Let's talk about building a positive workplace culture. What does it take to build a workplace where people truly own their work — not just show up for it?

Anusha Iyer, Founder and CEO of Corsha, joins Toni to share the unfiltered journey from software engineer to CTO to CEO — and the leadership philosophy that underpins everything she's built along the way. Corsha secures machine-to-machine communications for the operational systems that run our world, from AI agents to robotic controllers in critical infrastructure. It's deep tech solving some of the most important and underprotected problems in cybersecurity today.

But this conversation isn't just about technology. It's about ownership culture, the realities of founding a company as a woman, how to pivot without destroying your team, and why joy at work isn't a soft concept — it's a strategic one.

Anusha also gets into the AI thread that's running through every organisation right now: why diverse voices need to be shaping these tools while the models are still being trained, and why using AI as an assistant rather than a replacement is a leadership decision, not just a preference.

What we cover:

• The real financial and personal cost of starting a startup — and why it's worth it
• How to make strategic pivots without flip-flopping and exhausting your team
• The power of saying no — to customers, to money, to scope creep
• Building a positive workplace culture through ownership: the Joy at Work framework
• The CTO-to-CEO transition: what changes, what doesn't, and the vulnerability that makes it work
• Why the E in CEO stands for evangelist — and what that means for how you lead
• Communication training for the whole team, not just the C-suite
• AI as an assistant, not a replacement — and why women need to be in these tools now
• The 100% job spec problem — and the mindset shift women need to make
• Why diverse voices matter in AI training right now, while it still counts
  

Connect with Anusha and Corhsa:

• https://corsha.com/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/anusha-iyer/

Resources mentioned in this episode

• Read the book Joy At Work by Dennis W. Bakke
• Emma Wainer, public speaking coach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmawainer/
  • Listen to Emma on the Podcast: Episode 107 - Being a great communicator with Emma Wainer
• Book a strategy call with Toni: tonicollis.com/lets-chat

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Anusha Iyer. Thank you Anusha & Corsha for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Do you communicate with clarity when the stakes are high — or does your voice go quiet at exactly the moment it matters most?

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, I break down one of the most underrated leadership skills for women in tech: communicating with clarity under pressure. Not when things are calm and you've had time to prepare — but when someone challenges you in front of the leadership team, when an executive asks a question you weren't expecting, or when you can feel the room watching to see how you respond.

This is not about confidence. It's not about personality. It's about a conditioned nervous system response — and a set of practical, trainable tools to work with it.

In this episode:

⏹ Why communication breaks down under pressure — the real physiology behind the freeze, the ramble, the hedge spiral, and the shutdown

⏹ Why this shows up differently for women in tech — and why "just be more confident" is both wrong and unhelpful

⏹ The reframe that changes everything: clarity under pressure is a trained skill, not a personality trait

⏹ Five practical tools you can start building this week, including the one-sentence anchor, the strategic pause, the pressure-proof redirect, and the high-stakes pre-mortem

⏹ Where to start — a sequenced action plan so you build the skill without overwhelming yourself

If you've ever walked out of a meeting thinking "why didn't I just say X?", this episode will tell you exactly why — and exactly what to do about it.

Learn more about communication: Episode 243 — Struggling to Be Heard? Master Leadership Communication Strategies and Coach Upwards

Ready to work on this in the context of your specific leadership challenges? Book a strategy call: tonicollis.com/lets-chat/

If your organization is running AI pilots that aren't moving the needle, waiting for the right moment to commit, or treating AI as a technology problem for IT to solve — this episode is the reset you need.

Charlene Li, NYT bestselling author and one of the world's leading voices on disruptive leadership, joins Toni for her second appearance on Leading Women in Tech. When she was last on the show in Episode 225 (Run To Disruption), the AI conversation was just beginning to accelerate. Now, with her new book Winning with AI: The 90-Day Blueprint for Success freshly published, Charlene brings a framework that is both more urgent and more practical than anything most organisations are currently working with.

This is a conversation about AI leadership strategy — not as a technology decision, but as a leadership and strategic imperative. And it has particular resonance for women in tech, who face a specific version of this challenge: the deeply conditioned pressure to be certain before acting, and what that costs us when the window for leadership is open right now.

What we cover in this episode:

⏹ Why you don't need an AI strategy — you need an AI roadmap that serves your existing business strategy

⏹ The 95% pilot failure rate, and what to do instead of running pilots

⏹ The 18-month rolling AI roadmap: how to write strategy in ink and your roadmap in pencil

⏹ Speed as the new competitive moat — and what that means for leaders who wait for certainty before acting

⏹ The specific challenge women face: perfectionism, scrutiny, and the risk of sitting out the AI transition

⏹ What AI fluency actually looks like — and why becoming fluent publicly is a leadership act, not a vulnerability

⏹ The "how did you use AI to prepare for this meeting?" technique — and why it changes team culture fast

⏹ The superhuman thesis: what happens when uniquely human skills (empathy, judgment, wisdom, intuition) meet AI capability

⏹ Why the good people have to show up — and why women's voices are non-negotiable in shaping how AI is used

Connect with Charlene — today's guest and sponsor:

⏹ Website: charleneli.com

⏹ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charleneli

⏹ Book: winningwithaibook.com

Mentioned in this episode:

⏹ Episode 225 — Run To Disruption with Charlene Li: tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/225-run-to-disruption-charlene-li

Connect with Toni:

⏹ tonicollis.com

⏹ tonicollis.com/lets-chat

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Charlene Li. Thank you Charlene for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

What does it actually take to become a transformational leader in the age of AI? Catherine Wong, Chief Product Officer at Entrata, joins Toni to share the career philosophy, leadership mindset, and honest hard-won lessons that took her from software engineer to CPO — via architecture, M&A, product, and operations.

