When Success No Longer Fits: Reinvent Yourself

Women Road Warriors

Adyna K. Pressley, a former Vice President of Operations in financial services with 34 years of corporate experience, shares her journey of reinvention after being laid off. Her

Key takeaways

• Burnout often begins long before the term becomes mainstream; it's frequently rooted in lack of support and representation at senior levels.
• Being the 'only one' in a room—especially as a woman or person of color—creates emotional labor and isolation that undermines performance and well-being.

Main topics

• Career reinvention
• Leadership challenges for women in male-dominated industries

Notable quotes

"I was burnt out before burnout became this catch word that we talk about nowadays."

"The day you make me cry is when hell freezes over. I'm crying from anger, not because you hurt my feelings."

Conclusion

Adyna K. Pressley's journey from corporate executive to empowerment leader demonstrates that reinvention is not

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:01) This Speaker 2 (0:01) is Women Road Warriors with Shelly Johnson and Kathy Takaro from the corporate office to the cab of a truck. They're here to inspire and empower women in all professions. So gear down, sit back and enjoy. Speaker 3 (0:23) Welcome. We're an award-winning show dedicated to empowering women in every profession through inspiring stories and expert insights. No topics off-limits on our show. We power women on the road to success with expert and celebrity interviews and information you need. I'm Shelley. And Speaker 5 (0:42) I'm Kathy. Speaker 3 (0:44) What happens when the title that once defined you no longer fits the woman you've become? Our guest today knows that moment firsthand. and her powerful reinvention story was featured on the Oprah podcast. Adina Presley spent 34 years in corporate America. She rose to vice president of operations and financial services and helped hundreds of team members grow in advance. Along the way, she saw something traditional leadership programs often overlook. Many highly talented women, especially black women, aren't struggling because they lack ability. They're carrying the weight of being the only one in the room, working twice as hard for half the recognition, and leading without the support of people who truly understand the terrain. That isn't a leadership gap. It's a structural one. Speaker 5 (1:32) Today, as the founder and CEO of AKP Speaker 3 (1:34) Innovations, Adina helps women and organizations build confidence, emotional intelligence, clarity, and purpose-driven leadership. She was named the 2025 Best Women's Empowerment Leader in the U.S. and a 2026 woman to watch. She's also a global leadership trainer, the host of the Presley On Purpose podcast, and the award-winning author of Rise Into You, Reclaiming Power, Love, Life, and Legacy. Today, we're going to talk about how women can lead confidently through reinvention. They can release outdated definitions of success and build lives and leadership paths that feel authentic and full of purpose while still being sustainable. Adina, welcome to Women Road Warriors. Kathy and I are really looking forward to this conversation. Speaker 4 (2:21) Thank you so much for having me. Thank you so much. I'm so excited as well. Oh my God. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Speaker 5 (2:27) And we're excited. Speaker 3 (2:29) Oh, my goodness. Adina, your work is amazing. You're empowering so many women. But before we dive into reinvention for women, could you maybe give us the cliff notes of what you experienced yourself? Speaker 4 (2:42) So I've been in finance for over 30 years. I started out as an entry level. employee and I worked my way up through the ranks becoming, and I worked through sales and marketing and then ultimately became vice president of operations. And as you know, the financial industry is a male dominated industry. And even though I did have allyship when it came to some of the men that I worked with, unfortunately, Being at that level, because now when I became vice president of operations, I'm behind the scenes. I'm dealing with the corporate politics. I'm dealing with the execs. There was nobody who looked like me. So I didn't have the support of being able to bounce things off of someone or whatever gripes I may have had, you know, I could talk to. And that was, I felt, was a gap that I needed to fill when I started AKP. But ultimately what wound up happening is. Because of some restructure, and you know how that goes, especially when some of the decisions that was being made on an executive level wasn't working to in the benefit of the company, I wound up getting laid off. And I'll be honest with you, that was one of the best things that could have happened to me because I always like to preface by saying the first 30 years of my career, I loved what I did. But when I got to that level and I didn't have, you know, the real support that I needed. being the only one in that role, I started to feel burnt out. And I always tell people I was burnt out before burnout became this catch word that we talk about nowadays. And to be honest with you, the layoff was the best thing that could have happened to me. Yeah. So that's how I got here. Speaker 3 (4:35) You know, Speaker 4 (4:36) I'm sure everyone can Speaker 3 (4:37) resonate. The women are women listeners, no matter what profession they're in. And it's true. I think men have more mentors than women do. I mean, you have to have somebody you can look up to, a guide, if you will. I mean, we grow up that way with our parents. So women don't have that. They're the only one in the room. That makes it a very, very lonely place. And I think a lot of them feel pressure to conform to traditional roles, know their place. I hate that. Speaker 4 (5:11) Absolutely. And I think one of the things that I struggled with at being in that role, because I've always been my authentic self. And I think some some men, I have to be honest, some men at a certain level don't know how to navigate that. So the executive that I used to work directly with him and I wouldn't see eye to eye. And and it got to the point where he knew that. I was so anchored that he couldn't move me. So what he did was restructure. He restructured things so that, okay, I can't move her, but I can put someone in place of her in between the two of us. Let me say it that way, to be more like a buffer. So that's another thing that I experienced as well. So you were punished? Yeah, yeah. Whereas maybe a man would have been rewarded? Sure. Sure. This man had he prided himself by saying, I make I make people cry. I'm like, really? Wow. Like that's something to be proud