Episode 19: ‘The Art of Not Knowing What Comes Next’ with Emily Stanger Sfeile  

Now based in Accra, Ghana, Emily Stanger Sfeile has spent two decades working on some of the world’s most complex challenges – from food security and health systems to women’s economic empowerment and epidemic response.

Her work has put her in rooms with heads of state, UN leaders and tech CEOs, while also working closely with communities creating change on the ground.

High-level work. Fast-moving. Structured by urgency, travel and constant decision-making.

And then she stepped away from it.

Not because she had a perfectly formed next move, but because she wanted to create space before deciding what came next – viewing the time as a big experiment rather than a specific relaunch in a career journey as an executive. 

What makes this conversation unique is that she speaks about transition without trying to turn it into a polished reinvention story.

It isn’t ‘only’ about career transition.

It’s also about movement. Relocation. Family change. Identity. And what happens when the structures that once defined your rhythm begin to loosen and when outlook is no longer driving your day.

Rather than jumping into another senior executive role, she chose exploration instead. Conversations. Consulting ideas. Freelance possibilities. Experiments. Trying things on before deciding what fits.

At one point, the conversation lands on the idea of the “messy middle.” That period where one chapter has ended, but the next still feels unresolved. 

And one word keeps resurfacing throughout: trying.

Trying without guarantees.
Trying without immediate clarity.
Trying even when identity feels less fixed than before.

If you’ve ever questioned the pace, structure or identity that work can create – and wondered what might emerge if you stopped – this conversation will resonate.