Transcript: Finding Career Growth and Fulfillment Outside of a Linear Path

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Carlee: [00:00:00] I think when we're talking about careers, it's really hard to see. Sometimes it's not a black and white journey, and in fact, we're entering a market and a time and work and workplace where it's gonna get even more gray with things like ai. And so knowing yourself what you're passionate about, where you wanna contribute and have impact, sometimes it may not have a a, a name to it.

Sometimes it does, but keep going. With what's important for you, because that will yield like ultimately your journey and your meaningful journey and what you're looking for.

Katie: Welcome to take a Beat, a podcast dedicated to career pivoters and those who are wanting to hit pause on the hustle, get clear on your direction and head toward the life that you envision.

Today's episode explores the career journey and pivots of Carly Wolf. An HR professional with more than 20 years experience at brands like Under Armour, Hyatt Hotels, and the US Olympic and Paralympic [00:01:00] Committee. Carly describes her path as non-linear in that she has not only moved organizations, but also moved across the country to take on new roles.

She's also passionate about finding opportunities outside of work, including volunteering on nonprofit boards and volunteer athletic coaching to find both growth and fulfillment. Take a listen to hear more of Carly's story, which includes taking big risks, like moving to a city that had her and loved ones, second, guessing her decision, relying on a sense of curiosity and intentionality to forge her own path, and building a sense of confidence throughout all the pivots and transitions.

Well, I know that we're gonna focus on finding purpose and pivots, and you describe yourself as not having a a or having a non-linear path. Maybe to start off, could you share a little bit about your career path and, and what it's been like so far, just to give people an idea?

Carlee: Yeah. I think, uh, well, thanks for the [00:02:00] opportunity, first of all, to share and have conversation.

I think, uh, linear can be defined in a lot of different ways, right? Career path of. I have a trajectory that I've been on. There's a place that I'm staying in, an industry that I'm tied to. So all of those things I take into account when I think of like linear, non-linear, linear career path. And then also the things that we can do that's fulfilling outside of maybe we'll call it our traditional, uh, nine to fives, because I think there are a lot of explorations in that too.

A lot of like business owners, a lot of contractors, things of that nature. So for me, like non-linear career path has meant a couple things. One, um, it's been about location for me, so I've kind of taken a, um, I would say like a non-traditional route, like early in my career, mid-career, um, up until now where I've moved around for different opportunities and I, I bring that up just because, uh, as I've made every move in my career location-wise, I think, uh, move after move is those have increased.

I got a lot of questions from my friends of like, aren't you tired of moving? Like, where are you going? What are you doing? And um, I think, [00:03:00] uh, when you're on that, not like a different path where it comes with questions, which it's already like, you know, tough on itself, but then when it comes with that, you start to think, well, yeah, what am I doing?

Uh, am I doing the right things? So I think that's one thing, one component for me that's been, uh, varied or, or, or different. I think the other part is I'll, I'll put in the like kind of saying yes to different. Opportunities and passions that I have. So for me, that's meant. Uh, spending almost 20 years now coaching volleyball.

Um, and I've done that in a lot of different ways. Uh, early on it was about high school and, and club. Now it's transitioned into working with sitting volleyball, which is an adaptive sport. And I work, uh, in the pipeline programs with USA volleyball. Um, and so that's kind of also non-traditional. And the fact of like having something like that.

Uh, in, in my life. So I, I would say those are kind of the two big things. And I, I think the third is like marrying passion with where I can have also work, which is also career coaching. So I help, uh, a [00:04:00] lot of folks with their career choices and, and conversations. So for me, that's the nonlinear path, um, in, in variety, in options and kind of, uh, working and sometimes uphill and sometimes side hill.

Uh, but certainly thinking a little bit differently in, in how I, in how I got here. So like you mentioned, it sounds like you moved around a lot. What, what would kind of instigate a move for you or what would entice you to, to take a job that would have you to move typically? I think that puts us maybe a little bit more in like the traditional career path, which is, uh, I'm very passionate about growing leaders and supporting intentional culture building at organizations, and that's what I've spent my.

HR career doing. And for me it was about intention of finding an opportunity that, uh, company-wise, that really resonated with me. What, what is, what are the problems or opportunities that the organization is looking to tackle? What is the role itself like? Does it give me something new? I'm a [00:05:00] builder. I love kind of like build, coming in and building.

