Leadership Coaching 101: Remembrance Sunday – Honouring the Past, Inspiring the Future: Letting Go of Old Chapters to Write New Ones.

As mid-career professional women, we carry rich histories. We’ve led teams, drawn on our experience, navigated transitions and taken our share of learning curves. Yet there comes a moment when we must pause, honour what has passed and consciously open the next chapter. On Remembrance Sunday and beyond, we can draw on the themes of remembrance, reflection and renewal to foster strong leadership in this season of our lives.

My Dad and Grandads regimental tankards, along with various forms of poppies.

Honouring the past: lessons from Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday is the nation’s moment to remember the service and sacrifice of all those who have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life. The Royal British Legion It invites us to pause. To bow our heads. To recognise that individuals and communities have given of themselves so that others may flourish.

For a woman in a leadership or coaching context, this theme of honouring the past resonates deeply. It invites us to:

• acknowledge the “chapters” we’ve lived: the roles held, the projects completed, the hard-won victories (and the tough losses)

• pay respect to what those chapters have taught us: values, resilience, the importance of service and contribution

• realise that just as the nation honours these sacrifices to guard future hope, so we too can honour our past to fuel future leadership.

Thinking of a leadership journey: you may have served organisations, mentored colleagues, shouldered change, supported others. These are worthy of acknowledgement—not as burdens you still carry, but as foundations for your next chapter.

Inspiration for the future: writing a new leadership chapter

Once we’ve honoured our past, we can shift attention to the future. Leadership in mid-life or the “second half” of your career is a powerful time. You bring wisdom, self-awareness and a clearer sense of what matters. But to lead with freshness, you may need to let go of old chapters—outdated roles, limiting beliefs, identities that no longer serve you.

Here are some practical ways to let go and move forward, drawing on coaching-friendly hints:

Surrender to your emotional experience – As described by Exceptional Futures, letting go is not a neat linear process. You’ll experience waves of emotion; the key is to recognise them rather than suppress them. Exceptional Futures In leadership terms: you might still feel proud of a past role but also a sting of ‘what might have been’. Recognise that this is normal.

Observe the event and its impact – Step back and ask: which aspects of my past leadership identity are still serving me, and which feel heavy, outdated or restricting? According to Exceptional Futures: “examine what happened… ask what is happening to you physically… you might engage in restorative activities such as long walks”. Exceptional Futures In practice: schedule a reflective hour with pen and paper (or voice diary) and ask: Which former role, belief or identity am I ready to release?

Learn from the circumstances and your reactions – Your past isn’t just baggage. It’s a learning ground. Exceptional Futures emphasises that when we shift from one chapter to the next, we gain “strength, courage, and the ability to live in the present and embrace the future”. Exceptional Futures Use your leadership experience: what patterns have you spotted? What worked? What didn’t? What are you ready to do differently in your next chapter?

Structured reflection: look back to look forward – As Bright Sky Career Coaching advises, reflection helps you acknowledge your achievements, learn from your challenges and shape your goals for the future. Bright Sky Career Coaching Use a structured exercise:

• What did I achieve (big or small) in the past chapter?

• What am I proud of?

• What challenged me?

• What did I learn?

• What am I grateful for?

• What am I ready to leave behind?

• What do I want to step into?

This helps transform the weight of the past into a springboard for the future.

Handy hints for coaching mid-career women through transition

Here are some targeted hints if you are at this juncture:

Create a “Chapter Close” ritual – Encourage clients to choose a tangible action signifying closure. For example: donate a professional outfit you no longer wear, archive a role description, write a thank-you note to their “former self”. Rituals create symbolic release.

Map your leadership identity – Draw a timeline of your leadership roles and note beside each one: what strengths you used, what you learned, what you would do differently now. Then, draw a blank “future” timeline and list what you’d like next.

Use reminders of service – Just as Remembrance Sunday reminds the nation of service and sacrifice, you can remind yourself (or the client) of leadership as service. Ask: How will I serve in the next chapter? This reframes leadership beyond title or status to contribution.

Let go of a limiting belief – Perhaps the belief is: “I must stay in the same role to prove my worth” or “I’m too experienced to change”. Use the 3-step process: surrender → observe → learn. Ask: Which identity or belief is holding me back from stepping into what could be?

Set “future-you” metrics – Inspired by Bright Sky’s reflection questions, include in your work a set of forward-looking metrics: e.g. number of people mentored, new skill acquired, number of days spent on personal wellbeing. Reflection plus measurement gives momentum.

Plan for renewal rather than just exit – Letting go doesn’t mean stepping into a void; it means stepping into a deliberate next phase. Ask: What new role, project or focus lights me up? And what do I need to let go of to make space for that?

Putting it all together: from remembrance to renewal

As we pass Remembrance Sunday, let it serve as a metaphor for our career journey: we stop, we honour, we reflect, and then we leave with renewed purpose. For professional women in mid-career, this is especially powerful. You’ve accumulated experience. You’ve had success and you’ve had setbacks. You’ve perhaps juggled organisational demands, personal life, transitions (including elements such as menopause or redundancy) and now you’re ready to lead on your own terms.

By honouring your past leadership roles, acknowledging what they’ve given you, and conscientiously letting go of the roles, beliefs or identities that no longer align, you prepare yourself to inspire the future—both for yourself and for others you lead or coach.

Picture this: you stand at a new threshold. You’re not leaving behind your value; you’re transforming it. The sense of service you once brought to your organisational roles now becomes the service you bring to this next chapter: whether that’s managing teams, advising on change, leading with empathy, forging new pathways for yourself and others.

In this next chapter your leadership becomes less about proving you belong and more about enabling others to thrive—drawing on your years of work, your experience navigating change, and (maybe now?) your commitment to wellbeing and empowerment.

And when you find yourself hesitating, revisit the ritual of reflection: look back to look forward, surrender your emotions, observe the impact, learn from the past. Use those tools. Then set your intention. Write the new chapter. Lead with purpose.

Closing thought

As the memorial poppies are laid and the nation bows its head on Remembrance Sunday, remember: leadership too is about honour—honouring where you’ve been, honouring what you’ve learned, honouring the service you bring to others. And then daring to step forward into what comes next. For professional women in this phase of life, this is your invitation: to let go of the old chapters that have run their course, and to write new ones where your authenticity, values and experience become the foundation of your future-focused leadership.

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