Ep. 14: From Control Freak to Career Coach: My Pivot Story
She calls herself the “Queen of Pivots” (unofficial title, but fitting).
Today, Laura Dionisio gets real about why change has shaped every bold move in her career and how embracing pivots turned into her life’s calling.
In this deeply personal solo episode of The Pivot Point, Laura pulls back the curtain on her own career journey, from a cha-cha childhood that taught her change is inevitable, to high-achieving control-freak tendencies, to the New York assignment that cracked her wide open. What started as a career curveball became a doorway into inner joy, personal development, and the boldest pivot of all: choosing a heart-led career.
She shares the messy middles, the panic attacks no one saw coming, and the surprising ways surrendering control led to greater alignment. Most importantly, she reveals how the frameworks she now teaches were born out of her own pivots and why she believes every ambitious high-achiever must see themselves as the leader of their own life.
If you’ve ever been “successful on paper” but quietly misaligned in your soul, this episode will light a fire under you to stop settling and start leading your life with heart.
What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
✔️ How Laura’s childhood shaped her fearless relationship with change
✔️ The double-edged sword of being “the planner” and why control can backfire
✔️ The messy New York assignment that forced her into presence (and joy)
✔️ The panic attacks that signaled it was time for inner work
✔️ Why personal development cracked open her career path to coaching
✔️ The three components of becoming the leader of your life
Proceed as if success is inevitable—because it is.
Feeling the itch to pivot? Start with the Heart-Aligned Career Transition Starter at
https://www.leadintact.com/freebies/heart-aligned-career
And if you’re ready for one-on-one support, book a free 20-min call at
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Laura: You are listening to The Pivot Point where we unpack the defining moments that shift careers and lives. I'm your host, Laura Dionisio, a founder of Lead Intact , and my mission is to spotlight the raw real stories behind career pivots, the fears, the hopes. The messy middles and the bold decisions that follow if you're feeling stuck or quietly wondering what's next?
I hope these stories help you see yourself a little more clearly and inspire you to start moving toward your own dream life. Let's begin.
Introduction and Host Reintroduction
Laura: Welcome to another episode of The Pivot Point . I'm your host, Laura Dionisio, also known as the Queen of Pivots. Okay, fine. Maybe nobody actually called me that, but hear me out. There's a reason behind it. We are several episodes into The Pivot Point , and I, for one, have had an amazing time. I hope you have as well.
I've had some pretty cool solo episodes where I share my experiences and stories and some tools and tips. I've had the most amazing guests ever, and so I thought it was time to reintroduce myself, give a little bit more of my background, and more importantly, share why The Pivot Point . Why this topic and this particular phase in life is so near and dear to my heart.
Early Life and Embracing Change
Laura: So going back to my claim that I am the queen of pivots, I don't say that lightly. I say that because I started pivoting actually in childhood. I have what I affectionately call a chacha childhood. I was born in the Philippines, moved to the US age four, moved back to the Philippines, age eight, and then moved back again to the US age 14.
Growing up. For me, change was a norm. It was just something that happened in life. It was all that I had known really. So I took that with. In my teenage years to my adult years, and then finally when I entered the career workforce. And what that means is that because I saw change as just something that of course happened, although I was still scared to make any change I didn't let fear get in the way or keep me stuck in a place where I was truly unhappy. What do you think it would look like for you if you viewed change as the norm? Do you think this would help in your decision making? Do you think it would allow you to have more courage, be a little bit more brave and pursue your desires?
I'm curious. Let me know in the comments. I'd love to hear from you.
Career Journey and Control
Laura: For me at least, it definitely made me a lot more brave, and if I am being really honest, it also made me be a little bit control freaky, because looking back I realized change for me was not in my control as a child. Obviously, I was not the one who decided to move back and forth between countries.
However, as an adult, because I saw change as some, this is subconscious of course, because I saw change as something that was inevitable. I was like, well, if it's inevitable, then I better be the one to make all the decisions. That meant that in adulthood as I navigated my career, and also like life transitions, meaning moving and things like that, I felt like I needed to be in charge the whole way through.