And are there new challenges that come with that? So, um, you know, I mentioned this was kind of a theme for me early in mid career. I think that that helped propel me into perhaps, uh, not just a variety of roles, but maybe greater depth of roles or impact at that point in my career that I would've, that I may not have seen if I had stayed put.

So for me, that was the driver for moving was okay, if I stay in this city, for example, well, I have this same type of opportunity, maybe, maybe not, right? We never actually know what will happen. In the future, but it's taking a little bit of a bet to say, maybe not, maybe this is a good opportunity. And then from there, getting really curious about, okay, if it's also beyond the job, like what does the place bring for me?

Like what could living in this, this place be? But to answer your question, it, it was the moves were really driven from those career choices on my pursuit of continuing to make impact in leadership, [00:06:00] development, culture, employee engagement, those types of things.

Katie: Do you have an example of one of the moves and one of the companies that you went to and sort of why you, you decided to go that route?

Carlee: Sure. I'll share one of my favorite ones and I, perhaps it's my favorite 'cause I still live here. I get to tell the story all the time, which is the, uh, so I live in Baltimore, Maryland, and I had an opportunity to take a job at Under Armor, and at the time, under Armour was going through a tremendous amount of change.

If you followed the Under Armour story, you know that they went through a tremendous amount of growth and then they were kind of figuring out what was next. And I joined in the What's Next era of the organization. And that was exciting for me. I had started, also started my career in sport. So the idea of getting back into it was enticing.

Now, under Armours, not pure sport, it's retail, but there are sport elements to it for sure. And um, so back to the career intentionality. For me, those were the two drivers. Opportunity to make an impact, be a part of something that was meaningful for me. Baltimore was not on the [00:07:00] radar at all. I, uh, I didn't know anybody, well, I knew one person that lived here, one person I did an internship with like 10 years ago.

Um, and I was thinking about coming out here and, and when I was talking to people. I, I think 90% of people, including my friends, just asked me if I had seen The Wire, which essentially was a way of saying, are you sure you wanna move to Baltimore? There's some, some issues there. And I had not seen The Wire at the time, by the way.

It's a tremendous show. I'd watched it since. That was my first COVID binge. I understand why people, uh, brought that up, but I think like a lot of cities and a lot of places, there's more to it than, in this case, a TV show, right? Dramatizing a story, a city and its story. Uh, but for me it's been always been about every place I live about communities and what communities are doing.

And I knew Baltimore had that. So this was, so this was that, that hop, I didn't know anyone. I was sort of, uh, having everyone also second guess like what I was doing that that matters. But when you're already [00:08:00] taking a big leap of faith in life change, right? Those things do creep in. Uh, but here we're, today, I've been here for seven years.

When I made the move about the career, it was also in this time about intentionality about the c the community. How could I be a part of something? How could this move not just be about the job, but about my life and what I wanted to do in the city? So, um, you know. It's been, it's been tremendous. And, and for me that's yielded a lot.

When I say community, I do a lot in the community now, now, and it's been immensely valuable. So I think that's like my favorite story to tell, uh, both in that for me it was a big personal achievement and working through that. 'cause it also, it's not something that you like a few weeks in Yeah, I made the right choice on the move.

In fact, usually a few weeks or a few months in, you're like, why did I make this move? Um, and by the way, I did experience that. But years later, just really loving the opportunity to be in the city. And the last thing I'll share with that, the reason why I tell it is I, I'm here to also share with everyone at Baltimore.

It has a lot of of great things to offer and is amazing community and space. So don't [00:09:00] let the wire, uh, turn you away from, from the great city that it is. I actually live in Washington, DC so I'm familiar. I go down the road, you go. Yeah, but it is a great city. It has a, a heart to it, you know, that is, um, maybe being there and experiencing it, you probably experience even more of it.

So, oh, it's the. Of all the places I've lived in large, I've lived in large metropolitan areas, but it's the most, I I, the way I describe, it's like homegrown, like there's so many nichey events, like activities, places, people's hobbies that are on display like that. It's just so fun to be able to explore uniqueness and passion in so many ways.

Katie: And were you surprised that you ended up liking it in Baltimore So much.

Carlee: Um, I don't, I think I placed a bet on myself of like, if I didn't just move for the job, which was, which was a great opportunity, but it really went in with two feet and invested. I think I, I had faith that it would yield, and [00:10:00] maybe this is from years of having moved other places, I had the maybe experience and confidence that if you put in the effort, 'cause it does take a lot of effort, um, something will come of it.

