It is remarkably predictable.
A leader joins an organisation buzzing with energy, brimming with ideas, determined to make their mark. Eighteen months later, the spark has dimmed. By the two-year point, they’re going through the motions — competent, reliable, but quietly disengaged and if honest, wondering why they were excited in the first place.
Some people describe it as feeling “settled.” I’d call it something less comfortable: role exhaustion.
There’s a natural rhythm to professional engagement that most organisations refuse to acknowledge. The first six months are orientation — absorbing culture, building relationships, learning the terrain. The next twelve are peak contribution — applying fresh perspective to established problems. And then, somewhere around month twenty-four, with the honeymoon long over, something often shifts and the itch begins.
The novelty has worn off.
The problems you were hired to solve have either been addressed or revealed themselves as structural features no one intends to change. William James is quoted as saying:
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
But what happens when the thoughts themselves have become repetitive? When each Monday morning feels indistinguishable from every Monday that preceded it?
The critical question isn’t whether you feel the itch — most people do. It’s whether the itch is signal or noise.
Signal means the role has genuinely ceased to develop you. You’ve extracted what it had to offer, and remaining in post no longer contributes to your growth, although you may continue to contribute to the organisation for a while longer.
Noise means you’re confusing temporary frustration with permanent limitation. Perhaps the organisation is mid-transformation and the discomfort is transitional. Perhaps you haven’t yet pushed into the harder, less visible dimensions of the role. Don’t jump yet - there may still be more to achieve before you’re ready to move on.
Three questions may be useful here:
First: has your learning curve flattened, or have you simply stopped seeking new opportunities for growth? Some plateaus are imposed; others are chosen. Evaluate your development regularly.
Second: are you solving new problems, or recycling solutions to familiar ones? Repetition masquerading as productivity is a warning sign. Distinguish between comfort and stagnation.
Third: when you imagine yourself here in twelve months, do you feel excitement or resignation? Treat the two-year mark as a checkpoint, not a deadline.
The rhythm of engagement is natural. What matters is whether you’re listening to it.
Next up: Clarity from Complexity: Organisational narcissism