72: How to Rebuild After Loss, Layoffs, or Divorce

What if resilience is not about bouncing back, but about rebuilding with alignment?

In this deeply personal episode, Brittany N. Cole redefines resilience for leaders navigating grief, career pivots, divorce, transition, burnout, and identity shifts. From losing her mother in 2017 to turning down a major leadership opportunity at Pfizer, to rebuilding in 2025 through personal and professional disruption, Brittany shares what it truly means to thrive through change.

This episode explores the difference between grit and grace, endurance and alignment, performance and peace. Brittany introduces her Resilience Roadmap framework and unpacks why emotional regulation, recovery, and what she calls “grace pace” are essential for sustainable leadership in today’s workplace.

Backed by Gallup workforce data and Harvard Business Review research on recovery as a strategic advantage, Brittany challenges high-achieving leaders to stop measuring strength by speed and start redefining resilience through alignment, authenticity, and assignment.

This episode will help you move forward without abandoning yourself.

Resilience is not about sprinting.It is about sustaining.

Listen now and begin your divine redesign.

KEY POINTS:

– Why the cultural definition of resilience is incomplete

– Leading while grieving and building while bleeding

– The difference between bouncing back and moving forward differently

– Career grief and turning down a major leadership opportunity

– The Resilience Roadmap: Recognize, Release, Rebuild

– Why alignment can create anxiety around visibility

– Grace Pace versus burnout culture

– Emotional regulation as a leadership skill

– Recovery as a strategic advantage

– The three ingredients of thriving seasons: Alignment, Authenticity, Assignment

–  Healing is not a finish line, it is an experience

–  You are not behind. You are being built

QUOTES:  

“Sometimes the most courageous thing that you can do is to stop pushing, stop trying to bounce back, and start healing.” — Brittany N. Cole 

“You can grieve an opportunity while still walking in what you believe is right.” — Brittany N. Cole 

“You can’t heal what you don’t want to deal with.” — Brittany N. Cole  

“I used to think resilience meant endurance. Now I believe it means alignment.” — Brittany N. Cole 

“You can be in process and still be purposeful.” — Brittany N. Cole 

“Rest is how you reclaim your humanity.” — Brittany N. Cole 

RESOURCES

Take the Leadership Brand Score Assessment

How strong is your leadership brand? Take this free 3-minute assessment and get an instant score on your impact, your visibility, and the gap between the two. That gap is where your influence and your income are hiding.

→ scoremyleadershipbrand.com

Join Leadership Brand Class

Every Tuesday, Brittany teaches a free live class on leadership branding, helping you close the gap between the impact you’re making and how visible that impact actually is. Whether you’re an executive, entrepreneur, or emerging leader, this class will change how you think about your leadership.

→ leadershipbrandclass.com

Love what you’re hearing? Follow Brittany N. Cole & The Career Thrivers Podcast to share the love!

Work with Brittany at Career Thrivers 

IG | @CareerThrivers

Brittany N. Cole 

IG | @BrittanyNCole 

LinkedIn | @BrittanyNCole 

Let’s Thrive Together is produced by EPYC Media Network