Are you waiting for your "next big opportunity" to fall into your lap?
We can complain about friction, toxic cultures, or stagnant careers—hoping senior leadership or something will magically fix the system.
Here is the hard truth: The industry isn't waiting for us to find the perfect situation. It's waiting for us to plant a seed.
In IT operations and organizational leadership, it is easy to get trapped in "task management mode." We manage tickets, push projects, and optimize systems. For most, the real breakthrough—and true, lasting joy—doesn't happen when we manage tasks.
It happens when we invest in people.
Earlier this year, I found myself bound to internal organizational boundaries. I was stuck managing immediate operational needs while carrying a deep, unfulfilled calling to build leaders who build leaders—to train, coach, and assess behaviors on a broader scale.
Waiting on external timing and organizational permission created massive inner dissonance between my positional tasks and my true identity as a servant leader.
Instead of staying frustrated by the friction, I took personal responsibility:
First, I redeemed my margin: I stopped filling free time with manufactured busyness and treated margin as a strategic choice, dedicating early mornings and evenings to building coaching frameworks.
Second, I started planting the seed: I surrendered comfortable "free time" in order to voluntarily serve, mentor team members, and share wisdom with peers outside traditional boundaries.
Third, I focused on Legacy: I shifted from not only managing projects to developing people, creating space for growth and exponential impact.
For me, when I moved from a positional manager to an identity-based leader, I stopped trying to extract output from a system. Instead I started building a legacy.
If you are experiencing friction today, you don't need another strategy meeting. You need to plant a seed:
Some possible seeds:
• Need more support? Mentor a junior engineer.
• Need more clarity? Share the wisdom you already have with a trusted peer.
• Need a bigger platform? Start coaching someone outside your organization.
Leadership isn't about what we extract. It's about what we plant in people.
Join the Conversation:
What is one area in your leadership where you’ve been "waiting on the right timing" instead of planting a seed?
How do you balance managing daily operational deliverables with making dedicated time to mentor your team?
What is one small way you can serve a peer or junior colleague before this week ends?
#ITLeadership #PersonalGrowth #PeopleFirst #TechLeadership #CoachingAndMentorship
