0:03

What if burnout is not failure, but a signal that an old story about who you are or needed to be is no longer true? This is the Your Next Success podcast, and I am your host, Dr. Caroline Sangal. I am a life first career coach and strategist on a mission to normalize questioning your career because I believe each of us is made on purpose for a purpose only we can fulfill. The longer we live out of alignment with who we are, what we do best, and why we are here, the more we miss out and the more the world misses out on what only we can give the Your Next Success Podcast is where we explore how to build a career that truly fuels your life. We talk about self-discovery, smart job, search strategies, professional growth. And you will hear stories from people who have navigated big career transitions themselves. So you can create a life, first career and become your own version of authentic success, one that is aligned, meaningful, and truly yours. My guest today is Meggi Rombach. Meggi has spent over two decades leading teams and driving change across private and humanitarian sectors from Proctor and Gamble to unicef and the ICRC. Constant high performance took a toll and burnout and health challenges forced her to pause. That moment changed everything. Today, she coaches leaders and teams to navigate transitions with presence, depth, courage, and helping them find clarity and purpose in times of change. when people talk about burnout, they often focus on workload. Meggi invites us to look at identity instead. Who do you believe you need to be in order to be valued? Who do you become when you feel unseen? What happens inside you when feedback lands as judgment? In this conversation, she shares the teenage moment that shaped an authority pattern and how returning years later created the kind of closure that reorganized her nervous system and steadied her leadership. This is the beginning of what she calls the Mindful Rebellion, a grounded shift that replaces proving with presence and restores your ability to choose your next chapter with clarity.

Caroline 2:37

Meggi Roach, welcome to Your Next Success. I'm so excited to talk to you today.

Meggi Rombach 2:42

My pleasure to be here. Can't wait

Caroline 2:44

Awesome. We're gonna get to all the amazing work and coaching and helping that you do, um, with executives, leaders, um, people now, and let's go back to the very, very beginning. Tell us where were you born? What was life like for your very littlest self?

Meggi Rombach 3:02

Wow, that's a long way back. So I am a small town girl. I'm German originally, and yes, I'm from a small town in Germany. I am the sandwich kid, so I'm the middle kid of three. I have a older brother and the youngest sister. My dad used to work as a chemist, so my mom and my mom helped him out in his, in his pharmacy and yeah, so, so that was really little Meggi. I started horse riding when I was really young, so that was part of me from a very early age. So I dunno how much more you want me to go, but

Caroline 3:37

so horse riding was an interest, um, and being in the middle of siblings, I imagine enjoying time with them. What kind of things did you love doing, like activities for once you got into school and even outside of school? What, what were you drawn to?

Meggi Rombach 3:54

So we were this kind of typical German middle class family. So we all learned the instrument where we were really small. So I started playing the clarinet and I quite liked it, but I stopped it quite early. And that's something I'm a bit, a bit resenting now that I hadn't kept going. Um, I also did jazz dance. So I tried a ju jitsu, so I did a few things, but then very early it was very clear that for me, horse riding is my calling. So at one point I was literally going to the stables every single day, you know? So that was just my thing. And then of course with my siblings, this is small town Germany, so we had a house with a garden, so we would just really left quite freely and independently. So we would, know, play in the garden together with the neighbor kids. In, in primary school, I had a little gang that I was kind of co-leading, so we were like a few boys and girls, and we quote ourselves the Hopping Rabbits, which sounds a bit better in German, but not really. But basically we are just going to like outside to like a little lake, into the woods and like out animals. I don't know, like just this kind of

Caroline 5:03

Just exploring and enjoying.

Meggi Rombach 5:05

Yes, exactly.

Caroline 5:06

Yeah. Oh, that sounds lovely. How about, um, school-wise, when you started doing those things, were there any particular subjects or things that you enjoyed more than others?

Meggi Rombach 5:17

So I always loved mathematics, so just always came to me. I really didn't like languages. That was, I started with Latin, which, you know, that didn't help. And I really hated Latin for many years. And funnily enough, the last few years I started liking it because I had such an amazing teacher who loved it so much and he made it so interesting and like little challenges, you know, he would make us translate, um, Latin poetry into German, but with the same melody and there's a very peculiar rhythm to Latin poems.

Caroline 5:51

Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 5:52

And I was like, okay, that's fun. Because that was like a riddle and I wanted to crack it.

Caroline 5:56

Mm.

Meggi Rombach 5:57

And then the other bit I really liked was biology. So I actually, you know, in Germany the last two years of probably like somewhere between high school in, in the US system, you can pick two main subjects. And for me that was mathematics and biology. And I just loved it, both of them.

