Unbehaved

Ep. 15 — The Workplace Trust Playbook: How to Stop Tolerating the B.S. at Work with Minda Harts

We spend more time at work than we do with our families. So why do we tolerate things from our employers — broken trust, withholding information, being told everything's fine when it clearly isn't — that we'd never tolerate from a partner?
In this episode of Unbehaved, Meghan French Dunbar sits down with bestselling author Minda Harts, bestselling author ofTalk to Me Nice and The Memo, to ask why workplace trust is so often broken, why we accept it, and — most importantly — what to actually do about it.
If you're a leader trying to build a team people want to stay on, or someone navigating a workplace that doesn't feel safe, this conversation gives you a real toolkit.
What you'll walk away with:
A new framework — the Seven Trust Languages — for understanding what trust actually means to you and the people you work with
The data that proves trust isn't a "nice to have" but a measurable business advantage (74% less anxiety, 24% higher productivity, $344 billion lost to turnover every year)
Three trust-breakers to stop doing immediately (micromanaging, unnecessary CCs, AI-generated emails)
A reframe of people-pleasing as something that erodes — not protects — your trustworthiness
The smallest, most effective trust-building move you can make this week (hint: acknowledgment over feedback)
A new definition of success that has nothing to do with money or title
Whether you manage five people or five hundred, lead a startup or work inside a Fortune 500, this episode reframes one of the most under-talked-about elements of work into the actual business imperative it's always been.
If you've ever sat in a meeting smelling smoke that no one else was acknowledging — this episode is for you.
Subscribe to Unbehaved wherever you listen.

Ep. 14 — How to Advocate for Yourself When Nobody's Listening

Lindsay Scola on late diagnoses, medical gaslighting, and never taking "you're fine" for an answer
Have you ever known something was wrong — in your body, your gut, your bones — and had someone else tell you that it's just fine?
Lindsay Scola knew something was wrong at 16. She didn't get answers until she was 35. In the nearly two decades between those two moments, she worked at the highest levels — Congress, the Obama's advance teams, the Emmys — while taking secret naps in bathrooms and on airport floors, because every doctor she saw handed her a sleep hygiene pamphlet and sent her home.
She was eventually diagnosed with narcolepsy at 35 and ADHD at 41. And what she found on the other side wasn't just relief — it was grief, and then clarity, and then a completely no-BS framework for what it actually takes to advocate for yourself in systems that are very good at making you feel like you're overreacting.
This episode will make you laugh (the child ghost story alone is worth the runtime) and it will make you a significantly more effective advocate for your own health and your own truth. Lindsay gives everyone listening an explicit permission slip that everyone needs to hear. 

Ep. 13 — Is Your Job Killing You? Don't Wait Till You Break

Deepa Purushothaman spent two decades at Deloitte, made partner in her early 30s, and was — by every external measure — successful. She was also living out of a suitcase three cities a week, constantly pushing herself, and beginning to get sick. It took 14 doctors before one of them finally asked her: "Is your job killing you?"
This episode is what she's done with that question.
We get into:
What it actually looks like to walk away from the path you’re on and build something new.
The four "shoe drops" that most often finally wake high-achieving women up — and why almost no one changes without one.
The difference between a season of busyness and a system of busyness.
How her definition of success has evolved, and how to start rewriting your definition of success in alignment with what you actually want.
And the one question Deepa thinks every one of us should be asking but most of us never do.
If you've been chasing a definition of success that someone else handed you a long time ago, this conversation is for you.
Deepa is the author of The First, The Few, The Only and the founder of The ReWrite. 
Subscribe to Unbehaved wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes drop every other week.

Ep. 12 —You’re Not Past Your Prime. You’re Reinventing It.

Stacey Lindsay, author of Being 40, on the Made-up Timelines and Harmful Stories We Carry and How to Finally Let It Rip
Award-winning journalist Stacey Lindsay has spent her career asking the real questions most others shy away from—and in this conversation, she turned that same lens on the judgements about how life is supposed to go based on our age. 
We talk about the invisible measuring stick we’re held up against, the pressure women face around having kids, beauty ideals, and our careers, and the question that quietly chips away at many of us: have I done enough? 
We get into what Stacey calls "delayering"—the ongoing, never-finished work of taking off inherited stories, other people's expectations, and judgments you've been carrying for so long they feel like your own skin. We talk about outsourcing our self-worth, the two kinds of stress (and how your body already knows the difference), and why so much of what women do in their 20s and 30s is quietly, relentlessly in the service of other people's comfort.
And then Stacey introduces the concept that rocked my little world: the Autumn Queen—a different archetype for women in midlife, one that has nothing to do with decline and everything to do with renaissance. Because it turns out the systems at play don't want to give us a word for this stage of life, and there's a reason for that.
This episode drops on the week of Stacey's book launch. It's the right week to listen.

Ep. 11 —How to Be Ambitious Without Burning Out—with Amina AlTai

USA Today best-selling author Amina AlTai on Painful versus Purposeful Ambition
You've been told that ambition is the answer—that if you just work harder, push further, and want it badly enough, you'll be happy. You'll be successful. But what if the ambition you've been chasing is actually eroding your quality of life? Making you sick, overly stressed, exhausted, and unhappy. 
In the first episode of Unbehaved Season 2, Meghan sits down with best-selling author of The Ambition Trap, Amina AlTai, to dismantle everything we think we know about ambition.
Amina draws a line between "painful ambition"—the kind that grinds you down in a broken system that works against you—and "purposeful ambition," the kind that actually sustains you. They get into why there is no outworking a broken system, why we overdevelop our work identity at the expense of everything else, and why clarity doesn't come from sitting still and overthinking—it comes from moving, even if the first step is laughably small.
There's also a moment involving a dance party that might make you rethink your entire definition of quality of life.
If you've ever felt like you're sprinting on a treadmill someone else plugged in, this one's for you.

