Unlearning the patterns of past success to unlock future impact: Leadership & Culture Keynote Speaker Carolina Caro, CSP®, helps executives bridge the gap between who they were taught to be and who they are meant to lead.
In a trailer parked on a film set for a Red Lobster commercial, Carolina Caro sat in the quiet space between takes. To the outside world, she was living a dream—having walked away from a high-powered pharmaceutical career to find success as a professional actor in Los Angeles. Yet, in that stillness, a jarring clarity surfaced. She realized she had far more to contribute to the world than suggestions on where people should make dinner plans.
It wasn’t a moment of failure, but a profound realization of misalignment. Carolina recognized that her true vocation lay in raising consciousness and challenging the invisible patterns that shape human leadership. This epiphany was the catalyst for Conscious Leadership Partners, a practice dedicated to the “unlearning” required for true identity-level transformation. Today, as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and creator of The Unlearning Advantage™, Carolina helps leaders dismantle the very success patterns that have begun to limit their future impact.
Strategic Roots and Systems Thinking
Carolina’s journey began in Montreal, the daughter of Venezuelan immigrants who viewed education as the ultimate gateway to security. This upbringing instilled a relentless work ethic, leading her to flip burgers at A&W at age sixteen to learn the value of responsibility long before she entered a boardroom. A defining feature of her childhood was being invited into “adult conversations” where her parents spoke openly about financial trade-offs, strategy, and uncertainty. She notes that “in hindsight, I can see how it trained me to think several steps ahead, anticipate consequences, and read situations systemically rather than reactively”.
This early exposure sharpened a natural aptitude for strategic thinking, which she later formalized through a Bachelor’s in Molecular Biology and an MBA. Her scientific training taught her to look for the “why” behind the “what,” a skill that allows her to diagnose organizational interference with surgical precision.
The Courage to Pivot
Carolina’s professional rise was meteoric. At Merck and Pfizer, she was the quintessential high-achiever, earning promotions annually by being the “workhorse” who sacrificed weekends and holidays for the mission. However, her trajectory hit an unexpected snag when a manager noted that while her results were stellar, she was failing to model the organization’s new value of work-life balance. Reluctantly, she took up acting classes as a “hobby” to satisfy her manager, but what was intended as a checkbox exercise became a radical intervention.
Acting introduced her to mindfulness and the destabilizing realization that her entire sense of worth was tethered to productivity. Reflecting on that shift, she shares that “for the first time, I became aware of how tightly my sense of worth was tied to productivity and performance… this moment marked my first departure from certainty”. In an act that felt like “professional suicide” to her immigrant roots, she left her stable six-figure role and moved to New York City to attend the Neighborhood Playhouse conservatory, unlearning the identity of the “safe” corporate executive to embrace the vulnerability of an artist.
Leading Through the Mirror
Today, Carolina has woven these disparate threads—the scientist’s rigor, the executive’s strategy, and the actor’s presence—into a cohesive coaching and speaking practice. Through her proprietary POCA® Model (Pause, Observe, Choose, Act), she guides leaders through the “Great Re-Alignment,” arguing that leadership challenges are rarely technical; they are perceptual. Her impact is felt deeply by those she mentors; Janelle Escalante, VP of Employee Experience at Monterra Credit Union, reflects that “Carolina brings a fresh and relatable perspective on leadership… she was so engaging and enthusiastic! We received a lot of positive feedback about her and the energy she brought”.
Carolina’s work centers on the belief that real transformation happens when we stop adding new skills and start letting go of outdated versions of ourselves. She acts as a “compassionate mirror” for her clients, much like the loved ones in her own life who helped her see her own pattern of hyper-independence.
The Unlearning Legacy
As the CEO of Conscious Leadership Partners, Carolina’s vision extends beyond the keynote stage. Her team delivers Leadership Academies that translate bold ideas into sustained behavioral change, ensuring that the momentum of a speech becomes the culture of an organization. Her message to the next generation of leaders is one of intentional risk, encouraging them to move before they feel “ready,” noting that growth rarely emerges from certainty.
Her leadership philosophy is perhaps best captured by a quote from Anaïs Nin that anchors her work: “We do not see the world as it is; we see it as we are”. By helping leaders change how they see, Carolina Caro is fundamentally changing what they can achieve.
Editorial Note
Carolina Caro’s journey is a powerful reminder that our greatest obstacle to future success is often the very identity that brought us past victories. Her transition from the rigid certainties of molecular biology to the fluid presence of the stage offers a roadmap for any leader feeling the weight of misalignment. To evolve, we must first have the courage to unlearn.
