There are moments in a leader's career when working harder isn't the answer.

The role has become bigger. The stakes are higher. The environment is changing faster. There are more people depending on them, more competing priorities to navigate, and less margin for getting leadership wrong.

And often, the very behaviours that helped a leader become successful—taking ownership, solving problems, pushing harder, carrying more—start to become the behaviours that limit their effectiveness at the next level.

That's often when executive coaching can have the greatest impact.

But how do you know when the time is right?

As my youngest daughter wraps up Grade 8, I find myself at the edge of an emotional threshold — the same kind we often encounter in leadership: when change calls us to pause, realign, and lead with heart.

This month marks the end of an era in our family: the final elementary school sports tournament, the last-minute grad dress fittings, the bittersweet moments of watching my daughter grow into the young woman I’ve been raising her to be — strong, independent, kind, and resilient.

It’s a deeply personal transition, but one that mirrors the very journey I often coach leaders through. Whether in parenting or leadership, growth is not just about milestones — it’s about letting go of one chapter to step into the unknown of the next.

And that next chapter? It often begins with grief.

Yes — grief. Even in leadership.