One of the biggest blind spots I explore in The Career Remix is how rarely we question the arena we’re playing in. Most people assume their problem is a bad boss, a stressful project, or a skills gap. But often the real issue is misalignment between who they are and the career environment they’re in.

We become trapped by narrow labels:

“You belong in finance.”

“You’re an operator.”

“You’re a PE-profile person.”

“You’re a corporate person.”

“You should stay in your industry.”

But those labels are not destiny. They’re stereotypes that compress your identity into one path and keep you from seeing alternatives across corporates, SMEs, consulting, PE portfolio companies, indie business, mission-driven organizations, and more.

In The Career Remix, I call this your Career Fit — Direction:

Are you in the right arena for the way you think, decide, collaborate, and create value?

If the arena is wrong, two things inevitably happen:

1. Your motivation drops even though you’re working hard.

2. Your performance plateaus despite your competence.

That’s not a personal failure. It’s a fit failure.

And you don’t fix a fit problem by doing “more of the same.” You fix it by rerouting — the same way your GPS recalibrates when you take the wrong turn.

A smart career pivot starts with the three pillars of the Career Triangle:

1. Ready — Your Effort Readiness

Are you willing and able to handle the pressure, pace, and ambiguity of your chosen arena?

2. Willing — Your Workplace Preferences

Do you thrive in structure or autonomy? Long-term depth or fast-cycle execution? Collegiality or sharp-edged performance cultures?

3. Able — Your Hardwired Capabilities

Are you naturally built for analytical depth, relationship leadership, execution discipline, creative problem-solving, or strategic navigation?

When these three align with the right career arena, work feels energizing instead of draining, and growth feels natural instead of forced.

If you suspect you’re undervaluing yourself, underperforming relative to your potential, or simply feeling disconnected from your current path, the question isn’t:

“How can I push harder here?”

It’s:

“Am I in the right arena — and what would happen if I pivoted to a better one?”

That’s where real transformation begins:

• researching external arenas,

• doing true employer and role due diligence,

• analyzing your transferable capabilities, and

• choosing the environment where you can actually thrive.

If you’re unsure where to start, take the free diagnostic quiz on this website — a quick way to understand your direction, your preferences, and the misalignments that might be holding you back: www.michelevolpi.com

Sometimes the best moment to ask yourself these questions is exactly when life forces a pause: 

• Finishing a project cycle.

• Hitting a ceiling.

• Starting an MBA.

These inflection points create a rare window where you can finally step back and evaluate the bigger picture — not just what you can do next, but what you should do next. It’s the ideal moment to be brutally honest about whether “more of the same” will truly get you where you want to go.

And “there” isn’t just success.

It’s success and happiness.

Performance and fulfillment.

A career that works for you, not just one you can survive.

Those turning points aren’t setbacks; they’re invitations to redesign your path with intention.