Why Listen: 
You’re craving more meaning and calm in your personal or professional life—and curious how others are redefining ambition and impact. 

Episode Description:
After a thoughtful parental leave, Cailin Hillier returned to her role as a UX researcher with a refreshed sense of purpose—and a deeper appreciation for the power of pause. In this candid conversation, Cailin shares how she’s learned to embrace contentment, practice intentional prioritization, and use her generalist strengths to thrive in work, motherhood, and community life. From structured spontaneity to embracing imperfect action, she offers a grounded, human approach to navigating transitions. Whether you're rethinking your relationship with work or simply trying to do less, better—this one’s for you.

Key Highlights:  

• Contentment: How stepping back during parental leave helped Cailin realize she already gets to do the work she loves. 

• Idea Garden: A practical method for parking future ambitions without overwhelm, enabling focus on what matters now. 

• Ruthless Prioritization: Why letting go of “doing it all” and ending each day with a focused next-day list creates clarity and calm. 

• Share Early & Often: Reframing perfectionism in favor of brave collaboration and iterative thinking. 

• Community Impact: How turning away from the news cycle and toward local engagement helped Cailin feel hopeful and connected. 

About Cailin Hillier:
After studying engineering and science at the University of Waterloo, Cailin attended the Rotman School of Management and immediately gravitated towards facilitation and design thinking methodologies. A self-described generalist who has navigated roles in consulting and operations, she stumbled into a career as a UX Researcher.

Cailin currently works at Thinkific, focusing on the longer term product vision, including the implications of AI on customers. Having recently returned to work from parental leave, she brings a generalist lens to every facet of her life. 

Find Cailin Here 

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/cailin-hillier 

 Find Us 

• Connect with Julie on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-lavergne/  

• Follow the podcast’s LinkedIn page for next Episode release https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/the-generalist-advantage/?viewAsMember=true  

• Visit our Website https://8ballclarity.com/  

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