Women Who Lead

About Women Who Lead

Women Who Lead Hosted by Ruth Penfold Real, unfiltered conversations with women who are redefining what leadership looks like — from the inside out. Every episode, I sit down with a brilliant woman and ask her the things that don't usually make it into the highlight reel. The seasons that shaped her. The moments she nearly didn't make it. The version of herself she had to become to get where she is. This isn't about performing success. It's about the truth underneath it. If you're a woman who's brilliant at what you do and still sometimes wonders why it feels so hard — this show is for you. New episodes weekly. Come as you are. Learn more at ourtimetobloom.com

Publisher

Ruth Penfold

Category

business · business · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Mar 2020

Latest episode

11 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

100 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Sept 2026

   505: Designing your life and leading with curiosity with Ania Smith

   Women Who Lead is more than a podcast—it's a movement, a mindset, and a space for transformation. It's a platform for real, raw, and radically honest conversations with women who are redefining leadership on their own terms. Rooted in the belief that true leadership begins within, these Women Who Lead invite us to break free from outdated models of power and success. Through storytelling, coaching, and a soulful newsletter that follows the rhythm of the seasons, it supports women to rise—courageously, unapologetically, and as their whole selves. This is a space for women ready to lead with more self-trust, more softness, and more power. Learn more at https://ourtimetobloom.com (https://ourtimetobloom.com). Season 5, Episode 5: Designing your life and leading with curiosity with Ania Smith This week I'm joined by Ania Smith — CEO of TaskRabbit, the IKEA-owned platform that connects people with skilled Taskers for everyday home and life tasks, operating across North America and Europe. Ania became a first-time CEO in August 2020 — in a pandemic, unable to meet her team in person for months. Before that, she did something most people only dream about. She and her husband packed up their entire life, sold their cars, pulled three kids out of school, and moved to Buenos Aires for a year. On purpose. At the height of her career. In this conversation we talk about what it takes to design your life intentionally rather than just following the path everyone else is on. About the gap year that changed how she leads. About walking into a CEO role with a listening tour before she made a single decision. About one-way door decisions and why the best CEOs make as few decisions as possible. About curiosity as the most important leadership skill she knows. And about what she wishes she'd learned sooner: how to really listen. This one is for every woman who has ever wondered if there might be another way — and had the courage to find out. To stay updated on future episodes, make sure you subscribe on your favourite podcast platform. I'd love to hear what resonates—so feel free to leave a review or reach out on social media. And if this episode moved you, inspired you, or made you feel seen, please consider sharing it with someone else who might need to hear it. Timestamps: 01:37 | What does it mean to be in bloom — in work and in life? 03:43 | Curiosity and adapting to unprecedented change 06:00 | Holding uncertainty in your body — the calm that leadership requires 08:09 | Fight or flight is real — and Ania has a lot of fight in her 09:26 | The gap year: selling the cars, pulling the kids out of school, and going to Argentina 11:44 | You're so lucky — and why Ania pushes back on that every time 13:00 | Don't let a good life get in the way of a great one 15:10 | What the year away changed about how she leads 16:31 | Coming back, COVID hitting, and still feeling stable 18:25 | TaskRabbit and why giving Taskers autonomy over their own rates matters 21:40 | Becoming a first-time CEO in a pandemic — and starting with a listening tour 23:19 | When things go wrong it's on me. When things go well, the credit belongs to the team 24:14 | One-way door decisions — the only ones that land on her desk 25:26 | Building your personal executive team — the cheerleader, the challenger, the champion 28:09 | The season that shaped her most: spring — and why she protects her explorer energy 30:30 | One thing Ania wishes she'd known sooner: how to really listen Resources mentioned: TaskRabbit: taskrabbit.com Ania on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniasmith/)

2. 

