The Power of Reinventing Yourself with Charlene Briganty

Today's episode is about something that every leader eventually faces, whether we want to or not. Reinvention. These are moments in our lives when the path we're on no longer feels aligned. Moments where we realize that the career we built, the identity we carry, and or basically just think of it of the role we've been playing is no longer the one we're meant to continue on. Those moments, God knows, require courage. They require honesty, and often they require us to move forward before we really feel ready. And that's the thing, right? So my, my guest today knows exactly what it's like. Welcome to the NeuroLeadership Edge. I'm Claire Hayek. I work with executive teams who carry real stakes and real responsibility. Pressure may feel productive, but over time it quietly lowers the standard. Meetings move faster. There's less clarity, less accountability, and leaders choose safe over bold. And while pressure at the top sets the ceiling for the whole organization, I installed that leadership operating standard that holds when pressure is high. And this show is where we unpack what pressure does to your brain and what high-performing leaders do differently. In this episode, you're going to learn why reinvention often starts before you even feel ready, how pressure can either shrink your life or push you towards purpose, what leaders need to understand about empathy, courage, and building a life that actually fits them. fits who they really are. My guest today is Charlene Briganti. She built an international career in marketing, leading teams and strategy across Latin America and the Caribbean, working with major brands like Red Bull and Adidas, and later growing into leadership roles in the US in B2B tech. But what makes her story so powerful is not just the career, because it's obviously very impressive, It's actually, it's actually the reinvention behind it. From building an artistic cafe in Panama, I mean, what? To becoming a single mom, to unfortunately burning out, moving to Bali with her toddler, rebuilding again, and finding balance between a purpose-driven career and giving back to her community. Char's story is bold, honest, and deeply human. Char, welcome to the show. How are you?

I'm good. I'm so happy to be here.

Really happy to have you. So, let's start at the beginning because, I mean, your story is already bold, right? Before most people even get to their first real job, it was happening already for you, right? You grew up in Puerto Rico, moved to Panama, and opened an artistic cafe before stepping into your first major Corporate role. So tell us a little bit about that experience. What was driving you at that point in your life?

Yeah, so I ended up in Panama after my father passed away pretty suddenly, and I found myself in this new country. I had just graduated college. I wasn't clear on what I was going to do, but as I stepped into the country and started looking at my surroundings, surroundings, I identified that there was a need, you know, for the emerging artistic community, something that I've always been very So we set out to create the space for them to have a space where they can connect, where they could present their art, and they could really call their own.

That's, that's really, really cool. I mean, I love that. I love that idea. Uh, you know, you know, I'm all about arts. Uh, so when you look back on this, on that experience, do you feel like you were already bold, that, you know, that boldness was already in you? Or did life kind of force you to trust that boldness and be bold? Do you think it's something you were born with or something that life forced you to kind of jump into being bold?

So I think it's a little bit of a combination of both. I think that I do have inherent boldness within me, but also my upbringing and, you know, the life that I've led. You know, I moved a lot when I was a kid and was in a lot of very different circumstances that kind of like prompted it and pushed it out. But for example, you know, I have 2 siblings that lived a very similar life and we've reacted very differently. So I think that it's definitely, you know, it's a combination of both. Like we have a little bit of inherent in it, but you know, if you don't cultivate it, then maybe it doesn't get to shine as much.

Yeah, well, it is definitely, I mean, I couldn't agree more. Sometimes it's not, Great. I mean, it's gray. It's not black or white. But what I really like about this is that the brain does not really love uncertainty. It loves what's familiar. It loves safety. It loves what it could predict. So every time we make a bold move, it's kind of jumping into something unknown. And we're kind of working against a very natural survival instinct, literally, right? So this is why I'm always very interested to know what really drove The boldness and how did that, I mean, some people have it naturally, I understand, but it's still challenging the brain in a way, right? Because we're all in a way wired for survival, right? So we want the predictable. And this is why actually I find reinvention feels so uncomfortable. Even when it's exactly the right move, we feel it's the right move, still the brain is gonna be like, yeah, you sure you wanna do that, right? So, all right, well, really interesting so far. I mean, wait, If you're listening, it gets better. So stick around. So you shared something with me that really stood out. You had a boss who tried to dictate your every move, shut down your ideas, pretty much kind of in a way reduce your role to being the one taking notes and taking the order. If you're just, okay, coming right up.

Yes.

So what did that experience actually teach you about leadership?

That experience actually taught me exactly what I didn't want to be as a leader, because I never want to make somebody feel that they can't— that they can't use their brain, that they can't bring ideas to the table, that they're just there to take orders and fulfill requests. And, you know, for somebody like me that I am very creative, I have a lot of initiative, And I am very used to reinvention and to doing things differently. It was really challenging to have the experience of kind of having to like step back and be, you know, put in that role. That didn't last very long though.

