Leadership coach Leanne Mallory urges women to name ‘invisible labor’ and claim career gains

Leanne Mallory, founder of the coaching program Guts and Grace and author of the book of the same name, told BronxNet’s Social Justice Forum that many women carry "invisible labor" at work—emotional and coordination work that keeps teams functioning but rarely yields recognition or promotion.

Mallory described how she began coaching in the mid‑2000s and incorporated mindfulness and embodiment practices into leadership development. "The work is really focused on the intersection of resilience and leadership," she said, and she advised listeners to both name the unseen contributions they make and develop strategies to present those contributions as promotion‑worthy work.

Using client examples, Mallory said the tradeoff between pursuing more senior roles and avoiding burnout is not inevitable. She related a cybersecurity client who reduced hyperdrive working patterns, built in rest and recalibration, and then began receiving promotions and invitations to new initiatives. "Suddenly, now she's both more rested and she's starting to get promoted," Mallory said.

Mallory recommended practical first steps: acknowledge the unconscious habits that drive survival behavior in the workplace, learn embodied strategies that increase resilience (movement and joy are core practices in her program), and reframe invisible labor in language that ties it to measurable outcomes.

Mallory said Guts and Grace offers simple movement and restorative practices to help leaders recalibrate, and she directed viewers to purchase the book on common retail platforms and to follow her online (Instagram: leann.mallory; website: gutsandgrace.com). The program did not announce any new research or policy initiatives; the segment focused on coaching, workplace strategies and Mallory’s published work.