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Women Who LeadAuthor: Ruth Penfold
Women Who Lead Hosted by Ruth Penfold Real, unfiltered conversations with women who are redefining what leadership looks like from the inside out. Every episode, I sit down with a brilliant woman and ask her the things that don't usually make it into the highlight reel. The seasons that shaped her. The moments she nearly didn't make it. The version of herself she had to become to get where she is. This isn't about performing success. It's about the truth underneath it. If you're a woman who's brilliant at what you do and still sometimes wonders why it feels so hard this show is for you. New episodes weekly. Come as you are. Learn more at ourtimetobloom.com Language: en Genres: Business, Careers, Management Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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505: Designing your life and leading with curiosity with Ania Smith
Thursday, 10 September, 2026
Women Who Lead is more than a podcast—it's a movement, a mindset, and a space for transformation. It's a platform for real, raw, and radically honest conversations with women who are redefining leadership on their own terms. Rooted in the belief that true leadership begins within, these Women Who Lead invite us to break free from outdated models of power and success. Through storytelling, coaching, and a soulful newsletter that follows the rhythm of the seasons, it supports women to rise—courageously, unapologetically, and as their whole selves. This is a space for women ready to lead with more self-trust, more softness, and more power. Learn more at https://ourtimetobloom.com. Season 5, Episode 5: Designing your life and leading with curiosity with Ania Smith This week I'm joined by Ania Smith — CEO of TaskRabbit, the IKEA-owned platform that connects people with skilled Taskers for everyday home and life tasks, operating across North America and Europe. Ania became a first-time CEO in August 2020 — in a pandemic, unable to meet her team in person for months. Before that, she did something most people only dream about. She and her husband packed up their entire life, sold their cars, pulled three kids out of school, and moved to Buenos Aires for a year. On purpose. At the height of her career. In this conversation we talk about what it takes to design your life intentionally rather than just following the path everyone else is on. About the gap year that changed how she leads. About walking into a CEO role with a listening tour before she made a single decision. About one-way door decisions and why the best CEOs make as few decisions as possible. About curiosity as the most important leadership skill she knows. And about what she wishes she'd learned sooner: how to really listen. This one is for every woman who has ever wondered if there might be another way — and had the courage to find out. To stay updated on future episodes, make sure you subscribe on your favourite podcast platform. I'd love to hear what resonates—so feel free to leave a review or reach out on social media. And if this episode moved you, inspired you, or made you feel seen, please consider sharing it with someone else who might need to hear it. Timestamps: 01:37 | What does it mean to be in bloom — in work and in life? 03:43 | Curiosity and adapting to unprecedented change 06:00 | Holding uncertainty in your body — the calm that leadership requires 08:09 | Fight or flight is real — and Ania has a lot of fight in her 09:26 | The gap year: selling the cars, pulling the kids out of school, and going to Argentina 11:44 | You're so lucky — and why Ania pushes back on that every time 13:00 | Don't let a good life get in the way of a great one 15:10 | What the year away changed about how she leads 16:31 | Coming back, COVID hitting, and still feeling stable 18:25 | TaskRabbit and why giving Taskers autonomy over their own rates matters 21:40 | Becoming a first-time CEO in a pandemic — and starting with a listening tour 23:19 | When things go wrong it's on me. When things go well, the credit belongs to the team 24:14 | One-way door decisions — the only ones that land on her desk 25:26 | Building your personal executive team — the cheerleader, the challenger, the champion 28:09 | The season that shaped her most: spring — and why she protects her explorer energy 30:30 | One thing Ania wishes she'd known sooner: how to really listen Resources mentioned: TaskRabbit: taskrabbit.comAnia on LinkedIn