What this looked like was if I had a desire to do something. I needed to be in control of every step of the way. I needed to plan it out. I needed to have a plan A, a plan B, and then steps mapped out for all of it. And guess what? It worked really well for me. I got a lot of accolades at work.
I was applauded for being such a future oriented thinker. Applauded for coming up with plans, applauded for being able to be put in situations, projects, and the like, where there was almost no definition and coming up with definition. And honestly, I thrived. I loved it. And over time it kind of just built up. I found myself.
Always thinking about the future to the point where when I would finally accomplish the thing, whatever the thing was, I never took the time to celebrate whenever somebody would say, good job, or I would get a thank you and gratitude in form of a bonus or a pay increase or promotion.
I just. Took it in stride and saw it as additional pressure to continue moving forward. And what do you think happens when you don't take the time to actually celebrate your wins? You guessed it. I was basically a pressure cooker waiting to burst. And just like any pressure cooker, you know, physics dictates at some point it's gonna burst.
So for me, it wasn't a burst per se. Let's just say that at some point I allowed myself enough of a pause. Where I was able to let the steam out. Okay, so fine. That's a lie. I didn't allow anything. Like I said, I was a control freak, all right? I didn't allow anything. But what I did is I said yes to an opportunity.
The Turning Point: New York Assignment
Laura: This was when I was living in Southern California at the time. I said yes to an opportunity that was completely undefined that didn't quote unquote make sense from a career trajectory standpoint, but that my heart. Was urging me to take, and this was a temporary relocation assignment to upstate New York.
I talk more about this in a different episode, which I'll link in the show notes, but once I got that position, once I was in New York I couldn't do what I normally did. I couldn't plan my way through, at least not in the beginning, because I didn't know what my role was supposed to be.
I didn't know who I was supposed to be working with. The roles and responsibilities weren't clear. I didn't even have a place to stay, nor could I get in contact with the organization that was supposed to help me get settled. I was living outta a suitcase for three weeks, although at the time I didn't know it was gonna be three weeks, it could have been one month.
Two I could not plan anything. Y'all, you can imagine what that did to control of freak like me was not fun. However, I will be forever grateful for that time. I'm glad now that the logistics went so. Wrong and that no one was prepared for me even though they wanted me there like yesterday. Why? It forced me into a pause.
Discovering Inner Joy and Anxiety
Laura: There was nothing else for me to think through to plan because I had already exhausted what was in my control to do. So I had to sit in the present. And when I did that, I started noticing things and I started remembering. The little things in life that really brought me joy. As an example, I started going on walks around the hotel.
It was winter, so I didn't walk far, but even so, I was just like, oh, I like walks. And it brought me back to childhood moments when I would just go walk through the park or walk around the neighborhood looking at the houses by myself and how much I enjoyed that. I realized in that moment that I hadn't done that in a long time because I was always looking ahead, always thinking about what's next.
Always thinking that I had to be in motion in order to be in control of the inevitable change to come. During this time, I remembered how much I love just staring out in nature. I'm talking about I'd be having breakfast there at the hotel. I very vividly, clearly remember this sitting there having breakfast.
Looking outside and the sun was just starting to come up and I could see the reflection of the sun on the snow, and I didn't grow up with snow. I lived in Southern California and also the Philippines, and I was just like, wow, look how beautiful that is. I really, really receive the joy and the present.
That is the present time. And in that pause, my other emotions also caught up to me, the fear of doing something wrong, the fear of judgment if I didn't quote unquote perform as well as what was expected of me. Because it was such an overwhelming amount of emotion in my body that I hadn't processed for years, hadn't allowed myself to feel for years.
It manifested as anxiety in my body. So at that time, now, mind you, this was, what, 11 years ago now? I didn't have the language. I wasn't the kind of person who could tell you what I was feeling. If you had asked me at the time, how do you feel? I would say like. Oh, I feel like I don't have control over things, which is not a feeling, right?
That's a thought. That's a thinking statement. I could identify the feelings of like joy and openness and stuff like that, but the other feelings were so foreign to me that it was like my body felt overwhelmed and it manifested into anxiety with my body. And if you're thinking like, wow, so many words.
