Four people walked back into my leadership cohort with news I did not see coming: they created brand-new roles inside their organisations and got promoted into them. No one assigned the work. No one handed them a goal. They simply saw a need that was going unmet, believed they were the right person to solve it, and made a case for a role that did not exist before.

That moment changed how I think about opportunity and readiness. Most of us are taught to wait for the opening, keep doing good work, and hope the right person notices. But the leaders who grow the fastest are not the ones who wait the best. They get clear on what they value, what energises them, and where their strengths naturally create impact, then they start spotting possibilities other people walk past. Clarity becomes a filter for smarter career decisions, stronger leadership presence, and more intentional professional growth.

We also dig into how to develop the people around you without trapping them in a “menu of existing roles.” I share the questions that unlock ownership and initiative: What problem do you wish someone would let you solve? What strengths are we not fully using? What do you see that nobody else is talking about? Those questions invite curiosity, and curiosity is often where real leadership begins.

If you have ever thought, “Somebody should really fix that,” I’ll leave you with one challenge: stop and ask, “What if that someone is me?” Subscribe to Getting to Clarity, share this with a leader who’s ready to step up, and leave a review so more people can find the show.