If you follow this newsletter, then this email is probably shocking.
It’s been a year since my last newsletter. (Why does that sound like I’m admitting something in AA?)

Here’s the deal…

I got distracted. Distracted by work, mostly. But also distracted by a second fall/winter/spring of lockdown. Distracted by trying to push myself (only somewhat successfully) out of my hermit ways when the lockdown ended. Distracted by finishing my graduate studies.

Let’s cut to the chase and cover the basics as quickly as possible:

Last fall the co-founders where I work went through a bad breakup. I felt dragged through it like I was the member of a their family choosing which parent to live with instead of just a member of the executive team trying to get a job done.
Despite starting 2022 with hopes for a fresh start, things didn’t quite turn out as I had hoped. I found myself feeling even more alone in trying to execute the product strategy than ever before. When weeks of this turned into months, I made the excruciating decision to leave.
My team has been notified and I’m working on a simple and painfree handover.

So here I am standing on the doorstep of change. I am not sure what is next and no amount of asking me will get you an answer. I am considering consulting. I am considering going into Executive Coaching. I am considering joining post-founder companies. I am considering whether I’m willing to give up the T in CPTO (Chief Product & Technology Officer)…currently I am not.

I am also considering where I want to live. I think I am done with Berlin specifically and Germany in general. So that leaves only a million other places to choose from.

What I know is that my mind and my heart need to be writing again. I need to be free of the constraint I felt in my most recent role to say what I want, when I want, and how I want. I need the freedom to create, advise, coach, and story-tell in my own ways.

I ask that you forgive my silence and be patient as I blow the dust off my writing skills.

xo,

Leah

Notes in the Margins

The Only Thing Constant is Change