   4 Sept 2026

   504: Unfurling flourishing and leading like a gardener with Rhiannon White

   Women Who Lead is more than a podcast—it's a movement, a mindset, and a space for transformation. It's a platform for real, raw, and radically honest conversations with women who are redefining leadership on their own terms. Rooted in the belief that true leadership begins within, these Women Who Lead invite us to break free from outdated models of power and success. Through storytelling, coaching, and a soulful newsletter that follows the rhythm of the seasons, it supports women to rise—courageously, unapologetically, and as their whole selves. This is a space for women ready to lead with more self-trust, more softness, and more power. Learn more at https://ourtimetobloom.com (https://ourtimetobloom.com). Season 5, Episode 4: Unfurling flourishing and leading like a gardener with Rhiannon White This week I'm joined by Rhiannon White — CEO of Clue, the world's number one women-led period and menstrual cycle tracking app, with over 10 million users across 190 countries. Rhiannon spent years watching CEOs from one level below and thinking: that looks lonely, stressful, and horrible. Why would I want that? She actively shut the door on it. And then a different kind of leader showed her it didn't have to look that way. In this conversation she talks about the gardening analogy she carries for the CEO role — preparing the soil, planting the seeds, making bets on corners of the garden, and then waiting. About the stone in the middle of the arch that isn't load bearing, but without which nothing holds. About leading in ways that nobody quite understands but that deliver results anyway. About the illusion of control that fertility treatment quietly dismantled for her. And about numbers up people down — the one piece of advice she wishes she'd known sooner. This one is for every woman who looked at leadership and thought: that's not for me. And then found a version that was. To stay updated on future episodes, make sure you subscribe on your favourite podcast platform. I'd love to hear what resonates—so feel free to leave a review or reach out on social media. And if this episode moved you, inspired you, or made you feel seen, please consider sharing it with someone else who might need to hear it. Timestamps: 02:32 | What does it mean to be in bloom — in work and in life? 03:28 | The CEO role as a garden — making bets, waiting, and not forcing things 06:38 | The click moment — discovering how much further a team can run together 08:26 | Watching CEOs from one level below and deciding: I don't want that 09:20 | What changed at Clue — co-CEOs and a different way of leading 10:25 | It doesn't have to be lonely: the CEO role is actually really fun 12:00 | The stone in the middle of the arch 14:32 | Twenty thousand hours in the cockpit — and still not always being heard 16:16 | He didn't understand how she did it, but she was doing it anyway 27:32 | All roles are caregiving roles when you're a woman — and why that matters for progression 30:27 | Fertility treatment and the illusion of control 34:11 | You can't just try harder — the myth that keeps women contained 34:53 | One thing Rhiannon wishes she'd known sooner: numbers up people down Resources mentioned: Clue: helloclue.com Rhiannon on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhiannon-white-5422a111/)

3. 

   28 Aug 2026

   503: From depletion to radiance with Sonal Bhatia

   Women Who Lead is more than a podcast—it's a movement, a mindset, and a space for transformation. It's a platform for real, raw, and radically honest conversations with women who are redefining leadership on their own terms. Rooted in the belief that true leadership begins within, these Women Who Lead invite us to break free from outdated models of power and success. Through storytelling, coaching, and a soulful newsletter that follows the rhythm of the seasons, it supports women to rise—courageously, unapologetically, and as their whole selves. This is a space for women ready to lead with more self-trust, more softness, and more power. Learn more at https://ourtimetobloom.com (https://ourtimetobloom.com). Season 5, Episode 3: From depletion to radiance with Sonal Bhatia This week I'm joined by Dr. Sonal Bhatia — physician, the first woman to serve as Chief Medical Affairs Officer in Pfizer's Rare Disease division, and founder of Ojas Vida, a wellness and leadership platform that bridges ancient Ayurvedic wisdom with modern healing. Sonal was checking every box. Highly successful. At the top of her field. And depleted every single night. Skin rashes. Restless sleep. A body sending signals she didn't yet have language for. It took her own health crisis — and the Western medical system's failure to connect the dots — to send her toward Ayurveda. And what she found there changed everything. In this conversation we go deep into what ojas actually means and why it matters for women in leadership. We talk about the high cortisol normal that most high-performing women mistake for being fine. About the Ayurvedic understanding of midlife as a transition, not a decline. About masculine and feminine energy in leadership — and what happens when women have had to suppress one to gain access to the other. And about embers. The kind of fire that warms rather than burns. This one is for every woman whose body has been trying to tell her something she hasn't had time to hear. To stay updated on future episodes, make sure you subscribe on your favourite podcast platform. I'd love to hear what resonates—so feel free to leave a review or reach out on social media. And if this episode moved you, inspired you, or made you feel seen, please consider sharing it with someone else who might need to hear it. Timestamps: 02:07 | What does it mean to be in bloom — in work and in life? 03:29 | What is ojas and why does it matter? 05:03 | How radiant was Sonal when she was in those big corporate roles? 07:02 | The body screams — skin rashes, inflammation, and the signals we ignore 09:22 | Divine intervention and the crossroads moment 10:13 | Getting stuck in the Western medical system she grew up in 12:00 | How Ayurveda healed what Western medicine couldn't 13:46 | The moment she chose to leave and go help people one by one 16:10 | Your Ayurvedic constitution — what it is and why it matters 24:59 | Midlife is not decline — it's a transition from fire to air 26:41 | The generation that rose the ranks and still had to run the home 30:41 | We had to suppress our feminine energy to get here — and what that cost us 33:50 | Leading with purpose — how Sonal's team of 300 transformed when they found their why 37:08 | One thing Sonal wishes she'd known sooner: every lesson arrived exactly when it needed to Resources mentioned: Ojas Vida: sonalbhatia.com Book a free 30-minute consult: sonalbhatia.com Sonal on Instagram: @sonalbhatia_md Sonal on LinkedIn: Sonal Bhatia MD Sonal's forthcoming book: The Bridge — integrating ancient wisdom and modern healing to enhance vitality

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

4.5 / 5

2 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 47 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

66

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

68

Contact Women Who Lead

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.