What do you do when you fail out of college, move to Idaho with a population of 71, and somehow turn it into a 20-year corporate career and then walk away to coach other women through the same journey?
In this episode, Karen sits down with Kristi Duvall, a leadership coach, speaker, and author of the upcoming book Teaching Myself to Jump. Kristi spent two decades in corporate sales and management, climbing from sales assistant to Vice President of Sales, all while battling imposter syndrome, burnout, and the constant need for someone else to tell her she was “ready.” Now, she’s channeling that hard-won wisdom into a coaching practice that helps women leaders do what she had to learn the hard way: trust themselves, lead authentically, and build sustainable leadership practices that don’t require self-destruction.
The Accidental Career
Kristi’s path was anything but linear. She enrolled in accounting because her mom was an accountant, not because she wanted to. After failing out, she was searching for something when she spotted a job listing for a resort in Stanley, Idaho. She applied on a whim. Two weeks later, she was living in a wooden hut with a sleeping bag, experiencing independence for the first time. That spontaneous move became a pattern: sales assistant in Boise, salesperson in Portland, packaging sales in Seattle, then 20 years at a single company where she scaled it from small to midsize, survived an acquisition, and rose to VP of Sales. Each step was reactive, opportunistic, unplanned, yet each one built her skills, her network, and eventually, her imposter syndrome.
The Permission Problem
Here’s what Kristi discovered working her way up: Women wait for permission. Men assume they belong. Even as VP of Sales, she kept thinking, “They’re going to find out I’m a fraud.” She hired coaches – multiple coaches over the years – because she didn’t trust her own judgment. She waited for a tap on the shoulder. She believed promotions came from external validation, not from deciding she deserved them. It wasn’t until a coach challenged her: “Don’t make it a 10-year plan. Make it a 5-year plan,” because most people will wait nine years before starting their 10-year plan. That single piece of advice changed everything. She’s now two years into her coaching practice, running early mornings and late nights, managing multiple identities (home, business founder, leader), and proving that the “wait and see” approach costs more than the bold one.
Management vs. Leadership: The Inner Work
Kristi makes a distinction that many leaders never learn: management is about tasks; leadership is about transformation. A manager tells people what to do. A leader does the inner work first; the self-reflection, the emotional awareness, the willingness to be vulnerable with their team.
She shares a brutal moment early in her career when two reps pulled her aside and said: “You don’t listen to us. You’re always unapproachable.” She was completely unaware. That feedback became a turning point. She realized that her body language, her emotional state, her presence. All of it communicated something to her team. Great leaders, she learned, constantly improve themselves and help others do the same.
Leading Through Growth (Without Burning Out)
Kristi has led through corporate acquisitions, post-integration chaos, scaling challenges, and the kind of transformation that breaks most leaders. Acquisitions are particularly brutal, blending cultures, retooling processes, figuring out where you fit, all with intense uncertainty and emotional labor.
She’s built a signature coaching framework (took years to develop) specifically for leaders going through these transitions. It’s systematic, deep work, not a quick fix. Her primary clients are women leaders carrying emotional labor, managing teams through uncertainty, and struggling with burnout at mid-level or executive roles. Her philosophy: Ask for help. It’s not weakness; it’s data. Get a discovery call. Meet with a coach. See if it’s a fit. The higher you rise in an organization, the fewer people you can confide in. A coach provides that unbiased perspective.
Finding Your Coach (It’s Like Trying on Clothes)
Kristi’s advice on finding the right coach is practical and honest:
- Try people on. It’s like going to a dressing room, you might need a few tries
- Look for fit: skills, credibility, AND style that resonates with you
- People pick mentors with qualities they want. Kristi saw a coach on stage at a women’s leadership conference 10+ years ago and thought, “She’s talking to me.” That feeling matters
- Get a discovery call. Any real coach will offer no-pressure conversation
- Styles differ. Some people need harsh feedback; others need softer guidance. Find your match
Connect with Kristi for: leadership coaching for women, specialized in growth, acquisition, and burnout prevention.
Key Insight: The best leaders aren’t born. They’re made through relentless self-reflection, good coaching, and the audacity to trust themselves before anyone else does.
Ready to lead without burning out? This conversation is your invitation.
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