How to Befriend Your Inner Critic

In this episode of The Career Changers, Elisa hosts Tanushree Tiwari, a certified Leadership Coach and founder of Epic Influence Leadership.  Tanushree shares her incredible career journey from aspiring journalist in India to international digital marketing expert and eventually leadership coach in California. She discusses the concept of the inner critic, its origins, and how it impacts our self-belief and actions. Tanushree introduces a practical framework called NICE to help listeners notice, identify, contain, and empower themselves against their inner critic. She also emphasises the importance of taking action, celebrating small wins, and surrounding oneself with supportive people. 00:00 Introduction: The Power of Taking Action 01:00 Meet Tanushree Tiwari: Leadership Coach and Founder 02:30 Tanushree"s Early Career and First Pivot 03:48 Living and Learning in Diverse Environments 05:10 The Journey to Becoming a Coach 08:49 Understanding and Managing the Inner Critic 17:05 Techniques to Quiet the Inner Critic 24:52 Turning the Inner Critic into an Ally 26:41 Final Thoughts and Advices the importance of taking action, celebrating small wins, and surrounding oneself with supportive people. About Tanushree For years, she was the go-to leader—delivering results, mentoring talent, and holding it all together. But beneath the surface, she wrestled with a quiet truth: she was coaching others to rise, while her own inner critic—the ever-present gremlin—kept her playing small. That turning point became her catalyst. Today, Tanu is a Certified Professional Coach, Energy Leadership Master Practitioner, and Stanford LEAD business program graduate with over 18 years of international corporate experience. Throughout her career, she earned multiple performance awards—not just for what she accomplished, but for how she led, with integrity, clarity, and care. She now works with leaders who are ready to lead with real influence, not just authority. Her coaching is grounded in a whole-person energy-based approach—supporting clients in navigating both internal blocks and external challenges. Her mission? To eliminate workplace misery caused by poor leadership and build a world full of emotionally intelligent and inspiring leaders who create meaningful impact and leave behind a legacy that makes people proud to say, “I worked with them.” Outside of coaching, she’s a proud mom to a bold 6-year-old who inspired her to publish two children’s books. She’s a lover of dance, deep conversations, culture-rich travel, books, and a good crime thriller on Netflix. Website: https://epicinfluenceleadership.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/epicinfluencecoach TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@epicinflue Support the show Are you looking for more inspiration? Why not take our ten minutes career test? Just click here to start the test. If you want to receive your regular dose of inspiration follow us on Linkedin Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube The Career Changers is a fully self-funded project. There is so much more we would like to do, to make this community grow. You can support us with a donation via PayPal.