Caroline 6:13

And so as you went on to decide what to do after high school, uh, or as secondary school there, it's all, it's so confusing, but, uh, how did you decide what to focus on or where to go?

Meggi Rombach 6:29

So I keep on asking my mom what did I want to be when I was a kid and she doesn't really remember. So one of the options I looked at was architecture because my uncle and my grandfather were both architects. But that kind of, decided not to go after that. I also considered, um, biology, like human biology, neuroscience, like something, not medicine necessarily. I was also quite interested in physiotherapy, but that you couldn't study in Germany and I was coming from this background where kind of, you know, it was almost assumed if you can, you study so I kind of disregarded the options that weren't university or studies. Ultimately, I chose an international business

Caroline 7:10

Mm.

Meggi Rombach 7:10

And one of the reasons I did that was, I mean, first of all it was not university, it was, it's in a German system. It's kind of a very practical, let's say probably a practically university, you know? So it wasn't extremely academic and theoretic. It was really practical. It was hands-on they told us you won't spend a semester to learn this formula works. You just know it works and you use it. And I was like yeah, that's me. And also, it was two years in Germany and two years in Spain. So for me, it was really, so I wasn't interested in studying languages to study languages, but I wanted to be able to use languages to communicate. And then I thought business, that's pretty broad, so that will be useful. It wasn't maybe the, it wasn't necessarily a passion calling, it just sounded like a good enough thing to do. Yeah, and Spain sounded like adventure. So here we go.

Caroline 7:59

That's pretty cool. Um, and, and had you ever, and so you had to like go to Spain, had you ever lived outside of the country or traveled a lot? Extensively?

Meggi Rombach 8:08

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, yes, so actually before I even went to Spain, so the studies were two, two semesters theoretic. Then I had to move to do a internship, and then I did, went on top on a rasmus semester to Gutenberg to Sweden, and only after that I moved to Madrid to Spain and already before I had studied Spanish, I learned Spanish for a few months in the south of Spain. So that's also why I was really interested in going there. Then I lived two years in Spain and then, you know, you meet people, they give you ideas that you never thought about. So my flatmates, they were one year above me, they, after they, they graduated, they went on a world around the world trip. At that time, there were tickets where you, they were fairly, pretty cheap, and you could just go one direction and you had like X stops on the way. So I was like, I wanna do that. So I did that after graduating for three months, then I met all those people that did it for a whole year. So I was like, eventually I wanna go for a year. So I actually went back, started working for two years, but then, you know, for various reasons, I chose to quit that job. And then I went traveling for a year.

Caroline 9:18

What was the subject of the job that you were in temporarily? Like what was the, what kind of a job was it?

Meggi Rombach 9:23

not, it was not that temporarily, it was marketing

Caroline 9:26

Uh

Meggi Rombach 9:27

it was in perfumes,

Caroline 9:28

oh. Interesting.

Meggi Rombach 9:29

funny because most girls were like, oh my God, you have the dream job. And you know, I'm not even that type of girl, you know, I was just, I liked more the aesthetics of it. You know, let's design a beautiful bottle.

Caroline 9:41

Right.

Meggi Rombach 9:41

You know? It was more that it wasn't like the, I dunno, oh, this is a perfume.

Caroline 9:46

Interesting. Interesting. Okay. So, and you, but you had had that, uh, idea of traveling for more than just a couple months, and so you'd had that job, left that job, and then went for a year, and then how was that traveling all around? Just fun.

Meggi Rombach 10:00

That was amazing. You know, so that was another round the world ticket. But this time, I guess the first time I went to the US and to Australia, you know, and I felt that was brave enough for a small town girl from Germany. But then you met all these people that went to India and to South America, and I was like, whoa. So the second time I started off in South America and then I had a working holiday permit in New Zealand. So I spent a few months there working, I mean working. And then

Caroline 10:27

What did you do while you were.

Meggi Rombach 10:29

as a horse trek guide.

Caroline 10:31

Oh, that's cool. Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 10:33

Yeah, I thought I'd go there and I work in marketing, but then nobody wanted to hire me. You know, like you just come in for a few weeks and you know, that didn't really work. And ironically, I met two British, um, travelers in Bolivia they pointed me to that stable in New Zealand and I just rocked up and asked if they need somebody, and then I stayed for two months and

Caroline 10:53

Wow. That's awesome. Okay, cool. All right, so, and, and you're traveling all and are you by yourself traveling?

