Burn the Map

Shelley McIntyre
  • 5.0 (15)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Burn the Map is for people who have left corporate, or are close enough that the date feels real. Host Shelley McIntyre spent decades in corporate strategy before leaving to build something of her own. She knows what it takes to untangle your identity from a title you've outgrown, and what gets easier and harder on the other side. Bi-weekly episodes on the work that comes before the job search: who you are when the role is gone, what got deferred over a long career, and what it looks like to build something that actually fits.

  1. Aug 25

    45: Change Is a Magnet

    End of summer tends to concentrate change. Kids leaving, job searches ramping up, early retirement decisions. These feel enormous on the inside and invisible to everyone else. And then other changes start piling in. What you'll learn: Why big internal changes attract more change, and the need for visible proof that something is differentThe difference between additive changes that are overdue and generative, and the ones that feel a little panickedWhy visible changes and good conversations with friends both fall short of the acknowledgment you're looking forWhat you're really seeking when you show up one day with new hair or a taiko drumHow to tell whether an additive change is moving you toward something joyful or away from something painful before you cut your own bangs at 11pmIf you're in the middle of a big transition and other changes keep piling in, this episode will help you make sense of it. Shelley McIntyre works with people who have left corporate (or are close enough that the date feels real) to figure out who they are when the role stops defining them. She spent decades in corporate strategy and technology before leaving to build something of her own. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge: A 90-minute session for people at or near the exit https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership: Five months of one-on-one coaching for people leaving corporate https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Free Guide: 4 Moves to Get Unstuck https://burnthemapcoaching.com/guide/ Get the weekly newsletter on the identity work below the career question: https://burnthemapcoaching.com/newsletter/ Let's connect: LinkedIn

    45: Change Is a Magnet

  2. Aug 11

    44: Why You're Not Doing the Thing

    Not doing something isn't the same as not wanting it. Most of us live in the murky middle (wanting to leave the job, speak up, follow through) and just not doing it. This episode is about figuring out why. There are two categories of not-doing, and they require completely different responses. What you'll learn: Why the gap between intention and action is sometimes environmental and sometimes something much deeperHow habit stacking works for logistical not-doing — and where it breaks downWhat Bob Kegan and Lisa Lahey's Immunity to Change framework reveals about why you keep doing the opposite of what you say you wantHow to identify the competing commitments and big assumptions that are keeping you exactly where you areWhy your resistance to change is probably more rational than you've been giving it credit forIf you keep saying you want to do something and keep not doing it, tune in. Shelley McIntyre works with people who have left corporate (or are close enough that the date feels real) to figure out who they are when the role stops defining them. She spent decades in corporate strategy and technology before leaving to build something of her own. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge: A 90-minute session for people at or near the exit https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership: Five months of one-on-one coaching for people leaving corporate https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Free Guide: 4 Moves to Get Unstuck https://burnthemapcoaching.com/guide/ Get the weekly newsletter on the identity work below the career question: https://burnthemapcoaching.com/newsletter/ Let's connect: LinkedIn

    44: Why You're Not Doing the Thing

  3. Jul 28

    43: Did You Do Enough?

    Between layoffs and early retirement packages, a lot of people in midlife are on the other side of a long corporate career, and running an internal audit that isn't returning comfortable results. This episode is about who's actually keeping score, and whether they earned that job. What you'll learn: Why the grief of abandoning a goal you never worked toward is real and has a nameHow the metrics you measured your career against were probably borrowed from someone else without examinationWhat rumination actually costs; not just time, but the present moment itselfWhy the change that matters now is one of orientation, not identityThe one career audit worth running: what you're good at that you actually like doingIf you're on the other side of a long career and the internal verdict is harsher than you expected, this episode is for you. Shelley McIntyre works with people who have left corporate (or are close enough that the date feels real) to figure out who they are when the role stops defining them. She spent decades in corporate strategy and technology before leaving to build something of her own. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge: A 90-minute session for people at or near the exit https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership: Five months of one-on-one coaching for people leaving corporate https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Free Guide: 4 Moves to Get Unstuck https://burnthemapcoaching.com/guide/ Get the weekly newsletter on the identity work below the career question: https://burnthemapcoaching.com/newsletter/ Let's connect: LinkedIn

    43: Did You Do Enough?

  4. Jul 14

    42: The Snob's Advantage

    When everything feels uncertain (the job, the applications, the new identity you're building), your brain is working overtime on problems with no clear outcome. What it needs is rest that isn't sleep, isn't scrolling, and isn't zoning out. This episode is about finding it in something you're already good at. What you'll learn: Why learning under stress is so cognitively expensive, and what your brain is actually asking for when you reach for TikTok or salt and vinegar chipsWhat happens neurologically when you do something you're skilled at, and why it looks surprisingly similar to genuine restWhy the closer you get to mastery, the further away it seems; that's good newsHow to tell the difference between skill that restores you and skill that pulls your soul out through your throatWhy the thing you're already good at can't be touched by a layoff or a terrible job marketIf you've been a beginner at everything lately and you're running low, this episode is for you. Shelley McIntyre works with people who have left corporate (or are close enough that the date feels real) to figure out who they are when the role stops defining them. She spent decades in corporate strategy and technology before leaving to build something of her own. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge: A 90-minute session for people at or near the exit https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership: Five months of one-on-one coaching for people leaving corporate https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Free Guide: 4 Moves to Get Unstuck https://burnthemapcoaching.com/guide/ Get the weekly newsletter on the identity work below the career question: https://burnthemapcoaching.com/newsletter/ Let's connect: LinkedIn