Catherine built her career on range, not a straight line. She calls it the jungle gym — and she believes it's more relevant now than ever. In this episode she gets real about diversity as a product quality issue (not just a values issue), why AI adoption is the biggest change management challenge of our careers, and what authentic leadership actually means when the pressure is on.

If you're navigating a non-linear career, trying to lead your team through AI change, or wondering whether you need a perfect plan to reach the C-suite — this one is for you.

What we cover:

◾ Why range matters more than specialisation at the executive level

◾How empathy becomes your most powerful leadership tool across functions

◾Why diversity is a product quality issue — and what's at stake as that conversation disappears

◾AI adoption as a change management challenge at unprecedented speed

◾The "hit song" principle: why consistent messaging is the job

◾How to stop minimising yourself — and what to do if you don't have the right mentors

◾Authentic leadership: what it really means to bring the right energy to your team

About Catherine Wong

Catherine Wong is Chief Product Officer at Entrata, where she leads product and operations. She has held VP of Engineering and product leadership roles across multiple organisations and has spent her career building range across software engineering, architecture, M&A, and product management. She is a passionate advocate for diversity in tech and for leading teams through AI transformation with humanity and clarity.

Connect with Catherine Wong

◾LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/catherinewong

◾X: @catherinewong

◾Entrata: entrata.com

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Catherine Wong. Thank you Catherine for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

When someone asks you how you're doing, what do you say?

If you answered "I'm fine" before you'd even finished reading that question — this episode is for you.

Burnout in high-performing women in tech leadership rarely looks like collapse. It looks like going through the motions. Like numbness. Like resentment that arrives out of nowhere and exhaustion that's become so normal you've stopped registering it as a warning sign.

In this episode, Toni breaks down why burnout hits women in tech leadership differently, the three patterns she sees most in her coaching work, and what burnout-proof leadership actually means — strategically, not just in a "take more baths" sense.

This isn't about slowing down. It's about building leadership that doesn't require you to run on empty to function.

What you'll hear in this episode:

◾ Why high-performing women are often the last to identify as burned out — and the specific compounding factors that make burnout in tech leadership different

◾ The three burnout patterns Toni sees most in coaching: the silent spiral, the conflict-avoidant overgiver, and the high-performer in denial

◾ What burnout-proof leadership actually requires — structural protection, a perceptual shift, and leadership identity recalibration

◾ The mistake that keeps women stuck in burnout cycles even when they're actively trying to recover

◾ Four practical first steps you can take this week, even if you're already running on empty

For a limited time, the Burnout to Balance Toolkit is completely free — self-paced audio training, workbook, and an optional four-week reset plan, designed for women in tech leadership who need something concrete right now. Available free for two weeks from release, or until the first 200 downloads. Get it at tonicollis.com/burnout-to-balance.

Links mentioned in this episode:

◾ Burnout to Balance Toolkit (free for limited time): tonicollis.com/burnout-to-balance/

◾ Episode 216 — Understanding and Overcoming Burnout with Lindsay, Jen, and Allison: https://tonicollis.com/leading-women-tech/216-understanding-and-overcoming-burnout-insights-from-leading-women-in-tech-with-lindsay-jen-and-allison/

You don't need a perfect career plan to succeed in tech.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, I sit down with Sarah Walker, Chief Executive of Cisco UK & Ireland, to talk about women in tech leadership, non-traditional career paths, AI in the workplace, and why backing yourself matters more than ticking every box.

Sarah didn't follow a traditional route into tech. She didn't leave school with perfect results. She didn't move to London (despite being told she should). And she certainly didn't have a 20-year career plan mapped out.

Yet today, she leads one of the most influential tech organisations in the UK and Ireland.

In this conversation, we explore:
◾ Women in tech leadership and representation
◾ Career advancement for women in tech without a rigid plan
◾ How to become a leader in tech without ticking every box
◾ Leadership mindset and backing yourself before you feel ready
◾ AI in the workplace and how it unlocks human potential
◾ Why social mobility and regional leadership matter
◾ Sustainable leadership and authenticity at the top

If you've ever questioned whether you "fit" the mould of a tech executive — this episode will change how you see your path.

🔗 Connect with Sarah Walker on LinkedIn
🔗 Learn more about Cisco UK & Ireland

👉 Ready to design your path to executive leadership?
Book a Strategy Call: https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

This episode was sponsored by our guest, Sarah Walker at CISCO. Thank you Sarah for helping to bring Leading Women in Tech to this community!

Executive Leadership for Women: From Tactical to Strategic

You've mastered being a leader.

But executive leadership for women is not just the next step up.

It's a completely different game.

In this episode of Leading Women in Tech, we unpack why tactical excellence alone won't get you promoted — and what actually signals executive readiness.

If you've ever been told:

• "You're doing great."
• "Keep going."
• "You're almost there."
• "We just need to see a bit more."

This episode is for you.

We explore:

• Why women not getting promoted in tech is often a positioning issue
• The difference between management and executive leadership
• How gender bias in tech leadership shapes perception
• Navigating bro culture in tech without losing yourself
• Executive presence for women — and why it's about credibility, not charisma
• Why sponsorship matters more than merit
• A practical 90-day roadmap to reposition yourself strategically
  
  

Executive leadership for women is not about becoming louder.

It's about raising your altitude.

**Useful links**

• Listen to Episode 286: Executive presence is about how you are experienced in the room.

If you're ready to transition from management to leadership at executive level — but need clarity on your perception gap —

Book a Strategy Call: 👉 https://tonicollis.com/lets-chat

Because executive leadership for women is not reserved for a personality type.

It is built.

And you are closer than you think.