This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil

You hit the goal. You check the box. You reach the milestone. And instead of feeling fulfilled… you’re already onto the next thing.

Yeah — that’s the problem. 

In this episode of This Is Woman’s Work, Nicole sits down with Jess Ekstrom — founder, bestselling author, and reformed anxious achiever — to call out the toxic relationship so many high-achieving women have with motivation, success, and self-worth. And spoiler alert: it’s not a motivation problem. It’s a meaning problem.

Because somewhere along the way, ambition got tangled up with anxiety, productivity got confused with purpose, and we decided we’d finally feel good enough… later. After the next goal. The next milestone. The next arbitrary number. Sound familiar?

We cover:


The difference between anxious ambition vs. inspired ambition


How to redefine success so it actually feels like success (not just looks good on paper)


The “purpose test” that will instantly expose if you’re chasing approval or impact


Why you keep moving the goalpost — and how it’s burning you out


How comparison can either crush you… or prove what’s possible

Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: if you keep tying your worth to what’s next, you will never feel like enough — no matter how much you accomplish.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free!

Families are better when they’re working together… go to myskylight.com/WOMANSWORK for $30 off your Skylight Calendar.

Become a Fora Advisor today at Foratravel.com/woman 

Connect with Jess:

Website: https://jessekstrom.com/ 

Book:https://jessekstrom.com/makingit/ 

Workshop: https://micdropworkshop.com/ 

IG: www.instagram.com/jess_ekstrom 

FB: www.facebook.com/jessekstrom 

X: www.twitter.com/jess_ekstrom 

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jessekstrom 

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-ekstrom-59160342/ 

Related Podcast Episodes

206 / A Better Way to Define Success with Stella Grizont

7 Keys To Unlock Your Dynamic Drive with Molly Fletcher | 229

160 / Motivation with Kate Tracy 

Share the Love:

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s get something straight: women’s healthcare is broken. But not equally broken.

In this unapologetically raw and necessary conversation, Nicole Kalil sits down with Dr. Kemi Doll — physician, gynecologic oncologist, researcher, and author of A Terrible Strength — to expose the systemic failures in gynecological care, especially for Black women.

This isn’t a “wellness trends” conversation. This is about health inequity, medical bias, reproductive injustice, and the dangerous normalization of women’s pain.

Because here’s the truth: when one group of women is dismissed, denied care, and dying at higher rates… it’s not just their problem. It’s a system-wide failure that impacts all of us.

They break down:


The systemic crisis in gynecology and why womb health is massively underfunded and under-researched


Why conditions like fibroids, endometriosis, and uterine cancer are ignored 


The dangerous myth of the “strong Black woman” and how that “strength” is costing lives


How medical bias and racism show up in real diagnoses, treatment delays, and mortality rates


The difference between real health education vs. wellness industry BS


How ALL women play a role in demanding better care 

This episode will challenge you. It might piss you off. Good. It should.

Because we don’t get to claim progress for women while some of us are still being ignored, misdiagnosed, and dying from treatable conditions.

And we don’t get to call it “woman’s work” until it works for all of us.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free!

Families are better when they’re working together… go to myskylight.com/WOMANSWORK for $30 off your Skylight Calendar.

Become a Fora Advisor today at Foratravel.com/woman 

Connect with Kemi:

Website: https://kemidoll.com/ 

Book: https://kemidoll.com/book/ 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/kemidoll 

Related Podcast Episodes

Perimenopause, HRT, and Why Women Are Being Gaslit Into Thinking It’s “Just Aging” with Dr. Sarah Daccarett | 381

Endometriosis & Women's Health with Somer Baburek | 238

Floored - Why Our Pelvic Floor Health Matters with Dr. Sara Reardon | 314

Share the Love:

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicole Kalil just hit a milestone most people secretly dread… her very first one-star podcast review — and instead of spiraling, she celebrated it. Yep, you read that right.

In this unfiltered, unhinged episode, Nicole breaks down why negative feedback, criticism, and even haters might actually be the clearest sign that you’re doing something right. Because if everyone likes you? You’re probably playing it way too safe.

This episode is a masterclass in confidence, self-trust, and not shrinking yourself to make other people comfortable. It’s about choosing what opinions matter, letting the noise sort itself out, and continuing to show up boldly — even when it makes people uncomfortable.

In this episode, she explores:


Why negative reviews and criticism can actually validate your impact


How to separate useful feedback from irrelevant noise


The psychology behind why people project their opinions


Why being disliked is often the cost of being authentic


How to stop seeking approval and start trusting yourself

And the kicker? Even the haters help boost the algorithm. So technically… they’re part of the marketing team now.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free!

