Julie Harris left oil and gas, opened a spin studio, lost it during COVID, went back to the industry, and now leads global sales — all while proving that resilience is a skill you build, not a trait you’re born with.

Today we’re talking about risk, resilience, reinvention, and what happens when your worst-case scenario actually comes true… and you survive it.

Julie Harris has done just about everything:

• Worked wireline in the Alberta oil fields
• Managed crews offshore in Angola
• Became the only woman on site — repeatedly
• Quit the industry to open a fitness business
• Lost that business during COVID
• Came back stronger and rebuilt her career

And through all of it, she followed one simple rule:

Say yes. Then figure it out.

👩‍🔧 Meet Julie

Julie Harris is a petroleum engineering technologist and technical sales leader whose career has spanned continents, industries, and some seriously uncomfortable situations.

She started her career in the oil fields of Alberta as a wireline engineer — often the only woman on site — before moving offshore to Angola, where she led crews in high-pressure environments miles from help.

Then she did something most people only talk about.

She walked away from the industry.

Julie sold everything, moved to Toronto, and co-founded a spin studio that later expanded into a yoga business. It ran successfully for five years — until COVID shut it down.

So she pivoted again.

Today, Julie is a Regional Sales Manager in Houston, helping expand reservoir diagnostics and geochemistry services into global markets — and teaching yoga on the side.

Her career is proof that you can start over.
More than once.
And still win.

🔥 What We Talk About

In this episode, we dive into what it really looks like to build confidence in male-dominated industries, especially when you’re the only woman in the room — or on the rig. Julie shares how she learned to speak up, prove herself, and lead in environments where the rules often felt different for her than for her male counterparts. We talk about taking risks before you feel ready, pivoting careers during uncertain times, starting and losing a business, and rebuilding confidence after failure. Julie also reflects on leadership lessons from working offshore in Angola, the resilience that comes from navigating tough environments, and how learning to sit with discomfort — rather than avoid it — can change the trajectory of your career and your life.

Chapters

00:00
Introduction to Female Dominated Podcast

01:10
Julie Harris: A Journey Through Male-Dominated Industries

04:36
Pivoting Careers: From Oil and Gas to Entrepreneurship

08:53
Resilience and Adaptability in Challenging Environments

12:56
Navigating Gender Dynamics in the Workplace

16:55
Building Confidence and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

20:35
Asking Questions and Embracing Knowledge Gaps

21:03
Experiences in Angola: Lessons Learned

25:12
The Importance of Risk-Taking

28:28
Navigating Career Pivots

31:07
Yoga and Mindfulness: Finding Balance

34:51
Manifestation and Visualization Techniques

39:05
Embracing Opportunities and Overcoming Fear

In this episode, Hannah and Tara sit down with Heather Morrison, public speaking coach and founder of Deliver Your Best, who also happens to be a theatre grad, CBC broadcaster, and national sideline reporter. Heather shares how she went from dreading community events and replaying every mistake in her head… to coaching professionals all over the world to use their voices without abandoning who they are.

Together we dig into the real reasons public speaking feels so awful (spoiler: it’s not because you’re “bad at it”), why traditional public speaking advice is wildly outdated, and how women in male-dominated workplaces can start small, build skills, and stop turning every awkward moment into a character flaw.

If you’ve ever walked out of a meeting thinking, “I regret not saying what I wanted to say”, this one’s for you.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Why traditional public speaking training doesn’t work for many women
• Internal vs external cues
• Fear, regret, and that awful post-meeting spiral
• Being a woman in a male-dominated room
• The “coin jar” of skill building
• Laddering your fear
• Judgment, reality checks, and more generous assumptions
• Executive presence (aka: the diet culture of corporate)
• The moment it ‘suddenly’ works

About Our Guest – Heather Morrison

Heather Morrison is the founder of Deliver Your Best, where she helps professionals who are terrified of public speaking build the skills and self-trust they need to actually use their voices. With a degree in theatre and a career spanning CBC radio, broadcasting, and national sideline reporting for basketball and lacrosse, Heather has lived both the performance world and the corporate world—and she knows firsthand what it feels like to dread a microphone.

After realizing that most public speaking advice didn’t work for her (or for a lot of women), she developed her own approach focused on internal cues, nervous system regulation, and self-talk that doesn’t destroy you after you leave the room. Now, she coaches clients around the world to stop chasing perfection and start aiming for connection.

Find Heather here:

• Instagram: @deliver.your.best

In this conversation, Hannah and Tara delve into personality assessments, particularly the Hogan assessment, and how it reveals self-perception versus how others perceive you.

The discussion also covers leadership traits such as adjustment and resilience, the nuances of ambition in the workplace, and the importance of communication styles in building relationships. They reflect on the balance between directness and sensitivity in feedback, and the challenges of maintaining personal and professional relationships.

In this conversation, Tara and Hannah explore various themes related to communication, problem-solving, and personal growth. They discuss the importance of honest feedback, different communication styles, and how these affect interpersonal relationships. The conversation also delves into problem-solving approaches, the need for flexibility in the face of change, and the significance of personal values and motivations in leadership. They reflect on how stress impacts decision-making and the balance between confidence and caution in professional settings. The discussion concludes with insights on the role of recognition and the pursuit of enjoyment in work and life.

Curious about taking the Hogan Assessment for yourself? Pull back the curtain on how you are received and unlock the skills to leverage the totality of your personality traits by reaching out to us at femaledominatedpod@gmail.com.