From Career Progression to Building Something of My Own
Sade Akindele spent nearly a decade at a global engineering and design firm, most recently leading culture change work around sustainability. She had built her career on paper: the credentials, the title, the progression. And yet, she couldn’t shake the same question so many women ask themselves: is this it?
In early 2024 she left, and Women on Our Way (WOOW), a career community helping women rethink what they want from work, blossomed out of what came next. What started with a handful of honest conversations grew into a room, then a community of 1,500+ women.
Sade will share the story behind that transition, from questioning a career that looked successful from the outside to building something of her own, and what she has learned along the way.
The conversation will explore:
- Knowing when it’s time to move on — and what to do when you don’t have the next step figured out
- From employee to founder — navigating the identity, mindset and practical shifts that come with building something of your own
- Building WOOW from the ground up — how a few conversations became a growing community
- Growth, uncertainty and experimentation — what starting something new has taught Sade about making decisions without having all the answers
- What women are really asking for from work — and how WOOW is supporting women to rethink their careers and create working lives that fit
