122. The Invisible Load and the Cost of Holding It All Together with Leslie Forde

In this powerful conversation, Dina sits down with Leslie Forde - author of Repair with Self-Care and founder of Mom’s Hierarchy of Needs - for a truth-telling dialogue every woman leader needs to hear.Dina first heard Leslie speak in a packed room of women during her DC book tour stop, where you could feel the entire room exhale as Leslie named the invisible load so many of us have been carrying in silence. Today, they pick up that thread and dive even deeper.Together, they explore what happens when women stop performing resilience and start honoring their actual needs. Leslie breaks down why self-care is not indulgence, not a reward, and definitely not something you “earn” after you’ve handled everything else - but a leadership skill, a boundary, and a radical act of self-trust.You’ll hear:Why energy management - not time management - is the real secret to sustainable leadershipHow the invisible load of motherhood shows up in boardrooms, Zoom rooms, and everywhere in betweenWhat shifts when women treat their needs as data instead of inconveniencesThe first realistic steps to repair yourself without stepping away from your career or burning your life downWhy self-care is strategic, political, and deeply personal for women leadersIf you’ve ever felt the weight of trying to hold it all together… this episode is your permission slip to put the load down and rebuild leadership from a place of wholeness, not depletion.This is a conversation about repair, recovery, and redefining what leadership looks like when women stop abandoning themselves. Don’t miss it.