of. Yeah. Wow. Speaker 5 (6:15) Yeah. Speaker 4 (6:16) He told me that in a meeting and I told him, I said, the day that you make me cry. Speaker 4 (6:23) Yeah. Yeah. I told him, I said, I'm a mother of two. And I said, and I couldn't even see myself crying because you said something. And I knew the day that I decided to cry, I knew I would have to quit. Speaker 3 (6:34) Yeah. The day you make me cry is when hell freezes over, right? Yeah. Speaker 4 (6:38) It's like, I'd be man. I'm crying. I'm crying from anger. It's not because you hurt my feelings. Huge difference. Speaker 3 (6:45) I remember dealing with a boss that was, he didn't believe that women should be in broadcasting or anywhere near a microphone. Wow. Speaker 4 (6:53) And Speaker 3 (6:53) I was just a young cub, if you will, in my very early 20s. And I remember he was always trying to use me for a bad example. And I remember I was standing up for myself very politely. And Speaker 5 (7:06) he Speaker 3 (7:06) said, you're being insubordinate. I said. No, I said, we have a difference of opinion. And I remember I was so mad I wanted to cry, you know, and I was like, ugh, you know, and it's amazing the emotions you can have. And what women are, you know, still put through, maybe not in the same way, maybe not as direct, but yeah, it doesn't make sense. Because... Leadership needs to understand the organization has strengths because of its diversity, because of the difference of opinions and the different things that people put to the table. Yeah. Speaker 5 (7:43) Lots of the men are old school in mining and don't believe women should belong there. And that's a fact. Yeah, I totally get it. Yep. And, you know, like even to this day, there's not a whole lot like on our crew. I think there's seven women out of 100. So it's not a whole lot. Right. We got to stand our ground and say, hey, you know, we're really lucky. ExxonMobil is like the best company to work for. Zero harassment policy tolerated at all. You know, you're not allowed even swearing or saying or even wearing shirts that are by any chance the minutest vulgar or derogatory. So I love that because we're supported. Yeah, Speaker 3 (8:24) that's wonderful. Yeah. And that's what. In order for people to prosper, they need support. And Adina, that's what you're bringing to the table. You're providing the support for people because, you know, it does seem, especially with women, we wear so many hats and we really are very versatile. I don't think we realize that. We're in the career world. We've got all of these demands. We're raising children. We're constantly making executive decisions, even at home. So when a woman... faces different things and tries to find the support and tries to reinvent herself. She doesn't know how. So how do we do that? Speaker 4 (9:05) Well, and I'm only speaking from my lived experience. I've always had a leadership. I always had leadership in me. Let me say it that way. I was the oldest of... my siblings. I'm the oldest of the, you know, the cousins. And it's so funny. They call me the CEO of the, of the siblings and the cousins. It's so funny. So I've always had that leadership inside of me. So when it came to reinvention, I've always looked at it from a positive perspective. I don't believe in, I believe that everything happens for a reason. So even like when the door closed for me, when I was laid off after 34 years in corporate, I looked at that as like, okay, this setback is setting me up for my comeback, you know? So I believe in just going ahead and doing it. And I also believe that if it doesn't work the first time, then just do it over. Because what I also learned is reinvention doesn't doesn't retire. It doesn't retire. So if it doesn't work the first time, then you just try again. So I always say just do it. I find that when you just when you face it head on and you move forward on, you know, whatever it is that you're whatever challenge that's put in your way and then you have to reinvent yourself, just do it. Speaker 2 (10:28) Stay tuned for more of Women Road Warriors coming up. Speaker 1 (10:36) Dean Michael, the tax doctor here. I have one question for you. Do you want to stop worrying about the IRS? If the answer is yes, then look no further. I've been around for years. I've helped countless people across the country, and my success rate speaks for itself. So now you know where to find good, honest help with your tax problems. What are you waiting for? If you owe more than $10,000 to the IRS, or haven't filed in years, call me now at 888-557-4020 or go to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free consultation and get your life back. Speaker 2 (11:09) Welcome back to Women Road Warriors with Shelly Johnson and Kathy Takaro. Speaker 3 (11:17) If you're enjoying this informative episode of Women Road Warriors, I wanted to mention Kathy and I explore all kinds of topics that will power you on the road to success. We feature a lot of expert interviews. Plus, we feature celebrities and women who've been trailblazers. Please check out our podcast at womenroadwarriors.com and click on our episodes page. We're also available wherever you listen to podcasts on all the major podcast channels like Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon Music, Audible. You name it. Check us out and bookmark our podcast. Also, don't forget to follow us on social media. We're on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, and other sites. And tell others about us. We want to help as many women as possible. We're talking with Adina Presley, whose powerful reinvention story was featured on the Oprah podcast. After 34 years in corporate America, including rising to vice president of operations. Adina discovered that sometimes success isn't about climbing one more rung. It's about having the courage to choose a different ladder. She's been sharing some wonderful insights that all women can take advantage of. In our previous segment, Adina said, when it comes to reinventing yourself, just do it. Do whatever it takes. Adina, I think today... People have to reinvent themselves. You don't have this cushy job for 30-some years. I don't think that the stability is there in business. There are a lot of changes. People have to constantly re-educate, and we have technology changing so much of it. Speaker 5 (12:54) It evolves so fast. Yes. And you have to keep up. Speaker 4 (12:59) Yes. And I always say that, yeah, it's ever changing, especially with technology. And now that we even, you know, we have AI, that's another thing that a lot of people talk about and that they're concerned about. But again, I always look at everything from a positive perspective. So I even look at that as