The Messy Middle: What to Do When You’ve Outgrown Your Life but Haven’t Built the Next One Yet

Becoming Again: Leadership, Motherhood, and the Question of “Am I Enough?” with Amelia Holland, Part 2

Candace Langston and co-host Amy Cunningham continue their conversation about returning to work after stepping away, focusing on identity shifts, vulnerability, and the question “am I enough?” Citywire's Amelia Holland  shares how the traumatic birth of her twins changed her leadership, replacing self-protective armor with openness, empathy, and intentionality. Instead of reentering “guns blazing,” she observed where she was most needed, protected energy for her boys, and reframed enoughness as capacity. In this second part The Return: Redefining “Enough” After Motherhood, Trauma, and Career Comebacks she discusses the ongoing tension working mothers face between career and caregiving, referencing a London School of Economics study across 80 countries describing identity alignment as a continuous process. The episode explores burnout, evolving leadership through life transitions, the power of connection and community, and choosing a lens of strength over scrutiny. Find Candace Langston [https://www.linkedin.com/in/candacelangston/] Find Amy Cunningham [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-cunningham-leadership-dev] Find Amelia Holland [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amelia-holland-82138753/] Find Citywire [https://citywire.com/] Questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you...send us a text! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553331/fan_mail/new] To stay up to date with The FEW Collective Email [TheFEW@republiccg.com] us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-few/id1854800332] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0Cq1z2xBEftVxAvz1QhWXW] or where ever you get your podcasts. You can also follow all the behind-the-scenes content on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefewcollectivepodcast/] & Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-few-collective-podcast-b68299398/]. Recorded at The Newsstand Studios [https://www.rockefellercenter.com/newsstand-studios/] at Rockefeller Center [https://www.instagram.com/rockefellercenter/].

Becoming Again: Leadership, Motherhood, and the Question of “Am I Enough?” with Amelia Holland, Part 1

The Few Collective discuss the identity fracture many high-achieving women face during transitions like maternity leave, citing research that nearly one in three working mothers consider downshifting or leaving the workforce and that women’s workforce participation drops sharply after giving birth. They welcome guest Amelia Holland, Country Head of Citywire USA, who explains how Citywire’s credible editorial approach and years of relationship-building enable influential forums for Registered Investment Advisors and industry leaders.  Amelia Holland leads a team of audience development professionals, who are responsible for bridging the gap between the nation’s top asset allocators and distribution teams at asset management firms. Her team engage directly with C-suite executives at enterprise-level RIAs and investment researchers across the nation’s largest wealth management platforms, connecting them with Citywire’s market-leading platforms and exclusive industry conferences. Citywire is a global financial publisher providing news and industry insights to investment professionals around the world. The firm's primary titles in the US are Citywire Professional Buyer and Citywire RIA. Citywire Professional Buyer breaks news and provides industry insights and analysis on mutual funds, ETFs, and manager research.  Amelia shares her traumatic twin birth, having newborns in two different hospitals with one in the NICU, and why stepping away from work was necessary to be present for her babies’ survival. She describes the resulting identity crisis, guilt, and learning to feel “whole” again, while crediting Citywire for honoring six months of leave and her team for supporting her return.  She describes the resulting identity crisis, challenges of feeling “enough,” and the relief of reuniting her sons at home, previewing a follow-up episode on redefining “enough.” Find Candace Langston [https://www.linkedin.com/in/candacelangston/] Find Amy Cunningham [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-cunningham-leadership-dev] Find Amelia Holland [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amelia-holland-82138753/] Find Citywire [https://citywire.com/] Questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you...send us a text! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553331/fan_mail/new] To stay up to date with The FEW Collective Email [TheFEW@republiccg.com] us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-few/id1854800332] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0Cq1z2xBEftVxAvz1QhWXW] or where ever you get your podcasts. You can also follow all the behind-the-scenes content on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefewcollectivepodcast/] & Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-few-collective-podcast-b68299398/]. Recorded at The Newsstand Studios [https://www.rockefellercenter.com/newsstand-studios/] at Rockefeller Center [https://www.instagram.com/rockefellercenter/].

