RAW with Uma
RAW with Uma is a podcast and living document about becoming unapologetically human. Hosted by leadership and reinvention strategist Uma Thana Balasingam, it features honest conversations with people redefining success, power, and self-trust. The show explores Careerquakes, midlife transitions, identity, ambition, love, and meaning. It does not aim to conclude; instead it holds space for the messy, real process of becoming yourself.
Episodes
The Brutal New Reality for Mid-Career Professionals
What happens when AI does not eliminate your job overnight, but quietly starts taking over one task at a time? The real question for many professionals is, “What am I now if AI can do half my work?”In this episode of Raw With Uma, Uma speaks with technology leader and psychology researcher Radha Raman about what AI transformation is doing to workers across Asia. Radha explains why professionals mu
The Brutal Truth About Ageism, Relevance and Surviving The Modern Job Market
Everyone was taught the same corporate bargain: keep your head down, work hard, build experience, and eventually you will be rewarded. But what happens when decades of hard work no longer guarantee safety?In this episode, Uma sits down with executive career strategist and TEDx speaker Loren Greiff to expose why hard work is not job security, why calling yourself a “seasoned executive” may actually
Careerquake™: Reinventing at the Top | Prague Keynote & Workshop
What happens when the career and identity you spent decades building suddenly disappear? For Uma, leaving corporate life meant going from managing an 800-person team and receiving 300 emails a day to complete silence and realizing she no longer knew how to introduce herself without her title.Recorded live in Prague, this special episode of RAW With UMA is part personal story and part practical rei
Dear Corporate: Women Don’t Expire At 40.
Everyone expects the corporate world to be ruthless, but what if the secret to doubling a two-billion-dollar business is simply creating a space where people can be themselves? In this unique cross-generational episode, Uma flips the script and invites her 21-year-old nephew, Kyren, to interview her alongside the man she calls "the best boss in the world" seasoned tech executive and auth
The Health Advice That Actually Helps You Live Longer
Uma’s death clock app tells her how long she has left to live. But surviving to 95 isn’t the goal—living with vitality, muscle, and a sharp mind is. Terrified that most common health advice is wrong and hoping to avoid the physical decline she witnessed in her parents, Uma brings her raw data and deepest fears to Dr. Foong, a primary care physician who specializes in longevity.This episode strips
How a Wrong Headline Destroyed Women's Health for 20 Years
If you've had a hormonal blood panel and been told everything is fine, you may have been asking your doctor for the one test that cannot actually diagnose perimenopause. Dr Foong explains why — and what the right diagnostic approach looks like.Uma Thana opens this episode by doing something most women never do: she shares her own medical records on camera, exposing a decade of missed signals a
Why "Psychological Safety" Is a Corporate Lie
Everyone expected her to be angry. What Tawana actually felt was harder, and she explains exactly why disappointment hits differently than rage when institutions betray you.Tawana is Meta's APAC lead, a senior Black American woman who came to Asia expecting the familiar challenges of race and gender and found something more complex: new forms of privilege she'd never noticed, the slow crus
Why Menopause Could Be The Best Thing That Happens to You
Menopause may have been the best thing to happen to her.In this episode, senior banking executive Sunday joins hosts Uma and Jingjin for one of the most disarmingly honest conversations the show has aired. Sunday talks about how menopause removed the social constraints that had been slowing her down, how parenting a daughter with ADHD rewrote the way she leads teams at one of the world's large
What Your Eyes Reveal About Your Health
As an ophthalmologist, Claudine kept noticing something that her patients' other doctors were missing. The retina doesn't lie - systemic disease shows up there first. She'd refer patients for follow-up and watch nothing happen. So she went and studied functional and anti-aging medicine herself, and built Asia Wellness from that frustration.In this conversation with Uma and Jingjin, Cla
