I’ve just returned from holidays.
You know the feeling — a few days to gently find your rhythm again… catching up on emails, reconnecting with colleagues, and, if you’ve travelled far, adjusting to a new time zone.
And there’s always a part of me that looks forward to getting back to work.
On my second day back, I had a conversation with a client that went far beyond the usual “holiday blues.”
“I don’t want to do this anymore,” he said.
“I can’t motivate myself to keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing for years.”
Before the summer break, he had been offered a global CEO role — the kind of opportunity he would have jumped at 10 years ago.
But now? He couldn’t picture himself in it. Not because he lacked the skills or the leadership — but because the thought of 80+ hour workweeks, endless travel, and giving the same presentations in different boardrooms no longer lit him up.
He felt a quiet pull towards something more meaningful.
The gentle signs it might be time to rethink your path:
- The work you once loved now feels like a weight you carry.
- Achievements leave you flat instead of fulfilled.
- You can’t imagine doing the same thing for the next few years.
- You’re capable, but something essential is missing.
- You’ve outgrown the version of yourself that once thrived in this role.
- Your thoughts wander more often to what could be, rather than what is.
When your leadership is no longer aligned with who you truly are and what matters most to you, it’s an invitation to pause… and listen.
That’s where we are now in our coaching conversations — creating space for what’s next to reveal itself, step by step, without pressure, but with curiosity and courage.
If you walked back into work tomorrow, would you feel a spark of energy… or a quiet no in your heart?
That quiet no isn’t something to fear — it might just be the beginning of a new and exciting chapter.