When Your Success No Longer Fits: How to Redefine Winning in a New Season

Candace Langston and  Cunningham discuss a common “Pivot Moment” when life looks successful externally—title, income, influence—but feels misaligned internally. They emphasize that outgrowing a former definition of success can bring real grief, especially for high performers, and that gratitude can coexist with recognizing misfit. They explore why women stay too long (attachment to rewarded roles, others’ comfort, fear of being misunderstood, confusing external proof with internal peace, “zombie mode”) and reframe redefining success as refining rather than shrinking.  Their practical framework is permission, assessment, and experimentation before exit, with guiding questions about the cost of success, what feels life-giving versus draining, who you’re becoming, and what you’d change if no one were watching. They close with a journaling call to update success intentionally and view pivoting as wisdom. Find Candace Langston [https://www.linkedin.com/in/candacelangston/] Find Amy Cunningham [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-cunningham-leadership-dev] Questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you...send us a text! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553331/fan_mail/new] To stay up to date with The FEW Collective Email [TheFEW@republiccg.com] us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-few/id1854800332] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0Cq1z2xBEftVxAvz1QhWXW] or where ever you get your podcasts. You can also follow all the behind-the-scenes content on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefewcollectivepodcast/] & Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-few-collective-podcast-b68299398/]. Recorded at The Newsstand Studios [https://www.rockefellercenter.com/newsstand-studios/] at Rockefeller Center [https://www.instagram.com/rockefellercenter/].

The Messy Middle: What to Do When You’ve Outgrown Your Life but Haven’t Built the Next One Yet

Candace Langston and Amy Cunningham continue The Few Collective’s pivot series by discussing “The Messy Middle,” the in-between season when the old life no longer fits and the next one isn’t formed yet, which can be especially uncomfortable for high-performing women who rely on clarity, momentum, and productivity. They frame messiness as transformation, emphasizing that rest and boredom can be productive and that the messy middle is often where a new identity quietly forms alongside grief for the old self and unmet expectations.  Candace shares a “rebranding” concept learned in marketing—sometimes you must “go dark” before emerging with a new identity. They explain why achievers struggle with ambiguity, worth tied to competence, and responsibility to others, and offer four anchors: normalize the season, create stability through routines, stay in wise conversation, and take small experimental actions. They warn against forcing certainty, comparison, self-labeling as broken, isolation, and interpreting the middle as failure, ending with a weekly practice to name what you’ve outgrown and take one action honoring who you’re becoming. Find Candace Langston [https://www.linkedin.com/in/candacelangston/] Find Amy Cunningham [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-cunningham-leadership-dev] Questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you...send us a text! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553331/fan_mail/new] To stay up to date with The FEW Collective Email [TheFEW@republiccg.com] us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-few/id1854800332] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0Cq1z2xBEftVxAvz1QhWXW] or where ever you get your podcasts. You can also follow all the behind-the-scenes content on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefewcollectivepodcast/] & Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-few-collective-podcast-b68299398/]. Recorded at The Newsstand Studios [https://www.rockefellercenter.com/newsstand-studios/] at Rockefeller Center [https://www.instagram.com/rockefellercenter/].

Feeling Stuck? A 4D Pivot to Move from Confusion to Traction

Candace Langston and Amy Cunningham continue The Few Collective’s series on pivoting by sharing a repeatable “4D” framework—Diagnose, Design, De-risk, Decide—meant for transitions like layoffs, leadership shifts, burnout, reinvention, and identity shock. They argue people don’t need clarity first; they need traction, because action produces clarity, even through “messy movement.”  They recap pivot archetypes to reduce shame, then explain the "4D's"  Diagnose what changed and the root behind feelings like boredom, resentment, or exhaustion and recognize patterns and understand your situation without attaching drama to it. Design focuses on two to three plausible paths as experiments, not permanent vows. De-risk means testing hypotheses through conversations, small projects, and real-world signals. Decide is a time-bound 30–90 day commitment based on evidence, with guardrails like stabilizing before strategizing, keeping identity bigger than title, and controlling a calm narrative. They end with a seven-day pivot sprint and emphasize compassion, support, and purposeful adjustment. Find Amy Cunningham [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-cunningham-leadership-dev/] Find Candace Langston [https://www.linkedin.com/in/candacelangston/] Questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you...send us a text! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2553331/fan_mail/new] To stay up to date with The FEW Collective Email [TheFEW@republiccg.com] us. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-few/id1854800332] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0Cq1z2xBEftVxAvz1QhWXW] or where ever you get your podcasts. You can also follow all the behind-the-scenes content on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefewcollectivepodcast/] & Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/the-few-collective-podcast-b68299398/]. Recorded at The Newsstand Studios [https://www.rockefellercenter.com/newsstand-studios/] at Rockefeller Center [https://www.instagram.com/rockefellercenter/].