I had dinner recently with a friend. It was one of those moments where we were gathered for a birthday, but the conversation turned meaningful—as it often does when you ask the right question.
I asked him something I almost always ask: How are you doing?
I ask that question intentionally, especially of people in business. Because if you don’t love your work—or if it’s not going the way it should—it doesn’t just stay at work. It leaks. It impacts your mood, your outlook, your energy.
Over several dinners across a couple of years, he had carried a heavy burden. Work weighed on him. You could feel it.
But this dinner was different.
His posture was different. His tone was different. His spirit was lighter.
He talked about doing the hard work—making the right decisions by moving the wrong people out and getting the right people in to carry forward a large-scale initiative. He shared how difficult those decisions were, how much weight they carried, and how long he wrestled with them.
But once the decisions were made, the execution went well.
And the results followed.
That’s why I’m grateful for seasons.
I’m grateful for moments when leaders come to the realization that giving someone an opportunity doesn’t mean forcing a fit forever. Sometimes people don’t thrive—not because they lack value, but because the role, the timing, or the placement isn’t right.
And when we’re honest about that, for them and for ourselves, something shifts.