There's a moment many leaders experience.

The role that once gave you energy, purpose and identity starts to feel heavier. Not because you've stopped caring or lost your capability — but because something no longer fits.

In this episode of Leading You, I sit down with Susan Simon — educator, former principal of three independent Queensland schools, and author of debut novel The Secrets of St Jude's — for a deeply honest conversation about what happens when your leadership identity starts to disconnect from who you're becoming.

After more than four decades in Australian school communities, Susan brings an insider's perspective on the emotional complexity of leadership: the joy of building empowered teams, the weight of competing stakeholder expectations, the politics, the pressure — and eventually, the grief of leaving a role that once defined her.

This conversation goes far beyond education. It's for anyone in leadership, corporate, or business who has quietly wondered: Is this still who I am?

What we cover:

• Why strong leadership often feels invisible to the person doing it
• The emotional load of leading complex organisations with competing expectations
• The quiet warning signs that something has shifted — before crisis hits
• Why leaving a leadership role can feel like grief, not just a career change
• The risk of letting work become your entire identity
• How to reconnect with yourself outside of your title
• Why grounding practices aren't a luxury — they're a leadership necessity
• Susan's debut novel and the psychological complexity of elite school communities

 

Timestamps
00:00 Life Components First
00:43 Meet Susan Simon
02:16 Leadership In Flow
08:09 Stakeholders And Pressure
11:05 When Identity Shifts
17:37 Leaving And New Paths
20:22 Grief And Attachment
24:34 Advice For Stuck Leaders
28:53 Inside The Debut Novel
33:11 Wrap Up And Reviews

 

Links:
Learn more about my group coaching program here
Get the Clarity Compass here

 

Connect with Julie:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-hyde/
Instagram: @juliehydeleads
Website: https://juliehyde.com.au

Connect with Susan:
Website: https://susan-simon.com/
Instagram: @susan.simon_author
Purchase link: https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Secrets-of-St-Judes/Susan-Simon/9781922190154

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