pivoting without a blueprint
the /rōoted/ leader #25 - on trusting yourself, finding purpose, and allowing for recovery
only 1 week left to register for From Public Service to Self-Employment—a conversation for anyone facing a pivot and considering what’s next. Learn more below.
Back in October, I stood on the main stage at 92NY’s Women inPower Summit and talked about defiance and moral courage. To speak on the stage where so many of my favorite writers, activists, and heroines have spoken felt surreal—the kind of bucket list moment you don’t quite believe is happening even as it’s happening.
When we opened the floor to questions, someone asked me to talk about my own pivot from a career in public service to becoming an author, speaker, and entrepreneur. In that moment I realized this was a hard question to answer—not because I didn’t know how I’d gotten there, but because we’re so conditioned to expect a roadmap. A clear path from A to B to C and so on. A story that shows a logical progression and makes sense in retrospect.
But here’s the thing. Pivots by their very nature are rooted in twists and turns—and those twists and turns are different for each of us. There’s no universal blueprint for navigating what’s unique to your situation.
learn to trust yourself
If you’re turning to social media and looking for answers, you’re probably drowning in advice about pivots. Six-figure launches in 90 days. The “exact framework” that will guarantee success. Before and after transformations that make it look effortless.
And underneath all of that: the creeping comparison. Why is everyone else’s pivot going faster? Why do they seem so certain? What’s wrong with me that I’m scared and I don’t know what I’m doing?
If any of this feels familiar, here’s what I want you to know: I didn’t know what being out on my own was going to look like either.
I didn’t follow a cookie-cutter business model. I didn’t have a neat pivot story. I made it up as I went along, choosing to do things my way instead of the way I was “supposed” to—which is to say, instead of the way that’s rooted purely in extractive capitalism and designed to make you feel like you’re constantly behind.
But none of it looked like what I thought it would. And all of it required me to trust myself and the process unfolding within and around me, instead of other people’s Instagram highlight reels.
shift from survival to purpose
To do that I had to turn down the noise from the outside world and look within to figure out my “why.” And while for many of us the initial way is survival—we all have bills to pay. But just past that place of survival is where we find the thruline of our life and work—the thing that gives our life meaning and purpose. For me, I realized that every pivot, even while still in my civil service job, started with the same question: How can I serve? Not how can I scale? Not how can I monetize fastest? Just, how can I be useful?
That question led me from studying law to serving vulnerable populations as a civil servant. It then led to pivoting within my job to serve my colleagues navigating trauma in our work with refugees and asylum seekers. It then led to pivoting into serving people across trauma-exposed professions through my company, Roots in the Clouds, my book, Tell Me My Story—Challenging the Narrative of Service Before Self, and my podcasts, Service Without Sacrifice and What Would Ted Lasso Do? And even now, as I continue to grow and evolve, I find myself pivoting into serving people seeking slow living and authentic connection through storytelling and ritual through ambika | media.
allow for self-compassion and recovery
I chose to leave federal service in 2021 because I knew things were starting to shift and staying meant falling out of alignment with my values. And though the ground felt shaky, the level of instability was nothing like it is today. For many currently facing a pivot—especially if the pivot was unexpected—the experience is very different. Rising authoritarianism. High unemployment. Inflation. Environmental degradation. The weaponization of empathy. We’re navigating an era of polycrisis for which there is no map.
And there’s something else many of us are carrying that I want to name directly: moral injury and institutional betrayal. The kind of harm that comes from working inside systems that asked us to violate our own values, or that betrayed the mission we signed up to serve. For those leaving now, it’s not just about navigating a career transition—it’s also about navigating the aftermath of being harmed by the very institution we gave years of our lives to.
The fear of striking out on your own is strong in the best of circumstances—but now, it’s compounded because the external conditions are objectively worse. The external landscape is more hostile. Pivoting in this period of time not only requires greater self-compassion, but it requires that the internal work of recovering from these experiences be factored into any next steps.
what nobody tells us about pivots
Pivots aren’t random. Even when they feel chaotic or are unexpected, there’s a throughline, a series of dots that are being connected, even if we can’t see the pattern or connections yet.
Micro-pivots matter. All those small experiments and side paths that felt like distractions were actually filled with lessons. Broadening our perspective. Opening us to possibilities we hadn’t considered.
Pivots are a lifelong practice. We all experience pivots throughout our life—it’s just the degree or impact often differs. So this isn’t the first, and it likely won’t be the last. Every pivot is an opportunity to grow into the next version of ourselves. Sometimes we choose it. Sometimes it chooses us. Either way, there’s something to learn in the spaces in between if we stay open.
The fear is real. In these moments, our nervous systems take over and do exactly what they were designed to do. But here’s the thing. We have the strength and capacity to survive, and dare I say flourish through each pivot along the way. But this requires choosing not to let fear drive our actions and staying open to what unfolds. Simple, but rarely ever easy. But, what I can tell you from experience that when we can learn to do it, there’s no telling where the pivot might lead us.
In solidarity + gratitude,
If you’re a current or former public servant or humanitarian professional trying to figure out your next move, I’m hosting a small group conversation on December 10th called From Public Service to Self-Employment.
Many of us grew up being told that careers—especially those in public service— were stable, secure, a good choice. But the past decade has shown us the world is changing. The future is likely more gig-oriented, more fluid, and maybe that’s terrifying or maybe it’s oddly freeing—or both at once.
To be clear—this session is not a business blueprint or a success formula—it’s a 90-minute conversation where we’ll talk about the realities of transitioning from a career working for others, to building something on our own—something I wish I would have had access to when I was making this pivot.
Even if you don’t know exactly what you want to do yet, joining this conversation might help spark some ideas, answer questions you didn’t know you had, and help you feel less alone in the uncertainty.
Details
When: Wednesday, December 10, 2025 | 2:00-3:30pm EST
Where: Zoom (link provided upon registration)
Investment: $75 (a portion of all proceeds will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank)
What You’ll Get:
A live, 90-minute session via Zoom. This small group session will be a hands-on and offer space for discussion and reflection. I’ll also share my experiences as I transitioned from 18 years in federal service to launching my own business, offer practical tips and advice, and answer any questions from the group
A toolkit with resources and practical information to consider when transitioning from public service to self-employment
Recording of the session to revisit whenever you need it