Self Advocacy is a Power Move (Not a Personality Flaw)

In this podcast, Neelu chats with Jessica Lyonford about self advocacy and standing up for yourself. Many of us shy away from taking up space because we want to keep the peace, but, in this podcast, Neelu makes the case for doing it anyway, assertively and non-combatively.

From the podcast write-up:

Happy leadership isn’t about being liked.

It’s about being real.

It’s about knowing your worth—and having the courage to back yourself in rooms that weren’t built for you.

Because you can’t lead with impact if you keep silencing yourself to keep the peace.

This week, I’m joined by Neelu Kaur—executive coach, inclusion advocate and author of Be Your Own Cheerleader—for a firestarter conversation on self-advocacy, identity and how to stop waiting for permission to take up space.

We get into:

🧠 Why high-achieving women still play small—and how to break the pattern

🔥 What “speaking up” actually looks like in rooms full of power dynamics

💡 The cultural conditioning that keeps leaders over-delivering and under-valued

🗣️ Tactical self-advocacy strategies for corporate spaces that weren’t designed for you

⚡ How Happy Leaders build careers rooted in agency, alignment, and unapologetic self-trust

If you’ve ever dimmed your light to make others comfortable, this episode will remind you that...

You are the damn light.