Ep. 10 — The Anti-Overwhelm Playbook: How to Stop Drowning in Busy

If you’re constantly overextended, guilty when you rest, or exhausted by the pace of life — this is for you.
In this Better Than This (now Unbehaved) Season 1 finale, Meghan French Dunbar reveals The Anti-Overwhelm Playbook: four simple, research-backed practices to help you de-stress, set boundaries, and flourish within imperfect systems.
Drawing on stories from real women and thought leaders, Meghan explores how guilt, judgment, and “busy culture” keep us stuck — and how to reclaim your agency through essentializing your time, relationships, inputs, and behaviors.
You’ll learn:1) How guilt and judgment keep us stuck in overwork2) Why depletion makes good leadership impossible3) The Impact–Energy Matrix for saying no without guilt4) How to “clean your closet” of draining relationships5) A soul-feeding filter for what you watch, read, and scroll6) Gentle guardrails for your health and habits
This episode is your permission slip to rest, recalibrate, and lead from a place of wellbeing — because flourishing isn’t a privilege, it’s a practice.
 

Ep. 9 — The Unexpected (And Very Real) Leadership Superpower of Intuition

How to tap into your inner wisdom to transform how you lead
Intuition often gets dismissed as “soft” or “woo”—especially for women in business. Yet, it’s one of the skills some of the world’s most successful business leaders lean on most. 
In this episode, Meghan reframes intuition as a bona fide leadership super power: a rapid-cognition system that helps you spot risk, improve decisions, and choose the path of greatest relief and resonance. Guests Vicki Saunders, Diana Propper de Callejon, and Stephanie Nadi Olson share how they navigate by intuition in high-stakes decisions, from walking away from “crunchy” timing to choosing the next right move that feels frictionless.
You’ll hear a raw story of ignoring gut warnings with a powerful stakeholder and get simple practices to regularly tap into your intuition. If you’ve ever gaslit your gut to keep the peace or ignored an intuitive idea because it deviates from the norm, this conversation gives you language, tools, and permission to trust yourself—and lead with more clarity, resonance, and inspiration. 
What you’ll learn
A practical tests to ensure your aligned with your intuition when making tough calls
How intuition improves complex decision-making and deception detection
Three daily/weekly practices to strengthen intuitive signals
How to follow intuitive “breadcrumbs” from ideas to outcomes
 

Ep. 8 — Why Women Aren’t Actually Better Leaders Than Men: : The Case For Holistic Leadership

Are women better leaders than men? Many recent studies suggest the answer is yes. But in this episode, Meghan French Dunbar challenges that idea — and explains why exceptional leadership isn’t determined by gender identity.
Meghan digs into the history, the research, and a surprising perspective that explores what really sets the most effective leaders apart. She shares stories of toxic bosses, caring mentors, and deeply personal moments that bring great leadership to life. 
If you’ve ever wondered what truly makes a great leader, or how to lead with more humanity without sacrificing effectiveness, this episode is a must-listen. Because the best leaders aren’t defined by gender — they’re defined by their character.

Ep. 7 — Is It Too Late to Change? How to Build a Career You Actually Love

Are you stuck in a “should” career — one that looks good on paper but leaves you unfulfilled? Or maybe you’ve even settled for work that makes you miserable but feel like it’s too late to change?   
In this episode of Better Than This (now Unbehaved), Meghan French Dunbar shares stories and insights on how to build a career you actually love. You’ll hear real-life stories, including how Alison Bailey Vercruysse left banking for food entrepreneurship, how Gayle Jennings-O’Byrne left Wall Street to invest in women of color, and how you can start turning the dials toward joy, meaning, and well-being — no matter where you are right now. From following your passions, to finding purpose, to prioritizing your quality of life over titles and status, Meghan offers a fresh blueprint for success that leads to genuine flourishing. 
 

Ep. 6 — Why Authentic Leadership Works: How to Be an Authentic Leader in a World That Rewards Conformity

Authentic leadership is proven to be better for your relationships, your team, your bottom line, and your well-being. Yet, leading authentically is easier said than done at work—especially for working women and other marginalized leaders who often feel pressure to change themselves to belong in a system built by and for others. So how do you tap into your authentic leadership anyway? 
In this episode, we’ll dive deep into why authentic leadership is so important and how to cultivate it in your work and life. With insights from top CEOs like Melanie Dulbecco, Stephanie Nadi Olson, and Alfa Demmellash, you’ll discover three powerful mindset shifts to help you lead more authentically, avoid burnout, and finally feel aligned. If you’ve ever felt like you have to act a certain way to be taken seriously at work—more polished, more professional, more together—this episode is for you.
You'll learn:
Why trying to “fit in” at work may be quietly burning you out
How authentic leadership actually makes you more effective and respected
Three mindset shifts to help you show up with more confidence, clarity, and calm
The real reason so many women feel like they’re “not quite themselves” at work—and how to fix it
Plus, you’ll hear a story about a woman in Birkenstocks singing Nina Simone at a business conference. (Trust me—it’s worth it.)
This episode isn’t just about leadership. It’s about reclaiming yourself—at work, in life, and in every room you walk into.