Toxic boss? Office politics? Overwhelming workload?
I help high-achieving women deal with the people, pressure, and chaos at work so they can feel calmer, leave work at work, and actually enjoy their days again.
Learn how to stop getting so triggered at work, handle difficult conversations, and get clear about what you want next.
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“I’m so sick of my boss.”
You’re good at your job. You keep showing up, solving problems, and getting things done. But the toxic boss, ridiculous politics, impossible workload, or difficult coworkers are wearing you down.
You wake up thinking about work, carry it home in your head, and dread having to do it all again tomorrow. Something has to change.
You’re tired of hidden agendas, mixed messages, and decisions that make no sense. You just want to do your job without all the drama.
The workload never lets up. You keep getting more responsibility, more meetings, and more problems to solve—but no more time or support.
Sunday dread starts earlier every week. Even when the workday ends, you’re still replaying conversations and worrying about tomorrow.
“Maybe I just need to quit.” You want something to change. But you’re not sure whether you need a new job, a different way to handle this one, or simply enough breathing room to figure out what you actually want.
You may not be able to change your boss, coworkers, workload, or company today. These three tools from The School of Courage™ help you stop reacting to everything, say what needs to be said, and get clear about what to do next.
One comment, email, or meeting can send you into frustration, defensiveness, or hours of overthinking. The Power of Creating Space helps you pause, get your footing, and respond in a way you feel good about.
A coworker keeps crossing a line. You need to set a boundary, address a problem, or say what you’ve been avoiding. Grounded Conversations helps you speak up without shutting down, over-explaining, or getting defensive.
You want to solve problems more clearly, do better work without running yourself into the ground, and decide what you want next. The Power Question Framework helps you move out of frustration and into a direction you can act on.
You don’t have to solve your entire career today. Start by learning how to feel better and handle work differently—even before everything around you changes.
You wake up already dreading work. By the end of the day, you’re irritated, exhausted, and still thinking about everything that went wrong. Even when nothing is happening, your mind is stuck at work.
“I want to enjoy my days again.”
You don’t want one comment, look, or email to ruin the rest of your day.
You want to leave work at work instead of replaying conversations, worrying about tomorrow, or arguing with people in your head.
You’re tired of just surviving the week and waiting for the weekend. You want to feel calmer, lighter, and able to enjoy your life again.
Liz calls this becoming your Grounded Self™ : the version of you who can deal with what happens at work without letting it take over your entire life.
The Grounded Self is rooted in Liz’s larger philosophy, the Power of Conscious Presence™ —learning to notice when you’re living and reacting on default so you can choose how you want to show up.
Your boss makes a comment at 10 a.m. By dinner, you’re still replaying it, defending yourself in your head, or thinking about what you should have said. The Power of Creating Space™ helps you catch what is happening before one difficult moment takes over your entire day.
The meeting ended hours ago. Why are you still having it in your head?
Creating Space is the pause between what happens and what you do next. It helps you notice when you’ve been hooked, understand why the moment is bothering you so much, and decide how you want to handle it.
Notice the irritation, defensiveness, dread, or urge to fire off a response before it decides what you do next.
Get clear about what actually happened—and everything your mind is adding to the comment, email, or meeting.
See the expectation, assumption, or unwritten rule that is keeping the situation alive in your head.
Decide how you want to handle the situation so you can feel confident about what you do next.
Creating Space does not ask you to pretend the problem isn’t real. Your boss may make another comment. Your coworker may still be difficult. But you can stop giving one frustrating moment the rest of your day. Explore the full methodology.
The workload is overwhelming. Priorities keep changing. Leadership has no clear strategy. Everyone wants something from you, and somehow you’re supposed to make it all work.
Stop spinning. Start solving the problem that actually matters.
The Power Question Framework™ helps you get clear about the problem you’re trying to solve, what better would look like, and what is actually getting in the way.
What are you trying to create—not just avoid, survive, or get through?
What would tell you the situation is improving, the work is paying off, or you’re moving in the right direction?
Is it the workload, unclear expectations, a difficult person, missing support, or something you haven’t said yet?
