If You're Successful But Done Fighting, It's Time.

What happens when you've climbed to the top, proven yourself a hundred times over, and still find yourself fighting the same battles — until one day you realize you're just done? In this episode of The Exit Interview | On Air, hosts Shana Ayabe and Kisha Imani Cameron sit down with Katie Naughton, founder of Drive Her Forward, former dealership owner, and one of the less than 1% of women who have owned automotive dealerships.

From elite gymnast to co-owning a Kia dealership in Canada to navigating the cutthroat world of mergers and acquisitions, Katie has spent her career in one of the most male dominated industries in America. And she's done fighting.

Katie opens up about the moment she realized the Iron Fist leadership style she inherited wasn't working, the painful pivot to leading with empathy instead of ego, and why she walked away from M&A to build a community for ambitious women who are tired of proving their worth. She gets honest on negotiating watching a male competitor get offered 100% more for the same role, Katie breaks down what it actually takes to navigate ambition, competitiveness, and boundaries as a woman in a space that wasn't built for you.

This conversation goes deep into the uncomfortable truth that most women face: you can be successful, capable, and respected — and still hit a wall where you're just exhausted from the fight. Whether it's the constant proving, the lack of female role models, the emotional labor of being the only woman in the room, or the realization that the career ladder you climbed is no longer worth the climb, this episode is for every woman who has ever thought, I'm done.

In this episode: The truth about ambitious women The leadership shift from Iron Fist to empathy and why it transformed her dealership overnight How to navigate being competitive without being threatening in male dominated industries The brutal reality of negotiating as a woman and why she bombed her own contract negotiation Why male colleagues openly share salary numbers while women stay silent The emotional cost of selling a family business and feeling like you abandoned your team Why automotive still sits at 20% female representation after a decade of advocacy efforts How to build confidence by tracking your wins and responding to imposter syndrome The power of unlocking the golden handcuffs and asking for what you're worth Why success today means helping others become better instead of fighting to stay on top Whether you're navigating a male dominated industry, trying to lead with empathy in a cutthroat environment, negotiating your worth, building confidence after years of proving yourself, or simply exhausted from the fight, this episode proves that sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is stop fighting and start building something new. Because when you're successful but done fighting, it's time.

Time to pivot. Guest: Katie Naughton | Founder, Drive Her Forward | Former Dealership Owner | Leadership Coach for Women in Automotive LinkedIn: Katie Naughton ( Web: Hosts: Shana Ayabe x Kisha Imani Cameron IG: IG: IG: Produced by: Grace Media Digital The Exit Interview | On-Air — Real conversations.

When you're successful but done fighting, it's time. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:23 Done Fighting: The Breaking Point for Ambitious Women 00:06:50 Balancing Toughness and Femininity in Male-Dominated Spaces 00:07:27 From One of the Guys to Authentic Leadership 00:10:49 Growing Up in Automotive: A Family Legacy 00:13:11 The Lightbulb Moment: I Can Run Circles Around You 00:13:49 All Chips In: Buying Their First Dealership 00:14:16 The Reformed Leader: From Iron Fist to Empathy 00:20:41 The Leadership Shift: How Can I Help You? 00:23:06 The Emotional Side of Selling: Saying Goodbye to a Legacy 00:25:23 Mergers and Acquisitions: The Cutthroat World 00:29:50 Birth of Drive Her Forward: Building the Network She Never Had 00:33:37 Done Fighting: The Universal Exhaustion of Women in Business 00:34:49 Unlocking the Golden Handcuffs: Confidence and Negotiation 00:36:45 The 100 Percent Pay Gap: Katie's Negotiation Failure 00:44:48 Write Down Your Wins: Building Confidence Through Proof 00:48:23 Embracing the Process: Speed, Success, and the Overachiever Trap 00:52:07 Women Competing Against Women: The Scarcity Mindset 00:56:31 Changing Automotive: Why More Women Would Transform the Industry 01:06:07 Current Definition of Success: Helping Others Become Better