My Story

I’ve learned through experience that a successful career path looks less like a superhighway and more like a poorly marked hiking trail. I spent the last three years of my career happily climbing the corporate ladder, building relationships throughout my organization, leading a growing team, and racking up international flight miles — err, I mean management experience — but my work life did not always look so rosy. 

Several jobs into my career and a year out of business school, I hit my first major professional obstacle, and it wasn’t pretty. I was working as a management consultant, burning the midnight oil to build my first-ever model on a tight time frame, struggling with a difficult boss, and “living” (when not working or traveling for work) in a city that I had previously loved but was now kind of stressing me out. For the first time, I was receiving frequent negative feedback — for which my career thus far and people-pleasing tendencies left me wildly unprepared — and getting through each day by telling myself that at some point that night I would get to go to sleep. Living the dream, right?! I had totally and completely lost my career mojo, and it happened fast.

After too many months of this fairly miserable existence, I decided the time had come for a career change. I put in the work to move past my negative experiences and start rebuilding my confidence. I used the method I now share with Happy High Achiever clients to land multiple job offers in a city that I love. Then, former colleagues, friends, and b-school peers started calling, beaten down by their own jobs and looking for help making a pivot. I realized that if these incredible men and women had also taken a hit to their mojos, then a) this was clearly a natural part of the career cycle and b) something they could all overcome, just as I had. 

Over time, despite my growing responsibility and visibility at my company, I felt a nagging that I couldn’t ignore to have a bigger, more meaningful impact. Thanks to the notes of appreciation and generous feedback from those I’d advised over the years, I realized that I offer a unique and effective approach to navigating career challenges and landing fantastic new roles. From my work with a diversity of individuals, I’ve also realized that the “unlock” is different for each of us — one person’s “aha” moment is another person’s intuitive action, and vice versa; the key is in finding that unlock for each client. Finally, I recognized that it would be impossible to continue to dedicate the time and attention my role and my growing team demanded while launching my own business; it had to be one or the other. Daunting as it was, the desire to help professionals regain their happiness and career fulfillment outweighed the need to continue my trajectory up the corporate ladder. So, after months of mental preparation, I took the leap: I gave notice at work, and — after a few months traveling the southern hemisphere with my husband — founded Happy High Achiever.

If my mission or story resonates with you, please learn more about HHA coaching programs, schedule a free 30-minute strategy call, or join the Happy High Achiever email list. And you can always send me a message directly — I’d love to hear from you!