#42 | From Sleeping on College Floors to Senior Leadership & the Real Resilience Lessons Sonia Allen Wants Every Ambitious Woman to Hear.

Ordinary choices, extraordinary resilience and a career built with courage, curiosity and a lot of grit.What does real resilience actually look like over a lifetime (not just in the highlight reel)?In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Caroline sits down with her lifelong friend Sonia Allen to explore a career built on grit, curiosity, and bold decisions (even when the odds were stacked high).From running a household alone at 17, to sleeping on college floors to keep her further education dream alive…From rising fast in the leisure industry to having her career derailed by a serious car accident…From leadership roles in education to facing cancer and completely rethinking what “success” means…Sonia’s story is a masterclass in adaptability, transferable skills, and choosing to keep moving forward when life throws serious curveballs.In Part One, we explore:Why “making it work” became Sonia’s default response to setbacksThe bold move she made at 22 that changed her career trajectoryHow leadership is really about people, not job titlesWhat happens when your identity is wrapped up in your work and it’s suddenly taken awayHow illness forced a rethink of priorities, purpose, and paceThis is not a neat, linear career story. It’s a real one. And that’s exactly why it matters.🎧 Part Two drops next week, where we dive into transferable skills, bounce-back-ability, and how Sonia rebuilt a whole new working life on her own terms.RESOURCESYou can contact Sonia hereAnd Caroline here or [email protected] can explore the work of The Tea Leaf Trust or donate hereAll Hands and Hearts Disaster Relief herewww.inspireyourgenius.comNew episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.Stuck, simmering, or onto something juicy? I want to hear it. Drop me a line at [email protected] - I read them all.And here is the Spotify Playlist to accompany UnShakeable Her.Unshakeable Her is the podcast for women in leadership who are ready to build real influence, earn the promotion they deserve, and lead with confidence in systems that weren't built for them. Each episode tackles the challenges that shape leadership from the inside out, including imposter syndrome, resilience, credibility, boundaries, conflict, and feedback, while unpacking how pressure, workplace politics, strategic thinking, decision-making, and visibility affect the way ambitious women grow, lead, and get promoted without losing themselves in the process.