Staying Calladita Is Costing You More Than You Think

If you've ever stayed calladita when you should've spoken up, this episode is your permission slip to stop. This week Jannese sits down with Hady Mendez — bestselling author of Calladita No More, speaker, and leadership coach — to talk about what happens when you finally decide to use your voice. They get into Hady's corporate STEM career, the promotion that got away, the negotiation that made her a director overnight, and the real, unfiltered story of betting on herself by moving to Madrid in her 40s. This one's for every mujer who's tired of playing small.

WE GET INTO:

1:06 – Welcome & living in the "f*ck it 40s"

1:50 – Hady's origin story: wanting to be a writer

3:03 – Growing up in a traditional Puerto Rican household

4:15 – From social worker dreams to computer science and Accenture

4:55 – Advice for parents raising kids with "unstable" dreams

9:39 – Unpacking the "calladita" messaging from her mom

12:17 – The moment staying quiet started costing her

13:31 – The "Chad" story: watching someone else get promoted

18:20 – What self-advocacy actually looks like

19:57 – The negotiation that made her a director overnight