When female friendships get complicated in the workplace (and what to do about it), with Brooke Taylor, author of "Healing the Success Wound"

How to navigate friendship at work without losing the relationship, with Brooke Taylor

She's your lunch buddy, your Slack confidante, your person at work. But what happens when boundaries get blurry, or you start sensing competition where there used to be camaraderie? Workplace friendships between women are some of the most meaningful connections we form as adults, and some of the most complicated to maintain.

In this episode, Danielle sits down with executive career coach and former Google marketing lead Brooke Taylor to tackle three of the most common questions women ask about navigating friendship at work. They dig into why mismatched expectations between "colleagues first" and "friends first" cause so much friction, how the success wound fuels jealousy and comparison with the women closest to you, and what happens when entrepreneur friendships blur the line between support and strategy-sharing.

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.

This week's bonus content for Office Hours members includes:

• a bonus segment of the interview with Brooke sharing 3 ways to raise your self worth (if you're often competing with work friends) • a personal video from Danielle sharing her key takeaways from Brooke's book • 3 scripts to help you address sticky work friend situations

Members of Office Hours get supplementary material like this with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:

• How boundary-setting can feel antithetical to the female friendship code of offering unconditional emotional support • How to respond to competition in the workplace (and why capitalism might be to blame) • Why friends who are both "entrepreneurs" might need to clarify boundaries around resource-sharing

ABOUT BROOKE TAYLOR

Brooke Taylor is an executive career coach for women, former marketing lead at Google, and the author of Healing the Success Wound. She coined the term "success wound" — the pain that comes from mistaking achievement for self-worth — and has coached over 5,000 women leaders at companies like Google, Goldman Sachs, and McKinsey.

CONNECT WITH BROOKE:

• Book, Healing the Success Wound • : https://brooketaylorcoaching.com/successwound/ • Website: https://brooketaylorcoaching.com • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookevtaylor/ • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-taylor-18751949/

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:

• Brooke Taylor, Healing the Success Wound: Align Your Ambition, Find Lasting Career Fulfillment, and End the Cycle of Never Enough • : https://brooketaylorcoaching.com/successwound/

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST

Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.

WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

• Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours • Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist • Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources • Become a certified relational health coach → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:

• Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book • Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram • Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok • Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK

Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.