January has a habit of exposing things that we have been tolerating.
For some of you, the decision to leave an organisation is brutal but clear. You cannot tolerate the way you are being treated any longer. Disrespect, poor behaviour, constant pressure. That is not a career dilemma, that is self-preservation.
But for many others, the driver is less dramatic and harder to quantify.
Boredom.
You are good at what you do. Trusted. Reliable. Capable. And completely under-stretched.
So let’s talk about it properly.
Is boredom enough of a reason to leave?
Sometimes, yes.
Boredom is often the first signal that you have outgrown the role, the scope, or the organisation’s understanding of what you are capable of. It shows up when there is no learning left, no stretch, no progression conversation, and no appetite to evolve the role with you.
But boredom on its own is not always a reason to leave immediately.
Sometimes it is an invitation.
An invitation to have the conversation most people avoid until it is too late.
Have you had that conversation?
With yourself, or with your executive?
Not the polite version.
Not the one you have once you are already job hunting.
The honest one.
Am I leaving because this role is wrong for me, or because I’ve never asked what this role could become?
Because those are two very different decisions.
One is about fit. Your values, energy, ambition, or life stage no longer align with the role or the organisation. No amount of reframing will fix that, and leaving is an act of clarity and self-respect.
The other is about permission.
You have been operating inside the confines of the role that was given to you, not the shape it could grow into. No one has asked you what you want to achieve, where you want to stretch, or how the role could evolve alongside the business. Maybe it’s never occurred to them. And perhaps you have not asked either, because historically assistants were not encouraged to.
If it is the first, be honest and move on without guilt.
If it is the second, the work is not job hunting yet. The work is a conversation. About scope. About trust. About judgement. About impact.
Because sometimes the role is not wrong.
It has simply not reached its potential .
January does not have to be an escape hatch.
It can be a decision point.
The real work is choosing with intention, not reacting to a calendar date.
