Leaving the Ladder Behind
I left my corporate job before I got the big title.
Not because I couldn’t cut it, and not because I had a grand plan to become an entrepreneur. I walked away early—before hitting VP status—because I saw something that so many ambitious women are afraid to admit:
The corporate ladder isn’t broken. It’s rigged.
And staying just to get a “title” I didn’t even want anymore was never going to be worth losing myself.
In this post, I want to share the real story of why I left the traditional path behind—and why that decision has made me a better, more effective leadership coach for high-performing women like you.
I Didn’t Leave Because I Wasn’t Ambitious, I Left Because I Was
When I first entered the corporate world, I wanted to rise. I wanted to be a VP. I saw the pride and purpose my dad found in long-term leadership, and I imagined the same path for myself.
But somewhere along the way, I realized: climbing the ladder meant becoming someone I wasn’t. I was watching brilliant women around me being overlooked, dismissed, or burned out, and I felt it too.
That feeling of playing dress-up. Speaking in a tone that didn’t feel like mine. Shrinking my voice to fit into rooms I should have been owning.
I wasn’t afraid of hard work. I was afraid of waking up one day as someone I didn’t recognize. Someone who got the title but lost the spark.
So, I left.
I Didn’t Need to “Make It” to Be Qualified to Lead
Here’s a mindset shift I want to offer you: the person who’s qualified to help you isn’t the one with the fanciest title. It’s the one who knows how to guide you back to yourself.
If you’re looking for a coach or mentor and your first question is, “What title did she have before this?”—you’re asking the wrong question.
Your strengths aren’t the same as hers. Your career path won’t be either. What you need is someone who can help you figure out what kind of leadership feels fulfilling for you.
That’s the work I do now. I don’t coach women to replicate my path, I coach them to build one that fits who they are and what they want.
The Corporate Ladder Wasn’t Built for Us
I’ve seen the inside. And trust me, the corporate world doesn’t always reward competence. It rewards visibility, strategy, and conformity.
Too often, women are quietly doing the best work in the room and still being passed over. Or worse, they’re doing the emotional labor of leading without the title or the paycheck to match.
What I realized is that we’re losing women at the very beginning of the pipeline. Smart, capable women are walking away because they don’t see a version of leadership that fits them. And if they do stay, they’re often under-mentored, over-performing, and deeply unfulfilled.
I didn’t want to just watch that happen. I wanted to create a new path forward.
Creating My Own Leadership Framework
I now work both inside and outside of corporate. I coach women in leadership across industries, and I also partner with companies to bring that same clarity and strategy into the system.
That dual fluency, entrepreneurial creativity and corporate literacy, lets me help my clients see their own environments with sharper eyes. Together, we spot dysfunction. We build solutions. We realign your career with your values, not just your resume.
Your company won’t promote you just because you’re competent. You have to be visible, vocal, and valuable in ways they can’t ignore. And that’s what I teach inside my free masterclass, Invisible to Irreplaceable.
I Was Never Supposed to Be an Entrepreneur
Here’s the truth: I didn’t leave to start a business. I wasn’t “girl bossing” my way into some dream side hustle.
I was the most reluctant entrepreneur you’ve ever met.
My mom was an entrepreneur, and I saw how hard she worked. I watched her build something amazing from the ground up—but I also saw the loneliness, the pressure, and the sacrifice.
I didn’t want that. I wanted to be a long-tenured leader inside a company I loved. But that company didn’t exist—for me or for so many women like me.
I built a business that’s about strategy, sustainability, and self-trust. I built the thing I wish I had when I was in your shoes.
A New Definition of Success
If you’re silently seething your way toward the next promotion, hoping that maybe then it’ll feel worth it: I see you.
But I’m here to tell you: you don’t have to earn your way into permission. You can opt out now. You can design something that actually fits who you are.
I don’t think every woman needs to quit. But I do think every woman needs a strategy. And if I have anything to say about it, I’ll be the last woman who ever has to leave corporate just because she didn’t know how to succeed on her terms.
Ready to Redefine What Leadership Looks Like—for You?
If this story resonated, I’d love for you to join me in my free masterclass, Invisible to Irreplaceable. I’ll walk you through how to define your personal brand and show up at work without watering yourself down or waiting to be picked. Because authentic leadership doesn’t start with a title. It starts with a decision to bet on yourself.
–> Sign up for the masterclass
Don’t forget to share it with a friend as well and Leave a comment. You can also send me a message on Instagram or LinkedIn! The more we talk about what success really looks like, the more we give other women permission to choose differently.
Until next time, keep showing up and keep thriving.
