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Workplace Confessions: Behind Closed Doors

Workplace Confessions: Behind Closed Doors

Written by: Dawn Andrews & Elsa Barbi
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Hosted by best friends Dawn and Elsa, the podcast blends decades of experience across very different industries. Dawn spent 25 years as an employment lawyer investigating workplace drama from the inside out. Elsa built a long career in the beauty industry as a brand educator, with a few TV cameos along the way. Together, they’re unapologetic extroverts who meet new people everywhere—and always want to know how they got their jobs, what they love about them, what they can’t stand, and what really goes on behind closed doors.

Equal parts informative and titillating, Workplace Confessions serves up all the tea while honoring the incredible, complicated, often messy work people are doing across industries and across the map.

© 2026 Workplace Confessions: Behind Closed Doors
Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Meet_a_Color_Expert
    May 22 2026

    Your hair color is not just “light or dark” or “warm or cool.” It is a full system, and when it is wrong, you can feel it in your mirror, your closet, and your confidence. This week, we sit down with Renee Taglia, a Master Hair Colorist & Educator and Certified Color Analyst, to talk about why personal color analysis is more than a trend and how a true, customized palette can change the way you get ready every day.

    We get practical about the process. Renee explains how she combines image consulting with cosmetology so hair color stops being “correction” and starts being enhancement, plus how she navigates the tricky moment when someone brings an inspirational photo that will not flatter them. We also dig into the messy side of the industry. Finally, we talk about color psychology and how shades can hold memory, comfort, and even grief, which is why a color consultation can turn unexpectedly emotional.

    Subscribe for more behind-closed-doors work stories, share this with a friend who is stuck in “nothing to wear,” and leave a review if you want more conversations like this. What is one color you love but never feel great wearing?

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    36 mins
  • Meet a Courtroom Insider
    May 15 2026

    Court is one of those workplaces everyone thinks they understands until you talk to someone who has actually sat inside it for 20 years. Our anonymous guest takes us from her early detour into teaching to a long career in the courthouse, including 18 years in the courtroom and a newer leadership role supervising data entry and phone intake. Along the way, we get specific about the work. We also dig into how the justice system changes over time. We talk about courtroom realities like negotiated plea deals, the role of probation recommendations, and how judge discretion shows up in bail and sentencing decisions.

    If you like real workplace stories with practical insight, subscribe, leave a review, and share this with someone who loves the truth behind “official” narratives. What part of the courthouse would you want to see from the inside?

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    37 mins
  • Meet the Author of 'The Myth of the Fearless Leader'
    May 8 2026

    Fear shows up in every career, even when your title says “leader.” We sit down with Dr. Tonya Jackman Hampton, Ph.D. PCC, an organizational development practitioner, executive coach, and former chief human resources officer whose career runs from early teen jobs to building ethics programs, shaping workplace culture, and leading change inside major organizations. Her story is full of real turning points: mentorship that redirects her into HR, a merger that triggers a layoff while she’s pregnant, and the hard-earned confidence that comes from learning how to land on your feet again and again.

    The heart of the conversation comes from her book, 'The Myth of the Fearless Leader,' and the research behind it. She explains how her doctoral dissertation explored leaders’ relationship with fear, and how her own breast cancer journey pushed the work from theory into something urgently practical. You’ll hear her EASE fear transformation method (Engage, Explore, Execute) as a clear alternative to fight, flight, or freeze, with ideas you can apply to personal decisions, team dynamics, and organizational transformation.

    If you care about leadership development, change management, HR credibility, coaching standards, and building healthier workplace relationships, this one gives you language and tools you can use right away.

    Subscribe, rate, and share, then send us your take: where are you feeling fear at work right now, and what would “execute” look like for you?

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    Want to be interviewed? You can remain anonymous. Voice distortion now available. Email or Text us!

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    40 mins
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