Meggi Rombach 11:00

Yes. Yeah, that was another thing.

Caroline 11:03

How is that?

Meggi Rombach 11:04

at the

Caroline 11:04

Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 11:04

Yeah. So the first time I already traveled. Large chunks by myself. And it's so funny, my mom and Ivy have a different memory of that moment because she was like, you, you're my brave child. You went on a world trip. And I was like, the evening before I took that flight to San Francisco, that wasn't even South America. I was crying because I was so scared. But then in the, in the end, you know, it, it worked out and it was fine. And you know, you learn. So I felt like I learned on the, like on a safer ground because US and Australia didn't feel so crazy. And then the second time, I mean the second time was challenging because I landed in Peru and my first week they, had a big backpack and a small backpack, and my small backpack got stolen.

Caroline 11:49

Oh.

Meggi Rombach 11:49

I mean, I wasn't aggressed, it was in a bus. I was just stupid. I didn't watch out for it. But that was quite a shock, you know, in like week two and then. You know, I had to digest that. But then you meet people on the way every few weeks, you know, and the, I don't know, it was, it was actually great because I could reinvent myself every two to three weeks when I

Caroline 12:09

Ah.

Meggi Rombach 12:09

country, you know? And then you go like, okay, now I meet new people. So I, let's see where that takes me.

Caroline 12:16

Oh, that's cool. That's interesting about the reinvent yourself. Yeah.'cause you're in a completely different environment, situation. People don't know you, and so you could just try however you want it to be. What kind of, uh, what kind of personalities or um, ways of living? Did you try to be, do you remember any of those?

Meggi Rombach 12:34

So the first time was a bit more organized. So I, I actually went first onto a farm. Do you remember the movie The Horse Whisperer?

Caroline 12:43

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Meggi Rombach 12:44

Yeah. So the guy who was the inspiration for that Monty Roberts. Um, so I, I volunteer on his farm in close in Buellton, just outside of San Francisco, so I, at least I had a point where to go to.

Caroline 12:56

Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 12:57

And then in New Zealand, I met with some friends from home, so it was a bit more organized. Um, what I really loved about both of those trips is just really being in nature, you know, to, you know, I, I feel like especially the second trip I organized in a way that I had summer, the whole year. You know, I

Caroline 13:14

Oh wow. And yeah.

Meggi Rombach 13:16

And I was just outdoors the whole year, and I just totally loved that. So I did a lot of hiking. I went whitewater rafting, I guided horse tracks. You know, I just, that was just really me being reconnected with nature and I was amazing.

Caroline 13:31

Hmm. And so then what happened?

Meggi Rombach 13:35

Then halfway through because, so I quit my job in Germany in marketing because that company was bought by a big American company, and it was pretty clear that people have to move to Geneva. So I was like, okay, let's quit and live my dream. So I'm always talking that I took a long due tour to come to Geneva because, uh, instead of going like straight three hours. I went once around the globe, so basically halfway into my travel I got, I was hired back, which was amazing. So I knew I can literally blow all my money because once I'm back I have a job. So I knew where I was going to, which was nice because the first six months it was total freedom. I wanted to become a movie director. You know, I had like all these crazy ideas and then actually through guiding people on the horse tracks and telling them about my job, I realized that I actually quite liked my marketing job. And then after six months when I resigned the contract, it was amazing because I knew, okay, once I'm home, don't have to stress, I just pack up my stuff. I move to Geneva. And that's where I've been ever since.

Caroline 14:44

How did you pick Geneva?

Meggi Rombach 14:46

That was the European headquarters of that. It was Procter and Gamble. So that was just their European headquarters. So that's just, you know, if you wanna join, that's where you go.

Caroline 14:56

I got you. Okay. And then, and then what happens? So now you've, you've come back around, you're in Geneva, you rejoin, and then what?

Meggi Rombach 15:04

So then I got you know, so I, I joined P&G which was great, but it was also very competitive, very high performing. So it was a, I called it my very well paid MBA, because you learn, but I also felt this whole competitiveness was not really me. But at that point I realized if I wanna move into the development of humanitarian sector. I need at least five years work experience unless I want to start from scratch. And at that time I had two years, so actually the other day I found some papers where literally I had papers already saying one or two years into P&G already had a plan when to leave P&G.

Caroline 15:44

Ah, that's okay.

Meggi Rombach 15:46

And then it took, and it took me like two or three years longer than what I initially anticipated because I got a bit caught in the hamster wheel. You know, it, you know, it, it was like live hard, party hard learn a lot, you know, it was exciting days. Um, but it was also very stressful and then actually had a, had a burnout and that was the moment where it was like, no, I need to press pause.

