Embrace the Squiggle: Change happens. Growth is a choice.

Hosted by Colleen DelVecchio & Ashleigh Beadle

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Episodes

136

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Embrace the Squiggle is the podcast about navigating change in work, identity, leadership, and life with intention. Because change happens. Growth is a choice. This show explores the honest, human stories behind reinvention. From career pivots and leadership shifts to identity crises, mindset shifts, and unexpected detours, each episode dives into what it really looks like to move through uncertainty instead of waiting for clarity. Our guests share candid stories of obstacles, failures, breakthroughs, and hard-earned lessons. Not because they had it all figured out but because they chose growth in the middle of the mess. Each week, Colleen DelVecchio and Ashleigh Beadle unpack the pivots, pauses, leaps of faith, and “what am I even doing?” moments that shape a non-linear life. This isn’t about chasing a straight line. It’s about building the mindset and courage to evolve on purpose.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 19, 2026Episode 13837 min

Your Skills Are More Transferable Than You Think: How to Pivot with Confidence with Juliana Naranjo Pereira

All it takes to pivot is one person who believes in you and the confidence to know your skills travel with you. If you've had 12 jobs in 8 years, moved cities, crossed industries, or found yourself starting over more than once, you're not unfocused. You're a squiggler! And Juliana Naranjo Pereira is proof that a portfolio of wildly different experiences is your greatest asset. Juliana's career has taken her from advertising to luxury fashion PR (Gucci, Burberry, Tiffany & Co.) to founding a wellness venture to serving as a Global CMO and she'll be the first to admit she didn't always know exactly what she was doing. What she did know was that her skills were transferable, and that all she needed was someone willing to give her a foot in the door. In this episode, she and Colleen dig into what it really takes to make a bold pivot: owning what you don't know, identifying what you do, and finding the advocates who can see your potential before you do. About Juliana Naranjo Pereira 💼 LinkedIn 🌐 jnpereira.com 📱 @‌houseofpivots on Facebook & Instagram Work with Maxady Ready for your next step? Maxady helps you find the role that fits your skills, your life, and your squiggle. Connect with Your Hosts Colleen DelVecchio → LinkedIn Ashleigh Beadle → LinkedIn Subscribe & Leave a Review Know someone navigating a redundancy or career transition? Send them this episode. And if you haven't left a review yet — it helps more people find the show when they need it most. 🎙️

August 5, 2026Episode 13639 min

What Job Seekers Are Getting Wrong These Days with Allison Levin

If you have been on the job market lately, you know that its tough out there. The advice that worked three years ago? It's not cutting it anymore. In this episode, Colleen sits down with Allison Levin, a career coach and former HR professional who has been on both sides of the hiring table. She's here to tell you exactly what job seekers are getting wrong right now. From where you're looking (hint: everyone is on the same three job boards) to how you're showing up in interviews, this episode is a breakdown of what actually moves the needle in today's market. You'll walk away knowing which niche job boards and communities are worth your time, how to tap your network without it feeling awkward, and how to nail the questions that trip most candidates up. Plus, some interview horror stories that will make you feel a lot better about your own experiences. If you're job hunting, know someone who is, or just want to be prepared for when the time comes, don't skip this one! Connect with Allison: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-careerwave/ Check out Career Wave Coaching: https://www.careerwavecoaching.com/ Work with Maxady Ready for your next step? Maxady helps you find the role that fits your skills, your life, and your squiggle. Connect with Your Hosts Colleen DelVecchio → LinkedIn Ashleigh Beadle → LinkedIn

July 22, 2026Episode 13434 min

Let People Do Their Jobs: The Curse of the Micromanager

We’ve all either done it or been under it: micromanagement. When your boss just doesn’t trust you to do the work, so micromanages your every last step. I think we can all agree, there is nothing worse! In this episode of Embrace the Squiggle, Colleen and Ashleigh discuss how managers and leaders often get in the way of work through micromanagement and excessive meetings. This management 'style' erodes trust, makes employees feel inadequate, and causes disengagement. They share examples including a middle manager stuck in 37 hours of meetings per week due to an “includer” boss, and how COVID-era visibility concerns drove unnecessary check-ins. Colleen reflects on her own habit of “jumping on bombs” to prevent team failure, leading to burnout and limiting employee growth. Work with Maxady Ready for your next step? Maxady helps you find the role that fits your skills, your life, and your squiggle. Connect with Your Hosts Colleen DelVecchio → LinkedIn Ashleigh Beadle → LinkedIn

