There is a moment many high-performing professionals quietly encounter.

On paper, everything looks right. The credentials. The title. The trajectory. The years of disciplined effort have delivered exactly what was promised.

And yet, something feels off.

For many physicians and healthcare leaders, that realization doesn’t come with clarity. It comes with tension. A growing awareness that the path they are on may not lead to the life they intended.

In this week's episode of The Growth Edge Leadership Podcast, I visited with Dr. Naomi Lawrence-Reid and she described this inflection point with striking honesty. She had done everything expected of her. Completed her training. Secured a role in a respected system. Built a career in pediatric emergency medicine.

But three years in, she could already see her future, and it wasn’t improving.

What followed was not a perfectly designed pivot. It was a decision rooted in truth: this is no longer sustainable.

That decision became the beginning of something far more meaningful.

In This Episode

• Why many physicians look successful on paper but feel misaligned in reality
• The moment Dr. Naomi Lawrence-Reid realized her career path needed to change
• How to recognize when the pain of staying outweighs the fear of change
• Common myths that keep physicians stuck in traditional career models
• What "Doctoring Differently" actually looks like in practice
• How to build a flexible, portfolio-styled career in medicine
• Why all-or-nothing thinking limits sustainable career pivots
• The role of per diem, locums, and non-clinical work in career design
• How redefining identity can unlock new professional possibilities
• The importance of taking ownership instead of waiting for permission
• Practical steps physicians can take to begin exploring alternative paths
• How leaders can create careers that align with both performance and well-being

Why This Matters for Leaders

This conversation is not only about medicine. It is about leadership.

Many leaders operate within systems that reward endurance over intentionality. Over time, that can create a quiet but significant gap between professional success and personal alignment.

Dr. Lawrence-Reid’s journey highlights a critical leadership insight:
Career design is a leadership responsibility.

When leaders feel trapped, disengaged, or misaligned, it does not remain contained. It impacts decision-making, team dynamics, and ultimately the quality of outcomes, especially in healthcare.

Research continues to reinforce this.

Burnout among physicians is linked to decreased engagement, increased errors, and reduced patient satisfaction.

But beyond metrics, there is a human cost.

Leaders who take ownership of their career trajectory, who move from passive participation to intentional design, create more sustainable performance, not less.

The goal is not to leave your profession. The goal is to lead your career with greater clarity, flexibility, and purpose.

Leadership Framework

1. Start with Honest Awareness, Not a Perfect Plan

High achievers often wait for clarity before they act.

But meaningful change rarely begins with a fully formed vision. It begins with an honest assessment of what is no longer working.

Dr. Lawrence-Reid did not have a blueprint when she made her pivot. She had awareness. She recognized misalignment early and chose not to ignore it.

Leadership practice:
Develop the discipline of self-awareness. Notice where your energy is depleted, where your values are misaligned, and where your current path may not be sustainable.

Clarity often follows action, not the other way around.

2. Challenge All-or-Nothing Thinking

One of the most limiting beliefs among high-performing professionals is binary thinking.

Stay or leave. Commit or quit. Full-time or nothing.

In medicine, this often shows up as: remain in full-time clinical practice or leave the profession entirely.

Dr. Lawrence-Reid offers a different perspective. She built a portfolio career, blending clinical work, consulting, writing, and advisory roles.

Leadership practice:
Replace binary thinking with strategic experimentation. Consider where you can adjust, not abandon, your current role.

Sustainable change is often incremental.

3. Redefine Identity Beyond Your Role

Professional identity can be both an anchor and a constraint.

Physicians, in particular, carry a deep sense of identity tied to their title, specialty, and training. While that identity is meaningful, it can also limit perceived options.

Dr. Lawrence-Reid encourages physicians to “peel back” layers of identity, to recognize that being a doctor is part of who they are, not the entirety.

Leadership practice:
Expand your identity beyond your title. Anchor it in your strengths, values, and impact, not just your role.

This shift creates space for growth without loss of purpose.

4. Build Your Career Iteratively

One of the most practical insights from this conversation is the importance of building “brick by brick.”

Too often, leaders assume that reinvention requires a complete overhaul: leaving a role, taking financial risk, or making a dramatic shift.

In reality, Dr. Lawrence-Reid began with per diem work. From there, she explored locums, medical writing, consulting, and advisory work.

Each step created more flexibility, income, and clarity.

Leadership practice:
Approach career design as an iterative process. Test, learn, and adjust. Let each step inform the next.

Progress is built through momentum, not perfection.

5. Stop Waiting for Permission

Perhaps the most important message in this conversation is simple:

You do not need permission.

Many leaders wait for validation—from a supervisor, a mentor, or the system itself—before making a change.

But leadership requires agency.

Dr. Lawrence-Reid’s perspective is clear: no one is coming to design your career for you.

Leadership practice:
Take ownership. If something needs to change, begin exploring options. Engage in conversations. Seek information. Move forward intentionally.

Leadership begins with personal responsibility.

Try This This Week

 1. Conduct a Personal Alignment Check
Ask yourself: Where am I energized? Where am I depleted? What patterns am I ignoring?

 2. Identify One Small Experiment
Instead of a major change, identify one step you can take this month. Reduce hours, explore a new opportunity, or initiate a conversation.

 3. Challenge One Limiting Belief
Write down one assumption you hold about your career. Ask: Is this objectively true, or simply familiar?

Closing Reflection

Leadership is not only about how we lead others.

It is also about how we lead ourselves.

There will be moments in every career where the path forward is not clearly marked. Where the expectations you once followed no longer serve you. Where the next step feels uncertain.

In those moments, the most important decision is not having the perfect plan.

It is choosing to pay attention.

Because often, the quiet recognition that something needs to change is not a disruption.

It is an invitation.

I’m rooting for you.

Additional Resources

Doctoring Differently, a step-by-step program to transform your full-time clinical job into a lucritive, dream career. 

Listen In!

Listen to the full conversation with Dr. Naomi Lawrence-Reid on The Growth Edge Leadership Podcast.

Kajabi: https://www.lauriebaedke.com/podcasts/growth-edge-a-leadership-podcast/episodes/2149179259 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-one-is-coming-to-save-you-reinventing-a-medical/id1414936358?i=1000756701425 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUckdxWrKp8 

Course Connection

This conversation directly connects to the principles I teach in my Developing and Executing Your Career Strategic Plan course.

Designing a meaningful career does not happen by accident. It requires clarity, intentional decision-making, and the willingness to challenge inherited assumptions.

If you are ready to take a more proactive approach to your professional path, this framework provides the structure to do so with confidence.

Topics Covered:

Physician Leadership, Career Strategy, Career Design, Burnout Prevention, Healthcare Leadership, Professional Development, Women in Leadership, Career Pivot, Leadership Development, Growth Mindset, Work-Life Integration, Women in Medicine, Career Reinvention, Side Hustles, Physician Entrepreneurship, Physician Identity, Career Coaching, Overcoming Burnout, Avoiding Burnout, Wellbeing, Alternative Careers for Physicians, Portfolio Careers in Medicine, Per Diem, Locum Tenens