The traditional markers of executive success have been clear for decades: the corner office, the prestigious title, the board appointments, the industry accolades. For generations of women breaking barriers in corporate leadership, these external validations represented hard-won victories in environments not designed for their success.

Yet a profound shift is occurring among today’s accomplished women executives. After reaching these conventional pinnacles, many are stepping back to ask a more fundamental question: “Is this success on my terms—or someone else’s?”

The New Success Paradigm

Eleanor spent 22 years climbing the corporate ladder to become COO of a major financial institution. Her journey included all the expected checkpoints: MBA from a top program, strategic lateral moves, increasingly prominent leadership roles, and finally, the C-suite position she had long targeted.

“By every external measure, I had ’made it,” she reflects. “Yet I found myself increasingly questioning whether this version of success actually aligned with my values and what I truly wanted to contribute in the world.”

Eleanor’s experience mirrors what we’re seeing across our community at The Catalytic Collective. After achieving conventional success, accomplished women executives are increasingly reclaiming the authority to define achievement on their own terms—creating personalized success metrics that honor both their professional capabilities and their authentic aspirations.

Beyond Either/Or Thinking

This redefinition isn’t about rejecting achievement or ambition. It’s about expanding the definition of success beyond binary choices—integrating rather than choosing between meaningful impact, personal fulfillment, financial security, and authentic self-expression.

“For years, I thought my options were either full commitment to my executive role or stepping away entirely,” explains Meredith, former CMO of a global consumer products company. “The breakthrough came when I realized I could design a portfolio approach that leveraged my marketing expertise across board roles, teaching, and selective consulting—creating more impact with more flexibility.”

What distinguishes this new paradigm isn’t a move away from achievement, but rather a more nuanced integration of multiple dimensions of success—professional contribution, personal wellbeing, relational fulfillment, and legacy creation—into a coherent whole.

The Permission Gap

Perhaps the most significant barrier to this redefinition is what we call the “permission gap”—the unspoken belief that success must be defined by external standards rather than personal values. After decades of proving themselves in systems designed around masculine definitions of achievement, many women executives struggle to grant themselves permission to rewrite the rules.

“I didn’t realize how much I had internalized others’ expectations until I stepped back and examined my own definition of success,” shares Jennifer, who transitioned from investment banking leadership to impact investing. “The most challenging aspect wasn’t creating a new path—it was giving myself permission to define success differently than I had for twenty years.”

This permission gap often manifests in subtle ways—the postponed passion project, the deferred board service in areas of personal meaning, or the delayed pursuit of impact that doesn’t fit neatly within conventional career paths.

Redefining Without Retreating

Critical to this redefinition is the distinction between reimagining success and retreating from challenge. The women leading this shift aren’t seeking easier paths—they’re seeking more aligned ones that leverage their considerable capabilities toward impact that matters deeply to them personally.

“I’m working harder now than I did as CEO,” notes Patricia, who left a Fortune 500 leadership position to launch a healthcare innovation venture. “The difference is that every ounce of effort now directly connects to impact I deeply value. The alignment creates energy rather than depleting it.”

This distinction highlights an important nuance—the redefinition movement isn’t about doing less or achieving less. It’s about achieving different things in different ways, often with greater impact precisely because of the authentic alignment.

The Redefinition Pathways

While each woman’s journey is unique, we’ve observed several common pathways through which accomplished executives are redefining success:

The Portfolio Approach

Rather than a single all-encompassing role, many executives are creating carefully curated portfolios that combine board service, advisory roles, investments, and passion projects. This approach provides both variety and integration—allowing executives to leverage their expertise across multiple domains while maintaining flexibility.

“My portfolio includes two corporate boards, an adjunct teaching position, and a foundation I started addressing education access,” explains Diane, former general counsel for a technology company. “Each element engages different aspects of my experience and interests—creating a whole that’s more fulfilling than any one role could be.”

The Impact Pivot

Some executives are redirecting their considerable skills toward areas of personal meaning—whether through leading purpose-driven organizations, founding social enterprises, or applying their expertise to systemic challenges they find personally compelling.

“After twenty years in consumer banking, I realized my greatest satisfaction came from financial literacy initiatives we supported through corporate philanthropy,“ shares Monica, who now leads a financial empowerment nonprofit. “Redirecting my banking expertise toward expanding economic opportunity gives me both purpose and the chance to apply my skills in new contexts.”

The Integrated Life

Rather than separating professional achievement from personal priorities, many women are creating integrated approaches that honor both—whether through entrepreneurial ventures aligned with personal values, location-independent roles that accommodate family priorities, or organizational cultures they’ve intentionally shaped to reflect human-centered values.

“I founded my company specifically to create the integration I couldn’t find elsewhere,” notes Alexandra, who leads a professional services firm. “We’ve built a culture where impact, excellence, and wellbeing coexist by design rather than competing with each other. The structure itself embodies a different definition of success.”

The Legacy Focus

For some executives, redefining success means focusing explicitly on the legacy they wish to create—whether through mentoring the next generation of leaders, addressing systemic barriers they themselves faced, or building institutions designed to outlast their personal involvement.

“After breaking numerous ’firsts’ in my industry, I realized my greatest contribution might be ensuring others didn’t face the same barriers,” explains Regina, who now leads a foundation focused on advancing women of color in technology leadership. “This work leverages everything I learned through my corporate journey while creating impact that will continue long after me.”

The Collective Imperative

What makes this movement particularly powerful is its collective dimension. As more accomplished women executives redefine success on their own terms, they create both permission and pathways for others to do the same—expanding the possibilities for the next generation of leaders.

“When I left my CFO role to pursue impact investing, several women executives reached out to say my decision helped them question their own definitions of success,” notes Jennifer. “One told me, ’Seeing you make this move showed me I have choices I hadn’t considered.’ That ripple effect may be as important as the work itself.”

This collective dimension extends beyond individual influence to institutional impact. As more senior women executives reimagine success, they’re also reshaping the organizations they touch—whether through board influence, investment decisions, or cultural leadership—creating environments that support more nuanced definitions of achievement.

Beginning Your Redefinition

If you find yourself questioning whether conventional success fully aligns with your authentic aspirations, consider these starting points for your own redefinition process:

• Examine the origins of your current success definition—how much comes from your authentic values versus external expectations or adaptations to environments not designed for you?
• Create a personal success dashboard with metrics that matter deeply to you across professional impact, personal wellbeing, relational fulfillment, and legacy creation
• Identify where permission gaps may be limiting your thinking about possible futures—what would you pursue if you fully trusted your own authority to define success?
• Explore the full spectrum of ways your executive capabilities could create impact in areas that matter to you personally
• Connect with others who have navigated similar redefinitions to expand your sense of what’s possible

The Ultimate Success Metric

Perhaps the most profound aspect of this redefinition movement is the shift in how success itself is measured. Rather than external achievements alone, the new paradigm evaluates success by the alignment between your authentic self and your daily reality—creating achievement that energizes rather than depletes.

This doesn’t mean conventional achievements no longer matter. Rather, it means they take their place within a more comprehensive framework—one that honors the full spectrum of what matters to accomplished women defining success on their own terms.