Two sisters from rural Appalachia wrote the playbook they wish they had.
What does it actually take for a woman to lead herself forward when no one handed her a roadmap? That question sits at the heart of this conversation, and the answer is more honest, more practical, and more urgent than most career advice you have heard.
Self leadership is not a title you earn or a milestone you reach. It is a daily practice, and for women navigating careers that were not designed with them in mind, it may be the most important skill no one ever taught them. This episode of The Power Lounge is for every woman who has ever felt stuck, invisible, or like she was playing by rules she was never given.
Kelly Mooney is a three-time author, speaker, gender equity advocate, and founder of Equipt Women. She spent over two decades leading the nation's largest independent digital agency, became Chief Experience Officer of North America at IBM, and has served on three public company boards. Her sister and co-founder Katy Mooney is a certified leadership and performance coach whose clients include Walmart, Meta, and Lululemon. Together they are the co-authors of UP! The Playbook for Every Woman on the Rise, available June 2nd.
Key Takeaways
Self leadership has to come before everything else because when you change the way you think about yourself and what you want, every choice that follows becomes different.
Women often wait for permission to pursue something bigger, ask for more, or take up space. A big part of moving forward is writing yourself that permission slip.
Your career is a series of choices, and not choosing is also a choice. Recognizing that truth, even when the system is not working in your favor, is where your power starts coming back.
Visibility with senior leaders is not about politics. It is strategy. Research shows that for every sponsor advocating for you behind closed doors, your chances of promotion increase by 10 percent.
There is no one path and no one pace. Careers span 40 to 50 years, which means you cannot have your foot on the pedal all the time. The only shoulds that matter are the ones you decide for yourself.
Kelly Mooney said, "I want her to know that she has more power within her than she realizes to create the career and life she desires."
Host Amy Vaughn said, "Self leadership is not a title you earn. It is a practice that you choose."
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome to The Power Lounge
01:12 Introducing Kelly and Katy Mooney
02:43 Growing up as two of ten kids in rural Appalachia
05:05 The arc of UP and why self leadership comes first
07:59 What coaching reveals about women who feel stuck or invisible
09:31 Owning your choices even when the system is broken
15:18 Finding your fit. The four dimensions framework
21:57 Self leadership in the middle of a big transition
24:47 Tuning into head, heart, and gut as centers of intelligence
33:23 Getting in the game and the unwritten rules of the workplace
39:14 No shoulds. Staying on your own mat and practicing non-comparison
47:08 Power round. The hardest rule to learn and what moving up means now
52:31 Audience Q and A. Keeping entrepreneurial momentum while working a 9 to 5
Connect with Kelly and Katy
Book: https://equiptwomen.com/up
Website: https://equiptwomen.com
Newsletter: https://equiptwomen.com/get-equipt
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/equiptwoman
Together Digital: https://togetherindigital.com