I think what I was surprised about, maybe. Is the level of community involvement that's all around. I've never lived anywhere where everybody, most people are so invested in the little things like, I'm just gonna go pick up this little bit of trash that's on the sidewalk because this is our community. Or I'm gonna start, uh, a tree planting service from our neighborhood because we just feel like we need to do it.

And no, this is our city and our space. We're the ones to take care of it. The amount of those examples are everywhere. And so I've never felt connected in that way and in connected in such a diverse way too, because like I said, it's like people's passions and projects and those come in all different shapes and sizes and looks and feels.

Yet [00:11:00] somehow it all like knits into this like beautiful fabric of the city and I think that that's pretty incredible. So that was a surprise to me. That's pretty cool. Yeah.

Katie: Well, taking a risk like that, like not only changing your jobs, pivoting your job, but also moving to a new city, it's a, it's a pretty big risk doing two big changes at once.

Yeah. Do you have any advice for people who might be considering that or contemplating that? Things you've learned along your own journey?

Carlee: Yeah. One thing I've really been landing on lately is kind of these, like, I call 'em like the three Cs, so it's just like three words, like curiosity. Um, clarity and confidence, and they're not, it's not meant to be like a linear thing or to lean in, in like step one, step three, et cetera.

But really sort of in the moment, what's, what is missing and, and, and how do I fulfill that? And so I'll just start with, for example, like curiosity, like being really curious about what it is, maybe it is that you're desiring. What is the possibilities so that, let's use the Baltimore case, like curiosity was like, oh, I kind of wanna work in [00:12:00] sport again.

Like, where could that be? Oh, there's a job in Baltimore. What could Baltimore look like? So just, it wasn't a close ended point of view. I got really curious about the possibilities and then having some clarity, right? Like where are you then wanting to head, what is that, uh, job opportunity? What is that life opportunity?

What is that community opportunity to start to take shape for you in what is clear for that vision? Because I think with clear clarity. One that helps build confidence. But I think clarity helps start to unlock like the different opportunities that, that come with your next step. And confidence is really that exploration of yeah, like what's missing and what can I fulfill?

And so, uh, uh, because we've been on this. Baltimore story I'll go with, you know, when I'm here and I'm, I'm like, back to two months in, I'm like, what did I do? I'm clearly not confident about the decision, but I think I had to explore, get really curious about that and explore what was missing. And it started with, maybe it's about people.

Okay, can I go to dinner with someone [00:13:00] at work as a place to start? Can I join a meetup and meet and have dinner with some people? Like being, understanding where my level of confidence is. It gave me self-awareness on then what, what do I need to sort of like help build that back up? So that'd be the, my advice, if you will, which is, I, I think it starts with these questions and kind of like exploring for yourself in order to tap in your own curiosity, build that clarity that you're looking for and, um, have and navigate through the confidence to kind of bring your, your story to life.

And I think that that applies in. We started the question with like linear and non-linear or not traditional and non-traditional paths. And I think it applies in both cases because we all live this crazy thing called life and nothing is even as, as we make it out to be. And so I think this fits in life, right?

It it enables us to, to move with also the changes in differences that come with it all.

Katie: Well, I like what you said about being able to kind of check your own confidence in where you are and that it might waver [00:14:00] sometimes and that's okay. Totally. Can you talk a little bit more about that and maybe when you were experiencing maybe some cold feet after you had moved, how did you work through that for yourself?

Carlee: Yeah, I mean, I think in addition to just, you know, I, we talked a little bit about like the personal component of like having human connection. I mean, I think even. I, I'm trying to even think back to the moment. I, uh, so we, we live in, so you're in DC so I, I learned this moving out here. This part of the country is actually called the Mid-Atlantic.

This sounds so ridiculous. I didn't know this, even though it's like. Used to be a Mid-Atlantic conference, all these things. And um, so I learned this very early because when I moved I was like, why is it so hot and humid in the summer? This is awful. This is awful. Where do we go outside? And they're, and the, of course Marylanders, were like, well, we live in the Mid-Atlantic.

Like, this is what, what it is. So I think my shock or maybe shake of confidence was, um, what am I doing in the Mid-Atlantic? It's really hot and humid here. What do I do with that? Because I do enjoy being outside. Um, I enjoy [00:15:00] being outside and not sweating. Um, just, this sounds so silly, but like, these are things that like fit in our lives.

