Episode 80 Reinventing Your Career: From Comfortable to Courageous with Sarah Warrington
What happens when your career looks successful on paper… but no longer feels aligned?
In this episode, Sarah is joined by Sarah Warrington, Head of Marketing at a private higher education institution, who shares her honest and inspiring career journey - from leaving accountancy after just 18 months, to building a meaningful leadership career in higher education marketing.
We explore the realities of career progression, navigating values misalignment, asking for what you really want, and why compassionate leadership can be a powerful advantage rather than a weakness.
Sarah also opens up about the coaching process that helped her gain clarity, confidence and the courage to make a career move while protecting the flexibility and family balance that mattered most to her.
This episode is full of reassurance and practical insight for anyone feeling stuck, professionally unfulfilled, or ready to redefine success on their own terms.
In This Episode We Discuss
- Knowing when a career path no longer fits
- Leaving a “safe” profession early in your career
- Building a meaningful career in higher education marketing
- The importance of values alignment at work
- Why visibility and asking for opportunities matters
- Negotiating flexible working successfully
- Career coaching and building confidence
- Managing your inner critic
- Compassionate leadership and emotional intelligence
- Leadership in fast-paced startup environments
- Balancing ambitious work with family, wellbeing and personal growth
Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction to Sarah Warrington and her current role
01:00 – Leaving accountancy and finding the right career path
02:00 – Moving through higher education roles and discovering marketing
03:15 – Stepping into leadership for the first time
04:10 – The challenge of asking for progression and opportunities
05:40 – Why working hard alone doesn’t guarantee promotion
06:10 – Feeling stuck and discovering coaching
07:20 – Realising something was no longer aligned
08:10 – The fear of losing flexibility and work-life balance
09:10 – How coaching created clarity and self-awareness
10:10 – Managing the inner critic and building confidence
11:15 – Trying new things, networking and exploring possibilities
12:00 – “Rejection is redirection” and navigating the job search
12:45 – Negotiating compressed hours in a new role
13:10 – Discovering compassionate leadership as a strength
14:20 – Leadership in a startup-style environment
15:40 – Balancing leadership, family and wellbeing
16:30 – Why hobbies and volunteering create perspective and energy
17:20 – Sarah’s reflections on the impact of coaching
18:20 – What “unstuck and unstoppable” means to Sarah
Useful Links
Connect with Sarah Warrington on LinkedIn
Flexible Working People FaceBook Group
Sign up for Weekly Career Inspiration
Learn about Leadership & Advancement Coaching Programmes
Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn
Rate & Review the Podcast
If you found this episode of Unstuck & Unstoppable helpful, please do rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
If you're kind enough to leave a review, please do let Sarah know so she can say thank you. You can always reach her at: sarah@careertreecoaching.co.uk