Caroline 16:08

What? Yeah. Let's talk a little bit more like what, what, what did the burnout feel like look like? All of that.

Meggi Rombach 16:17

So I realized, I mean it's now I, now I know what I think. I know. What was some of the driving factors for that burnout? So at that time, life was stressful. I had a balance, but it was a very high balance. So I would do a lot of sports and I would party hard and I'd work hard and it was almost unsustainably high, but it was fine. I was in balance. But what really killed me was my relationship with my direct boss I mean, we did a Myers Briggs personality test and we were literally the opposite on all four variables. You know? We were just very different people.

Caroline 16:52

Oh.

Meggi Rombach 16:53

Also, but I was, I, I just felt, I just didn't feel seen by him. I felt like he couldn't see my contributions. I felt misunderstood and then I got really worked up myself. that just got me to the point where at one point it was just, I was, I really, I less lost self-confidence. I just thought, like I, I'm a people person. I'm really good with people, but other than that, not even sure if I can do the job. You know? I just had lots of doubts. I went on a break and, and I was actually one of those, um, I don't know, signs from the universe because I pastd posted something on Facebook, Facebook at the time. Something like, oh, I'm so fed up with this. And then an old friend from. Studies who lives in lived in Vancouver replied to me kind of what's up and I was like, I just need to get out of here. And I deeply felt I need to reconnect with the person I was before all of that. So I was like. Can I come hang out? And he's like, sure. jumped on a plane and I went, it was not long. It was maybe for two weeks, but it was just amazing to reconnect with a old friend that I've known before I've become a professional

Caroline 18:05

And yeah.

Meggi Rombach 18:06

And just, yeah, just get to another place in the world. Just completely disconnected and kind of to find, find me again.

Caroline 18:15

Yeah. Yeah. And just enjoy, I guess without the pressures or the, any of the stress of having to do something you've now got to choose and completely that's amazing. And then what happened?

Meggi Rombach 18:28

I was off a bit longer, so I also went on a, on a short holiday with a friend. So I had like a, a break and, and actually at that time, um, they had offered a sabbatical program, whereas one can go. For an unpaid break to UNICEF in the field.

Caroline 18:45

Wow.

Meggi Rombach 18:46

I went, I mean, they, they weren't so sure, I mean, there were some questions if I couldn't go from the, like a short medical leave right into sabbatical, but I could, so then I went three months to Cameroon with UNICEF

Caroline 19:00

Wow.

Meggi Rombach 19:01

And that was just amazing. when I came back I was like, okay, that's it. I need a change. So I then applied for a quite specialized MBA program in Geneva, which was focused on international organizations management. So it was really targeted for people that either want to move from the private sector into development or humanitarian work, or for people from the sector that wanted to beef up their management skills. So it was a really small program, but it was an amazing group of people, and I did that for a year. I volunteered with UNICEF for almost a year in Geneva, which was part of the MBA, so I needed some practical experience to graduate. Then I was looking for a job for two years, and at one point I was not two years, I mean the whole, the whole transition took two years from the moment that I quit until I had a paid job. But I was probably looking for like almost a year, and then I found my work at the Red Cross.

Caroline 20:00

Tell about that. Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 20:02

That was amazing. You know? So I really felt that that was a dream come true. You know, the way I compared it at the time was, you know, I felt like a penguin on land, you know? So I would waddle, but I couldn't really, you know. I wasn't free. I couldn't really move or I wasn't effortless. And then coming into the Red Cross, I felt like I'm back in water. So it felt easier. I felt my people skills were appreciated. And at the same time, so that's a specific part of the Red Cross, that's the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is the part that works in conflict and it's quite centrally managed. And I just felt like I kept the professionalism. So I've, I kept the ambitious, driven people that I worked within in Procter and Gamble, but I had on top this whole sense of purpose and I was just, yeah, I was just really a dream come true.

Caroline 20:56

What was it about working in there? Like what were some of the projects or people that you got to work with while you were in that capacity? Because you know, we hear here, okay, American Red Cross, right? So it's like they show up at disasters and like there's a hurricane, there's a flood, and then they're there to help. Help me understand from my ignorance, what is the International Red Cross do?

