Many of the leaders I coach are not asking how to become more successful. They are asking how to feel connected to their work again. Across sectors, I am hearing the same underlying question: How do I learn to love the job I’m in again?
The answer is rarely about dramatic career change. More often, it comes from reconnecting with the parts of work that once felt meaningful, energising, and purposeful. In my coaching work, I consistently see that small intentional shifts can restore motivation, resilience, and engagement, even in highly pressured environments.
Experienced leaders, managers, and high performers are operating under constant pressure, change, and uncertainty. Organisational restructures, tighter resources, shifting priorities, and increasing workloads have left many people feeling emotionally exhausted and disconnected from the parts of work they once enjoyed.
Research reflects what many professionals are experiencing day-to-day. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report continues to show high levels of stress and disengagement at work (Gallup, 2024). At the same time, research consistently demonstrates that people perform at their best when they feel connected to meaning, purpose, and contribution in their work (Karakose et al., 2024).
Increasingly, the leaders I work with are not struggling with capability, they are struggling with connection.
Recently, I worked with the CEO of a multinational organisation navigating the aftermath of a major merger. Despite leading a successful company, he admitted:
“I realised I’d become completely consumed by operational pressure. I couldn’t remember the last time I enjoyed leading.”
Another client, a marketing manager running predominantly virtual events, described missing the human connection that originally drew her to the role:
“I was delivering results, but I no longer felt connected to the clients, the energy, or even the product itself.”
I also coached a technology project development manager leading teams across eight countries. He spoke openly about the fatigue of navigating different leadership styles, cultural expectations, and constant delivery pressures:
“I’d become so focused on outputs and deadlines that I’d lost connection with the people behind the work.”
Different sectors. Different pressures. Yet the same theme emerged repeatedly: people wanting to reconnect with the aspects of work that once energised them.
Modern leadership roles demand many different functions, and not all of them naturally energise us. While leaders cannot always remove organisational pressure, changing priorities, or increasing workloads, they can often regain energy by reconnecting with the reasons they entered the profession in the first place.
In coaching conversations, this reconnection regularly becomes a turning point.
One graphic design team leader rediscovered the creative experimentation that originally drew him into his work. By creating more opportunities for innovative and exploratory thinking within the team, he reported feeling more connected to both his own creativity and the energy of his workforce.
A director within an insurance organisation reflected on how much motivation once came from achieving goals collectively and celebrating success as a team. Reintroducing small play-based rituals to recognise wins helped rebuild morale, increase energy, and improve productivity.
Similarly, a Director of Learning and Development realised that large-scale, long-format programmes had distanced her from the personal impact of learning. By introducing smaller cohort-based learning experiences and shorter, more personalised programmes, she reconnected with the satisfaction of supporting individual growth and development.
What emerged across these conversations was not the need for dramatic career change, but the importance of regularly reconnecting with the aspects of work that feel meaningful and personally important.
When work feels overwhelming, it becomes easy to lose sight of the parts of the role that energise and motivate us. The reflective questions below are designed to help leaders reconnect with what matters most in their work.
Think back over the last few months and ask yourself:
Which of these feel most important to you?
Ask yourself:
One of the biggest misconceptions I encounter in coaching is the belief that feeling disengaged automatically means someone needs to leave their role or change careers entirely.
More often, sustainable change comes from small intentional adjustments. Leaders who consciously reconnect with the aspects of work they value most frequently report stronger motivation, greater resilience, and improved wellbeing.
Awareness creates momentum. The more clearly leaders understand what drives them, the easier it becomes to remain connected, motivated, and purposeful, even during challenging periods.
Notes on the Author
Emma Wraighte is the Founder of Momentum Coaching, specialising in executive coaching, leadership development, and team dynamics. An ICF accredited PCC coach with a PG Cert in Business & Personal Coaching, Emma works with leaders across corporate, education, and third-sector organisations to strengthen leadership, communication, and organisational culture.
With over 15 years of senior leadership experience, she supports leaders navigating change, developing high-performing teams, and building collaborative cultures where people and performance can thrive.
Bachkirova, T. and Jackson, P. (2024) What do leaders really want to learn in the workplace? A study of the shifting agendas of leadership learning. Oxford Brookes University.
British Safety Council (2024) Pursuing workplace wellbeing through authentic leadership.
Gallup (2024) State of the Global Workplace Report 2024. Washington DC: Gallup.
International Coaching Federation (ICF) (2024) Coaching is leading the change in workplace wellbeing.
Karakose, T., Yirci, R. and Papadakis, S. (2024) ‘Exploring the relationship between leadership and employee wellbeing in organisations’, Behavioral Sciences, 14(2), pp. 1–15.
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