From Executive Burnout to Social Enterprise: A Personal Guide to Career Reinvention
Watch the full interview with Katie and Bec McIntosh on Career Jam.
When anxiety keeps you awake at night, it might not be a warning to stay put—it could be your signal that transformation is closer than you think.
Katie's career path reads like a masterclass in strategic reinvention. From telecommunications to high-end fashion, private wealth management to road transport, and now IT consulting and social enterprise, her journey defies the traditional linear progression that many professionals follow. But it's not the diversity of industries that makes her story compelling—it's what drove each transition and how she navigated the uncertainty that comes with major career pivots.
For mid to senior professionals feeling stuck, burnt out, or contemplating a major change, Katie's experience offers both a cautionary tale and a roadmap forward.
The Burnout That Changed Everything
When Success Stops Feeling Like Success
Katie's career seemed to be following an upward trajectory. Working directly under the CEO and CFO in the road transport industry, she held the kind of senior executive position many professionals spend years pursuing. From the outside, it looked like success. From the inside, it felt like something else entirely.
A Pattern of Strategic Reinvention
“Have a spoonful of concrete and harden up”. Ever received golden advice from your boss along these lines. Katie did,"I got completely burnt out by all of the ‘concrete eating’ that I was doing at the time," she recalls . It's a phrase that resonates with many senior professionals who find themselves caught between organisational demands and personal sustainability. The decision to leave wasn't immediate. Katie had already navigated several career transitions by that point, starting in the telco industry where she discovered business analytics, returning to university, and weathering the Global Financial Crisis by networking her way into private wealth management and stockbroking. She understood that careers rarely follow straight lines.
But this transition was different. This wasn't about seeking the next opportunity—it was about recognising when a role, no matter how prestigious, no longer served her.
Recognising the Signal in the Noise
The Power of Values-Based Decision Making
Katie's approach to career decisions centers on one simple question: does this align with who I am and what I want to achieve? Throughout her career, she's had opportunities that looked fantastic on paper but felt wrong in practice. She's learned to trust that internal compass.
"At each of those roadblocks, I chose to listen to the voice within and really understand whether that was aligned to who I am as a person and my values," she explains. "Really honing in on knowing whether that choice is going to lead to the long-term goals that I want to achieve as a person and in my career path."
It's a framework that requires both self-awareness and courage—self-awareness to understand what you truly value, and courage to act on it even when it means turning down seemingly attractive opportunities or walking away from positions you've worked hard to achieve.
When Anxiety Signals Transformation, Not Danger
But how do you know when dissatisfaction is a temporary rough patch versus a sign that fundamental change is needed? Katie has a surprisingly clear answer, though it's one many professionals misinterpret.
"We all have fears, and we all have things that we're scared of," she acknowledges. "And one thing that I have learned is that when I feel the most scared or when I feel that anxiety build up within me, that's actually a pivotal point where you're about to change."
Rather than seeing anxiety as a warning to retreat, Katie has learned to recognise it as a signal that transformation is imminent. It's the discomfort that precedes growth, not the sign that you're on the wrong path.
A Practical Approach to Late-Night Anxiety
Her advice for professionals experiencing this is practical and immediate. "When you reach that point and you're lying in bed at night and you can't sleep because you're anxious about something, get up, put some meditation music on, and just listen to your internal voice, and work out why am I feeling this way?"
More often than not, she says, you'll discover it's fear of change itself rather than evidence that the change is wrong. "Most of the time, you'll figure it out that it's some sort of fear within you that you can push past and break through those barriers and pivot your life and pivot your career."
This reframing—anxiety as precursor to breakthrough rather than breakdown—is what separates professionals who successfully reinvent themselves from those who remain stuck in unfulfilling roles.
The Conversation That Changed Her Trajectory
Why "Moving Up" Isn't Always Moving Forward
If there's one consistent thread through Katie's varied career, it's the role of mentorship. Not the formal, structured kind that comes with official programs, but the organic relationships built over coffee and honest conversation.