The Career Break That Changed Everything
She walked back into the workforce after five years at home, marched into Merrill Lynch without a client list, and proposed the following deal: If I'm successful, you pay me. If I'm not, you don't.They gave her the job.Evonne Tan is a wealth management professional who now advises some of Asia's wealthiest families. She spent 27 years in finance across multiple countries, including
She Was Pregnant With Twins and Still Got the CMO Job
What 300 Days on the Road Did to Her Body
What if the pain you spent 30 years being told was in your head was silently taking over your body, and you kept outperforming everyone in the room anyway?In this raw, honest conversation, Uma Thana and Jingjin Liu sit down with Amy Kunrojpanya, a global executive who has led teams across more than ten countries, navigated 20 years of infertility, raised three children in four years after 40, and
He Died for Six Minutes and It Changed Everything
Reinventing Myself at 46 (and Never Looking Back)
What happens when reinvention unlocks parts of yourself you forgot existed?In this intimate episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the unexpected gifts that came from leaving corporate, the creative side I buried for decades, the writing that evolved into magazine columns and a book deal, and the coffee shop moment when I realized I never want to go back.I share how I rediscovered my joy of
We Spent $100,000 on a Business No One Wanted
What happens when you spend a year building the wrong business?In this raw episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on Year 1 of entrepreneurship, the part nobody posts about on LinkedIn. The pivots, the money lost, the arrogance that cost us everything, and the humbling moment when we realized our "perfect" business model wasn't working.I share the story of building The Elevate Gro
10 Questions That Changed My Life After I Quit
How do you find clarity when you’re exhausted from pretending everything is okay?In this intimate episode, I walk you through the 10 questions that helped me navigate one of the most confusing seasons of my life, a Careerquake™ that didn’t come with a dramatic exit or obvious failure, but discomfort, misalignment, and the feeling that something inside me was asking for more.Today, I’m sharing the
I Got Everything I Wanted… Then I Fell Apart
What happens when the ground beneath your career suddenly shifts?In this intimate episode, I share the story of the moment everything I thought I wanted stopped making sense. After building a two-decade career in tech, working toward the title I believed would define me, and finally reaching the peak I’d always imagined… the view wasn’t what I expected.I had the dream role.I had the team.I had the
The Day My Inbox Went Silent Changed Everything
What happens when the path you thought you were on suddenly disappears?In this deeply personal episode, I share the moment that shattered my corporate identity - when my inbox went from hundreds of emails to zero overnight. After navigating a major acquisition as a VP with a large team, I thought I had it all figured out. The payout was secured. The next executive role was lined up. Everything was
TRAILER | Season 2: Welcome To My Careerquake™
What happens after everything you’ve built starts to crumble?Welcome To My Careerquake™ In this new chapter, Uma steps into the unpolished truth of reinvention, not the highlight reel, but the space between endings and beginnings. The part no one prepares you for.Two years ago, Uma walked away from everything that once defined her, a high-powered corporate career, titles, and the certainty of who
Why Losing Your Job Could Mean Your Next Pivot
What do you do when your entire career crumbles—and you're left staring at the pieces? What does it mean to experience a Careerquake—and rebuild not just your work, but your identity?In this honest and soul-baring episode, Uma opens up about the Careerquake that changed everything: being made redundant after years at the top of her tech career, losing her title, and confronting the deep questi
The Girl Boss Mindset: Is it Fake Empowerment??