And so I had to really explore like, okay, what does summer look like? So what I learned is there's a lot of water around here, so people get out on the water. I love the water. So even if it's about taking the water taxi from like where I live to downtown or going to a city near us called Annapolis, um, and getting out on the water or taking, um, a day to go to the beach, like these are things that started to then fold into my routines.

That kind of then built that confidence of, okay, like I could do this. Like I could, I could like be outside, I can enjoy some things and by the way, I can do some new things that also fulfill. Like a characteristic or a value that I have that maybe I just wasn't able to have in other places that I live.

Like I've, I've lived in Arizona, there's no water taxi, um, as an, as an example. So that was definitely a time, uh, early on where my confidence was shaken and took a little bit of time to explore. But, uh, back [00:16:00] to being curious. Knowing that, and then kind of thinking like, all right, what, what's possible? Then started to unveil kind of new, uh, new things for me that then became a real part of who I am and, and love.

Katie: Well, definitely sounds like you're pretty adaptable. Like you, you know, even if you are faced with something that maybe you are not super down with, like the hot, humid summers, you know, being able to shape, shift that into something that will work for you. I, I, that's definitely character strength, I imagine so.

Carlee: I, I, I hope so. But Liz, don't get me wrong, we're like talking about the end point of the story. First of all, I still don't like sitting outside and sweating. Like that's just like a reality of being here. I just try to do it less. Um, but I also think because we have like a lot of people listening and kind of exploring this mm-hmm.

Like this is the end of the story. It didn't mean that I, you know, you asked about like lack of confidence. Well, that still is a story. What people can't see is like. I'm sure there were days of tears or like having like real moments where I'm like calling [00:17:00] friends and, and thinking like, did I make the right choice?

Like when's the soonest I should move back out, like out of here. Um, so there are definitely those times for sure. And it takes just, I think some intentionality being okay with that moment too. 'cause sometimes self-doubt or questioning can maybe actually unlock something like really special at the other end.

What is stru, what's tough about that is like you actually don't know what the other end looks like in the moment of the struggle. So, um, both in acknowledgements as we're here chatting, but also maybe in hope or like you're not alone, like the, the other, the other part of the story does come just have to keep, you know, writing that clarity or getting that clarity so you can keep moving forward.

And know whatever story everyone else is in. Like some days there might just be days where it's still hot and hum. You're like sweating outside and that's like, okay, fair enough. Yeah.

Katie: Were [00:18:00] there ever moments that you maybe were second guessing or having self-doubt around your career decision? Less about the place, but more about like maybe the career decision.

Carlee: This is a really good question, I think, um, I don't think. I think sometimes the question in my head comes is if I'm making the most impact or the impact that I intend to have. So it's not so much the path, but maybe it's the impact within the path. And that does come up every once in a while.

Largely in my professional career, I have worked for large organizations and so sometimes it's really hard to touch or feel the impact of the work that I'm doing, and sometimes it could just feel like I'm. Sitting behind a screen in a Zoom meeting or typing something on an email and you're kinda like wondering like, where does this go?

So I think that's when maybe a little bit of question definitely creeps in. I think for me, the way that I try to [00:19:00] work through that is a couple of things like. One, taking a step back and really examining the work and maybe actually using that as a way to deepen the impact of the work. Because maybe I am not making the impact we sought up to, to, to do like some, sometimes maybe we're just moving too fast or we think we have a really cool idea and we're just going down a path.

But like, is that really what's helpful? Um, I think there's also times where, uh, if you ask my friends, sometimes I'll just, I'm sure we all have these moments. I'll get home from work and I'm like, what am I even doing? Like, does it even matter? And on those days, I think then it goes to maybe I could fulfill that at work by examining impact, but maybe it's also doing something else in my life that kind of helps fill that category.

Um, so I do community work both in volunteering. I'm also in some nonprofit boards, and so maybe I can tap into that. Like that is a, a category that in my broader life is a part of, of what I'm doing, and I can have impact there. So I think it's just. Of course that comes into play. [00:20:00] Self-doubt. I think it's more in the, like the impact category.

And as I've gone in my career, I, I think I've just honestly explored that so much that now I've like actually found these other kind of like community impact connecting with other strategies to help work through that. Like am I, you know, making the change or the impact I'd like, I'd like to do so for sure.

