In this first episode of the Be the CEO of Your Career summer series, Tammy Gooler Loeb explores the initial practice in her framework: Define Your Why. At its core, this practice is about identifying the values and priorities that matter most so career decisions can come from clarity rather than expectation, pressure, or simply following the next logical step.

To bring the practice to life, Tammy revisits her podcast conversation with Rashmir Balasubramaniam, a transformational leadership coach and consultant whose earliest memories include asking her father, "Why am I here?" That question would consistently surface for Rashmir throughout her career in accounting, investment banking, nonprofit leadership, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, consulting, teaching, and coaching. Again and again, Rashmir learned to recognize when her work was moving closer to, or further away from, the values of learning, growth, purpose, and impact that mattered most to her.

Rashmir's journey illustrates how defining your why isn't something that happens once but rather serves as a thread that drives discovery, meaning and fulfillment along the way. It requires listening to the inner and outer signals that emerge throughout a career and reassessing what feels significant as circumstances evolve. Tammy closes the episode, offering a C.E.O. of Your Career Move to help listeners uncover their own why by reflecting on their best career decisions and identifying the threads connecting them.

In This Week's Podcast, Learn More About:

• How Define Your Why sets the stage for the five practices within the Be the CEO of Your Career framework
• How values and priorities provide a compass for career decisions
• Understanding the difference between logical choices and an inner sense of knowing
• Why Rashmir repeatedly chose learning, growth, purpose, and impact
• Recognizing when a successful career path no longer feels aligned
• Why letting go can create space to discover what's next
• How reflection helped Rashmir to navigate multiple career transitions
• The power of curiosity throughout her professional journey
• Listening for the inner and outer signals pointing toward what comes next
• Defining your why matters at every career crossroads, including retirement

Learn more:

• Explore the Be the CEO of Your Career Framework
• Visit: rashmir.net
• Follow Rashmir on LinkedIn
• 
  

Your CEO of Your Career Move:

Look back at every job, opportunity, or career decision that has ever felt genuinely right.

Write down the thread, or perhaps several threads, that appeared across most of those experiences. Was it learning? Creativity? Service? Independence? Impact? Connection? Leadership?

That recurring thread is a piece of your why.

Pull on it. Consider where it is showing up in your career today and where it may be missing. As Tammy reminds listeners, defining your why isn't only useful when making a career pivot. It can provide clarity at any meaningful crossroads in work and life.

Stay Connected:

• Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn
• Work From The Inside Out Website
• Read Tammy’s book: Work from the Inside Out
• Subscribe to the newsletter
• Subscribe to YouTube: @tammygoolerloeb
• Buy Me A Coffee to support the podcast

This week on Work from the Inside Out, Tammy Gooler Loeb introduces listeners to a special bonus summer series centered around her Be the CEO of Your Career framework. Drawing on years of coaching and career development experience, Tammy explains why meaningful career growth begins with understanding yourself before pursuing external opportunities. She shares the foundational ‘CEO’ mindset: Curiosity, Engagement, and Ownership, which supports every stage of intentional career development.

Tammy walks through the framework's five core practices: Define Your Why, Discovery, Synthesize and Focus, Map and Launch Your Career Strategy, and Reflect and Refine. Rather than presenting them as a checklist or succession of steps, she explains how these practices cycle through and evolve as careers and aspirations change. Throughout the summer, each practice will be explored through the story of a previous podcast guest whose journey demonstrates the framework in action.

Tammy also previews an exciting new chapter for the podcast. Beginning this fall with Episode 300, Work from the Inside Out will feature a blend of inspiring guest conversations and solo episodes addressing today's evolving workplaces, career uncertainty, leadership challenges, and the future of work. She closes with a simple challenge for listeners: identify which of the five practices deserves the most attention right now and begin leading their careers with greater intention.

What to Expect in This Summer Series:

Over the next five episodes, Tammy will explore each practice of the Be the CEO of Your Career framework through the stories and experiences of past Work from the Inside Out guests:

• Define Your Why with Rashmir Balasubramaniam, who shares how a lifelong search for purpose began with a simple childhood question: "Why am I here?"
• Discovery with Jason Van Orden, whose curiosity-driven career journey demonstrates the power of exploring new possibilities and embracing change.
• Synthesize and Focus with Mira Brancu, who explains how identifying the intersection of strengths, passions, and impact can bring greater career clarity.
• Map and Launch Your Career Strategy with Susan Barber, who reveals how difficult feedback became the catalyst for a purposeful career transformation.
• Reflect and Refine with Scot Safon, whose decades-long career illustrates the value of continually reassessing, learning, and adapting over time.

Learn more:

• Explore the Be the CEO of Your Career Framework

Your CEO of Your Career Move:

Before the next episode drops, take five minutes and ask yourself: Which of the five practices needs your attention most right now?

Is it Define Your Why, Discovery, Synthesize and Focus, Map and Launch Your Career Strategy, or Reflect and Refine?

Stay Connected:

• Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn
• Buy Me A Coffee
• Work From The Inside Out Website
• Subscribe to the newsletter
• Subscribe to YouTube: @tammygoolerloeb

Professional success is often seen as the ultimate measure of a fulfilling career, but what if achievement alone isn't enough? In this episode of Work from the Inside Out, Tammy Gooler Loeb welcomes Jeff Westphal, former CEO of Vertex Inc., entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author of A Work Life Worth Living: Your Guide to Creating a Meaningful Career. Jeff shares the personal experiences that shaped his leadership journey and inspired his mission to help others create more meaningful work lives.

Jeff reflects on growing up in a family of hardworking entrepreneurs, navigating a complicated relationship with his father, and discovering how learning to truly listen transformed both his leadership and his life. Together, Tammy and Jeff explore the power of workplace culture, personal responsibility, and the importance of understanding what truly brings meaning to work.

Whether you're rethinking your career, leading a team, or searching for greater fulfillment in your professional life, this conversation offers thoughtful insights and practical wisdom. Jeff reminds listeners that while organizations can foster supportive environments, each individual has the opportunity to create a work life that is rooted in purpose, connection, and meaning.

In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about:

• How childhood experiences shape leadership
• Why success alone does not create fulfillment
• The leadership power of listening first
• Building a culture where people thrive
• Taking ownership of your own career satisfaction
• Finding meaning regardless of your job title
• The lessons that transformed Jeff's relationship with his father
• Why meaningful work starts from the inside out

Learn more about Jeff:

• Read: A Work Life Worth Living: Your Guide to Creating a Meaningful Career
• Visit: meaningsphere.com
• Visit: jeffwestphal.org
• Follow Jeff on LinkedIn
• Follow Jeff on Facebook
• Follow Jeff on Instagram

Additional resources noted during the podcast:

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
• Tech Humanist: How You Can Make Technology Better for Business and Better for Humans by Kate O’Neill
• Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership by Joseph Jaworski

Stay Connected:

• Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn
• Buy Me A Coffee
• Work From The Inside Out Website
• Subscribe to the newsletter
• Subscribe to YouTube: @tammygoolerloeb