Early in her career, fresh from a disappointing high school experience, Katie was working at a large telecommunications firm and excelling in business analytics. She assumed the logical next step was moving into sales—a traditional progression path that seemed to make sense. Her state manager saw things differently.
"I had a state manager at the time mentor me, and he said, 'Katie, what are you doing?'" she remembers. "And I said, 'I'm progressing my career and moving up to sales.' And he said, 'No, no, no, go to uni.'"
It was direct advice, but more importantly, it came with context that fundamentally shifted her perspective. "That was the best piece of advice that I had at the time, and he really sat down and explained to me who I am as a person and who I am in my career and what value I brought to the organisation. And he said it in a way that I'd never heard before, and it helped me so much to change my mindset and change my career trajectory."
What Effective Mentorship Actually Looks Like
The conversation illustrates what effective mentorship looks like at pivotal career moments. It's not about telling someone what to do—it's about helping them see themselves and their potential more clearly. Katie's manager didn't just redirect her away from sales; he helped her understand her unique strengths and how they could be developed in ways she hadn't considered.
Building Mentorship Without the Formality
The Coffee-and-Conversation Approach
Throughout her career, Katie has maintained mentor relationships, adjusting the frequency based on her needs and circumstances. But her approach to building these relationships is refreshingly informal.
"Throughout my career, I've always had a mentor that I could talk to and whether it be a coffee every week or a coffee once a month or every three months," she explains. "And it's just about not saying to someone, 'Hey, be my mentor,' because some people are scared of that kind of responsibility, but you build that relationship with them just by asking for a coffee and then asking for another coffee, and that's all it needs to be."
This organic approach removes the pressure and formality that can make mentorship feel transactional. It also allows the relationship to evolve naturally based on what both parties need and can offer.
Support Plus Challenge Equals Growth
But Katie is clear about what makes these relationships valuable: they provide both support and challenge. "Those people can help you build up your confidence but also tell you what you don't want to hear. They can help you pivot further in your career."
It's that combination—building confidence while providing honest, sometimes uncomfortable feedback—that makes mentorship so powerful during career transitions. You need people who believe in your potential and who will challenge your assumptions about what's possible and be on your team to make connections, help you find information to make your decisions sharper.
From Burnout to Entrepreneurship
Turning Life Transitions Into Career Opportunities
After leaving her executive role, Katie didn't rush into another corporate position. Instead, she used the transition to starting a family as an opportunity to launch her own IT consulting business. It was a strategic move that leveraged her expertise while creating the flexibility she needed.
Now, she's expanding into social enterprise work, continuing to evolve her career in alignment with her values and long-term goals. Each transition has built on previous experience while opening new possibilities.
Lessons for Your Next Chapter
Katie's experience distills into several actionable insights for professionals navigating career transitions:
Trust your internal compass over external markers of success. The most prestigious title or lucrative opportunity isn't always the right one if it doesn't align with your values and long-term goals.
Recognise anxiety as a transformation signal, not a stop sign. When fear and uncertainty build, create space for reflection rather than pushing through or retreating. Often, you're on the verge of necessary change.
Build mentor relationships organically and strategically. Don't wait until you're in crisis. Find people who can help you see yourself clearly and who will offer both support and can challenge your ideas and beliefs in a positive and constructive way.
Give yourself permission to pivot, even after significant investment in a particular path. A senior title or successful track record doesn't obligate you to stay on one trajectory.
Consider how major life changes can create opportunities rather than obstacles. Katie launched her consulting business when starting a family, that flexibility enabled the various parts of her life fit together more seamlessly.
For experienced professionals feeling the pull toward something different, Katie's journey demonstrates that reinvention isn't just possible—it can be the catalyst for your most meaningful work yet.
Watch the full interview with Katie and Bec McIntosh on Career Jam.