Katie: I appreciate how you mentioned the idea of, you know, especially if you're at a really big organization and kind of maybe feeling lost in the shuffle of like, what are, what are we do? Or what is my role in what we're doing here? Potentially. I think a lot of people experience that. Yes. And maybe kind of touching on this, I think one thing you sort of talk about or you're interested in is rethinking career growth beyond titles and descriptions.

Maybe that plays into the impact idea. Can you talk a little bit about that and how people might be able to either look back on their own career or going forward, [00:21:00] be able to also assess like you can have career growth. That's not just a, a promotion per se.

Carlee: For sure. I think there's like a couple ways to look at this.

So one is, and you just ended on this, like the promotion part of it. I think sometimes we place value of impact or career growth is the title or the pay. Now, don't get me wrong, I think I'm a big believer in if that's stuff that you want, then that should be a part of your goals to understand like where your markers are.

However, I think when we talk about growth, growth doesn't mean promotion. Growth, I think is looking at sort of that personal evolution. The, I learned something new today. I did something scary today. So one in, in the maybe traditional like corporate side or even owning own business, actually really anywhere thinking about growth of like what are the skills that you wanna expand on?

How do you wanna show up, how do you wanna connect with others? Like, these are all things that we can grow and move and do. Um, so for example, like this year I've been [00:22:00] working a lot on, um, presence, like in key meetings. Like how do I show up, um, be really clear about the few points that I wanna make. So for me that's like growth.

This year. I'm, it is one of many things, but I'm just sharing that one as, as an example. And so what are, when you, when folks are thinking about their jobs, where they work. What are areas that they might wanna tap into where they can kind of expand, create tension on, get, be scared about or find joy in.

And scary just means sometimes when we do something new, it's like can be a scary process, but what is it that if they're looking back a few weeks from that day and saying, oh, I, what did I grow? What did I do that's different or grow from that? They have an answer for that. So I think that that's growth outside of promotion.

I think that could be also just to get tactical. Lateral moves, special projects, mentorship, all of these things, I think are available in kind of like the, the traditional or, uh, like [00:23:00] job setting. We'll call that. I think other ways that people can find non-traditional, like opportunities to grow or things like, and that you've talked a lot about community.

Hmm. What are things in your community you wanna contribute in? Do you wanna volunteer? Uh, I, you know, I mentioned earlier I work with adaptive, adaptive sports. That's one of the areas that I volunteer in. And I'm growing every time I'm out there. One, just 'cause the kids are younger and I learn something from them all the time.

Like their energy, the questions that they have. Um, but also I jump into sports that I don't know much about, and I'm like, all right, like, we're here. This is what I'm here to serve. So like, let me just figure it out. And, and that's a part of my, I would say more like my personal growth. But if I'm growing as a person, that doesn't mean it doesn't also translate to work.

So that's why I call it maybe non-traditional. There's also things like serving on non-profit boards. I'm hugely passionate about this, these, these days. In fact, if anyone wants to connect on this topic, because I think a lot of people are interested in this. There's sort of this like invisible barrier. I think that's felt by a lot of people.

Like, how do I get started and where do I [00:24:00] go? But nonprofits need support. They need people with the skills and the passion and the commitment to be able to to, to support them. And so I think that's a great way to have pers professional growth because you're in a different organization, maybe you're exercising different skills.

These are all really powerful things. So those are just a couple of examples, but I. Maybe just a fun one is also just trying something new like a hobby, like a craft, a sport. Like anytime we're stretching ourselves. 'cause as adults we just like don't push it the way that back to like kids do. I think there's always an opportunity to grow and I do think it relates back to career growth.

Uh, for absolutely. Like when we're trying expanding, to me that's leadership that can show up in how you manage and leave lead. Also, if you're personally fulfilled, you're probably showing up better at work. All of these things intersect. Into like our whole humanness, which is a big part of it, who we are.

'cause you know, that's, we spend a lot of time at work and I think, you know, what you're saying is that if you, even if you're maybe focused on some things [00:25:00] outside of work, it's still gonna influence your life in work and absolutely.

Katie: What about the idea if some people are maybe feeling kind of stuck at work for whatever reason, maybe they're trying to figure some stuff out, they're maybe trying to decide whether they're gonna pivot or transition.

How can then focusing ironically outside of work, sometimes maybe even help with getting unstuck in that way?

