Whether you are rebuilding your own working life or responsible for four hundred other people's, the same four things decide whether it works. Answer them honestly.
- Can I act? Do my decisions still change anything — or am I mostly waiting to hear?
- Am I good at something? Not was. Am. Have I done anything recently that proved it to me rather than to my CV?
- Do I matter to anyone? Is there a group of people whose week is different because I'm in it?
- Does my story make sense? Can I say who I am and what I'm for, in one breath, without wincing?
Agency. Competence. Belonging. Coherence. When all four are present, purpose looks after itself. When they go, no amount of confidence-building will bring it back — and almost everybody starts there anyway.