209. Taboo Topics with Nicole Johnston

About Nicole

Nicole Johnston’s Taboo Topics is an invitation to bring into the light the conversations women have often been conditioned to keep hidden. Drawing on decades of corporate leadership and executive coaching, Nicole argues that many of the barriers women experience at work are not personal shortcomings but cultural patterns that have remained largely unnamed. Rather than encouraging women simply to “lean in” or become more confident, she invites women to understand the invisible systems shaping their experiences and reclaim their voice within them.

In This Episode We Discuss:

How growing up with educator parents, playing sports, and learning to advocate for herself after losing hearing in one ear shaped Nicole’s leadership journey.
Why sports matter for girls and the powerful connection between athletics, confidence, and leadership.
Nicole’s path from Division I athlete to leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, including 19 moves and international experiences.
The car accident that became a wake-up call and ultimately led her toward coaching and developing others.

We Explore:

Why perfectionism can feel like a “cozy blanket” and how resilience helps women take risks and grow.
The importance of giving ourselves permission instead of waiting for it from others.
Emotional labor, invisible work, and the unequal distribution of responsibility at home and work.
The exhaustion of maintaining a persona and how women can become more intentional with their energy.
Why celebrating other women is a powerful alternative to judgment.
The “micro cuts” of sexism that women experience throughout their lives and careers.
Compensation inequities and why women should always negotiate their salary.

Nicole’s Advice for Younger Women:

Respect the women who came before you and fought for the opportunities you have today.
It’s okay to make mistakes, change directions, and choose a different path.
Protect your time and energy early because the expectations you set often become the expectations others hold.

This conversation is a thoughtful and practical exploration of the invisible forces shaping women’s lives and a reminder that many of the challenges women experience are cultural patterns to question—not personal failures to fix.

Where to find Nicole : https://innate-power.com/

Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolejohnstoncoach/

Want to go on retreat?

Want to join Betsy in Mexico in February May 20-27, 2027 on retreat? This beautiful retreat center in the nourishing haven of Playa Chacala on the Pacific Ocean will the home for a week of deep self-care. Teaching retreat is one of Betsy’s favorite jobs as it gives her a chance to move into deeper realms with people over an extended period of time using the tools of yoga, meditation, hypnosis, energy work, and self-inquiry. People typically observe deep shifts and quantum leaps forward on such retreats. All the details here!