July 15, 2026Episode 13340 min

From Layoff to Legacy: How Maryann Pfeiffer Built a Women-Led Agency on Her Own Terms

Nobody plans to launch a business six months pregnant after a layoff. But sometimes the squiggle chooses you. Maryann Pfeiffer didn't set out to build an agency. She started with a "temporary" consulting gig to get through an impossible moment — and a decade later, that temporary fix had grown into 108 Degrees Digital Marketing, an award-winning, women-run agency specializing in email-led digital strategy. What started as survival became something she intentionally shaped into a business that actually works — for her, and for the women who work with her. In this episode, Maryann talks with Colleen and Ashleigh about the non-linear path that took her from aspiring ballerina to political science major to tech publishing to accidental entrepreneur. They dig into what it really looks like to build a remote, asynchronous culture built on trust — where flexibility isn't a perk, it's the whole point. Maryann shares how she hires people better than herself, leads with intention, and has created a workplace where women don't have to choose between doing great work and having a life. Connect with MaryAnn on Instagram 108 Degrees MaryAnn on Linkedin Books & Resources Mentioned Traction by Gino Wickman Likeable Badass by Alison Fragale Work with Maxady Ready for your next step? Maxady helps you find the role that fits your skills, your life, and your squiggle. Connect with Your Hosts Colleen DelVecchio → LinkedIn Ashleigh Beadle → LinkedIn

July 8, 2026Episode 13235 min

Realistic Advice to Help You Deal with Imposter Syndrome

Everyone is just waiting for someone to tap them on the shoulder and say… 'You don’t belong here. You’ve been faking it. We all know you’re an Imposter!' Well, at least everyone who is out there trying is. This episode of Embrace the Squiggle with Colleen and Ashleigh is about the age old question of imposter syndrome. Because its so easy to talk other people off the imposter syndrome ledge, but way harder to step back from it ourselves. Work with Maxady Ready for your next step? Maxady helps you find the role that fits your skills, your life, and your squiggle. Connect with Your Hosts Colleen DelVecchio → LinkedIn Ashleigh Beadle → LinkedIn Subscribe & Leave a Review If this resonated, share it with someone who needs permission to redefine their own success. And leave us a review — it helps more people find the show. 🎙️

July 1, 2026Episode 13135 min

Leaving Corporate Success to Find Personal Purpose with Lachandra B. Baker

What if the thing that broke you was also the thing that set you free? Lachandra Baker spent 35 years climbing the corporate ladder, reaching executive roles in communications and culture at multi-billion dollar organizations. Then life handed her a knot she couldn't ignore: navigating a high-powered career while serving as her husband's primary caregiver through cancer. Everything she thought she knew about success started to unravel. That unraveling became her greatest squiggle. In this episode, Lachandra shares how she walked away from corporate prestige to found LBB Edutainment and how the framework she built through her own hardship now helps organizations build belonging, amplify missing voices, and connect culture to real business outcomes. They also get into DEI backlash, what allyship actually means, and why leadership has nothing to do with your title. If you've ever had a life event force you to redefine success this one's for you. About Lachandra Baker TEDx speaker, DEIB strategist, and founder of LBB Edutainment. Author of Your Own Biggest Cheerleader and creator of the "Heads, Hearts, and Hands" framework. 💼 LinkedIn 🎵 TikTok ▶️ YouTube 🌐 Facebook Work with Maxady Ready for your next step? Maxady helps you find the role that fits your skills, your life, and your squiggle. Connect with Your Hosts Colleen DelVecchio → LinkedIn Ashleigh Beadle → LinkedIn Subscribe & Leave a Review If this resonated, share it with someone who needs permission to redefine their own success. And leave us a review — it helps more people find the show. 🎙️

June 24, 2026Episode 13028 min

Great Leaders Eat Lunch AND Take PTO

We’ve all had that boss that tells us to take lunch and use all our vacation days, but then does the exact opposite. What do you do when you’re hearing one thing and seeing another? You get confused and frustrated. This is exactly why GREAT LEADERS EAT LUNCH! And they take PTO. This episode is all about how to model taking breaks and why it will actually make your team more productive and healthy. So the next time your boss tells you to take lunch while 'powering through,' you know that is not to be copied. And we even discuss the way an employee got their boss to change their ways. Work with Maxady Ready to take your next career step? Maxady helps you find the role that actually fits — your skills, your life, your squiggle. Connect with Your Hosts Colleen DelVecchio → LinkedIn Ashleigh Beadle → LinkedIn Subscribe & Leave a Review If this episode resonated, please leave us a review and share it with someone who needs to hear it. It helps more people find the show. 🎙️

