Rethinking What You Want From Your Career
Why more leaders are questioning the roles they once thought they should pursue
People often come to me looking for career advice. They want to know if they should take a different job, change industries, or pursue something that seems “better” for their career.
Without saying it, what they are most concerned about is perception, not falling behind peers, and making sure they are seen from the outside as important. This shows up at all levels, but once you hit the c-suite and further along in your career, the stakes feel higher, which means the career decision-making feels more critical. Executive visibility has increased by the time you hit the c-suite, and the expectations, whether realistic or perceived, for personal and professional excellence rise. My conversations with executive leaders can sometimes be mixed between what they actually want vs. what they think they should want.
There is a narrative that career tracks should be separate from our personal lives. I have never been able to draw that line. To me, careers are personal, and they shape who we are. How can you spend the bulk of your time on this earth working and not have that work be part of what defines you? Our career choices shape our lives, build or sometimes shake our confidence, and help us find purpose and meaning in our days. Whether conscious or not, we make career decisions based on the phase of life we are in. Leaders who forget this can end up chasing roles that they think they should aspire to vs. focusing on positions and work they actually want to do. Every c-suite leader should aspire to be a CEO, right? Every VP of Marketing should become a CMO, right? You cannot be comfortable being number two when everyone should aspire to be number one. The business world has told us we have to keep climbing or we will be perceived as not being ambitious. But if we let ambition be the only driver, we can get pulled toward opportunities that look appealing from the outside but require a version of ourselves that we cannot sustain. This is one of the biggest things I see in recruiting: executives chasing jobs and titles that they may not be ready for and actually may not be capable of doing.
There is a difference between being stretched and being misaligned. Some leaders want larger roles because they thrive in complexity. Some want them because they want broader impact. Others want them because the world around them reinforces the idea that more is always the right answer. None of these motivations are wrong. What matters is being honest with yourself. The truth is, the person who thinks most about you is you. Worrying about how others may perceive you is a slippery slope that can lead to failure. Leaders who stay grounded in what is real for them tend to make better choices. These leaders are clear about what they value and know the kind of work that gives them energy. They recognize the difference between true interest or capability and flattery. They are comfortable wanting a career that matches who they are rather than what they think people expect them to be.
A Growing Disconnect Between Work and Fulfillment
Too many people are unhappy with their careers.
U.S. employee engagement has fallen back to where it was a decade ago, with only about 31% of employees describing themselves as engaged in their work. Global engagement has slipped as well, dropping to 21% with managers experiencing the sharpest decline and managers under 35 seeing some of the biggest drops. In other words, the people responsible for keeping others engaged are often struggling most themselves.
Concern is not only reserved for the employee base. In PwC’s most recent Global CEO Survey, roughly 42% of CEOs worldwide say their company will not be viable beyond the next decade if it continues on its current path. In a 2024 Businessolver survey, 52% of CEOs said their workplace culture was toxic, and 55% of CEOs self-reported mental health issues.
We may not have a single metric that tells us how many CEOs are unhappy, but these signals point in the same direction. Across the organization, from individual contributors to the CEO, many people are doing work that looks successful on the outside while feeling less sustainable or less fulfilling on the inside. Too many leaders are occupying roles that no longer match their lives, their energy, or their values. There is misalignment between who they are and the work they are doing. I see this when c-level candidates ask me questions about in-office mandates, how much travel is involved in a position, or how long the commute might be rather than tactical questions about the opportunity. It was only a handful of years ago that executives would solve their own personal problems, but today’s leaders are looking for businesses to adapt to their needs vs. the other way around.
Comparison Is the Thief of Joy
There is another layer of career decision-making that rarely gets discussed: comparison. With more executives spending time on LinkedIn and social networks, we are constantly bombarded with posts about our peers who are stepping into larger roles or joining a “better” company. We are seeing our former colleagues become CEOs or land board seats, which makes us feel like we are not advancing as quickly as we should be. This quiet envy and comparison create a tension that has nothing to do with the work itself. It seems most people are working to keep pace with the people around them, which can influence poor decisions and put them in roles that do not align with what they really want to be doing.
Careers should not be linear, and they are allowed to evolve with our life phases. There are chapters of acceleration and chapters of being steady. Choosing stability vs. continued achievement does not need to be a sign of diminished ambition. Growth does not need to be in only one direction.
Choosing What Fits
Leaders often hesitate to admit when something no longer fits. They worry that shifting industries, reducing scope, or not moving up will be seen as stepping back. What I see is the opposite. Many leaders who make these adjustments come back to their work with more clarity and more capacity. They are not abandoning ambition. They are aligning their careers with their lives. These people become more effective because the work matches who they are. When leaders choose roles that honor both their ambition and their capability, they tend to create better outcomes for themselves and their teams.
Our careers are long, winding roads. They should bring us joy and should be part of us. Some days it may seem impossible to turn off the noise and quietly reflect on what we want in this moment, but your career is yours. Shape it the way you want, understand the work you love most, and design a career that fits your own definition of success rather than following the path that you believe is expected.
Talent + Tech
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WHAT TO READ: Working Identity by Herminia Ibarra explores how professionals successfully navigate career transitions by experimenting with new roles, relationships, and experiences rather than relying on introspection alone.
WHO TO FOLLOW: Whitney Johnson is a leading voice on personal disruption, recalibration, and redefining growth. Her work supports leaders navigating career shifts or questioning long-held assumptions
START TO LISTEN: The Diary of a CEO. In this episode, Steven Bartlett talks with Brené Brown about what it takes to lead with courage, clarity, and grounded self-awareness. Their discussion explores how power, trust, and identity shape leadership, and why honesty with yourself is essential for success.
Loves this. Thank you for being in my head and heart.