Permission to Leave: Reading the Signs Before Burnout with Sally J. Clarke
Staying isn’t always strength, and walking away isn’t always failure. Sally J. Clarke, co-author of Walk Away: Step Out to Step Up, joins Lori Adams-Brown to unpack why high-performing leaders so often wait for a crisis before giving themselves permission to leave.
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Why a role can look right on paper, title, compensation, trajectory, while quietly stopping to fit, and how to tell a structural misalignment from a personal failure
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The story behind the research: 40+ interviews with women across finance, technology, and the arts, including a founder underestimated in the boardroom who went on to build her own global company culture
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Why walking away is rarely emotional and almost always strategic, and what that reframe offers women taught that leaving means failing
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How culture, from Singapore to Germany to the United States, shapes whether leaving feels like a free choice or a forced one
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What recent comments from prominent tech leaders reveal about shifting corporate culture, and one question every leader can ask themselves this week
Sally J. Clarke is an award-winning author and global business leader based in Singapore. She spent over a decade leading global marketing and communications at FIS and Markit, has advised organisations including Mitsubishi, Accenture, and the Singapore Stock Exchange, and is the co-author of Walk Away: Step Out to Step Up and author of the bestselling novel Ringside Gamble, winner of the 2025 Ink Prize for Best Debut Novel.
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00:00 — Welcome and introduction to Sally J. Clarke
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00:38 — The origin story: questioning whether “staying the course” is always right
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02:01 — Why Walk Away exists: the conversation in Singapore that started it
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03:35 — Beyond Lean In: how the conversation around women and ambition has shifted
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04:35 — When a role looks right on paper but has stopped fitting
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06:52 — Dr. Meena Kaushik: underestimated in the boardroom, she built her own company culture
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09:12 — Embracing fear and the “learning and earning” mindset
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11:44 — Permission, structural misalignment, and the personal-failure trap
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12:37 — Alice Chen: a near-death wake-up call and leading with empathy
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15:29 — Maternity leave, human limits, and humane leadership
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17:15 — The scorecard method and a mentor’s advice on vision
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19:16 — Why career growth isn’t a straight line
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21:34 — How culture shapes the choice to leave
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23:26 — The zebra and the lion: knowing who you’re trying to be
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24:51 — Integrity as the cross-cultural constant
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25:55 — Recent comments from tech leaders and the “choiceless choice” some women face
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32:54 — One question to ask yourself this week
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34:56 — The artist’s check-in: knowing what you want to say to the world
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36:43 — Where to find Sally and her book
Join us for an exclusive bonus with Sally on Patreon
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Website: https://sjclarkeauthor.com
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Novel: Ringside Gamble
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Lori Adams-Brown, Host & Executive Producer
A World of Difference Podcast
