Gone are the days I’d take any job just for a higher pay grade or a shinier title.
Money isn’t the main driver anymore.
Now it’s about something else.
Working with someone, not under someone.
Because who you work for shapes who you become.
I’ve had bosses who manage tasks.
And leaders who build people.
One checks boxes. The other builds character.
Real leaders don’t buy loyalty.
They earn it through trust, vision, and consistency.
I don’t mind skill gaps. Technical skills can be learned.
That's why you are hiring me. For the subject matter expertise.
What matters is emotional intelligence.
Understanding people.
Knowing how to play their strengths and steady their weaknesses.
Someone who checks in once in a while, genuinely.
Someone who asks how you are, not what you’ve finished.
Someone who treats you as a person, not a cog in a machine.
Because that kind of leadership makes people stay, even when they can leave.
Over a decade in.
Grateful that at this stage, opportunities knock more often.
Frequent calls from headhunters remind me there are options.
But what I look for now is alignment.
I’m not being picky. I’m being intentional.
Money is nice.
But working with a true leader.
That’s priceless.