Friend Forward

Social capital helps the quality of your friendships, and your friendships impact the quality of your social capital.
Social capital is all about the value you get (and give) in your social network. And regardless of how introverted or extroverted you are, it's something we all need.

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:
In this episode of the Friend Forward podcast, we'll look at:
the three components of social capital (relationship, cognitive, and structural)
the benefits of growing your social capital
why talking about social capital feels transactional

Members of our Office Hours Community: You can expect bonus content sharing tangible tactics to improve all three components of your social capital by this weekend!

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime at: https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/
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NYC FRIENDS: UPCOMING EVENT
Danielle Bayard Jackson will be in conversation with Dr. Anne Welsh about the intersection of ambition, motherhood, and friendship at the Veronica Beard shop on Madison Avenue on Thursday, August 27 at 5pm. Email MadisonRSVP@veronicabeard.com to RSVP.
📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:
Breakdown of "social capital" from Dr. Rick Mask:https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/career/what-is-social-capital
Interested in the science of social networks? We love Marissa King's book, Social Chemistry
"I Need You to Survive": The song lyrics Danielle speaks at the end of the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdlrRjzDemg&list=RDWdlrRjzDemg&start_radio=1

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST
Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/officehours
Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist
Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book
Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram
Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok
Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

Platonic wingwomen are the backbone of society.
Some people are reluctant to introduce their friends to one another, but society thrives on it. While it can be nerve-wracking to mix friend groups (we've covered this in a previous episode-- see below), it's a skill we should all have.
In this episode, Danielle shares 4 steps to becoming a charismatic and effective wingwoman for your friends.

🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.
TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:
The difference between healthy and unhealthy striving, and which one your ambition is actually fueling
Why thinking of ambition as a ladder is keeping you stuck
The ambition paradox that leaves working mothers depleted no matter how hard they try
What most women get wrong about the village (and the connections they're discounting)
Why your friendships outside of motherhood might matter more than the ones inside it
How to bridge the gap with child-free friends when everyone feels underwater

NYC EVENT 8/27: Danielle Bayard Jackson and Dr. Anne Welsh with be talking about Ambitious Motherhood (and friendship!) at 5pm at the Veronica Beard on Madison Avenue. Want to attend? Email hello@betterfemalefriendships.com to RSVP.

---------------------------------------------
NYC FRIENDS: UPCOMING EVENT
Danielle Bayard Jackson will be in conversation with Dr. Anne Welsh about the intersection of ambition, motherhood, and friendship at the Veronica Beard shop on Madison Avenue on Thursday, August 26 at 5pm. Email Sam at hello@betterfemalefriendships.com to RSVP.

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:
Is "friendship poaching" a real thing? Check out one of our previous episodes on this topic: https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/friend-forward-feature
Interested in the science of social networks? We love Marissa King's book, Social Chemistry

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST
Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://www.betterfemalefriendships.com/officehours
Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist
Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources
Become a certified relational health coach → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book
Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram
Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok
Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

How motherhood changes your closest friendships, with Dr. Anne Welsh
You're crushing it at work, you're showing up for your kids, and you're trying… really trying… to also be a good friend. But the pursuit of excelling in all three keeps leaving you depleted and falling short across the board. And that picture of the village you keep seeing everywhere? The tight-knit crew of women who are all magically available and deeply connected? It might be setting you up to discount the support you already have.
In this episode, Danielle sits down with clinical psychologist and executive coach Dr. Anne Welsh, author of the forthcoming book Ambitious Mother, to talk about what happens when ambition, motherhood, and friendship all compete for the same woman's energy. They dig into the difference between healthy and unhealthy striving, why ambition works better as a web than a ladder, what most women get wrong about the village, and how to maintain friendships with child-free women when everyone feels underwater. Dr. Anne also shares what she sees ambitious women ignoring that costs them the most: their own wants.
🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.
TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:
The difference between healthy and unhealthy striving, and which one your ambition is actually fueling
Why thinking of ambition as a ladder is keeping you stuck
The ambition paradox that leaves working mothers depleted no matter how hard they try
What most women get wrong about the village (and the connections they're discounting)
Why your friendships outside of motherhood might matter more than the ones inside it
How to bridge the gap with child-free friends when everyone feels underwater

NYC EVENT 8/27: Danielle Bayard Jackson and Dr. Anne Welsh with be talking about Ambitious Motherhood (and friendship!) at 5pm at the Veronica Beard on Madison Avenue. Want to attend? Email hello@betterfemalefriendships.com to RSVP.

