From Burnout to Breakthrough: Karen Finney on Leadership
What if your biggest leadership growth happens inside, not outside?
In this energizing episode of Inner Work, host MaryAnn Means-Dufrene introduces Karen Finney, a powerhouse HR executive, leadership coach, and trusted voice inside the Collective Growth team. Together, they pull back the curtain on what really shapes a leader: the personal pivots, burnout moments, mindset shifts, and hard-won insights no résumé can show.
- You’ll hear Karen’s honest reflections on:
- Breaking the “achievement trap”
- Rebuilding career paths aligned with who you really are
- Using curiosity as a leadership superpower
- Why burnout was the wake-up call she never saw coming
Whether you’re a founder, executive, or high-performing leader ready for your next evolution, this episode will help you rethink how you lead, starting from the inside out.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- 00:35 Welcome to Inner Work: Meet Karen Finney
- 00:54 Karen’s Role and Excitement for the Podcast
- 02:17 The Evolution of Inner Work Podcast
- 04:13 Karen and MaryAnn’s Professional Journey
- 08:13 Karen’s Transformative Experience
- 10:35 Balancing Professional and Personal Life
- 13:44 Karen’s Journey to Coaching Certification
- 14:14 Embracing Personal Decisions
- 15:14 Career Transitions and Growth
- 17:12 Joining Collective Growth
- 19:08 Balancing Work and Well-being
- 25:36 Leadership and Inner Work
- 28:53 Mindset and Curiosity
- 30:25 Conclusion and Future Insights
About our guest
Karen Finney is a seasoned talent strategist and leadership coach with 20+ years of experience in strategic HR, talent management, and employee engagement. She specializes in helping leaders build people-centered strategies that drive retention, enhance leadership effectiveness, and create thriving workplace cultures.
👉 Ready to explore your own leadership shift? Book a private 1:1 call with MaryAnn: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call
