Two people are given identical painkillers. One ...
When You Know It's Time To Move, But Don't Know Where
You've reached a decision point.
Staying isn't working anymore. You've tried to make it work - adjusted your approach, managed the relationships differently, and gave it more time. But something fundamental isn't aligned. Your voice doesn’t carry weight any more. The culture doesn't appreciate what you bring. The leadership direction doesn't match where you see things going.
You know continuing in this role (or this organisation) isn't the answer. You've crossed that threshold. The decision to leave has been made, even if you haven't announced it yet.
The question isn't "should I stay or go?" anymore. You've already answered that. The question is: "Where do I go next?"
And right now, you don't have a clear answer.
Here Is What's Actually Happening
You're a senior leader in STEM with substantial expertise. You've built a strong career. Your capabilities hold significant value. But you're at a crossroads without clear direction forward.
Maybe you've been in this role so long you've lost perspective on what else is possible. Maybe the industry is shifting and you're uncertain where your expertise fits in the evolving landscape. Maybe you know you need to move but the prospect of a job search feels overwhelming - because you haven't done this in 10+ years.
Or maybe - and this is more common than leaders admit - your confidence has been damaged by the situation you've been in. You know intellectually you're capable, but emotionally you're questioning whether anyone else would value what you bring. When you've been repeatedly undervalued for your work, it erodes your sense of your own professional worth. Even though you know objectively you're good at what you do.
A Mini Case Study
When Zhu reached this point, she knew she needed to leave. She'd been systematically excluded from executive meetings, told she wasn't needed in head office, directed to attend sessions remotely instead of in person. Her confidence was shot.
We didn't start with job searching. We started with re-building confidence.
Zhu identified the considerable control she had over the way forward, she identified the power she brought to her role, she recognised how her fears were holding here back - and how to overcome them.
Her re-built confidence helped her articulate her value, and believe in it.
The path forward immediately became clearer. She wasn't looking for "another director role." She was identifying organisations with problems her expertise solves at the executive level.
Zhu left her organisation. Secured a high-profile role. Understood the power she had. Started to see how much she had to offer. The transformation was visible - people around her could see the difference.
What Happens Without A Strategic Approach
Losing Ground
You stay in the wrong role another 12-24 months, losing ground professionally and emotionally.
Regret
You make a reactive move to the first opportunity that appears - and regret it within six months.
Going Sideways
You take a lateral move that doesn't advance your career because you lack frameworks to evaluate options strategically.
Erodes Confidence
Your confidence continues declining, making it harder to position yourself competitively when opportunities emerge
Stuck In The Mud
You reach the point where leaving feels impossible because you've been out of the market too long.
How the Executive Transition Accelerator™ Helps
Most leaders ready to leave try to solve this by updating their CV, getting in touch with former contacts, and hoping the right opportunity appears. It rarely leads to strategic moves. Because when your confidence is damaged and you haven't been in the market for years, you end up taking the first offer that validates you, regardless of whether it's the right strategic move.
The Executive Transition Accelerator™ gives you what you can't develop while you're stuck in the wrong environment: Strategic clarity on where your expertise creates the most value, frameworks for evaluating opportunities beyond compensation and title, peer validation from leaders who've successfully navigated strategic transitions, many from similar positions of damaged confidence, and the rebuilt sense of professional worth that ensures you’re ready to actually make the move.
Because knowing you need to leave and being positioned to leave strategically are two different things.
You work with Directors, VPs, and senior leaders who understand what you're experiencing because they've been there. You identify what problems your expertise solves at the organisational level, which industries or organisations need those problems solved strategically, and how to position yourself competitively when you haven't looked for a role in several years.
So you can make a strategic transition to a role that matches your capabilities and advances your trajectory - rather than a reactive move to the first opportunity that makes you feel valued again, only to realise six months later it wasn't the right fit.
Previous clients have transitioned to Director, MD, VP and Executive roles in new organisations with substantial compensation increases, pivoted to adjacent industries where their expertise was more highly valued, secured Board positions that leveraged their technical authority at the strategic level, and rebuilt confidence through peer validation that led to multiple competitive offers.
Faq
Visit our ETA programme page for complete details on programme structure, what's included, and how it works.
For our flagship Executive Transition Accelerator™, we accept 18 senior leaders and recently appointed executives per year across three cohorts. Our ETA Platinum™ programme has ongoing enrollment but requires a formal application process and is exclusive to leaders who currently operate at SVP, Director and C-suite levels.
