Episode Details

In this episode of the Be the CEO of Your Career summer series, Tammy Gooler Loeb explores the fourth practice in her framework: Map and Launch Your Career Strategy. Once professionals have connected with their values, explored possibilities, and found a direction that fits, the next challenge is turning that clarity into action. This means creating a real plan with steps and timelines, one that is grounded not only in aspirations but also in practical realities.

Tammy brings the practice to life through her conversation with Susan Barber, a leading executive coach and former corporate executive. Susan spent more than two decades in leadership roles while navigating perfectionism, people-pleasing, self-doubt, and a tendency to stay quiet rather than risk saying the wrong thing. Even while being recognized as a top talent, she didn't fully realize how her habit of staying in the background was affecting her career.

That changed when Susan received difficult feedback that she wasn't visible enough. Initially, the message was painful and unsettling, but Susan chose not to ignore it. With the help of a business mentor, she reframed the feedback and recognized that speaking up wasn't simply about promoting herself. By withholding information, ideas, and the accomplishments of her team, she could unintentionally limit both her own impact and the ability of others to make informed decisions.

Susan began preparing differently, speaking up more intentionally, and bringing her team into important conversations. Those changes transformed how she showed up as a leader and eventually became the foundation of her work around visibility. Later, when she made the decision to leave corporate leadership and build her own business, she approached the transition with an understanding of her actual circumstances, including the resources and support available to her.

In This Week's Podcast, Learn More About:

• What it means to Map and Launch Your Career Strategy
• Why career clarity must eventually turn into action
• Creating a plan grounded in both goals and practical realities
• Why readiness doesn't always feel like confidence
• How difficult feedback can become a catalyst for change
• Recognizing when staying safe is keeping you hidden
• The difference between visibility and self-promotion
• Why speaking up can benefit your team as well as your career
• How Susan reframed feedback into concrete action
• Preparing in advance to show up with greater confidence
• Building a career strategy around your actual resources and circumstances
• Why launching a plan requires more than quietly preparing behind the scenes
• How becoming visible can create new opportunities

Learn more:

• Read: The Visibility Factor: Breakthrough Your Fears, Stand In Your Own Power And Become The Authentic Leader You Were Meant To Be
• Read: Your Journey To Visibility Workbook: A Proven Action Plan to Achieve Career Success
• Listen: The Visibility Factor podcast
• Visit: SusanMBarber.com
• LinkedIn: SusanBarberCoaching



Your CEO of Your Career Move:

Look at your career plan honestly.