43. The Hidden Reason Boundaries Fail High-Achieving Women, and What to Do About It

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Why This Episode Matters

There is a moment in this conversation that stops you in your tracks.

Jennie is describing being one week postpartum with her second baby. She’s exhausted, her body is still healing, she’s barely sleeping… and yet she feels this overwhelming sense of expansion. That soft, eyes-wide-open kind of love that only comes when a tiny new human is placed on your chest.

And at the very same time, she remembers the reality waiting for her on the other side of maternity leave. A high-pressure HR executive role. Back-to-back meetings. The emotional load of running layoffs. A life that ran on contraction instead of connection.

That contrast cracked something open.

It was in that moment she realized she couldn’t keep sacrificing her needs, desires, and boundaries for the sake of being “the dependable one.” She needed work that matched the season she was in. She needed to mother differently. She needed to lead differently. And she needed to stop overriding her own emotional truth.

That moment didn’t just shift her life. It birthed a movement.

And it sets the perfect stage for today’s conversation about why boundaries fall apart for high achieving women, even when they know better.

Because the issue is almost never the boundary itself.
It’s the pattern underneath it.

The Hidden Pattern Behind Broken Boundaries

Most high achieving women try to fix boundary issues on the surface. Say no more. Be firm. Communicate clearly. Time block your calendar. Put your phone in another room.

But Jennie reveals the deeper truth. Many of us are reenacting old emotional patterns from childhood, school, or our earliest workplaces. Patterns where authority didn't feel safe. Patterns where being good meant being quiet, agreeable, or useful. Patterns where advocating for yourself led to punishment or shame. Patterns where people pleasing actually kept you protected.

So when a manager texts you at 10:59 p.m.
When a colleague asks you to squeeze in “just one more thing”
When a client pushes past what you originally agreed to

Your body remembers.
And you default to what once kept you safe.

In those moments, the old pattern wins.
Not your carefully crafted boundary script.

Jennie breaks down how to spot those patterns, how to trace them back to their root, and what it actually takes to rewrite them so boundaries can finally hold.

The Somatic Work That Changes Everything

One of the most powerful parts of this episode is hearing Jennie explain how she blends NLP, somatic healing, emotional intelligence, and conscious leadership to help women find the true origin of the tension they’re carrying.

She walks us through the process of tuning into the sensation in the body, tracing it back to the earliest memory, uncovering the belief formed in that moment, and offering the younger self the safety and reassurance she didn’t receive back then.

It’s tender, intuitive work.
And it’s life changing.

Because when your body feels safe, your boundaries become non-negotiable without you ever needing to force them.

The Communication Model Every Woman Should Know

Jennie also shares an incredibly generous behind-the-scenes look at a tool she used for years inside the organizations she led.

It’s called the Clearing Model.

It helps women confront conflict without emotional overload, express what’s true without blame, and make requests that actually create change. This tool alone can repair team dynamics, strengthen partnerships, and dissolve resentments that have been building for years.

If you lead people or collaborate with others, this one section is worth the entire episode.

A New Paradigm of Leadership for Women and Mothers

From postpartum awakenings, to healing authority trauma, to the exhaustion that comes with holding a career and a family at the same time, this conversation invites women into a new way of leading.

A way rooted in intuition.
A way anchored in the wisdom of the body.
A way that honors your values instead of violating them.
A way where ambition and motherhood don’t compete.
A way where your boundaries are supported by your inner world, not constantly sabotaged by it.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

03:48 How postpartum expansion showed Jennie her life was no longer aligned
07:16 The moment Chief Mama Officer was born
13:01 Why moms in leadership often struggle with boundaries
14:37 How childhood authority dynamics repeat themselves at work
19:12 Jennie’s method for unpacking limiting beliefs
20:38 How somatic memory reveals the real issue
23:19 Why the feeling you want matters more than the steps you take
27:07 How to get out of your head and back into your body
31:38 The Clearing Model for healthy conflict and communication
38:03 The truth about communication in the age of Slack and AI
45:30 Why in-person connection is becoming essential again
50:22 The emotional roller coaster of entrepreneurship and motherhood
54:45 The one practice Jennie returns to again and again for clarity and focus

Meet Jennie Yang

Jennie Yang is the founder of Chief Mama Officer, a movement and coaching company rewriting leadership through the lens of motherhood, emotional intelligence, and grounded self-awareness. After 15 years as an HR and talent development executive, helping VC-backed startups scale their people and culture, Jennie stepped out to create a new paradigm for women founders and executives. Her approach blends strategy with soul, weaving together NLP, somatic healing, conscious leadership practices, meditation, and the deep intuitive wisdom that mothers carry.

Her work helps women heal old authority patterns, claim their worth, advocate for their needs, and lead in a way that aligns with who they truly are.

You can connect with Jennie on:
LinkedIn: Jennie Yang
Instagram: @chief.mama.officer
TikTok: chiefmamaofficer

A Final Reflection

If you listen to this episode with an open heart, you’ll start to notice the places where your boundaries crumble not because you’re weak or inconsistent, but because an earlier version of you is still trying to keep you safe. Jennie’s guidance offers a compassionate way out of that cycle.

This is an invitation to reclaim your self-trust, lead with clarity, and build a life that honors both your ambition and your well-being.

Tune in and let this conversation meet you exactly where you are.