Use these questions to solve problems more clearly, improve your performance without doing everything yourself, and figure out what you want next. The Power Question Framework™ can help with leadership decisions, team problems, difficult conversations, career questions, and the everyday situations that keep you stuck.
Maybe there’s a conversation you can’t keep avoiding. Maybe you’re wondering whether you can fix what’s happening—or whether it’s finally time to leave.
You don’t need to force an answer just because you’re desperate for relief.
“I need to say something.”
A coworker keeps crossing a boundary. Your boss’s expectations are impossible. You disagree with a decision, need to give feedback, or want to ask for something to change.
“Should I stay or leave?”
You think about quitting after every terrible day. Then you wonder whether another job would actually be better—or whether you’d regret walking away.
The philosophy: notice when you’re reacting on default before it decides what you say or do.
The process: pause, understand what has you hooked, and choose how you want to respond.
The tool: define what success looks like, how you’ll recognize it, and what is making it hard.
The outcome: stay connected to yourself through pressure, difficult conversations, and big decisions.
These are connected parts of The School of Courage™. Together, they help high-achieving women react less, handle work with more confidence, and decide what they actually want next.
Your Grounded Self™ is you when one comment doesn’t ruin your whole day, a difficult person doesn’t make you question yourself, and a bad week doesn’t force you into a decision you’re not ready to make. It is the identity outcome of Liz Jolley’s work and The School of Courage™.
She belongs to herself in any room.
She can feel irritated, disappointed, or angry without letting one difficult moment take over everything that happens next.
She can hear her own voice beneath everyone else’s opinions, expectations, and advice.
She stops replaying meetings all night and lets herself be present for the life waiting outside her job.
She can speak up, set a boundary, solve a problem, or make a big decision without needing everyone else to agree.
She prepares for the conversation without rehearsing every possible response. She says what needs to be said and stays with herself even when the other person reacts.
Explore Grounded Conversations™She doesn’t force an answer just to escape a terrible day. She gets clear about what she wants and makes a decision she can trust.
Explore Career CrossroadsThis is the deeper promise of The School of Courage™ work: not a perfect job, a perfect boss, or a life without hard decisions. It is becoming a woman who can handle what happens without losing herself in it.
Explore Grounded Self™A toxic boss, ridiculous politics, and too much work can take over your day, follow you home, and leave you questioning yourself. The School of Courage™ helps you change that—at work, at home, and within yourself.
You deserve more than spending every day drained, frustrated, and miserable.
Together, these three pillars help you become your Grounded Self™: someone who can handle what happens at work without letting it take over her whole life.
You’re capable, responsible, and used to figuring things out. But your boss is toxic, the politics are ridiculous, and you’re doing too much. You spend the day drained and frustrated, then go home still thinking about work.
“I just can’t keep doing this. It all feels terrible.”
One comment can ruin her whole day. She replays conversations, second-guesses herself, and wonders why someone else has so much power over how she feels.
She is tired of the games, difficult coworkers, pointless meetings, and watching the wrong people get rewarded. She wants to do good work without feeling angry and negative all day.
There is always more to do, and everyone seems to need something from her. She cannot switch off, leave work at work, or remember the last time she actually enjoyed her day.
If this sounds like you, you do not need to work harder or become better at tolerating a miserable job. You can learn to handle what is happening, get clear about what you want, and become your Grounded Self™—whether you ultimately stay or leave.
Liz Jolley spent more than two decades inside demanding workplaces—first as an engineer, then as a leader—before building a body of work for high-achieving women who are tired of being miserable at work.
I was good at my job—and still miserable doing it.
Liz began as an electrical engineer and moved into leadership seven years into her career. She eventually said no to what had once been her dream job to focus on helping shape cultures where people can perform, collaborate, and do better work together.
She knows what it is like to look capable on the outside while feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and drained by work—and to question whether to stay, leave, or change how you handle it.
The Power of Conscious Presence™, The Power of Creating Space™, and the Power Question Framework™ form a connected body of work for handling triggers, thinking clearly, solving problems, and deciding what you actually want next.
