Nicole Shaver - Leadership Coach & Advisor

What happens when the career you worked hard to build no longer feels like the right place to stay?

In this episode of Ted Listens, Ted Novak sits down with Nicole Shaver to talk about her decision to leave a successful career in consulting, finance, and leadership after roughly 15 years to build a coaching and advisory practice of her own.

Nicole shares an honest look at what it takes to step away from stability, status, and a familiar professional identity to create a more intentional next chapter. The conversation explores the questions many high performers eventually face: What does success look like when the title is no longer the goal? How do you recognize burnout before it becomes a breaking point? And how do you build a business rooted in relationships, trust, and the work you are uniquely positioned to do?

Along the way, Ted and Nicole discuss the distinctions between coaching, mentoring, and therapy; the importance of boundaries; and how Nicole now applies her experience through leadership development, advisory work, board service, and teaching at Loyola University Chicago.

Whether you are considering a career change, leading a team through uncertainty, or simply trying to separate who you are from what appears on your business card, this episode offers a grounded perspective on making the next move with intention.