Meggi Rombach 21:19

So the International Red Cross, so they have two main functions. They're really at the origins of the whole movement. So on one side, they protect the body of law, international humanitarian law that governs the whole Red Cross movement that you have a lot of lawyers in the organization. And then on the other side, it's very operational. So, and it only goes into conflict countries and it, it's full of I mean, there are many experts, you know, we have many engineers, we have medical staff. You know, it's a really broad range of people. when I joined, I joined in the fundraising team, and I actually never wanted to be in the fundraising team, but that was, for me, coming from marketing, that was the way in.

Caroline 21:57

Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 21:59

And I worked on corporate partnerships. So from the beginning I wanted to work on corporate partnerships that go beyond just we give you money. You know? I really wanted to see how we can bring experts from a corporate together with our experts and build something where the, you know, the skills align where people work on real operational collaboration. We did a few really cool pilot projects I've been leading that work for 10 years and up until today I haven't seen that anywhere in the sector really at scale. I mean, this is so hard to do to find this technical overlap. So if any listeners have example that work at scale, send them to me. I'm still interest to see them. But it was really innovative work. So we are really trying to change the way the organization operates. We really tried to, to trail blaze almost for the whole sector to find new ways of doing things. And there are other organizations that tried that and some of the most successful than us. So it was really interesting work because for me it meant I work really closely with our operational staff. So I would sit down with the doctors, with the engineers to really hard and learn what they're doing to then be able to see if it can match this with some skills in the, in the private sector.

Caroline 23:16

Interesting. Interesting.

Meggi Rombach 23:17

good fun.

Caroline 23:18

Yeah. And, and, and then what?

Meggi Rombach 23:22

Yeah, so I, so that I did for, I mean, I navigated my way around within the Red Cross through a few restructurings, uh, you know, losing the job and then finding my dream job inside. So I moved around. So I'd say it probably took me almost a decade to get to the place where I wanted to be from the beginning, which was really leading globally on partnerships, which was, I mean, it was actually a small team, but what we, what we worked on was we worked closely with our colleagues internally to establish a way to work in partnerships. For them. So to really multiply the effort. So we would work with, we would train people internally and then they can go out and have more impact. And that was all great. But then there was one financial crisis, there was another financial crisis, and then, I mean, in 2023 I hit another low point. So I had another burnout, or I was very close to it. There was just too many changes. Also, with all these changes, there was always, um, a lot of unsecurity attached to my position, you know, so for two, three years, every year, I didn't know, do I have a job next year? And that was just so, I mean, that really ate me up. But then again, I realized I had an issue with my manager, and my manager was great, so I realized that was also, yeah. expectations I had towards, I was really dependent on external validation, and so as it happened a second time, I became really curious to figure out where that was coming from. And then just so happened I also had quite a serious health challenge. So I was on leave for quite a long time, and when I came back I negotiated to come back into a new role. So I didn't want to come back to my old role. I wanted to come back to something that leads me forward. Uh, which was then in career development. So I came back to work on career paths for our, one of our teams, and that was just great. And then the next financial crisis hit, then I lost my job last July, which was a shock. Uh, but at the same time, it was this famous kick in the butt. I needed to, to finally embrace a new chapter.

Caroline 25:34

Imagine what your life would be like if your career aligned with who you are, what you do best, and actually fueled the life you want. At Next Success, we support all ages and stages through career transitions from students exploring majors or careers to job seekers actively searching or re-imagining their next move to professionals committed to self-awareness and leadership growth. Stay connected and explore what's possible at nextsuccesscareers.com and follow@nextsuccessmethod on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. And what is that new chapter now?

Meggi Rombach 26:15

So I am, it's in the making. So I've become really curious about transitions last year as I was pushed into my own transitions. So now I'm really, so first of all, I'm building and piloting my own portfolio career, you know, to kind of, um, have several income because also, I mean, I'm also looking for a job. It's just really hard these days. So the way I look at it is whether it's a bridge or it's a new model, I don't know yet, but I'm really testing with being more entrepreneurial about how I go about work. You know, to do maybe part-time roles, to maybe do some advisory, to do some team trainings, to push my coaching practice a bit more, to focus on my podcast. So I'm really experimenting right now. What I do now, it's all about really, I want to work with people, help them through transition, whether it's in career development or in leadership. You know, it's really this chapter of my life is about giving back and connecting with people.

Caroline 27:18

And what are the some of the favorite things that you love as tools to help in your coaching? Or what were some special tools that even I guess, helped you, that you decided to now utilize in your coaching?

Meggi Rombach 27:30

Hmm. So

Caroline 27:31

I.