Carlee: Absolutely. I think outside of work, or even back to like inside of work, but in that non-traditional way. I, I think it opens you up it, first of all, it's exposure to things that you've never seen felt done before.

So I think that starts to unlock different layers of curiosity and potentially adds to like getting clear about where you're headed. I think you also get to connect with new people who might have more ideas, who can also create connections who might be able to. Spend time with you and talk about their careers.

I also think back to the fulfilled category. If we're doing things outside of work that are fulfilling for us personally, I think that just brings a better sense of, uh, confidence in our lives. I [00:26:00] think it enables a little bit more clarity and certainly puts us in a place of, I think. Openness to be curious.

Um, so I think those are all value add. And then I also think with intention, right? If you do have clarity about what's next with intention, some of these non-traditional outside of work or inside of work opportunities can also have you testing the waters, building new skills that you know that you want or you need.

So I think it comes down to the factor of everything from a, I'm not really sure what I want right now, but I'm just gonna kind of talk about things and explore. All the way to, I know exactly what I want, but I just have to like kind of figure out where, how and when I'm gonna go do that. And everything in between, I think outside or non-traditional routes can help serve that in in, in those, those kinds of ways.

At least that's what I've, I've seen from folks in, in my experience.

Katie: Yeah, and maybe sometimes too, just taking your focus off of what might be maybe plaguing you in some ways and just focusing it elsewhere can maybe loosen up [00:27:00] some, some creativity and help get you moving.

Carlee: Oh, totally agree. I mean, how many times, I mean, I'm sure you could think of a bunch of times, I could think of a bunch of times where you like fixated on something or you have that one thing in front of you and as soon as you take a step out, like think of like a vacation, you come back with like different level of clarity.

And openness it. There is something to be said for that for sure. That's a good point. Well, you certainly have a lot of really great career advice and it, it sounds like you have a lot of intentionality and a lot of motivation to apply curiosity and confidence and clarity, like you said, that and. Pave your own path.

Katie: If you look back on your career, what's maybe one career truth that you wish that you had, uh, known earlier?

Carlee: I, I think I can say this after fulfilling this of, uh, I don't 20 years of my career, although I, 'cause I got this advice when I was early in my career, but I, I do think, [00:28:00] like, trust yourself and like where you're headed.

And the rest will follow. I think when we're talking about careers, it's really hard to see. Sometimes it's not a black and white journey, and in fact, we're entering a market and a time and work and workplace where it's gonna get even more gray with things like ai. And so knowing yourself what you're passionate about, where you wanna contribute and have impact, sometimes it may not have a a, a name to it.

Sometimes it does. But keep going with what's important for you because that will yield. Ultimately your journey and your meaningful journey and what you're looking for.

Katie: Do you have an example of what that looked like for you when things maybe felt murky and you kind of kept following the breadcrumbs, so to speak?

Carlee: Yeah, I, when I started working, I, um, I, so when I was, I went to Arizona State and I worked at our student union. Basically we were just changing over, like meeting rooms, thinking like stuck in chairs and, uh, wiping the tables down. And, [00:29:00] um, I led that team with, uh, with a friend of mine. And one of the things that we were really intentional about was, I didn't know what it's called the end of at that time, but we'll just today we'll call it like employee experience.

Like what are people getting paid? Do they have like promotion, opport growth opportunities and promotion opportunities? They feel good coming into work. So we were really honed in on this concept. For newly promoted shift supervisors. We sent them to another university program, which was about building leadership skills.

And I loved that program so much. Like I loved going to it. I love sending people to it. I love supporting people. After they got back from the program, I was like, whatever this is, like, this is what I wanna do. Well, it's leadership development. I didn't know what it was called at the time. And so then I went and started my professional career and that's what I networked with people on.

I was like, I don't know what this thing's called, but I like helping people. I like helping them grow in these ways. And finally someone was like, that's leadership development. So then I had a name for it and, but that's, I think a really good example [00:30:00] of, I didn't have a name, but I had a feeling and I had an experience that I could share with people.

And by the way, sometimes, a lot of times as I was networking, people knew what that experience was. Maybe they weren't naming for it for me either. But they knew what I was talking about. And so then they would say things like, have you looked at, have you talked to this person? Or looked into this program.