This work is for the moments when your boss gets under your skin, office politics make you furious, you need to have a difficult conversation, or you cannot stop thinking about work.
Through The School of Courage™, 1:1 coaching, corporate speaking, workshops, and The Great Leader, Great Mom Podcast, Liz helps women handle what is happening now and get clear about what they want next.
The goal is not to make you better at tolerating a terrible work situation. It is to help you respond instead of overreact, trust yourself, and become your Grounded Self™.
Start with the free weekly webinar. If you want personal help with your boss, your job, or what to do next, work directly with Liz.
Learn how to stop letting a toxic boss, office politics, and an overwhelming workload ruin your whole day—and what to do next.
Stop Hating Your JobGet confidential help handling what is happening at work, deciding what you want, and choosing whether to stay, leave, or make your current situation better.
Explore 1:1 coachingWhen work feels terrible, it is hard to know whether your boss is the problem, you are overreacting, or you need to leave. These are the questions women ask Liz most.
Your reaction does not prove that you are the problem. Look at what is actually happening: manipulation, blame, disrespect, shifting expectations, retaliation, or a pattern of making you doubt yourself. Then separate your boss’s behavior from the part you can control—how you respond, what you document, what boundary you set, and what you decide to do next.
Start by noticing the thought that keeps the moment going long after it ends: “They do not respect me,” “I should have said something,” or “This is never going to change.” The Power of Creating Space™ helps you pause before the spiral takes over so one comment does not get the rest of your day too.
Your brain is still trying to solve the meeting, the email, or what you should have said. Instead of telling yourself to stop thinking, get specific: What are you afraid will happen? Is there an action to take tomorrow? If not, practice letting the question remain unanswered for tonight. Leaving work at work is a skill—not something you should already know how to do.
Not being able to leave today does not mean you are powerless. Get clear about what is making the job unbearable: your boss, the workload, the culture, a lack of boundaries, or the work itself. Then focus on the next move you can make—protect your time, change how you respond, build a financial runway, look internally, or begin a deliberate search.
Do not force a life-changing decision while you are desperate for relief. First get clear about what is happening, what you have already tried, what would need to change, and what you actually want. Leaving may be right. Staying with different boundaries may be right. The goal is a decision you trust—not one made because Tuesday was awful.
A new job can remove a genuinely bad boss or unhealthy culture. It will not automatically change the patterns you bring with you—overworking, avoiding boundaries, staying silent, or believing you must keep everyone happy. Understand both before you move so your next job is not just a different version of the same experience.
Usually, the moment means more than what was said. It may feel like proof that you are not respected, safe, valued, or in control. That does not make the behavior acceptable. It gives you useful information about why the reaction is so intense—and creates room to choose what you want to do instead of reacting automatically.
You do not do it by telling yourself to calm down. You create a little space between what happened and what you do next. The Power of Creating Space™ helps you catch the reaction before you send the email, shut down, over-explain, or spend the rest of the day replaying it.
Do not make the conversation about whether you are willing to work hard. Make the tradeoff visible: “I can finish this by Friday, but the other priority will move to Tuesday. Which comes first?” A clear boundary names what is possible and puts the priority decision where it belongs.
Prepare before you speak. Decide what happened, what needs to change, and what you are asking for. You may still feel emotional, but you do not need to be perfectly calm to be clear. Grounded Conversations can help you prepare without over-explaining, shutting down, or saying something you regret.
Still trying to understand why work feels this bad—or what to do about it? Explore more direct answers from Liz Jolley.
Explore the Full FAQYour boss may be toxic. The politics may be ridiculous. Your workload may be completely unsustainable. You may not be able to change all of that today—but you can stop letting work take over your whole life.
Start by figuring out what you can do now—and what you actually want next.
Learn how to deal with the people, pressure, and chaos at work so you can feel calmer, stop thinking about work all night, and get clear about what to do next.
Stop Hating Your JobGet confidential help handling what is happening now, feeling more confident at work, and deciding whether to stay, leave, or change how you deal with it.
Explore 1:1 CoachingLooking for ongoing ideas or community? Visit The Great Leader, Great Mom Podcast or explore The School of Courage™.
