Why. How. What.

Where Do You Start When You Want to Change Everything?

There's a question I hear more than almost any other.

Not from people who are struggling at work. Not from people who've been told they need to improve. It comes from people who are, by every external measure, doing really well.

"I want to make a change – but I don't know where to start."

It tends to arrive quietly. Sometimes after a long commute, or a Sunday evening that feels heavier than it should. Sometimes after a conversation that reminded you of who you used to be, before the diary got full and the responsibility piled up.

If that resonates, this post is for you.

You Already Have the Answers

When people come to me at this crossroads, there's often an unspoken hope that I'll hand them a plan. A framework. A set of steps that will make the fog lift.

I can't do that. And honestly, I wouldn't want to.

Not because I'm being evasive, but because the answers you're looking for aren't mine to give. They're already in you. What's needed isn't more information – it's space to surface what's already there.

Impactful coaching is never about following a process. It is about following the truth.

What I can do is offer three questions that tend to unlock that truth. I use them with almost every client who finds themselves stuck at this particular crossroads. They're simple. They're not always comfortable. And they work.

One: Purpose – What Drives You?

The first question is about meaning.

What drives you and gives your work meaning? What do you want to be known for? What values do you want at the centre of the work you do next – and what kind of contribution do you want to make?

These aren't questions most senior leaders get asked very often. The conversations at that level tend to be about what you're delivering, not why it matters to you personally. And over time, that gap between what the role requires and what you actually value can become quietly exhausting.

This question is an invitation to close that gap. To reconnect with why you work, not just what you do.

Why you work matters as much as what you do.

Two: Energy – Where Do You Come Alive?

The second question looks backwards before it looks forwards.

Where do you feel most alive, curious, or motivated? What did you enjoy before work and responsibility took over? What activities have consistently brought you joy – and are there any you've quietly set aside that you'd like to reclaim?

It's worth splitting this into two columns if it helps: work, and outside work. Because the things that energise you outside of a professional context often point to something important about the kind of work that will sustain you in the next chapter.

Senior leaders are often brilliant at delivering energy to others. Less practiced at noticing where their own comes from.

Your past holds clues to your next chapter.

Three: Shape – How Do You Want to Work?

The third question is about architecture.

What kind of life and career are you drawn to next? Whose working pattern or lifestyle do you find genuinely inspiring, and why? What would you want to say yes to – and what would you now say no to? What would a great day, or a great week, look like in this next chapter?

This is often the question people find hardest. Not because they don't have instincts about it, but because they've spent so long adapting to the shape of other people's organisations that they've stopped asking what shape would actually work for them.

How you work is just as important as what you do.

Why. What. How.

Purpose. Energy. Shape.

Or, if you prefer: Why you work. What lights you up. How you want to live.

These three questions form the foundation of what I call Designing What's Next – a reflective framework I use with clients who are ready to think seriously about their next chapter, without rushing to the answer before they've sat with the question.

It may take a while to find the truth in them. That's not a sign something's wrong. It's usually a sign you're taking them seriously.

If those questions feel uncomfortable right now – that's probably exactly why they're worth spending some time with.

Ready to Explore What's Next?

If this has sparked something, I've put together a short reflective guide – Designing What's Next – that takes these three questions further, with prompts to help you think through each one at your own pace.

You can get it by subscribing to my newsletter, Taggart's People. I'll send it straight to you.

Or if you'd rather just talk it through, send me a message. That's what I'm here for.