No, I'm assuming it didn't. But so how did that really shape how you lead your own team now?

I definitely make sure that I give people ownership of the things that they love to do and that I let them express themselves and develop their skills and hold their hand— not hold their hand, but support them in the things that they want to learn and that they want to be great at. That's something that's very important for me because I think that if we're not challenged and if we're not given the opportunity to learn new things, then we just get stuck, you know?

Right.

And nobody wants to be in that position when they're not passionate about what they do.

Absolutely. And you said something actually very interesting that really stood out for me was, you know, when you, when the, when you first start working with someone, you ask them the question, so what's the dream? It's such a different way of leading. Where did that come from, this what's the dream question? I love it, by the way. I might use it. Thank you.

Thank you. So I always, you know, like I mentioned before, I always like to position people on things that they're passionate about. So what's the dream? Like, what could you envision yourself doing for the rest of your life if you know, you didn't even need to be paid. Like, you would just do it out of love for, for what you do. And when you're able to give that to people, you know, because we all have parts of our jobs that we like and we all have parts of our jobs that, you know, we could do without. And, you know, it's not saying that, oh, you'll never have to do anything that you don't like. But if you have the opportunities to do things that you are passionate about, that you are very interested in, then you're going to be a lot more connected to your work and you're going to feel a lot more fulfilled. So that's you know, how I approach it. And I don't just talk about, you know, what's the dream professionally. Maybe it's something else, you know, and maybe it's something that, you know, it's personal. You know, I had, uh, someone once tell me, I want to be a writer. I just want to write a book, you know. So I helped her.

That's cool.

Yeah, so I helped her, you know, and gave her some advice for that as well, because we are complete human beings. And, you know, even though we spend a lot of time working, we also I don't know. I just feel like we should enjoy ourselves.

Oh yeah, for sure. And I think also, I mean, that's what matters more than people realize. You know, when people feel shut down, controlled, or like dismissed, pretty much the brain moves into protection again. Like, who wants to be there? You know?

Yeah.

Because when you're in that fight or flight, you're not in your creativity. You're not in a— there's no trust whatsoever. You're just really just ready for the fight. And people are less accountable. They're just looking out for themselves and they're just like, I don't care about this thing because this is not— I'm not feeling good here. But when people feel seen, on the other hand, they feel respected and supported, the exact opposite happens. It's so simple. They open up, they take initiative, they grow faster. And imagine like you're even supporting their dream. That's even like, who doesn't want to work for a leader like that? That's really smart. I call it smart leadership. So let's move on to Bali. Okay. So then life took another turn for you. You burned out. This is always, I mean, that's never something that anybody's proud of. And I can't even imagine, you know, it must have been very difficult.

Yeah.

You left your job and you moved to Bali with your toddler. I mean, you had a toddler. Yes. Burnout by itself is a big deal. Okay. So let's not discount this. This is obviously a big deal, right? And moving, it's really just, it's not a small decision. So what was really happening inside you at that time?

I just needed kind of like change my environment. So I, growing up, I moved a lot and whenever things weren't working, we would move. And I think that's, you know, where I may that decision. It's like, oh, things aren't working, you know, my environment isn't, you know, what I need it to be, so I'm just gonna go and take a break. And that's what I did. So the decision to do it wasn't really hard, but it was definitely, you know, a space for me to reflect. I had plans to do a lot more than what I actually ended up doing while I was there, but it was a great opportunity to reconnect with myself and to reconnect with my son as well. It was a Single mom working full-time at an office. My son was always in daycare. I never saw him. I was always running around, no support, nothing. And this gave me an opportunity to kind of like pause and, you know, do some yoga, walk around, and just, you know, enjoy a beautiful culture.

Right. You were looking for reset. You know, it's— I mean, obviously, I feel like this was really a needed moment to step back and just look at the whole thing. And, you know, I do applaud that, you know, you took the time to do it. In a completely different environment. I mean, it's, uh, and you said it's something familiar to you because apparently, you know, that's what you were saying, you know, that's what you did with your family. So it's your way of resetting, which is, you know, I applaud that. It takes a lot of courage, especially when you move somewhere else, right?

Um, thank you.

What did that really teach you that success had not taught you yet? That whole experience, basically?

