Something’s not quite working any more

I’ve noticed that there’s a point that many experienced leaders reach.

On the outside, you’re doing what you’ve always done.

Running things. Keeping the wheels turning. Making decisions, managing people, getting results.

But something in you has shifted.

It’s not burnout.
It’s not boredom.
It’s something a little bit more intangible.

It’s a whisper that says:
This way of leading isn’t working for me anymore.
Not because you’re failing at it – but because it’s starting to cost you more than it gives back.

You notice it every so often.

You finish a meeting and feel flat, even though it technically went well.

You speak in your ‘busy manager’ voice rather than your ‘grounded leader’ voice.

You still deliver.
You still care.
You still show up.

But you’re holding more than anyone realises – without the space to reflect, recharge or even hear yourself think.

And if you’re really honest, part of you is a bit weary, not from lack of resilience or motivation but from constantly going around the same old loops and meeting yourself coming back.

You’re not losing your edge.
You’re not losing the plot.
You’re just noticing what no longer fits.

You’ve evolved.

And now the way you’ve been leading – pacey, accommodating, relentlessly capable – is bumping up against a deeper truth:

Speed isn’t the answer.

But slowing down might be? (Which feels both counter-intuitive and liberating at the same time.)

You yearn to be less tangled up in relentlessly pushing through and more connected to your thoughtfulness, courage, wisdom and what you intuitively know is needed right now to lead through the ambiguity and chaos.

You may have made some shifts.

Setting boundaries that used to scare you.
Leaving silence where you’d once have filled it.
Making decisions without over-explaining them.

Or maybe you’ve just started noticing the quiet discomfort.

I’m good at what I do… so why do I feel so out of sync?

This isn’t a crisis. It’s an awakening.

It is a call to lead from your core and to trust that you can.

Do you trust that you can?