I worked as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist across the NHS, mental health charities, and my own private practice, before embarking on an Executive MBA at Warwick Business School.

As a clinician, I was expected to take on more managerial, operational, and clinical governance responsibility as I progressed but with very limited training or support. Breaking away from the standard healthcare career trajectory can be a challenge.

My MBA empowered me to be more creative, more ambitious, and more determined in my quest to improve patient care. It helped me better understand all areas of the healthcare market and introduced me to new career possibilities.

I realised that the commercial world offered more opportunities for innovation and disruption, so I decided to transition away from statutory services.

The careers team told me that 85 per cent of roles are found on the hidden job market and are not advertised. They stressed the importance of having ‘curiosity coffees’ with people working in areas that interested me. I found lots of possibilities which I didn’t know existed.

After building my presence on LinkedIn, I was approached by government services contractor Maximus, who were developing a role to raise the profile of mental health within their organisation. That ultimately led to me being appointed Director of Mental Health. Four years later, I moved to a new role as Chief Clinical Officer at Onebright after another approach through LinkedIn.

The transition from a clinician’s mindset to the senior leadership team was a steep learning curve, but the support I received through the WBS mentoring programme proved invaluable. It makes sense to feel like an imposter when you’re starting a new role – as a matter of fact, you are. Embrace it and accept that there is a lot of learning involved.