What would you do if the thing you built your identity around vanished overnight?

Join me as I sit down with Channelle Charest - a former executive at a rapidly scaling, venture-backed tech company that imploded almost overnight. What followed wasn’t just a career shift. It was an identity reckoning.

Channelle and I shared that experience from the inside. We were leaders. We were deeply invested. We believed in what we were building. And then suddenly, it was gone.

This conversation isn’t about scandal. It’s about what happens after the collapse - when titles disappear, roles dissolve, and you’re left asking: Who am I without this?

We talk about tying your identity to your work, the grief of losing something you loved, the pressure to rebuild quickly, and the uncomfortable (but necessary) process of reevaluating what actually matters.

This is an honest conversation about ambition, burnout, code-switching, discipline, self-talk, and what it means to evolve - especially when evolution isn’t your choice.

You’ll Learn:

⭐ Why high achievers struggle to slow down (even when they need to)
⭐ The cost of tying your worth to performance
⭐ How to rebuild after professional loss
⭐ Why discipline can be more powerful than hustle
⭐ What legacy really means beyond achievement

Key Insights:

Identity Can Get Over-Enmeshed with Work:
When your vocation becomes your entire identity, losing it can feel like losing yourself.

Success Isn’t the Same as Alignment:
You can have impact, money, community, and influence - and still need to reevaluate who you are within it.

Discipline > Overdrive:
Growth sometimes means restraining your natural strengths instead of overusing them.

Women Code-Switch More Than They Realize:
Many female leaders feel pressure to shift identities between work and home - something men are often culturally exempt from.

Legacy Isn’t Empire-Building:
It’s laying bricks that raise the baseline for someone else.

Timestamps:

[00:00:00] – Introduction: When the thing you built disappears
[00:04:00] – Working together in a high-growth tech company
[00:08:00] – Identity, performance, and authenticity
[00:17:00] – The implosion and the grief that followed
[00:22:00] – Survival mode vs. reflection mode
[00:27:00] – Rebuilding your identity from scratch
[00:30:00] – Choosing values over prestige
[00:36:00] – Discipline, overdrive, and self-awareness
[00:44:00] – Inflection points and evolution
[01:04:00] – Redefining 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 Channelle Charest on LinkedIn

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, follow the show, and leave a review. And if you’re navigating a season of professional transition or identity shift, join my newsletter at BeldenStrategies.com/newsletter for more conversations about leadership, reinvention, and building what’s next.