Laura, what do you mean? What I mean is like I started getting panic attacks basically, and at the time I was like, where's this coming from? All I did was look at my calendar to see what was there to do. I didn't know it at the time, but my body just needed time and space to process these unfelt emotions in my body.
And it came out as panic attacks. Now mind you, as much as I became more open to the present, and as much as I learned to really love the really simple day-to-day things, things, I still didn't really have the tools or the capacity to understand what was happening. So my mindset at the time was.
I cannot be walking out of the office for 20 minutes a day just so I can breathe better. This is impeding my performance. We cannot have that. I'm not even joking. That was really how I approached things. Listeners can you vibe with that? Tell me I'm not alone and. It doesn't matter what the motivation is.
Kudos to Past Me for recognizing that there was a problem and I needed to do something about it.
Personal Development and The Adult Chair
Laura: So that was the doorway to me starting personal development. At first I got really hooked on Myers-Briggs, and then I got really hooked on the Enneagram and I just started learning.
More of these like unconscious beliefs, limiting stories that kind of thing. And as I started to grow language around my experience, I dropped the narrative of I have to do this because my performance is being impeded. And it just became a joyful, fun thing for me to learn about myself. I was just like, wow.
My inner world is so cool because as I was doing the inner world, it wasn't all like, what is my fear? What are my limiting beliefs about myself? It was also like a reclamation of all these beautiful things that I loved as a child that I completely forgot about in lieu of being a high performer.
So that was really the start of me really, really. Doing the inner work. Now over time, what I notice is that the more I did the inner work, the more I actually did perform better at work, and I was starting to understand that, oh, I am. One person. I am not like, oh, at work I must show this persona and you know, my inner world, like nobody's allowed to see it.
Not that nobody's allowed, but like it is not proper for me to show it and I must always be like this robot high performer thing, right? I started to understand the value and impact of personal work and I started to see reflections of how I used to act in my coworkers. And I started to see, wow, like this stuff that I'm learning.
There is a need for this to be taught in unexpected spaces like corporate arena, things like that that are so quote unquote, needing to be a certain kind of way. And this led me to eventually get into the adult chair by Michelle Chalfant. And that really changed my life. It really changed my life.
It was just such a simple framework that I started to use it in my day-to-day life. I'll put resources on the adult chair here, or I'll probably do another separate episode in adult chair itself and how that ties into leadership as I see it. But in any case I got so.
Becoming a Coach and Helping Others
Laura: I guess involved or like, I was so touched by the adult chair that when Michelle announced that she was doing a coaching certification program, there was something in my heart that said, go for it.
Did I listen? Not at first, because again, I was still now at this point, this was like five years ago now, five or six years ago, and. I was still very, corporate heavy, like care very much about my career. So in my mind, the logic, quote unquote, was like, why would you pay close to 10 K at the time for a certification that is not directly applicable to your career?
So I was like, okay, you're right, you're right. Voice. I'm not gonna do it. So close the application, but something in me was like. This certification's the next step. So I opened the application again. I started filling it out, and then the other voice was like, okay, maybe this could help you in all the volunteering work that you do, because at the time, I was heavily involved in a volunteering organization for women.
Specifically in the leadership aspect, I was the VP of education . And so the voice in my head was saying. Why would you spend 10 K on a program to help in the space where you are volunteering? There's no ROI here, or the ROI is not great.
So I was like, okay, you're right, voice, you're right. But then finally another friend who was following the adult chair texted me and said, Hey, I heard that Michelle's doing a coaching certification. I think you should do it. And almost like I just needed that outside validation that was already saying what my heart was saying for me to be like, all right, I'm gonna do it.
Best decision of my life. Best decision. Why? Because it opened up a whole new career track, if you will, at the time that I didn't know was gonna turn into what it is today. If I hadn't said yes to me at that time. I think about all the clients that I've helped in the four years that I've been doing this, I wouldn't have been able to help them.
