Receptionist to Global Mental Health Lead
TL;DR
- After a mini-stroke shattered her confidence, a receptionist role felt safe — front of house, low risk, contained. No one questioned it. Not even her.
- That is the interesting part about playing small: the world will often agree with you.
- Capability doesn’t disappear just because confidence does — the skills were always there, hidden inside a smaller identity.
- Playing small is rarely laziness or lack of ambition. More often it’s self-protection — the “safe” version of you built in response to adversity.
Why do capable people play small?
Playing small is rarely laziness, lack of ambition or lack of capability. More often it is self-protection — the “safe” version of you built in response to adversity. Capability doesn’t disappear just because confidence does.
What it took me to go from receptionist to leading a global mental health initiative for 10,000 employees in two years... A stroke.
Before L’Occitane, I had already built a significant career. I’d been:
- 2IC to the CEO of a property company
- National Sales Manager at 3M
- A Financial Planner at Australian Unity
- Client Services Manager at Leo Burnett Advertising
- A business owner and personal trainer
"I knew how to lead. I knew how to think strategically. I knew how to hold pressure."
And then I had a mini-stroke.
After that, I struggled with word retrieval, memory, logical processing, comprehension… things people take for granted until they disappear.
The hardest part wasn’t just the cognitive impact. It was what it did to my identity. When your brain stops working the way it used to, your confidence doesn’t quietly decline. It shatters.
So when I joined L’Occitane as a receptionist, it felt safe. Safe was important to me then.
- Front of house.
- Low risk.
- Predictable.
- Contained.
- No one questioned it.
Not even me.
That’s the interesting part about playing small: the world will often agree with you. People will happily let you stay inside a version of yourself that feels safer for everyone. Because when someone has been through something traumatic, we often confuse safety with truth.
But capability doesn’t disappear just because confidence does.
Over time, something started happening. People began noticing that the woman sitting at reception saw things differently.
- Patterns.
- People.
- Culture.
- Emotional risk.
- Leadership blind spots.
- Human behaviour.
Eventually, I moved into HR, then Global head office reached out and offered me the role of Global Mental Health Project Lead for L’Occitane Group, helping shape a three-year mental health roadmap across multiple countries and 10,000 employees. Not long after, I became the Mental Health Ambassador for Australia as well.
That role led to my program being picked up by the founding family, and from there it was presented in global forums with family-owned business leaders and, at one point, Prince Harry!
The irony? None of those capabilities suddenly appeared. They were always there. I was just hiding inside a smaller identity because it felt safer after what I’d survived.
That’s what I think people misunderstand about playing small.
- It’s rarely laziness.
- Rarely lack of ambition.
- Rarely lack of capability.
More often? It’s self-protection. Sometimes the “safe” version of you built in response to adversity.
And if I’ve learned anything, it’s this:
"The world will introduce you to the version of yourself you believe you’re allowed to be."
For a long time, I believed I was someone who needed to stay small to stay safe. Now? I’m no longer interested in being palatable. I’m interested in being fully expressed. There’s a difference.