16 | Sandra Odendahl - When Losing Your Job Becomes the Best Career Gift

What if the job you lost was the pause you never gave yourself permission to take?

Charles sits down with Sandra Odendahl, his former boss from Scotiabank and a sustainable finance leader with more than twenty-five years in the field, who left a senior executive role and called it the worst sabbatical ever.

They get into the strange relief of having a role eliminated, the difference between an architect and a caretaker, and how a structured pause can quietly redirect an entire career.

If you have ever confused motion with progress, or feared that slowing down means falling behind, this one is your permission slip. Listen now.

Timestamped Highlights

• [04:15] - The coaching advice that changed how Sandra told the world she had left
• [05:43] - The worst sabbatical ever post that pulled people back into her orbit
• [07:15] - Her husband's one-line verdict that named the whole season
• [10:12] - When the work stops being fun: the ambition that quietly shrank
• [11:04] - Told her role was eliminated, and feeling relief instead of panic
• [13:28] - Architect or caretaker? The self-knowledge that shapes a whole career
• [15:34] - Did I do something bad? The self-doubt that hits in the first few minutes
• [28:30] - The two-hour coffee that reframed a layoff as a gift
• [43:41] - Stretchy pants days and blouse days: structuring a pause so it never feels aimless
• [47:59] - The pause that created a career step change staying put never would have
• [51:38] - Second half of a career: why title and paycheck stopped mattering

Resources Mentioned

• Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
• RBC
• Scotiabank
• EY
• Mitacs
• Queen's University
• Endeavour Volunteer Consulting for Non-Profits
• Canadian Club
• Catalyst

About the Guest

Sandra Odendahl is a pioneer in sustainable finance with more than twenty-five years of experience across environmental science and the finance sector. Most recently she was Senior Vice President and Head of Sustainability, Diversity and Social Impact at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), after leading enterprise-wide sustainability and social finance programs at Scotiabank and RBC. She also served as President and CEO of a Calgary-based carbon capture technology company, and began her career as an environmental scientist and engineer in the natural resources sector. She holds a Master of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering, is a CFA charter holder, and has served on numerous nonprofit boards. She recently stepped away from BDC and is advising a clean-economy investment fund.

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Important Links

• Connect with Charles: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
• Press Pause. Take a Leap. Change Everything - Get a copy of Charles' book.
• Ready to spark change? Book Charles as keynote speaker for your event.

When We Pause is an original production hosted by Charles Achampong. Production and editing by Podcast Your Brand.