342 🔥 Fired at 50 & Built Something Bigger: Reinvention and Leadership with Lyndsay Dowd
What if the worst professional moment of your life turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to you? Lyndsay Dowd spent nearly 30 years in leadership — 23 of them at IBM — before leaving on her own terms for a new opportunity. Six months in, she was fired. No warning, no explanation.
The shame and embarrassment took her out… until she asked herself three questions that changed everything: What am I really good at? What do I love to do? How can I help people the most? The answers became Heartbeat for Hire, a company that helps brands ditch toxic, top-down leadership and build cultures people actually want to work in.
In this episode, Wendy and Lyndsay — a speaker, founder, 2X bestselling author (Top Down Culture and Voices of Women), Harvard guest lecturer, and globally ranked podcast host — talk about reinvention at 50+, betting on yourself, the “power skills” every leader needs, why trust is your currency, and the permission slip every woman at a crossroads deserves to hear. Fierce, funny, and full of heart. 🔥
What You’ll Learn
· The three questions to ask when life hands you a plot twist you didn’t order
· Why “power skills” (not soft skills) — like listening, delegation, and trust — drive real ROI
· How great leaders celebrate others, build safe spaces, and never throw their people under the bus
· What a “listening tour” is and why every new leader needs one
· How to find your people — the wildly inspired humans who help you dream and do the big things
· Why your personal brand is not your job title — and how reinvention really works in midlife
🎧 Tune in now
https://TheMidlifeMakeoverShow.com
✨ Watch the video replay
https://midlifology.net
👉 Connect with Lyndsay Dowd (Heartbeat for Hire)
https://www.heartbeatforhire.com
🌟 Explore All Things Midlife
https://wendyvalentine.com
📖 Order Your Copy of Women Waking Up
https://womenwakingup.com
📸 Follow the fun on IG
https://www.instagram.com/hellowendyvalentine/
Information
- Show
- FrequencyUpdated Weekly
- PublishedJuly 16, 2026 at 6:00 AM UTC
- Length43 min
- Episode342
- RatingExplicit
