Ten years ago, if you had asked me what defined my professional identity, I would have confidently rattled off my Gallup strengths: Strategic, Activator, Intellection, Command, Communication. I was the person who saw the big picture, made the tough calls, and got things moving. I thought leadership meant being the smartest person in the room with the clearest vision of where we needed to go.

Today, my top strengths read like a completely different person: Restorative, Connectedness, Communication, Activator, Ideation.

What happened in between wasn’t just personal growth; it was a fundamental rewiring of who I am and what I believe business should be about.

The Breakdown That Became a Breakthrough

The past decade taught me lessons I never wanted to learn. I encountered bosses who seemed to view cruelty as a management strategy. I found myself in relationships that slowly eroded my sense of self-worth. My career became a rollercoaster – employee to entrepreneur, back to employee, then entrepreneur again. Each transition was accompanied by setbacks, disappointments that felt like failures at the time.

The old me would have tried to strategise my way out, to command control over circumstances that were frankly beyond anyone’s control. Instead, I found myself doing something I’d never done before: I broke down. And in that breakdown, something remarkable happened.

I discovered that my greatest strength wasn’t in directing others or plotting perfect strategies. It was in the quiet work of restoration – of situations, of relationships, of broken systems, and ultimately, of myself.

The Three-Year Journey Inward

For nearly three years, I immersed myself in the art of coaching and the science of healing. With psychotherapy as a solid background, I studied not just techniques and frameworks, but the deeper patterns of human connection. I learned to see how everything is interconnected: how past trauma shows up in present decisions, how one person’s healing ripples outward to affect entire teams, how businesses are really just collections of human stories trying to make sense of themselves.

Where I once prized solitary reflection (Intellection), I began to understand the profound wisdom that emerges when we truly see how all the pieces fit together (Connectedness). Where I once led through command and control, I learned to lead through restoration and renewal.

The irony wasn’t lost on me: in losing my old identity as a strategic commander, I found something far more powerful. The ability to help others find and restore their own strength.

From Survival to Service

Today, as I pursue advanced studies in digital marketing, advanced coaching, mentor coaching, and coaching supervision, I realise that my personal transformation wasn’t just about me. It was preparation for something bigger.

Every difficult boss and peer taught me how not to lead and how not to communicate. Every unhealthy relationship showed me what an authentic connection actually looks like. Every career disappointment revealed the difference between building something that merely succeeds and building something that truly serves.

My mission has crystallised: to create businesses that don’t just generate profit, but actively make people and the world better. Not through grand gestures or revolutionary products, but through the quiet, persistent work of restoration; fixing what’s broken, connecting what’s been separated, and helping others discover their own capacity for positive change.

The New Leadership Paradigm

Here’s what I’ve learned about leadership in our current world: we don’t need more strategic commanders. We have plenty of those. What we desperately need are restorative leaders; people who can diagnose what’s not working and have the patience and skill to fix it.

We need leaders who understand connectedness; who see that employee wellbeing affects customer satisfaction, that business practices ripple out into communities, that short-term profits built on long-term harm are not actually profits at all.

We need leaders who can activate positive change not through force, but through invitation. Who communicate not just information, but inspiration. Who generate ideas not just for competitive advantage, but for collective benefit.

The Strengths We Need Now

Looking at my evolved strengths profile, I see a blueprint for the kind of business leadership our world needs:

• Restorative thinking that asks “What’s broken here, and how can we fix it?” instead of “How can we exploit this?”
• Connectedness that understands businesses exist within ecosystems, not as isolated profit centres.
• Communication that builds bridges instead of walls, that inspires rather than intimidates.
• Activator energy that moves toward positive change, not just any change.
• Ideation that generates solutions for human problems, not just market opportunities.

Your Invitation to Transformation

If you’re reading this and recognising yourself in the “before” version of my story, if you’re leading through command and control, if you’re focused solely on strategic advantage, if you’re feeling like something is missing despite your professional success, I want you to know something:

Your hardest experiences aren’t roadblocks to your purpose. They’re the raw materials for it.

The boss who treated you poorly? They’re teaching you how to treat others with dignity.

The career setback that felt like failure? It’s showing you what truly matters.

The relationship that broke your heart? It’s preparing you to help others heal theirs.

The businesses that will thrive in the coming decades won’t be those led by the smartest strategists or the most commanding personalities, and sorry, AI ain’t in the list.

They will be led by people who understand that true success comes from making things better; for employees, for customers, for communities, for the world.

The Mission Continues

As I continue building my coaching practice and developing new business ventures, I’m guided by a simple question: “How does this make people and the world better?”

It’s not always the most profitable question to ask. It’s definitely not the easiest path to take. But it’s the only question that feels worth answering anymore.

Because at the end of the day, our strengths aren’t just personal assets to be leveraged for individual gain. They’re gifts to be shared, problems to be solved, and connections to be restored.

The world has enough strategic commanders. What it needs now are restorative leaders.

Are you ready to discover what that looks like for you?

What’s your strengths evolution story? How have your greatest challenges shaped your greatest contributions? I’d love to hear your journey in the comments.

About Me: I’m currently pursuing advanced coaching certifications and building purpose-driven businesses. I help leaders and organisations discover how their unique strengths can create positive change in the world. Let’s connect if you’re interested in exploring how your professional journey can become a force for good.