Career Compass

Waypoint: Finding My Next Direction

By: Michelle Rankin, Aleutian Atlas Co-Founder

Five years ago, I reached a waypoint—though I didn’t have that word for it yet.

I was working in a role I loved, with a team I respected. The balance between challenge and stability felt right for years. But slowly, I began to feel it: a quiet tug that something was shifting.

When I finally paused long enough to listen, I realized what it meant—that I was ready to grow.

The Comfort of What’s Known

At the time, I worked in the in-house tax department of a large, family-owned real estate development company. My days were full of the kind of work I had mastered over time: managing the tax treatment and analysis of real-estate investments, liaising with outside firms, and performing tax strategy and planning across a complex family portfolio.

It was challenging work and intellectually fulfilling, which allowed me to grow for many years. Beyond that, the company valued me, and my boss did too. But I realized my development had started to stagnate and when I asked about potential growth opportunities, there really weren’t any. The company needed me right where I was—and that realization became the waypoint.

I didn’t know where I wanted to go next. But I knew I wanted to develop new skills, and as I gained clarity, I realized I wanted to grow my confidence in interacting with people—specifically public speaking and communication. The work I had been doing was highly specialized and, honestly, isolating. Long days alone at my desk left little space for collaboration or connection.

The Intersection of Growth and Life

Outside of work, the Covid pandemic had given me time for reflection and another truth had been growing louder: I wanted to travel more and spend more time with my family. My husband and I had both lived abroad (I in the U.K., he in Japan) and those experiences shaped us deeply. But the modern workplace left little room—or time—for that kind of exploration.

So when I discovered an opportunity to take a skill I had nurtured (tax) with a skill I wanted to lean into (people) and that intersection also meant a new kind of flexibility, I listened. I made the shift into teaching tax at a university where I would have the summers off. It wasn’t an obvious next step—but it was the right one.

What Happened Next

In the classroom, I brought all my technical expertise with me, but I also had to stretch in new ways. Speaking to a room of adults (some with years of professional experience, others with none) required clarity, adaptability, and presence.

I learned to read a room, to adjust my approach in real time, to teach instead of tell. I built creativity into my work: finding new ways to break down complex material, engage my students, and spark understanding. I found my voice.

And outside of work, I rediscovered balance. Summers meant more time with my kids and a return to adventure: Switzerland, the U.K., Austria, Italy, Canada, Hawaii, Washington, New York.

It All Started With a Waypoint

That single pause—the moment I admitted I wasn’t where I wanted to be—changed everything. I didn’t have a detailed map. I just knew I wanted to grow, connect, and live more fully.

And step by step, that’s exactly what happened.

Because sometimes, growth begins not with a plan—but with a pause.

Your next career move doesn’t start with a promotion. It starts with a pause.

The Waypoint Pause Pack is a free resource that gives you simple exercises and micro-bets to find clarity and build momentum in under an hour.

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