That's a really good question. I think it taught me to— it's okay to slow down, and it's okay to want different things for yourself. And at the end of my stay in Bali, I was not successful in what I had proposed myself to do, but that was okay as well, because sometimes you push for things that just don't work out that way. And when you look back, you know, as time goes by, it was really the universe taking you somewhere else. And when you're open to that and you let yourself be led, you know, you show up, you do your best, but you also let yourself be led a little bit. It's a lot easier to be flexible.

Yeah. I mean, when you think about it, I mean, I'm not a burnout expert, but— and correct me if I'm wrong. But it doesn't always— the burnout doesn't really always, in my opinion, from what I've seen and heard, that it doesn't always come from doing too much. Sometimes it's just misalignment.

Misalignment.

Right? And you're just trying to push through it, push through it, but it's not resonating anymore. So that, you know, and your brain knows it. before you're, you know, before you do in a way. You know, your body knows that before you do as well. And sometimes, well, we know we're not trained to sometimes listen to our body, respect that. And that's, you know, unfortunately how we learn the hard way to do it. And I feel that is why reinvention often starts with discomfort, right? Unfortunately, let's not go all the way to burnout. And unfortunately, we don't have to go all the way to burnout. It is what it is. It's an experience and we learn from it and we move forward. So one thing you said that I really want to highlight is the idea of doing it scared. Okay, we're talking about reinvention or doing a move, a bold move, because I think so many people are waiting to feel ready before they make a move, right?

Mm-hmm.

What have you learned about acting before being completely certain, 100% certain about something?

Yeah, so I operate a little bit differently. I jump and then I figure it out.

Yeah, well, that's bold. Yeah, that's courage.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

No, um, it's a type of boldness, right? I mean, let's—

it's a type of boldness. Yeah, I mean, sometimes, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but that's okay too. I just feel that if you don't try things, if you psych yourself out and just like overthink things, it just, it just keeps you stuck. And if you are thinking about new ideas and new things that you want for yourself in your life, it might be because something inside of you is saying, there has to be more. There has to be a better way. So when you feel that calling, you know, and you start overthinking and overcomplicating things, you get stuck. So sometimes it's a matter of, you know what, I'm just going to jump, or I'm going to take a small step. It doesn't need to be, you know, moving to Bali tomorrow. But maybe you have a dream, and you can just take the first step. And then what I found is that the more steps you take, the easier it gets. You know, the path kind of like opens up to you, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah. Sometimes, you know, you don't have to have it all figured out. And I think you said it really perfectly, taking that first step. Just take action. Take action because you don't have to figure everything out. And, you know, by taking action, then everything kind of opens up. And I think this is where, you know, that, you know, In a way, what mental fitness is all about, right? And I'm really curious to know what role has mental fitness played in that for you, whether that was that maybe visualization, affirmation, manifesting intention, or simply how you manage your own thoughts, right? And how did that play out for you?

And so one of the things that, you know, as I went through my last job transition at the end of the year, I was also taking your masterclass and Like you said, you know, sometimes the universe just guides you towards bigger and better things, right? And one of the things that the universe brought me was you.

Aw.

And one of the most helpful things that I learned there was to identify the thought patterns. You know, I used to get in my head like a lot of us do and kind of like go over the same thought over and over and over and over again and not even realize that I was doing that and drive myself crazy with these thoughts that I could just— I thought I couldn't control. But once you learn that, you know, you can identify them and you can stop them and you can tell them, hey, go away, or whatever it is that you want to tell them, and then work with breathwork to kind of like refocus yourself and recenter yourself. It— let me tell you, that was so powerful for me to be able to get through tough times and to do things with like, you know, real ownership and just approach things differently and not— Freak myself out, basically, through a very, very hard time of my life.

Yeah, I mean, you know, thanks for bringing this up, by the way. And, and for listeners, you know, the way I— we go through the process of this, uh, podcast is that I meet my guests ahead of time. So we see if there's a story that we should share here. And, um, sometimes there's no story, and it's all good, and we part our own ways. And, and I'll tell you one thing, there's always story so far. I always write a story because people are interesting. I think people are so freaking interesting. There's so much to learn, right?

Yeah.

And anyway, all this to say is that I did share with, uh, with Charlene the masterclass at the time, and it's such a surprise. I mean, it's so nice to hear that, you know, you actually listened to it and it really helped you. I mean, this is why I do what I do, and I thank you so much. I really appreciate you even taking the time to share this with me. And this is the best gift you could ever give me. So thank you again for sharing that with our listeners. And, and what's really important in all of this is the thoughts, right? I know I've talked a lot about— I speak a lot about this, and there's an episode about this, that your brain is always listening. The thoughts you repeat literally shape the state you live in.

Yes.