Families are better when they’re working together… go to myskylight.com/WOMANSWORK for $30 off your Skylight Calendar.

Become a Fora Advisor today at Foratravel.com/woman 

Connect with Nicole:

Subscribe to Nicole’s Substack: https://nicolekalil.substack.com/ 

Join the Inner Circle: https://nicolekalil.myflodesk.com/newsletter 

Related Podcast Episodes:

Sequins, Miscommunication, and Marriage | Unfiltered & Unhinged

Women Are Tired — Stop Pointing It Out | Unfiltered & Unhinged

The Episode About Balls | Unfiltered & Unhinged

Share the Love:

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s get one thing straight: the fitness industry has sold us a lie that if you’re not drenched in sweat, tracking every step, optimizing every metric, and borderline hating your life… it “doesn’t count.” 

We’re calling bullshit.

In this episode, Nicole sits down with Dr. Milica McDowell — doctor of physical therapy, human performance expert, and co-author of Walk — to dismantle everything we’ve been taught about exercise, movement, and what it actually means to take care of our bodies.

Because walking? The thing you’ve been dismissing as “not real exercise”? It might be the most powerful, accessible, and science-backed tool for your health, longevity, and mental clarity.

In this episode, we cover:


Why walking is one of the most underrated forms of exercise for women’s health


The truth about the 10,000-step myth (and what actually matters)


How walking improves mood, creativity, and cognitive function


The shocking connection between foot health, balance, and longevity


Why your shoes might be sabotaging your body (yes, really)


The concept of “movement snacks” and how to fit walking into real life


Treadmill vs outdoor walking — what actually counts


How to build a walking habit without adding more to your already full plate

Because maybe the goal isn’t to do more, harder, faster.

Maybe the goal is to finally do what works. And that might be as simple as going for a walk.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. Try Gusto today at gusto.com/TIWW, and get three months free when you run your first payroll.

Refresh your spring wardrobe with Quince. Go to Quince.com/TIWW for free shipping and 365-day returns!

Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww 

Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free!

Families are better when they’re working together… go to myskylight.com/WOMANSWORK for $30 off your Skylight Calendar.

Connect with Milica:

Website: https://www.milicamcdowell.com/ 

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Walk-Rediscover-Natural-Health-Longevity_One/dp/0306837536

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-milica-mcdowell/ 

Related Podcast Episodes

The Connection Cure: Social Prescribing, Loneliness, and Why Belonging Is Medicine with Julia Hotz | 373

154 / Affirmation Roulette with Peloton’s Kirsten Ferguson

Lift Heavy, Live Long: Reclaiming Your Strength with Anne-Marie Chaker | 368

Share the Love:

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let’s just say the quiet part out loud: work is broken.

Burnout is everywhere. People are disengaged. Leaders feel like they can’t win. Employees feel invisible. And somewhere along the way, work became more about transactions than human connection.

In this episode, Nicole Kalil sits down with Nidhi Tewari — licensed clinical social worker, Harvard Business Review Advisory Council member, Thinkers50 Radar Award recipient, and author of Working Well — to unpack what’s really going wrong at work… and what actually fixes it.

Thank god, it’s not another productivity hack. It’s attunement.

In this episode, we cover:


Why modern work culture is failing (and why it’s not entirely new)


The real reason burnout and disengagement are skyrocketing


What “attunement” is — and why it goes deeper than emotional intelligence


The 4 core skills of attunement: flexibility, reading cues, self-regulation, and collaboration


Simple ways to practice attunement at work — without adding more to your plate


Why asking instead of assuming is a leadership superpower


How workplace connection directly impacts performance, retention, and fulfillment

Because maybe the goal isn’t to care more. Maybe the goal is to show it — consistently, clearly, and in a way people can actually feel.

Thank you to our sponsors!

Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses. Try Gusto today at gusto.com/TIWW, and get three months free when you run your first payroll.

Refresh your spring wardrobe with Quince. Go to Quince.com/TIWW for free shipping and 365-day returns!

Shopify has everything all in one place, making your life easier and your business operations smoother. Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at shopify.com/tiww 

Visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free!

Families are better when they’re working together… go to myskylight.com/WOMANSWORK for $30 off your Skylight Calendar.

Connect with Nidhi:

Website: https://www.nidhitewari.com/  

Book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/788782/working-well-by-nidhi-tewari

Related Podcast Episodes

What Good Leaders Can Learn from Bad Bosses with Mita Mallick | 351

Leading From The Inside Out with Dana Maor | 278

What Happens When Leadership Becomes Unsustainable: Leader Mental Health with Melissa Doman | 403

Share the Love:

If you found this episode insightful, please share it with a friend, tag us on social media, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

🔗 Subscribe & Review:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices