What happens when the company you helped build disappears - and you’re left rebuilding your identity in real time?

Join me as I sit down with Michelle Skoor - former colleague, executive teammate, and one of the most grounded leaders I know. We worked side-by-side inside a fast-scaling, venture-backed social impact tech company that ultimately imploded. What followed wasn’t just professional transition - it was personal reckoning.

In this conversation, we unpack what it means to lead through uncertainty, to question your own judgment, and to sit with the uncomfortable space between who you were and who you’re becoming.

Michelle shares how their years as a competitive gymnast shaped their leadership style, why they've only applied for a traditional job twice in 25 years, and how intentionally building relationships over decades created the foundation for their next chapter.

We talk about identity, imposter syndrome, risk tolerance, burnout, menopause, parenting, privilege, privilege’s responsibility, and the courage it takes to get quiet before rebuilding.

This is an honest conversation about ambition, grief, resilience, and redefining legacy - not as titles or status, but as impact and love.

You’ll Learn:

⭐ How early life experiences shape your leadership muscle
⭐ Why building relationships over time matters more than “networking”
⭐ How to recover after a professional implosion
⭐ Why quiet seasons can be strategic
⭐ The difference between being good at something and wanting to do it
⭐ How to evaluate sustainability before saying yes

Key Insights:

Risk Tolerance Is Built Over Time:
Trying things - in sports, in startups, in life - creates the muscle to navigate uncertainty.

Identity Can Over-Attach to Work:
When roles disappear, you’re forced to separate your worth from your title.

Quiet Is Not Failure:
Taking space to reflect, heal, and reset can be the most strategic move you make.

Sustainability Matters:
Mission-driven work without a path to financial health is fragile - and leaders must ask harder questions.

Legacy Is Dual:
It’s the work you’re proud of and the love you cultivate at home.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] – Introduction: Leading through uncertainty
[00:07:00] – Gymnastics, risk-taking, and leadership muscle
[00:18:00] – Early career, imposter syndrome, and building access
[00:25:00] – Intentional relationship-building vs. networking
[00:33:00] – Writing a personal manifesto
[00:42:00] – The implosion and identity reckoning
[00:50:00] – Asking harder questions about sustainability
[00:57:00] – The power of quiet seasons
[01:05:00] – Parenting, re-parenting, and legacy

Resources and Links:

Find host Kristin Belden on LinkedIn or at BeldenStrategies.com
Sign up for more conversations and insights at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter

Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow the show, and leave a review. And if you’re navigating your own transition - whether by choice or by force - join my newsletter at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter for more conversations about leadership, resilience, and building what’s next.