanna

Ep 02: Finding a job after a toxic work experience | Jen McCanna

About Jen:

Jen is sought after as a leadership coach who is often asked to help clients overcome periods of challenge and change, helping them rebuild their confidence and self-belief and realise their ambition. She supports leaders to manage their energy and navigate their emotions so they can feel calm and resourceful at work.

Not only an experienced coach with the international coaching federation, Jen is a emotional freedom technique (EFT) practitioner, Resilience Dynamic practitioner and designs and delivers leadership development programmes and team building days for clients across the charity, corporate and public sectors.

In her podcast – My Emotional Work Life – Jen and her guests share stories and strategies that help listeners navigate the rollercoaster that is working life. Check it episodes on difficult bosses, job hunting after a toxic work experiences and navigating the menopause at work.

Ever experienced a toxic work relationship, badly handled restructure or the challenge of an HR process which rumbles on and on? Feel it knocked you for six a bit? Then Jen is your coach!

Find My Emotional Work Life here: https://podfollow.com/my-emotional-work-life

And her website is full of resources designed to make the lives of busy leaders easier

You can follow Jen @jen_the_leadership_coach on Instagram or here on LinkedIn.

Work...

Conflict at work doesn’t have to be scary. In this episode of Influence & Impact for Leaders, I talk with Alice Driscoll and Louise Van Haarst, authors of Smart Conflict, about why avoiding tough conversations harms teams — and how to do them better.

You’ll hear the difference between task and relational conflict, learn their 5R model (Reflection, Regulation, Readiness, Response, Repair) and pick up quick, practical tips you can use to calm my nerves, land your message and repair relationships.

Alice Driscoll and Louise van Haarst are the founders of The Power House, a global

leadership development and cultural transformation business on a mission to unlock human and organisational potential. They work with organisations including BBC Studios, PwC, Deutsche Bank, LVMH, Johnson & Johnson, ProperCorn, Bethnal Green Ventures and Zinc VC.

Their new book ‘Smart Conflict - how to have hard conversations at work’ is a highly

practical, evidence-based guide to getting good at conflict and hard conversations at work. Whether your default conflict style is avoidant, inflexible or aggressive, this book will give you the tools to embrace Smart Conflict and transform your leadership, your team and maybe your life.

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately, to be better at your job without working harder.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Buy Smart Conflict, How to have hard conversations at work:  https://mybook.to/SmartConflict  

Download free resources including our read-along workbook: https://thepowerhouse.company/resources

Take the default conflict style and team diagnostics:  https://thepowerhouse.company/diagnostics

LinkedIn: Alice Driscoll

LinkedIn: Louise van Haarst

Work with Carla:

• Impactful Teams Scorecard – Discover how your team measures up and how you can grow your team’s impact.
• 1:1 Leadership Coaching with Carla – get support to help you get your voice heard at work and develop your career. Book a discovery call

📢 If This Resonated…

Please share this episode with a fellow leader who needs to hear it.

Leave a review to support the show or reach out to me directly — I’d love to hear what landed most for you.

In this episode, I’m delving into the common pitfall of many leaders - getting stuck in the weeds of daily tasks and acting operationally instead of strategically. If your calendar is packed with tasks your team should be able to handle, you might be trapped in an operational role rather than leading effectively. Discover how to rise above the day-to-day grind, lead strategically, and drive impact without burning out.

This is Influence & Impact for Leaders, the podcast that helps leaders like you increase your impact and build a happy and high-performing team. Each episode delivers focused, actionable insights you can implement immediately to be better at your job without working harder.

In This Episode:

• Operational vs. Strategic Leadership
• Why Leaders Get Stuck in Doing
• The Cost of Staying in the Weeds
• Signs You’re Too Operational
• The Strategic Leader’s Role
• Building a Self-Sufficient Team
• Creating Space for Strategic

Mentioned in This Episode:

Episode 61 - How to be great at delegation.

Episode 174 - How to be a coach-like manager with Jude Sclater.

Work with Carla:

• Impactful Teams Scorecard – Discover how your team measures up and how you can grow your team’s impact.
• 1:1 Leadership Coaching with Carla – Define your unique leadership brand and thrive outside the mould. Book a discovery call

📢 If This Resonated…

Please share this episode with a fellow leader who needs to hear it.

Leave a review to support the show or reach out to me directly — I’d love to hear what landed most for you.