On reflection, I have been noticing a pattern that reappears in conversations with experienced professionals.
On the surface, things are often going well. People are contributing, staying engaged, and carrying significant responsibility. Yet there’s a quiet sense that effort and outcome are no longer lining up in the way they once did.
The Underlying Dynamic
What seems to be happening is a subtle shift in how influence operates.
Earlier on, contribution itself creates visibility. Ideas are noticed, work is recognised, and effort translates fairly directly into impact.
Later, contribution remains necessary – yet it no longer guarantees consequence. What matters increasingly is not what is offered, rather what actually changes as a result.
Why This Is Hard to Talk About
This shift is rarely named directly, partly because nothing appears “wrong” as such.
Capability is still there. Commitment hasn’t dropped. In fact, many people are contributing more than ever. That makes it hard to see why outcomes don’t always move in proportion to effort.
The ambiguity can lead people to misread the situation – assuming they need to be clearer, more visible, or more assertive, when something else is at play.
Because the change is contextual rather than personal, it often goes unnoticed for longer than it should.
What Shifts at the Next Level
At the next level, the work becomes less about contribution and more about consequence.
Attention shifts towards where decisions are really formed, how ideas travel, and what conditions allow others to take ownership. Timing, posture, and internal stance begin to matter as much as content. Influence becomes quieter, more indirect, and often less immediately visible – yet more enduring.
This doesn’t require becoming someone else. It asks for a different way of orienting attention.
Closing Reflection
For many experienced professionals, the real question is no longer “Am I contributing enough?”
It is “What is actually changing because I’m here?”
That question, once noticed, has a way of reshaping how impact is understood.
If this resonates, you’re welcome to get in touch.
With warmest wishes
Korinne Le Page
Thrive Coaching & Training – Empowering You to Thrive!
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