307: Leadership Decision Making and the Non-Linear Path to the C-Suite with Michelle Darcy-Clarke

Michelle Darcy-Clarke didn't have a five-year plan. She took a job by accident, made deliberate lateral moves when everyone expected upward ones, stepped back to be an individual contributor, and eventually became a Chief Experience Officer — without really aiming for it.

In this episode, Michelle joins Toni for one of the most honest and energizing conversations about non-linear leadership careers, the VP comfort zone, ambition redefined, and the single mindset shift that separates people who keep growing from the ones who plateau.

She also gets into the AI transformation her team is driving right now — and why women leaders need to be the ones at the front of that conversation.

What we cover:

⏹  The accidental start to a 27-year career in market research — and what kept it interesting

⏹  Lateral moves as a deliberate growth strategy: why sideways sometimes beats upward

⏹  The VP comfort zone: what safety at that level really means and why it can become a trap

⏹  Doing the C-suite job before getting the title — and knowing when to have that conversation

⏹  Ambition redefined: how wanting to do good rather than be better than your peer actually gets you further

⏹  The red personality: challenge first, commit fully — and why this style gets mistaken for resistance

⏹  Best and worst case scenario decision-making at the executive level

⏹  The team-to-company mindset shift: the single biggest blocker to executive progression