Meggi Rombach 27:32

it's a permanent beta, so it's still evolving. Last year I was all about, there's a really good book, it's called Transitions by William Bridges, it talks about how in transitions you really have to mark the ending. And then often we attempted to rush into the new beginning and what is really important to spend enough time in the neutral zone, like in this messy zone where you don't know what's next. So that's where I was really focusing on last year. And then I got really curious about transitions, and then I discovered what I now call the Mindful Rebellion.

Caroline 28:05

And

Meggi Rombach 28:05

that's really now my thing that I want to focus on. And when I say Mindful Rebellion. It's like I'm a people pleaser that discovered my own rebel energy. And when I mean rebel energy, it's kind of to be braver, to mark my boundaries, to find and claim my voice, to set my rules and protect my rules. And the more I talk to other people, often in mid life, but not only I see there are more of us that need that. You know, like high performers, high achievers that reached what I call Everest Base Camp. You know, they reached a certain level, but then they're like, is that it? And if that's not it, what is it? And it doesn't necessarily mean you walk out of your career, but it means if you stay where you are, you know, you want to have a bit more balance or you, you know, you just want to put your boundaries clearer. And I feel I had to learn that the hard way. I now would like to support people. And how concretely I do that, it's really on focusing on mindset, what I call mindset mastery. So on your mindset, including tools inspired by, you know, neurolinguistic programming, sophrology or mindfulness, but not just, but really on your mindset. And the other one is really on planning on the how, you know, and I look at it as agile project management, you know, to really have proof of concepts, little tests, try it out, see if it works, see how it feels, you know? So that's kind of how I help people through it, because I feel sometimes you feel like if you wanna make a huge change, it feels so overwhelming, so we don't even start. So if you can make the first step smaller and less radical. It's more likely that you just do it and then you learn, and then you adjust.

Caroline 29:55

I love that. Yeah. Almost like the, kind of like the Atomic Habits, uh, approach. Right. You know, uh, James Clear with Atomic Habits and it's like somebody that wants to go work out and you make this thing that you wanna lose like 30 pounds and you're gonna work out, and then it yeah. Like you're saying, it becomes so, so overwhelming. But what if, uh, day one, you just put your shoes on, you know?

Meggi Rombach 30:16

Exactly. Yeah. I

Caroline 30:17

And,

Meggi Rombach 30:17

Exactly.

Caroline 30:18

And just, and just get to that. And then, you know, after baking, that's your habit. If you put your shoes on, well then now your shoes are already on. You might as well go for a walk. You know, um, that ki that kind of thing.

Meggi Rombach 30:28

I built my mindfulness and meditation practice because I did the, the mindfulness based stress reduction program, like the eight weeks where you are asked to meditate at least 20 minutes every day. And I was like, after the eight weeks, I'm like, 20 minutes every day. That's a lot. And I was like, yeah, but small things. You're on the, on the tram in the bus,

Caroline 30:47

Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 30:48

of looking at your phone, okay, let's just breathe for five minutes.

Caroline 30:52

Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 30:52

really these small things. And manage to make that a habit. And it's really cool because now I just do it automatically and sometimes it's 20 minutes, sometimes it's two minutes, but at least I made it a reflex to think about that first before I pull out my phone.

Caroline 31:10

Oh, that's so good. Yeah, I, I've started to try to do like more slow controlled breathing at times, and I, I'm not even aware of it, but then my kids will be like, why are you breathing like that? And I'm like, oh, sorry, I'm working on

Meggi Rombach 31:24

Join me. Join me.

Caroline 31:29

Okay. So now as you kind of. Well, I guess two questions. I didn't ask you this at first. When you were in your, you know, younger years, what did you think it meant for someone to be successful, like in, from that lens then, what did you think success was and what did you think that meant, and how was your mindset around it then?

Meggi Rombach 31:53

I'm not sure I was thinking about it in that way. But what was really inspiring for me is I'm coming from a family with very inspiring female role models. So my dad's great mother, grandmother. The great mother, she was the first female chemist in Germany and

Caroline 32:11

Oh wow.

Meggi Rombach 32:12

their stories, how tough that was at that time. You know, they were literally writing letters to each other, like the handful of women that were even studying pharmacy at the time to support each other. So that was, you know, I grew up with that story. My mom's mother was a librarian, which, you know, was maybe nothing as fancy, but still it was like. At a time where a woman wouldn't necessarily even work. And on my dad's side, my grandmother was a doctor. She didn't really ever practice. But you know, I just grew up with all these stories. So sometimes when I hear about women having this complex that there cannot be anybody that cannot do anything. I never had that because I had these role models in my, like these stories taught me whatever you want to be, you just try and even if it's not easy, you just keep going. Right?