June 17, 2026Episode 12939 min

The Trust Economy: How Podcasts Build Business Relationships at Scale with Guillaume Jouvencel

What makes you trust someone enough to hand them your business? It's rarely a cold pitch or a clever ad. It's a relationship. The feeling that you already know someone, that you've heard them think out loud, that you understand how they see the world. But how do you build that at scale without personally getting on a thousand calls? That's exactly what Guillaume Jouvencel figured out and it led him to launching a podcast agency. In this episode of Embrace the Squiggle, Guillaume shares the non-linear path that brought him here, and why podcasts have become the most powerful trust-building tool for high-ticket service firms that most people are underusing. Guillaume breaks down how he helps companies stop chasing vanity metrics and start showing up in front of their actual ideal clients. If you've ever thought about if a podcast could actually move the needle for your business (or your career), this conversation will change how you think about it. 💼 Connect with Guillaume on LinkedIn GHA Podcasts: https://ghapodcast.com/ His recommended 🎙️ podcasts Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson The Game with Alex Hormozi 📚 Books How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy Work with Maxady Ready to take your next career step? Maxady helps you find the role that actually fits — your skills, your life, your squiggle. Connect with Your Hosts Colleen DelVecchio → LinkedIn Ashleigh Beadle → LinkedIn

June 10, 2026Episode 12840 min

What Happens After the Pressure Gets to You: Leadership in the Face of Crisis with Savio P. Clemente

What do you learn when you face cancer, not once but twice? Savio P. Clemente has done it and came out the other side to share the squiggly lessons we all need. This episode of Embrace the Squiggle, Colleen and Ashleigh speak with keynote and TEDx speaker, board-certified wellness coach, journalist, and two-time cancer survivor Savio P. Clemente about pressure and post-crisis leadership. Savio recounts being diagnosed in 2014 with stage three non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, undergoing six rounds of R-CHOP, and being cancer-free for a decade before a relapse. His experience fighting cancer tought him the importance of integrative healing, compassion, and the power of silence and stillness. 👋 This is Embrace the Squiggle, the podcast that takes you behind the scenes and into the authentic stories of professionals from all walks of life. Each episode offers unflinching honesty, meaningful insights, and inspiration for listeners navigating their own career squiggles. Connect with Savio: https://www.saviopclemente.com/ Follow Savio: https://www.instagram.com/thehumanresolve/ Work with Maxady Ready to take your next career step? Maxady helps you find the role that actually fits — your skills, your life, your squiggle. Connect with Your Hosts Colleen DelVecchio → LinkedIn Ashleigh Beadle → LinkedIn Subscribe & Leave a Review If this episode resonated, please leave us a review and share it with someone who needs to hear it. It helps more people find the show. 🎙️

June 3, 2026Episode 12737 min

Finding Your Next Squiggle: Career Moves After a Pause with Renee Ketels

Whether you left the workforce by choice or the decision was made for you, knowing what to actually do next is a whole different challenge. In this episode, we're doing something a little different. Instead of hearing about a squiggle in hindsight, we're in it with Renee Ketels in real time. Renee spent years as a Senior Manager of Design Communications at General Motors before stepping away to raise her kids. Now she's ready for her next chapter — and she's targeting a move into philanthropy and nonprofits focused on women, family, and education. She's networking, doing informational interviews, joining groups, volunteering with United Way. She's doing everything right. So why does the next step still feel unclear? Colleen and Ashleigh sit down with Renee to map out the actual next moves. If you've been out of the job market for a few years (or more), this episode is the honest conversation you didn't know you needed. If you're job hunting, career pivoting, or trying to figure out what comes after the pause — this one's for you. About Renee Ketels Renee is a former Senior Manager of Design Communications at General Motors, now navigating her return to the workforce with a focus on philanthropy and nonprofits in the women, family, and education space. Connect with Renee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reneeketels/ Work with Maxady Ready to take your next career step? Maxady helps you find the role that actually fits — your skills, your life, your squiggle. Connect with Your Hosts Colleen DelVecchio → LinkedIn Ashleigh Beadle → LinkedIn Subscribe & Leave a Review If this episode resonated, please leave us a review and share it with someone who needs to hear it. It helps more people find the show. 🎙️