Many senior leaders reach a point where outward success no longer feels like enough. This piece explores why that happens, what it actually means, and what to do about it, drawing on nearly a decade of coaching directors and executives through exactly this shift.

Why successful leaders start questioning everything

It comes up more than you might think. A senior leader, successful by every measure, quietly wondering if this is really it.

You’ve built a career worth being proud of. Multiple promotions and accolades. A track record of delivery. The respect of your team and peers. Financial security that took years to earn.

And yet, somewhere between the back-to-back meetings and the relentless agenda, a quiet question forms. One you’re almost afraid to say out loud.

Is this it?

It’s not ingratitude. It’s not failure. It’s something far more significant, and far more common among senior leaders than most people realise.

PwC’s 2025 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey, a large global workforce study, suggested that only 56% of workers say they’ve found a meaningful career – implying a substantial proportion of people haven’t.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying my clients haven’t found a meaningful career; it’s more their sense of “there could be more” – more impact, more difference to be made, more alignment, more fulfilment.

Why does this happen to successful leaders?

For many, the path to seniority happens almost by accident. You were good at your job, so you got promoted. Then again. And again. Until one day your career and demands of the day job are steering you, not the other way round.

The result is that people can find themselves successful by every external measure, but quietly disconnected from the meaning behind the work. They’ve optimised for achievement without ever having the opportunity to stop and ask what the achievement is actually for.

This is what I call the shift from success to significance. And it’s a common, little talked about, turning points in a leadership career.

I see this frequently in my coaching work. A director who has achieved the level of seniority they’ve aspired to their entire career, but a year later wondering – is that what it was all about? A VP who has hit every target ever asked of her, asking me why it doesn’t feel like enough.

This isn’t a rare reaction. It’s a trend, and an understandable one.

What does professional significance actually mean?

It’s different for everyone, and that’s the point.

For some leaders it means leaving a cultural legacy in their organisation. For others it’s leading in a way that’s genuinely aligned with their values, not just their job description. For some it’s using their seniority and voice for something purpose-led. For others it’s simply reconnecting with why they went into leadership in the first place.

The common thread is a desire to make a difference that feels meaningful, not just measurable.

What gets in the way?

Most leaders who reach this point don’t act on it quickly. There are understandable reasons why.

There’s a fear that asking the question means throwing away everything you’ve built. A worry about appearing ungrateful or disloyal. A concern that exploring something different means starting from scratch.

None of these fears are unreasonable. But in most cases, they’re also unfounded.

Finding significance rarely means quitting everything. More often it means a series of smaller, intentional shifts:

  • Reconnecting with what gives you energy, and investing time there
  • Understanding where your values are aligned, or in tension, with your current role – and making shift for more alignment
  • Becoming more intentional about how and where your time is spent
  • Taking on different responsibilities or even an extra-curricular role
  • Planning your next move with purpose

Sometimes it’s building towards a change. Sometimes it’s finding more meaning right where you are, but on your own terms.

What senior leaders actually need to navigate this shift

In my experience three things can start the ball rolling well.

  • First, a safe space to ask the question honestly. Most senior leaders have nowhere to do this. They can’t easily raise it with their boss, their team, or even their peers.
  • Second, challenge. Not reassurance that everything is fine, but someone willing to ask the harder questions and reflect back what they’re hearing.
  • Third, momentum. The day job is relentless. Without someone keeping the longer-term question alive, it gets buried again for another six months.

How a coach can help with the shift from success to significance

This is precisely the work coaches do. Not telling leaders what their significance looks like, that’s entirely theirs to define, but creating the conditions in which they can figure it out and then act on it.

Most senior leaders don’t need persuading that the question matters. They need somewhere to take it that isn’t already full of people who need something from them.

If you’re a senior leader and any of this resonates, you don’t need an answer before you reach out. You just need someone to ask it with.

About the author

Deborah Bulcock is an executive coach and strategic partner for senior leaders in large, complex organisations. With 20+ years as a director in banking and nearly a decade coaching directors and executives, she has supported hundreds of leaders navigating life at the top, through new roles, demanding transitions, and the search for greater meaning and impact in their work. She holds ICF PCC accreditation, has won female founder awards, and has authored two books on burnout, resilience, and confidence.