Caroline 33:05

Did you feel like you had to become something super great then somebody of the first nature?

Meggi Rombach 33:12

Maybe not the first, but if a small round, like in the, like before graduating, before going to university, there was a moment where I figured out how I get really good grades in school, and that was also when I started competing horse riding. And that get gave me a lot of attention of my parents. So I felt by performing. I, you know, sandwich kid, you know, I would be finally be seen. And years later I actually discussed that with my parents and they, you know, they were really surprised and shocked that that's how I felt back then. I think that did get me into a high achiever mode. And that was something I worked out years ago when I realized I was, I, called it, I, I had this strife. I have to be the grade A student because I can, and then I, I realized. I don't if I don't want to, I don't have to, you know, I, you know, could be good enough to be grade B, and just be a happy grade B and stop pushing once you reach that. And for me, that was really a big shift and a big learning to say, you know what, if it's good enough, it's good enough.

Caroline 34:18

Hmm. Interesting. And so I guess I'm curious now, after, you know, taking this time and experiencing burnout a couple times and now really you wanting to, to not do that again and help other people, not have that as well, how do you define success now?

Meggi Rombach 34:39

So that's not really answering your question, but I, I actually think I've released, I found the source of my burnouts with the help of a psychologist, I'm almost convinced I unblocked that problem. You want me to tell you a bit about that,

Caroline 34:57

Absolutely both. Well, we're, we're gonna, we can get back to success. Yeah. Tell, tell us about the burnout. Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 35:04

In both cases I had male bosses and that was the issue. And very quickly it was clear to me it had nothing to do with my dad. I mean, my dad is amazing. He's a very kind person. I had my grade a issue with him, but I had sorted that out. But I was like, this burnout thing is nothing to do with my dad. So what is it? And then, I found this memory when I was 16. And I was horse riding, at that time I was guiding younger kids on trail rides. And one day there was like an issue, there was a tractor. The horses freaked out and all the kids fell down and the horses ran back alone. And my horse riding instructor, who was like a second dad to me, because remember, he, you know, I, I was there every single day. He basically blamed me. He was like, oh, you've written too fast, you pushed too hard. And that was, that was not true. I didn't, and I felt that was so unfair. So, and this memory, it's so vivid. I can literally still see it. You know, I, I, you know, there's something about this memory. my psychologist actually challenged me to go back and see my horse writing instructor,

Caroline 36:12

Oh wow.

Meggi Rombach 36:13

was. I was like, oh, I had always this idea. One day I go back there with my kids and then I had kids really late. I only have one. So that also, you know, so I had always excuses to postpone that. So finally last year I went back and I was, I was really nervous about it. And you know, we didn't talk about that moment, you know, that didn't even matter. But I met him. I went there with my kids, we had a chat. We talked about the good old days. He remembered me and. I feel that gave me closure that somehow, because also now looking back as an adult, I mean, he was probably in his mid thirties back then. You know, imagine you have tons of horses coming back without kids and the parents freaking out. You know, it's maybe a natural thing to just look somewhere to sort out the situation. But of course, as a teenager I couldn't see that.

Caroline 37:09

Hmm. Well, it's hard to know from your, from that vantage point, right? And, and of course you're not wanting courses to come back without kids either. Um, but that, that's very interesting that you were able to connect that and go back and, you know, kind of experience that environment again and seems like come out with deeper understanding from this later wisdom and perspective. That's very interesting. Okay, so back to success. How do you define success now for you? Uh.

Meggi Rombach 37:41

So now it's much more about, you know, my new tagline is Freedom Flow and Fun. You know, so it's really, it's not about about leadership position about huge salaries. Yes, of course. You know. I'd like to earn enough to be comfortable and not to worry every day, it's much more about finding something that gives me joy. I'm also not really interested to work full time anymore. You know, I'd be happy to work, whatever, 60, 80%. That also gives me time my kids. He's still quite young. He's eight years old, so you know, to really make most out of that time.

Caroline 38:20

Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 38:21

So in that sense, for me, success now is more having like a balanced life. You know, it's more about the lifestyle than about the classical success, shiny objects.

Caroline 38:34

Yeah. Yeah. I, I love that because that's, that's how I now try to focus, right? Help people design like, what is it that you want your life to look like? Let's figure that out first. And now let's figure how can your career fuel that life instead of take from it? Because otherwise, without that pause, without that understanding, it's so easy to get caught up in what your work wanted you to do and what you needed to do to achieve, to get to the next level. All of the things, to even to get a raise. All of those things. And that can come at the expense. Of the life that you really do want to have or just thinking like, oh, they'll always be there and they might not be, or they grow up. So, um, I'd love that.

