The organisations that develop talent well are the ones that help people think through those realities, not just encourage ambition. They create room for someone to say, actually, I do not think this is the right time, or actually, I want to grow in a different direction. That honesty is only possible when the culture makes it safe to have the conversation.

A few years ago, I was working with a software developer who was exceptional at his job. When his employer promoted him to software manager, it looked like a natural reward. Within months, he was struggling in ways he had not anticipated. What he was experiencing was not a competence gap. It was an identity crisis, and one that organisations create all the time without realising it.