I wouldn't have been able to walk through with them as they were making their own. Bold pivots. I wouldn't be able to stand up and teach a group of life coaches why their voice matters and who their target audience is and how could they be best of service. I wouldn't have been able to instill confidence in the entrepreneurs that I talked to.
I wouldn't have been able to really give advice and guide other people who are looking to have that uncomfortable but needed conversation to their boss about a promotion or about a pay increase. All that I would've missed out on my clients and all my other peers and friends who I've helped along the way would've missed out on if I didn't say yes to me.
So it didn't make sense at the time, but it makes sense now and. That was really the first time. Like I said, queen of Pivots been pivoting since childhood, but that was the first time I not only made a bold pivot, but it was a bold heart led pivot. The first decision that I made, that I allowed my heart to lead and.
I'm so grateful for it. Over time I really started to pay more attention to like what are some of the processes that I've come up with on my own, like, 'cause I have basically taken the adult chair model. I have taken certain things like Simon Sinek, like start with Why, i, over the years, have started to come up with my own frameworks, processes, and that kind of thing so that I can help people even more in their own pivots, whether it's career or life oriented.
And I have to say, it's interesting. I am four years now into this business and I have changed my marketing a little bit, positioning a little bit. But now that I'm here in this moment, I realize that my gut instinct to focus on leadership, basically, teaching people to stand up and let their inner leader shine, is still actually true.
Leadership and Bold Moves
Laura: Yes, I love to be of service to those who are looking to understand what their next bold step is in their career and or their life. And in order to do that, it really does start with you allowing your inner leader to step up and say, yes, I am the leader of my life. Because here's the thing, you could just live your life.
Just kind of like going with the flow, letting things come to you and maybe saying yes and staying comfortable. And if that's your jam. Awesome, have fun. But if you're here listening to me, if you're attracted to my messaging or you're just like, there's something about Laura, I'm into her vibe, that tells me that there is a small voice inside you that's saying, no, I'm ready to expand.
I'm ready for what's next. I'm ready to be bold. And if that's the case, the first step is to see yourself as a leader. Because I will tell you, if you don't see yourself as a leader, there can be this amazing opportunity in front of you, but it may not be clear at the time that it's an amazing opportunity because maybe it's not what you're used to.
It's not quote unquote in your field. And if you're just kind of going off of a playbook that says you're supposed to be safe and stay in your lane, so to speak. You may not even say yes to that opportunity. That's like been handed to you. If you see yourself as a leader, to me, there are three components of that.
Then that means that you are aware of how you're feeling, you're aware of what's going on. In your inner world, like your feelings, what you really want, what you're scared of, what your limiting beliefs are. Okay, you have accountability for what part is yours, meaning you don't just say, I. Have to be in this job.
'cause I have to pay the bills. I have to stay here because my family's relying on me. Rather, you're taking accountability for the choices you're making and you're saying, I choose to be here. I choose to be in this job. I choose to stay here to support my family. Okay. Like how much more empowering is that versus I have to.
Okay. And then three, from that space of awareness of accountability. Then you take aligned action, right? Because I'm here to encourage bold moves. Bold, courageous decisions, bold action, not staying stuck, not impulsive actions like we're not here for that, but we are here for the boldness of it all.
Conclusion and Call to Action
Laura: If you're listening to this and you are resonating so deeply, I would love to walk you through one of my upcoming programs called The Career Reclamation Journey.
What I talk about today is just a small piece of that, and if you are resonating with this. Book a call. It's gonna be in the show notes. Let's walk through your next step, your next bold move, and then we can see if you're a match for that program or if there's any other way that I could support you, and if this really resonated, would appreciate if you would like this episode.
Write a comment, share this with your friends. Write a review. Just so other people can find this podcast and we can share more of this goodness. And with that, always remember to proceed as if success is inevitable because it is. I'll talk to you next time.
All right, friend. That's it for today's drop. If this episode hits something deep, don't just sit with it, act on it. Share this with a friend who needs to hear it, and then head to www.leadintact.com to grab your free heart aligned career transition starter, or book a free 20 minute call with me. I'm here when you're ready to stop feeling stuck and start moving toward what you really want.
Catch you next time.