From Good to Great: How Choosing the Right Role Can Elevate Your Leadership

Over the years, I’ve seen leaders go from adequate to extraordinary when they find the right role. People who were once seen as reliable but unremarkable—competent, respected, delivering results—step into the right position and suddenly transform. Their confidence grows, their energy is contagious, and the fit feels so natural it’s as if they were born for it. 

It isn’t always intentional. Sometimes we drift into roles because we’re strong in one area, or because an opportunity lands on our desk and saying yes feels like the logical move. Other times we’re still figuring out what we want, so we try something new. None of those paths are “wrong”—they’re part of learning and discovering what motivates us. But they also remind us that the roles we choose, or accept, make a real difference.

Because, let’s be honest: leadership isn’t always easy. It’s demanding, sometimes messy but it can also be rewarding and exciting. It requires resilience, compassion, clarity, vision, and balance—the ability to push just hard enough, without going too far. The role we step into can either support that balance or make it harder to sustain.

So, how do we make those choices?

There isn’t a magical formula or single right path to follow. It’s never as simple as those catchy leadership one‑liners we see on posters or in our feeds—sayings like “Don’t pick a job, pick a boss,” “Do what you’re good at,” “Good Leaders are (fill in the blank)” “Fake it until you make it,” or “What got you here won’t get you there.” These may hold a grain of truth, but they’re incomplete. The right role isn’t just about skills or external opportunities; it’s also about alignment. Alignment with your values, what matters most to you, and with your personal WHY.

That alignment isn’t always obvious, especially early in your career, or when you find yourself offered an unexpected opportunity. Sometimes it takes experimentation, trying different things, even failing, to discover what fits. Other times, it requires a pause—a moment of reflection to ask:

• What do I want my leadership to stand for?
• What gives me the feeling of purpose and meaning?
• Where do my strengths meet my values?
• What environments help me thrive?

As leaders, we also carry a responsibility to help our employees navigate these choices: That can mean creating opportunities for honest conversations about career goals, encouraging them to explore their strengths, or supporting them in testing new responsibilities without fear of failure. When we normalize reflection and experimentation, we empower our teams to find the roles where they can thrive—not just perform. In doing so, we strengthen not only their growth, but the organization’s as a whole.

From a coaching perspective, the most powerful work often comes from creating that space to reflect before making a leap.  Instead of asking, “Can I do this role?”, a more powerful question is, “Is this role where I can be at my best – and feel whole doing it?”

And so, I’ll turn the reflection to you:

How have you made decisions to move into new leadership positions, or even new industries? What influenced your choice to advance into more senior roles – or made you decide to hold back when it didn’t feel right? Which factors have guided you most strongly in finding the leadership roles that fit you best?

Your journey, your reflections, may hold the very insight someone else needs right now.

If this resonates with you and you’d like to explore your own leadership journey more deeply, book a discovery call.