Why High Performers Struggle When They Step Into Leadership - Part 2
You can be talented, driven, and deeply capable β and still spend years choosing paths that are easier than the one you were meant for.
This is the episode about what happens when you stop choosing comfort, and start trusting yourself to do the thing you actually love.
In this episode of Inner Work, MaryAnn sits down with Emily McAnelly β VP of Strategic Growth at Collective Growth β for an honest, warm, and surprisingly funny conversation about identity, deserving, and what it really means to build something that matters.
Together, they explore:
- Why we resist doing what we love most (and call it "not deserving it")
- What changes when you flip the script and build toward freedom instead of safety
- The loneliness of leadership β and why having the right person in your corner changes everything
- How old narratives quietly define you until you decide they don't anymore
- And what it looks like to find discipline that actually feels like purpose
This isn't a polished success story. It's a real conversation between two women building something from scratch β with a puppy barking in the background and everything.
Hereβs a glimpse of what youβll learn:
- 00:41 Do What You Love
- 01:42 Making Joy a Career
- 04:59 Freedom and Ambition
- 07:41 Yin Yang Partnership
- 09:24 Mission of Collective Growth
- 11:02 From Founder Led Selling
- 12:48 Loneliness of Leadership
- 19:11 Stoic Mindset Shifts
- 21:49 Rapid Fire and Discipline
- 27:54 Closing Thanks and Next Steps
About the Guest:
Emily McAnelly is the VP of Strategic Growth at Collective Growth, where she leads business development and go-to-market strategy. With experience across AI startups, Fortune 100 partnerships, and financial systems, she builds scalable, transformational growth engines. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her family and brings both strategic rigor and irreplaceable human warmth to everything she touches.
π Connect with Emily: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-mcanelly-99442233/
If you've ever wondered whether you actually deserve the thing you most want to do β this one's for you.
π Book a 1:1 call with MaryAnn: https://collectivegrowthleadership.com/book-call