What if ambition no longer looked like climbing a ladder—but learning to breathe? How do you lead without performing? And is it possible to succeed without playing by outdated rules?In this powerful conversation, we unpack the emotional complexity behind the “girl boss” identity and why so many women—especially in Asia—are quietly rewriting the script on ambition, success, and leadership. From cor
How To Get UNSTUCK
Feeling trapped after multiple career rejections? How do you build resilience after rejection? Why is asking for help one of the most courageous things you can do? This episode uncovers practical approaches to rebuilding confidence, authentic networking techniques that honour cultural values, and powerful boundary-setting practices that can transform your professional journey. Whether you're n
Introvert? How to Network Without Feeling Awkward or Fake
Networking doesn't have to feel transactional or inauthentic. In this episode, I'm joined by Audrey Tim, who brings thoughtful questions about building meaningful professional relationships, and later by Stephen Morse, a 27-year medical device veteran who shares his unique perspective on deep versus broad networking.Their combined insights reveal how introverts can thrive in networking sit
How to Stop Getting Overlooked at Work in 2025
How do women find their voice and claim their space in male-dominated workplaces? Many of us grow up being taught to be quiet. So how do we overcome cultural conditioning that teaches women to stay quiet and docile?My guest Jenny shares her struggles with speaking up in meetings and having her ideas heard, especially with senior male colleagues. Despite 13 years of corporate experience, she still
Building Your Brand as a Minority: What No One Tells You
How do you build an authentic brand identity while staying professional? How can you be vulnerable while discussing important but uncomfortable topics?My guest, Nicole, is an HR leader and DEI advocate from the Philippines. Nicole faced a decade-long battle with depression and took nine years before she felt ready to open up and share her story. She realized that her vulnerability didn’t just help
Chronic Illness at Work: How Much Should You Share?
Many of us don't realize the invisible disabilities that hold our colleagues or friends back. We see them every day at work, in meetings, or grabbing coffee, but beneath the surface, some are fighting battles we can't even imagine.My guest, Suvinder has been silently battling lupus for 25 years while climbing the corporate ladder. Her story of blood clots, brain surgery, and boardroom pressures wi
The One Thing I’d Tell My 20-Year-Old Self About Life and Work
What would you tell your 20-year-old self about life and work ? From worrying about validation from others to self-confidence, Kit and I talk about the layers of self-perception, workplace dynamics, and the liberating power of authenticity. Later Reeta joins us to talk about evolving in confidence as a young, timid girl who did what ever her parents asked, to a woman who isn’t afraid to ask quest
Want More Opportunities in 2025? You Need to Master This One Skill
How do you turn superficial conversations into meaningful connections? Networking can be tricky. Overcoming discomfort to put yourself out there, following up, cultivating introductions into deeper connections or even feeling worthy of asking for one’s time are all challenges women face when trying to network. In episode 4, I chat with Divya for the first time to explore transforming superficial n
Career Transitions at 50 in 2025: Where Do You Even Start?
You’re in your 50’s, your health is failing, and you can’t sustain your career… How do you pivot?In episode 3, I meet Mona for the first time to talk about navigating career transitions when you don’t know where to start and have no time to put yourself first.Duncan Hewett, Former CEO of VMware in Asia Pacific, Author of “Accelerating Women,” and a trailblazer for diversity in leadership, later jo
Burnt Out and Stuck? How to Find Passion and Purpose in 2025
➡️ How do you discover and pursue your passions while managing energy levels?➡️ Why shouldn't we wear "busyness" as a badge of honor?➡️ How can introverts thrive in extroverted roles?➡️ What role does play and self-care have in professional success?Here is What We Talk About:➡️ Finding Your Passion: Uma shares a powerful framework for discovering passion by asking yourself what makes you feel good
Want Flexible Work? Here’s How to Ask Without Getting Rejected in 2025
Returning to work after an extended career break. Uma speaks with Shirani, a lawyer and content creator who brings questions about re-entering the workforce, and later with Jingjin, an experienced entrepreneur and founder who offers powerful insights on building confidence and creating systemic change.Their combined perspectives reveal practical strategies for women navigating career transitions a
How to Find the Right Mentor (and Avoid These Common Mistakes)
How do you thrive at work and not just survive? How do you build meaningful relationships while staying true to yourself? My guest Shan Wen is an award-winning leader from Australia who initiated a mentorship program across Asia Pacific at VMware. At work, she noticed many women feeling deflated and overwhelmed, simply surviving rather than thriving. We discuss what it takes to move beyond surviva
