Many executives today are at a critical point – often unnoticed because they appear confident on the outside. They have learned to perform, lead and function. They navigate meetings, transformation processes, family commitments, change projects and skills shortages. They provide structure when others are looking for support and are often considered unshakeable.
The downside: managers rarely complain loudly – they burn quietly.
But who provides them with guidance?
Between the ages of thirty-five and fifty – in the midst of what is considered the ‘prime’ of life – many people quietly ask themselves:
What is it all for? What gives meaning to what I do? And: Am I actually still on my own path?
The demands are increasing: digitalisation, disruption, artificial intelligence, new working environments, constant change. At the same time, there is a lack of space for genuine self-reflection, for pausing to reflect, for focusing on the essentials.
Managers are often alone – with their decisions, their exhaustion, their questions.
Leadership in a complex world requires more than tools. It requires inner strength. Awareness. Self-management. Because if you want to lead others, you must be able to lead yourself.
It requires connection to oneself, a clear set of values – and the ability to live with uncertainty without being broken by it.
Why is this crucial for companies?
Because people are not machines. Because long-term success can only be achieved when those in positions of responsibility are at peace with themselves. Because exhausted managers are unable to lead in an innovative, engaging and sustainable manner. And because change can only succeed when there is stability amid all the dynamism – in the form of attitude, awareness and inner clarity.
At the same time, many companies lack the structures to address such issues.
There are programmes to increase efficiency, coaching for KPIs, workshops on resilience.
But where is the space for depth? For meaning? For real orientation?
Managers don’t need more tools. They need opportunities to encounter themselves.
To reposition themselves. To reconnect with what is truly important to them.
And in the long term, this is crucial – for corporate culture, innovative strength and overall success. Because today, more than ever, leadership is a human discipline.
What managers really need today:
- Time to pause.
To feel what is really important right now. - Space for reflection.
To find inner clarity – beyond to-do lists. - Strengthening self-management.
Because only those who can manage themselves can effectively manage others. - Connection to meaning and inner values.
So that decisions are once again made with depth and integrity. - Recognition as a human being – not just as a function.
If companies want their managers to shape change, they must also give them the space to renew themselves.