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ABOUT DR. ANNE WELSH
Dr. Anne Welsh is a clinical psychologist, executive coach, and mother of four. She's the author of Ambitious Mother: From Surviving to Thriving in Your Career and at Home, and her work centers on helping ambitious women shift from overwhelm and perfectionism to healthy striving, without giving up what they actually want.
CONNECT WITH DR. ANNE:
Book, Ambitious Mother: https://www.drannewelsh.com/ambitious-mother-book
Website: https://www.drannewelsh.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drannewelsh/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drannewelsh/

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:
Dr. Anne Welsh, Ambitious Mother: From Surviving to Thriving in Your Career and at Home: https://www.drannewelsh.com/ambitious-mother-book

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST
Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours
Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist
Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources
Become a certified relational health coach → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book
Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram
Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok
Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.
CHAPTERS:
00:00 — The pull of trying to be everything at once
03:49 — Introducing Dr. Anne Welsh and Ambitious Mother
05:35 — Healthy striving vs. unhealthy striving
07:44 — Ambition as a web, not a ladder
10:54 — The ambition paradox and spreading yourself thin
13:22 — What we get wrong about the village and the value of weak ties
16:14 — Why friendships outside motherhood still matter
20:21 — Honesty, vulnerability, and reconnecting with your wants

You noticed she didn't share your last post. She liked her post but not yours. She hasn't watched your stories in weeks, but she's clearly online. And now you're spiraling, trying to figure out what that says about your friendship. Sound familiar?
In this episode, Danielle sits down with licensed mental health counselor JoJo Venant to unpack the very real strain social media puts on women's friendships: from birthday shout-out expectations to the "friends should support your business" discourse. Together, they explore how influencers with healthy pre-fame friendships navigate digital boundaries differently, why we've gone from reading the room to reading the feed, and what happens when we personalize every like, share, and story view. JoJo also walks through how to actually have the conversation with a friend when social media expectations don't match.
🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
Members of Office Hours get supplementary material with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime (and get your first two weeks free) at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.
TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:
The one thing that determines whether an influencer's friendships survive her platform growth
What the birthday shout-out expectation is actually telling you about yourself
We used to read the room; now we're reading the feed, and it's breaking something
The word Danielle almost didn't say out loud in this conversation
The myth that's quietly killing more friendships than any unshared post
What happens when JoJo asks her clients to role-play the friend they're upset with

ABOUT JOJO VENANT
JoJo Venant is a licensed mental health counselor and the founder of The Clarity Hour, a counseling practice based in Orlando, Florida. With over a decade of experience specializing in healthy relationships, self-esteem, and life transitions, she's known for her grounded, relational approach to helping women navigate connection and conflict. She has served as an adjunct professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University and contributed as an expert voice to the Mental Health Television Network.
CONNECT WITH JOJO:
Website: https://theclarityhour.net
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theclarityhour
Links: https://solo.to/joannvenant

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST
Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours
Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist
Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources
Become a certified relational health coach → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book
Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram
Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok
Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.

There's a psychological concept known as "the fresh start effect", and it can be helpful as you set your friendship goals for the summer. You've been wanting better friendships for a while now, but you're not quite sure where to start. We'll walk you through an exercise that includes more than 8 examples of connection goals you can set this season.
🎧 BUT WAIT… THERE'S MORE.
This week's Office Hours bonus content includes an EXTRA episode that focuses on what to do when you feel resentful toward a friend. It drops in Office Hours on June 16.
Members of Office Hours get supplementary material like this with every episode to deepen their friendships. Join anytime at: https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours.
TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE:
What is the "fresh start" effect?
The 5 domains of relational health
How to set a goal for the domain that reflects your most pressing friendship issue/ desire

📚 EPISODE RESOURCES & REFERENCES:
At the beginning of the episode, Danielle mentions her girls' trip to Savannah and her stay at the Marriott Savannah Riverfront.

🎙️ GET FEATURED ON THE PODCAST
Have a friendship question, hot take, or personal story you want featured? Send a voice note via Instagram DMs @friendforward or email a voice note or video to hello@betterfemalefriendships.com.
WORK WITH DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Join Office Hours for bonus content and community → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/office-hours
Join the Friendship Elevated Fall 2026 Waitlist → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/friendship-elevated-waitlist
Check out more connection resources → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/resources
Become a certified relational health coach → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/relational-health-institute

FOLLOW DANIELLE BAYARD JACKSON:
Get the book "Fighting for our Friendships" → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/book
Follow on Instagram → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/instagram
Follow on TikTok → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/tiktok
Learn more about Danielle → https://friend-forward.captivate.fm/website

🗣️ BOOK DANIELLE TO SPEAK
Looking for a speaker on women's cooperation, communication, and conflict? Send your inquiry to info@tellpublicrelations.com.