Hannah Hotline: "I Have Toxic Friends and Want New Ones"

You're senior, successful, and capable, so why is this one coworker still living rent-free in your head? In this Hannah Hotline episode, Hannah responds to a listener navigating a persistent grudge against the colleague who covered her maternity leave. Hannah breaks down the real psychology behind why grudges stick, introduces the Grey Rock Method for disengaging from toxic dynamics, and reveals the surprising reason workplace drama keeps pulling you back in.

Your nervous system is sending you a message. Are you listening? High performers are often the last people to admit they're burning out because they're still getting great performance reviews while their body quietly falls apart. In this episode, Hannah responds to a listener who has been in back-to-back burnout cycles for two years. She's a project manager at a major financial institution - brilliant at her job, crossing time zones daily, triple-checking everything, answering Slack at 10pm and now dealing with stress-related stomach issues and anxiety more days than not. She can't quit. She needs the salary. And she's tried therapy, tried saying no, and keeps ending up right back here. Hannah uses Christina Maslach's clinical framework to diagnose exactly what's happening, and then gives a clear, no-fluff roadmap for getting out of it without torching your career.

You can be powerful. You can be liked. They're not opposites. If you've just stepped into a bigger leadership role and you're about to have the hardest conversations of your career, this one's for you. In this Hannah Hotline episode, Hannah coaches a listener who has rocketed from career-changer to C-suite executive in just three years, now managing nearly 30 people and reporting directly to the CEO. A major restructure is coming. Roles are being changed. A senior colleague is now reporting to her. And she has to deliver "you're in or you're out" messages to people she genuinely likes. She feels like a fraud. Hannah's response? You're confusing people-pleasing with people-caring and they are not the same thing.