And the state you live in shapes the decision you make, and those decisions Well, surprise, surprise, they shape your life. So that's why mental fitness really matters. Not because it sounds good and it's a routine we need to do. No, because it changes how you show up when you are scared, when you are self-doubting, and when you're just completely drowning in uncertainty. You just take back that power. So we are about to do the rapid fire now. So just a quick reminder, I'm going to have a couple of questions for you. Short answers if you can. Although I would love to take another hour with you, but, uh, I have so many questions for you. So it's like, okay, I'm gonna condense them in those rapid fires. You ready?

Okay, let's go.

All right, let's do it. What does courage mean to you now?

The willingness to try.

The willingness to try. What's one thing you would say to a woman who feels stuck in a life She has completely outgrown.

You can always do more. You're, you're not dead, so you can always change things. Amazing.

And by the way, we wanted to focus on women here. I think your story is so interesting and it's so inspiring being a single mom. And I think a lot of our listeners maybe are single moms. And if anybody listening to this now I think this would totally resonate. So thanks again for sharing your, your, uh, your experience with us today. All right, moving on. What's one leadership trait the world needs more of right now, Charlene?

Empathy. Geez, you never have enough, right?

Yes, never have enough. That's definitely— I, I cannot agree more. So, I mean, I love how you reinvented your life. I love how you keep reinventing it. And this whole episode is to unpack reinvention, that it's not always neat and perfect and boxed in a little, little beautiful box with a bow on top, right?

Mm-hmm.

It usually begins with feeling uncomfortable, right? You feel you're not, you don't belong, or A wake-up call. So that's how reinvention shows up. And sometimes, you know, you just feel like what you're doing or your old life, I guess, if you want to call it that, it's just no longer fitting. And you just feel like there's something moving you in a certain direction, even though you have no idea what it is. And, you know, Char, you've shared this on this episode that, you know, your way to do it is just to jump. and figure it out. Then you'll figure out the rest. And I do want to share this with our listeners that sometimes this in-between space when you don't know what you're doing and you're still kind of going for it feels terrifying and it's only normal. And Char's story is a reminder that you do not need perfect clarity to move. You need honesty, you need courage, and you need to be willing to trust that purpose that could reveal itself throughout the whole process when things aren't already in motion, right? And, um, the important thing is to also respect yourself, respect your boundaries, and kind of refocus on your well-being, your mental fitness, on your thoughts, on what's going on in that brain of yours. Um, if this episode resonated with you, please follow the show, subscribe, leave a review, manifest in a way that you are here and you listen to it, and maybe just share it with someone who needs this conversation, whether it's a single mom or a leader going through something similar to what Charlene went through. I keep saying Charlene and Char both, so I'm going to keep going back and forth. But hey, if you're in a position right now where pressure is clouding your thinking, your energy, or your ability to even lead the way you know you can, do scan this code. You will find my Linktree, and I'm also going to put it in the description Where you can listen on— if you're listening on audio, you'll find my mental fitness masterclass, Play at the Level You Were Built For, where I teach the brain-based tools that help leaders build calm authority, regulate under pressure, and stop letting stress run the room. If this episode resonated with you, follow the show, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone that maybe needs to hear this conversation. And if you're going through, you know, a time where pressure is really clouding your thinking, your energy, or your ability to even lead the way you know you can, Do scan the code that you see on the screen. If you're listening to the audio, check the link in the description. You'll find my mental fitness masterclass there, Play at the Level You Were Built For, actually that Char mentioned earlier. And I teach the brain-based tools that help leaders build calm authority, regulate under pressure, and stop letting stress run the room. And most importantly, and again, Char mentioned this, I'm not mentioning it, How you manage your thoughts and literally change your life for the better. And if you're leading a team or an executive group, and you know pressure is quietly lowering the standard, do reach out to me on LinkedIn. This is exactly the work I do through Pressure Proof Leadership. Char, any final words?

Yes. One thing that I recently learned that has really stuck with me is that we all have these things that we believe that are just true. You know, they're true about ourselves, they're true about our personality, or things that we consider we can't change. And I ask you to, you know, ask yourself if there are any of these things that really don't sit right with you. What if that just isn't true? What would that look like? And really sit with that for a little bit.

Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for sharing this. So wise. And I love that. I love that question. And I hope this really resonated. Listening right now, do feel to, you know, maybe even connect with Charlene Riganti if you feel her story resonated with you. It's always a pleasure knowing that people were listening and you made an impact, right? And this is why we invite amazing Wonderful and inspiring guest on the NeuroLeadership Edge podcast. Before we wrap up here, lead boldly. Don't forget, stay human and turn every challenge into a gift. And see you all next week. Charlene, thank you so much for joining. We'll see you soon.

Thank you so much.