What We Made Possible

018. If Facebook's Sarah Wynn Williams Came to Me for Coaching: A Healing Approach

Patricia Dayleg Season 1 Episode 18

On today’s episode, I’m trying something a little different: I dig into what happens when the places and missions we care about most end up breaking our hearts. Inspired by Sarah Wynn Williams’ memoir Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, I walk through the personal cost of working inside institutions that say they want to “change the world,” but whose actions betray their people and values.

Sarah’s journey as a global policy leader at Facebook/Meta is raw and relatable for anyone who’s ever tried to do good within a complicated, sometimes harmful system. She came in with so much belief and hope for making change, only to find her ideals slowly chipped away. From being overlooked as a woman and mother to confronting the real-world impact of neglected policies, Sarah’s story is painfully familiar to so many of us working in nonprofits, philanthropy, or social change jobs.

In this conversation, I imagine how I might coach someone like Sarah through three of the hardest challenges: identity disruption, moral injury, and finding your voice again after institutional betrayal. I explore the question: Who am I now, and how do I reconnect to possibility after disappointment?

If you’re wrestling with burnout, guilt, grief, or just feeling stuck in a place that no longer aligns with your values, I hope you’ll hear hope here. We don’t bypass the pain, but we do make room for clarity and self-compassion. You're allowed to change, to rest, and to begin again.



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