Career transitions are not easy. I’ve been having some hard conversations with clients and friends lately who are deeply unsatisfied with their jobs, most often due to a toxic or poor workplace culture. They say things like, “I don’t know what else I would do – this is all I have ever done,” or “I don’t think another company would take a chance on me since I have not done that type of work before.”
Sound familiar? Perhaps you’ve faced a layoff, a forced retirement, or simply reached a point of exhaustion where you know you must change careers. The truth is, whether the change is forced upon you or courageously chosen, the loss of a job that defined you feels less like a career shift and more like an identity crisis. That title—Vice President, Partner, Senior Engineer—wasn’t just a line on your resume; it was your shield, your social currency, and the answer to “What do you do?”
When that shield is gone, it’s natural to feel destabilized. The discomfort you feel in this moment is the universe serving you a powerful lesson in inclusive leadership: you are being asked to pivot your sense of self from what you do to who you are and how you lead.
The Dangerous Comfort of a Defined Self
For many high-achieving leaders, the lines blur between work and self. Our professional roles are sources of validation, achievement, and, perhaps most importantly, belonging. We invest heavily in our careers because society rewards it. But when that structure collapses, what’s left?
This is the central challenge of the pivot point. It’s where fear and uncertainty try to take root. If my worth were tied to my organizational power, am I still valuable without it? This deep, existential anxiety can trigger the same kind of fear that inhibits psychological safety in the workplace—the fear of speaking up, of taking a risk, of being exposed. In this case, the risk is re-exposing yourself to the world without the camouflage of a familiar title.
But this moment of vulnerability is actually your greatest opportunity to lead.
The truth I’ve observed over and over is that the crisis isn’t the job loss itself; it’s the realization that you allowed external circumstances to define your internal value. To move forward, we have to reframe power. Your true power was never in the corner office; it’s in the competencies, values, and leadership DNA you’ve built along the way. Your power is your capacity to show up as an ally for your own future self.
Reframing Power: Your Values Are Your New Title
When navigating a transition that shakes your core, the first act of allyship must be for yourself. You need a structured approach to transition your internal narrative from the role you had to the impact you can make.
Here are three pivots to help you anchor your identity in something stronger than any job title:
1. Pivot from Resume to Values
Stop looking at your career change as a competence barrier (I don’t know the new skill) and start seeing it as an exercise in aligning with your core values.
If you were a successful leader in your old role, you already possess a set of robust, transferable traits: resilience, problem-solving, strategic thinking, and the ability to rally a team. Your task now is to audit your career history not for titles, but for the moments you felt most fulfilled and useful.
- Ask: When did I feel most like I belonged? Was it when you mentored a junior colleague? Was it when you stabilized a project in chaos?
- Action: List the top three values (e.g., courage, empathy, innovation) that showed up in those moments. These three values are your new, unshakeable identity. You are now defined by Courage and Empathy, not by Director of X.
2. Pivot from Cancel Culture to Coaching Culture
When you lose a job that defined you, it can feel like a professional cancellation. You might be prone to self-blame, regret, or questioning every decision you ever made. We need to intentionally shift this internal narrative from a punishing Cancel Culture to a supportive Coaching Culture.
Your previous job was a learning experience, not a final score. If you feel regret or a sense of failure, use the four R’s of an effective apology, but apply it to your own journey:
- Recognition: Recognize that the transition is painful and that you are grieving.
- Responsibility: Take responsibility for the lessons learned, not the outcome. What did you learn about stress management, work-life balance, or toxicity?
- Remorse: Allow yourself to feel the natural sadness without letting it become debilitating self-pity.
- Redress: This is the most important part—how will you actively redress this identity imbalance in your next chapter? (i.e., I will no longer prioritize a title over my personal time.)
This commitment to self-coaching empowers you to lead with clarity through the chaos.
3. Pivot Your Network from Colleagues to Allies
Your professional network often feels defined by the ecosystem of your old job. As you make a change, you need to transition your network from a list of contacts to a Board of Allies.
Reach out to people who represent diverse identities and industries. Share your new pivot point—be vulnerable about the identity shift. Ask for help not with finding a job, but with refining your purpose. An ally doesn’t just pass along a lead; they provide psychological safety, strategic perspective, and encouragement when you need it most.
By sharing your journey openly, you model the very behavior of vulnerability that inspires true inclusive leadership in others. You are showing that it’s okay to be in transition, and that your value is inherent, not dependent on your current employment status.
The Ultimate Act of Leadership
A career change, especially one that forces a shift in identity, is perhaps the most personal pivot point you’ll ever navigate. It requires immense courage over cowardice.
Remember: the goal of inclusion is to ensure everyone feels seen, heard, and that they belong. The first step in creating that environment for others is creating it for yourself. When you root your identity in your unshakeable values and your commitment to continuous learning, you become an authentic, powerful leader—no title required.
The next chapter starts now. What will your new values-based identity inspire you to do?
If you like this content, check out our Next Pivot Point workshops to bring this content to your organization.