Meggi Rombach 39:16

to normalize what I I do with the people I work with and with myself. You know, joining the Red Cross was my dream at that point. Joining P&G was amazing at that point.

Caroline 39:29

Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 39:30

But it's okay if your dreams change because sometimes I feel like, you know, people feel like they betray themselves, you know? I worked so hard at, at a time to get there, if now I let it go, you know, do I betray myself or my dreams or whatever? I was like, no, but it's okay that, you know, dreams change,

Caroline 39:48

Yeah,

Meggi Rombach 39:49

change,

Caroline 39:50

there.

Meggi Rombach 39:51

And then it's important to reconnect with what actually matters now,

Caroline 39:55

Yes,

Meggi Rombach 39:56

be different.

Caroline 39:57

Yes, yes. I've come to realize that, uh, questioning your career happens at very predictable stages. So the first one is 15 to 18, then 22 to 26, then every seven to 10 years after that. And questioning doesn't mean there's something wrong. It's an opportunity for you to be a little more self-aware and choose what you want, because you're not, it's not. I, I mean, it is, it could be like the book of your life, but there's chapters and something can be great for a chapter. And then it could be time to go into a new chapter. So it's like, yeah, doing that of like, who would leave their PhD or who would leave that job, or who would, you know, ever decide. And, uh, yeah, I, I will, I will decide that because you have to sometimes. Move forward like you're saying, you know, let go of what you thought you had to be, to open up the possibility of what you can be and how you can fully embrace the life that you have and enjoy. And of, of course, yes, still serve and, and help people, um, along the way, but it doesn't have to come at your expense of your happiness or your joy.

Meggi Rombach 41:05

I really love that. Yes.

Caroline 41:07

Yeah. So what, uh, what's next for you in your wildest dream? What would you love that to look like your future?

Meggi Rombach 41:16

So, you know, I had, I, I also have a podcast and I had a guy on my podcast and he talked about you should, you know, these days there's a chance we get older than before, so you should have a year, like a vision of how you wanna be when you're a hundred years

Caroline 41:30

Ooh.

Meggi Rombach 41:31

Wow. I did that exercise, but then I also broke it down like by chunks of like 20 years. And then I, you know, in my wildest dreams, I want, I wish, I dream my Mindful Rebellion to have become a movement, you know? So I would love to see more people that they're to embrace their, you know, their rebel energy. But, and also what I mean by rebel energy, there's actually even a, a really good book about it. It's by a author called, uh, Francesca Gino, Rebel Talent.'Cause even in companies, you know, if people dare to speak up more, actually that leads to more engagement, more innovation and more retention. You know, it's if you let go of that fear to give people a voice, And the mindful bit is very important of the rebellion. And the rebellion is against your own stories, your old script. So that's not a rebellion against the organization. It's a rebellion at, your own limiting beliefs. So I would just love to see more people that free themself from it and don't wait for to midlife for that. I mean, you know, I think at midlife, more people really start questioning. It's probably one of the 10 year moments, but why wait for though that questioning moment in midlife, you know, start earlier, you

Caroline 42:53

Yeah.

Meggi Rombach 42:54

you know, so yeah, that'd be amazing. I would love to see that come through, that more people dare to really live up to their true selves and find their calling and dare to just go for it and let go of those expectations that been handed down by parents and society and what, what success is supposed to be like and just to find their own definition of success.

Caroline 43:18

Yes, that's, that's what I want, like your authentic success. Not what the world said or what this book said, or what that society says, it's what's, what is it for you in this next chapter or for the next things? How do people find you and how do they work with you?

Meggi Rombach 43:36

So I, I mean, there's my podcast played by your rules, also I have a website Or maybe the easiest thing is to find me on LinkedIn because that's where you'll find the latest, greatest links.

Caroline 43:48

Meggi, I appreciate you so much for sharing your story, for sharing some of your wisdom, your insight, your inspiration, and I certainly wish you all of the best as you, you know, fully develop into your next success and helping people, to find theirs as well.

Meggi Rombach 44:05

Thank you very much. It was a pleasure to be here.

44:08

Meggi, thank you for modeling what it looks like to meet burnout with curiosity. The Mindful Rebellion offers leaders a grounded path forward, built on awareness, boundaries, and courage. Thanks for listening to Your Next Success with Dr. Caroline Sangal. Remember, authentic success is yours to define and includes aligning your career to support the life you want.