📣 Unapologetically You: The Leadership Leap That Pays Off

In my August 2025 episode of my Leader Brand Yourself Podcast - Unapologetically You, I had the joy of speaking with Alice Quan, a design leader whose career spans startups, global tech firms, and now GoFundMe. One moment in our conversation stood out: Alice’s decision to leave a major cloud company for a nonprofit. It wasn’t just a career move—it was a brand move.

“The top of the ladder for me is meaning.” — Alice Quan (AliceAuQuan.com)

This quote is more than a mantra—it’s a redefinition of success. Alice challenges the traditional climb toward titles and compensation, and instead centers her leadership around purpose. She’s not just chasing impact; she’s designing it. That shift—from external validation to internal alignment—is what makes her story so resonant.

When Alice says “meaning,” she’s talking about a life designed with intention. It’s about choosing roles, projects, and even tradeoffs that reflect your values. It’s about showing up fully, even when the world tells you to tone it down. And it’s about making space for the kind of work—and the kind of life—that feels true to who you are.

Eve Enslow interviews Alice Quan

💡 Insight: Prosperity Is Personal

In our conversation, Alice shared a moment that many leaders will recognize: taking a pay cut to pursue a role that felt more aligned. From the outside, it looked risky. From the inside, it was a leap toward fulfillment. She reframed prosperity—not as a paycheck, but as a portfolio of purpose, passion, and power.

This is a powerful shift. When we define prosperity for ourselves, we stop measuring success by someone else’s yardstick. We start asking better questions: Does this role energize me? Does this project reflect my values? Am I growing in the ways that matter most?

Alice also introduced the idea of personal OKRs—Objectives and Key Results—as a way to track what matters. It’s a framework borrowed from tech, but applied to life. One of her OKRs? Writing her book, Make Way. Another? Starting a family. These goals aren’t just personal—they’re strategic. They help her stay accountable to the life she’s designing.

And that’s the heart of it: prosperity is personal. It’s not just about what you earn—it’s about what you build, what you contribute, and how you feel while doing it. When leaders embrace this mindset, they unlock a deeper kind of success—one that’s sustainable, authentic, and unapologetically theirs.

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