    42: The Snob's Advantage

  5. Jun 30

    41: The Wrong Kind of Safe

    243,000 people have already received layoff notices in 2026. This episode isn't for them; it's for the ones who survived and aren't sure how to feel about it. If part of you wanted the package, this one's for you. What you'll learn: Why surviving a layoff you wanted to be included in creates a particular kind of emotional confusion, and why that's harder to name than it soundsHow layoffs fracture work relationships in ways that don't get talked about, and what goes unsaid between people on opposite sides of the cutWhy "you are headcount" is actually useful information, not just a cynical observationWhat a portfolio career looks like in practice, and why it might start with a grocery store flower departmentWhat to do with the window between this layoff and the next one, before it closesIf you're still at your desk after a round of cuts and the relief isn't quite landing, tune in. Shelley McIntyre works with people who have left corporate (or are close enough that the date feels real) to figure out who they are when the role stops defining them. She spent decades in corporate strategy and technology before leaving to build something of her own. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge: A 90-minute session for people at or near the exit https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership: Five months of one-on-one coaching for people leaving corporate https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Free Guide: 4 Moves to Get Unstuck https://burnthemapcoaching.com/guide/ Get the weekly newsletter on the identity work below the career question: https://burnthemapcoaching.com/newsletter/ Let's connect: LinkedIn

    41: The Wrong Kind of Safe

  6. Jun 16

    40: Start, Then Keep Starting

    Corporate trains you to perform: polished, error-free, ready for an audience. That training works against you the moment you start figuring out what comes next. This episode makes the case for a different posture entirely. What you'll learn: Why treating your next venture like it needs to be "performance-ready" before launch keeps most people stuckWhat it actually means to start, and then keep starting, and why that's different from "perfect is the enemy of good"Why the learning that matters only happens in motion, with other people, not in planning documentsA practical way to manage the exhaustion of experimenting in public: keep one thing you're already good atWhy there's no opening night waiting for you on the other side, and why that might be the most useful thing to accept earlyIf you're stalling on launching something because it doesn't feel ready yet, this episode is for you. Shelley McIntyre works with people who have left corporate (or are close enough that the date feels real) to figure out who they are when the role stops defining them. She spent decades in corporate strategy and technology before leaving to build something of her own. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge: A 90-minute session for people at or near the exit https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership: Five months of one-on-one coaching for people leaving corporate https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Free Guide: 4 Moves to Get Unstuck https://burnthemapcoaching.com/guide/ Get the weekly newsletter on the identity work below the career question: https://burnthemapcoaching.com/newsletter/ Let's connect: LinkedIn

    40: Start, Then Keep Starting

  7. Jun 2

    39: Flattery Softens the Will

    Flattery is a destabilization tactic, and corporate environments have had decades to perfect it. When someone tells you you're the only person they trust with this, the request and the recognition arrive as a package deal, which makes declining both at once much harder than declining either one alone. What you'll learn: How flattery bypasses your critical judgment before you've had a chance to use itThe difference between peer flattery and boss flattery and why boss flattery carries higher stakesWhy the cycle kept repeating even when you could see it happeningHow a simple pause before responding changes what you're actually agreeing toWhy the question isn't whether their appreciation is genuine; it's whether your will was there to begin withThis episode is for anyone doing a career review who keeps finding work they never quite meant to take on. Shelley McIntyre works with people who have left corporate (or are close enough that the date feels real) to figure out who they are when the role stops defining them. She spent decades in corporate strategy and technology before leaving to build something of her own. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge: A 90-minute session for people at or near the exit https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership: Five months of one-on-one coaching for people leaving corporate https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Free Guide: 4 Moves to Get Unstuck https://burnthemapcoaching.com/guide/ Get the weekly newsletter on the identity work below the career question: https://burnthemapcoaching.com/newsletter/ Let's connect: LinkedIn

    39: Flattery Softens the Will

  8. May 19

    38: Take the Package?

    Nearly 9,000 Microsoft employees have about a month to decide whether to take a voluntary retirement package. If this model works, they won't be the last. The financial details matter, but they're only part of the calculation. What you'll learn: What Microsoft's voluntary retirement program actually includes and the fine print that changes the math for most peopleWhy staying feels like the safe move, and why it isn'tHow to factor in the financial obligations most people calculate — and the ones they don'tWhy the options on the other side of this decision aren't visible from where you're standing right nowWhy if you're miserable and staying anyway, you may be the last person to know what it's costing youIf you're facing this decision, or you suspect you will be, this episode is for you. Shelley McIntyre works with people who have left corporate (or are close enough that the date feels real) to figure out who they are when the role stops defining them. She spent decades in corporate strategy and technology before leaving to build something of her own. Work with Shelley: Own Your Edge: A 90-minute session for people at or near the exit https://burnthemapcoaching.com/own-your-edge Reinvention Partnership: Five months of one-on-one coaching for people leaving corporate https://burnthemapcoaching.com/work-with-shelley Free Guide: 4 Moves to Get Unstuck https://burnthemapcoaching.com/guide/ Get the weekly newsletter on the identity work below the career question: https://burnthemapcoaching.com/newsletter/ Let's connect: LinkedIn

    38: Take the Package?
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Trailer

5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

Burn the Map is for people who have left corporate, or are close enough that the date feels real. Host Shelley McIntyre spent decades in corporate strategy before leaving to build something of her own. She knows what it takes to untangle your identity from a title you've outgrown, and what gets easier and harder on the other side. Bi-weekly episodes on the work that comes before the job search: who you are when the role is gone, what got deferred over a long career, and what it looks like to build something that actually fits.

Information

  • Creator
    Shelley McIntyre
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    46
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Burn the Map Coaching, LLC
  • Show Website
    Burn the Map

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