#150 Finding your voice and your value in times of change with David James
Release Date: 04/24/2025
#154 Breaking barriers and empowering the next generation with Marie-Ange Eyoum Tagne, PhD
Another Door Stories
“I want to frame my journey to be an example, to be a road map, to hand the baton to somebody else, to the next generation.” In this episode, Marie-Ange Eyoum Tagne, PhD, a product leader, and technologist, shares the inspiration behind her new memoir “For Such a Time Like This”. From her childhood in Cameroon, dreaming of going to the moon, to leading teams at Meta, Amazon and Yahoo, Marie-Ange’s journey is a powerful testament to following your heart, staying strong, even when everything around you suggests you should be doing something completely...
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#153 Finding a different way to use your magic (and humour) with Emma Djemil
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#152 Starting all over again with Mark Green
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#151 The Art of Being Brave: Strength in Breaking, Power in Rising
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#150 Finding your voice and your value in times of change with David James
Another Door Stories
“It was a phenomenal time looking back, of anxiety at the beginning and disbelief that this was going to do anything for us, to finally being acquired at the end of 2021 in a life changing deal.” In this episode, I speak to David James about the reality of walking away from a, on paper, dream corporate role in search of something else. David left the Walt Disney Company and joined the startup world, he shares the story of facing into the setbacks, the moments of wonderful serendipity, the moments of deep, dark doubt (my words, not David’s!). We talk about the emotional...
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#149 Success isn't static: why we keep redefining what matters with Anna Lundberg
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#148 Getting comfortable with the unknown with Suzanne Penny
Another Door Stories
“Sometimes the doors closing are not just physical things. Sometimes it is about closing the way we do something, the way we think, so that we can step into a different space for ourselves.” Have you ever felt the weight of certainty pull you down, trapping you in a life that doesn’t truly fulfill you? In this episode I sit down with Suzanne Penny, a transition and career coach, who shares her own transformative journey of leaving behind certainty in favour of embracing the unknown. Suzanne shares key turning points in her life that could have easily anchored her in fear and...
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#147 From law courts to catwalks: following your heart with Taiwo Meghoma
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"I thought, if dressing people and making people look good makes them happy, then I would love to do this." Have you ever felt the weight of questioning your career path and wondered if there might be something else out there that's truly meant for you? In this episode, we take you on a journey with Taiwo Meghoma, a lawyer-turned-fashion-stylist. From a young boy in Nigeria discovering his love for fashion by helping his mother with her outfits, to sitting front row at major fashion weeks alongside his idols, Taiwo's story is about boldly opening new doors even when the world might tell...
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#146 How kindness shows up in moments of change with Graham Allcott
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#145 Fusing engineering with creativity to unleash rebellious curiosity with Yemi Penn
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info_outline“It was a phenomenal time looking back, of anxiety at the beginning and disbelief that this was going to do anything for us, to finally being acquired at the end of 2021 in a life changing deal.”
In this episode, I speak to David James about the reality of walking away from a, on paper, dream corporate role in search of something else.
David left the Walt Disney Company and joined the startup world, he shares the story of facing into the setbacks, the moments of wonderful serendipity, the moments of deep, dark doubt (my words, not David’s!).
We talk about the emotional highs and lows of career change, what it means to redefine success, and how sometimes, failure can lead to the most valuable opportunities.
If you're navigating change or just curious about what happens when you take a leap, this one’s for you.
Here are the highlights:
03:17 The quiet build-up to letting go
07:45 Push vs pull: What drives us to change
09:38 Starting a business from scratch
12:21 Facing failure head-on
16:14 The free fall: Losing identity after leaving corporate
22:01 A serendipitous conversation that changed everything
29:19 Finding your voice and your value in something new
33:10 Learning to focus on the real problem
40:54 Adjusting after the business was acquired
David’s ‘another door opens’ go-to list -
Book: Broken Open, How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow by Elizabeth Lesser
Music: Saint Cloud by Waxahachie
The one piece of advice: “Own your own narrative.”
More about David:
David James is the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning and a highly respected voice in the Learning & Development industry. With a focus on harnessing technology to drive impactful learning strategies, David is recognised as one of the top 10 global influencers in the L&D space. His expertise lies in helping organisations modernise their approach to workplace learning, ensuring measurable results and business alignment.
David is also the host of The Learning & Development Podcast, which has amassed over 500,000 downloads and ranks in the top 1% of podcasts globally. With nearly 30,000 LinkedIn followers, he continues to shape the conversation around L&D innovation and best practices, drawing on his deep experience, including his time as Director of Learning, Talent & Organisational Development at The Walt Disney Company.
Find out more: https://360learning.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/?originalSubdomain=uk
About your host Eleanor
Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s 121 coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training. Eleanor’s work centres around how we, as humans, work through change, embracing the messy bits, the role of playing, with the aim to see opportunity. “Too often we get stuck in the change happening to us, when just through that next door is an exciting next chapter.”
Eleanor is the founder of Another Door, and the author of Another Door Opens - Five steps to navigating change in work and life
Instagram:instagram/anotherdoor_opens
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/
Website: www.anotherdoor.co.uk
Produced by winteraudio.co.uk