Um, which then kind of gave me more information, more insight, more opportunities that, that eventually led me into. Um, for me, that was a step then into like literally leadership development role. And the reason why I got that role is, uh, one, I was qualified from some experience that I, uh, uh, skills and experience that I had.

But also it was with an organization that I spent a lot of time networking in at that time, uh, a United States, Olympic and Paralympic committee. 'cause I was very passionate about the mission and people knew that I cared about the organization. They knew I cared about leadership because I was asking about it.

And that that became a c contributor to why I got that role. So back to I, yeah, I didn't know what that was [00:31:00] called. I also didn't go in networking with people to say, I want this job. I was exploring and learning. But it all kind of like worked itself out in this like weird at what, I think it was weird at the time universe sort of way.

But now I think it really just comes down to like intention and curiosity and, and, and having faith in yourself in that what you know about you will continue to propel you forward. And I think it's cool that you didn't a, have a name for it or know exactly where you were going, but you just kind of kept feeling it out essentially.

And eventually things came full circle. Yeah. Absolutely. It's so funny as we're telling this story, I was like, and I think things would look so different now. Not, I think this is where people stay curious and also use the tools at hand because. Uh, now as I sit here, I'm like, I would've probably just asked Chad GBT, and I'm like, here's some stuff and some things that I like.

What is that? And I'd be like, it's leadership development. But I think it's also an example of use the tools at hand. Mm-hmm. To explore and tools exist in so many different shapes and [00:32:00] sizes and, um, and, and use them all because it, it really helped it, it all aids into your, into your journey. Well, maybe chat.

GPT cuts out some of the time now. Yeah, then be able to explore deeper, like, okay, what kind of leadership development? Like where does that exist? Where does that exist in my community? Like what are ways I can get started? For sure. I think it could accelerate it. Um, but back to something, I know this is a little off topic I'm passionate about with work is also ai, which is yes, I think it can accelerate that search, but I would encourage people to not also replace the other parts that I just shared, which is also networking and meeting with people.

Um, because ultimately. Work is still like a very human experience and we go to work with people, we have impact on people. And so to be able to learn people's stories, to explore how roles and careers actually shape out in the real world, not just on a, a search or from a, from an agent, like I think all of those things are still hugely important.

So yes, I think it can accelerate it and pair it still with like the human experience. Well, the human [00:33:00] experience, um, you know, helps to build that connection, which was probably helpful in getting you those roles later on in, in life. Absolutely. Roles and back to the move, like a place to, that feels like community.

That can also build like places that, in this case where I was living, all that's wrapped around into, into people. Well, thank you so much for sharing more of your experience and how you've pivoted and transitioned and taken pretty big risks and been able to navigate through.

Katie: I think it's really helpful and really interesting.

Do you have any other advice or anything that comes to mind that you think could be helpful along this topic that you'd wanna share with folks?

Carlee: Uh, I think you'd be surprised how many people are in this position, like exploring and kind of figuring it out. So one, I just like, I always like to say, you're not alone.

Two, when you start to share out loud, you'll be surprised how many people come along with you. Um, and three, I think, you know, go, go with what you know about yourself and be open to exploring that. Be open to, um, building [00:34:00] some intentionality on the things that you're sure of. Um, and, and go with confidence.

And, uh, know that at least in this case you have at least two, two voices behind you, um, supporting you. But I know it's just, it's so much bigger. It's so much bigger out there. And, um, enjoy the conversation and enjoy the journey. Would be, would, would be it.

Katie: I, I think that's really helpful. And maybe too, the more you share and open up, like you said, you might meet others who are on the same path or you just never know what someone could tell you that could be really helpful and help get you one further step along the journey, so.

Carlee: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Katie: Well, again, thank you so much for, for joining today. I really appreciate it and I really enjoyed talking with you and

Carlee: Thank you. Yeah, thank you. And, um, in the spirit of conversation. Folks can always connect with me on LinkedIn. I always put that out there. They're happy to shoot me a note or follow, um, the dialogue, but, uh, just know that they have a companion and supporter out there.

Katie: I hope this episode was helpful in illustrating the idea that [00:35:00] you don't always have to have your entire career path mapped out from A to Z. And if you continue to move toward opportunities that interest you, the path will often become clear. As an additional note, if you're ready to make a change in your career and don't know where to start, or it feels too overwhelming, check out.

Take a b coaching.com to learn more about a one-on-one coaching program designed to help you navigate a career pivot. Thanks for listening and take care.