What if the chaos in your business, team, or home isn’t a people problem, but a systems problem?
Ashleah sits down with organizational strategist Caroline Nichols, founder of Upward Spiral Advisory, to explore how unclear expectations, poor communication, and outdated ways of operating quietly create burnout, resentment, and dysfunction.
Drawing from more than two decades of leadership—from overseeing an 1,800-person humanitarian operation in Pakistan to helping lead Meta’s global operational response during COVID—Caroline reveals what high-stakes environments taught her about leadership, accountability, human nature, and the limits of simply working harder.
Together, they explore:
• Why we mistake structural problems for personal failures
• How unclear expectations create resentment
• Why structure can reduce anxiety and create freedom
• When a leader needs to change the organization—and when they need to change themselves
• How Caroline’s health crisis reshaped her relationship with ambition
• Where data, intuition, and stillness meet in decision-making
This conversation is for anyone building a business, leading a team, managing a household, or wondering why more effort still isn’t creating more peace.
Because sometimes the answer isn’t to try harder. It’s to change what’s holding everything together.
Connect with Caroline:
upwardspiraladvisory.com
Instagram: @upwardspiraladvisory
Connect with Ashleah:
becomingceremony.com
Instagram: @becominglightcoach
