At the 2026 Fast Company Innovation Festival, we interviewed C-suite-level working mothers about the realities of managing their careers and raising children.
Do you need a new job or do you need a break?
When you’re burned out and ready to quit, it can be hard to tell whether you’ve outgrown your job or simply need some distance.
“The company values were no bullshit, which meant speaking your mind was encouraged,” she said.
So if you feel comfortable speaking your mind and the company’s values match your own, it’s worth asking whether leaving is the right change for you.
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"We have this perception in corporate America that when you become a mother, you're less than," Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Moms First, said in an episode of Fast Company's new series The M-Suite Playbook. "It's quite the opposite."
At the 2026 Fast Company Innovation Festival, we interviewed C-suite-level working mothers about the realities of managing their careers and raising children. The series is the latest content under our new M-Suite vertical, a hub for moms in leadership.
The M-Suite is also a private Fast Company community for women balancing ambitious careers and motherhood.
Do you need a new job or do you need a break?
By Kamini Ramani
Anu Bharadwaj was a rising star at Atlassian, but just two years into her role, she was ready to quit. Exhausted from long hours and constant pressure, Bharadwaj walked into her boss’s office to resign. Instead, he made her a counteroffer: Take a year off to do whatever she wanted and if she decided to return to tech, the door at Atlassian would remain open.
Anu spent the year as far away from tech as possible, devoting her time to her longtime passion for wildlife conservation.
She ultimately returned to Atlassian, a Sydney-based software company, and went on to lead its massive transition to the cloud, advancing to COO, and then president. Her year in the wild inspired a different approach to listening, navigating company interests, and taking on new challenges.
When you’re burned out and ready to quit, it can be hard to tell whether you’ve outgrown your job or simply need some distance. Here are some helpful questions to answer before you make your decision.
1. Is the job the problem, or the company?
Anu was no stranger to the tech world, starting as a game developer for Microsoft. But Atlassian felt different. Her personal ethos aligned with the company’s in a way she hadn’t experienced before.
“The company values were no bullshit, which meant speaking your mind was encouraged,” she said. “I was pretty much the only Indian woman among 500 people in the company. But what motivated me was building technology that matters with a group of people who matter.”
I spent 20 years as the chief marketing officer at Mayfield, a top venture capital firm. During that time we had two generations of leadership, an asset class that changed from a cottage industry to an institutionalized system, and boom-and-bust tech and economic cycles. I was able to navigate all these changes as I had leaders who were my champions and I felt completely aligned with the firm’s values of putting people first.
So if you feel comfortable speaking your mind and the company’s values match your own, it’s worth asking whether leaving is the right change for you.
