The High-Achiever's Fear of Being Seen

You'll fight for your kids. You'll fight for your employees. You'll fight for a client who's never even met you. But the second it's your own story on the line? You freeze. This week Gia sits down with Michele Richman — Chief People Officer at Lawline, former government prosecutor, and author of The Stories We Almost Don't Tell — for a conversation that has nothing to do with confidence and everything to do with the gap between it. Michele has spent her career being the person other people call when they need someone fierce in their corner. What she hadn't figured out until much later: she'd built an entire identity around advocating for everyone except herself. They get into what it actually costs to be the fixer, the advocate, the one who always shows up — and what happens the first time you try to turn that same fierceness on your own life. In this episode: Why competence became Michele's cover for never being seen The real reason journaling alone never worked for her — and what she needed instead What it actually feels like the second you hit "post" on your own story, no matter how successful you are Why grief doesn't need a silver lining to be worth sharing What special-needs parenting taught her about strength she didn't know she had The line she still hasn't stopped hearing from strangers two years later Why this matters: If you've built a career out of being the reliable one, the strong one, the one who doesn't fall apart — this episode is the mirror. Fierce for everyone else, invisible to yourself, isn't strength. It's a pattern. And it's one you can actually put down. About Michele: Michele Richman is Chief People Officer and Lead Coach at Lawline, founder of the coaching practice Part Deux, and author of The Stories We Almost Don't Tell: Finding the Courage to Tell Yours. Find her at michelerichman.com