Some weeks, leadership feels like standing in full sunlight: bright, intentional and alive.
Other weeks, the colours are dull.
Not because you have lost them, but because life has shifted the light.
The red that once fuelled your courage now feels like overdrive.
The blue that helped you connect now feels heavy.
The green curiosity that made everything interesting? It’s hiding somewhere behind “back-to-back meetings” and “just get through the week.”
Every leader has a spectrum, what I am starting to think of as a range of colours that make up their unique leadership energy. I discussed this last week in “Leadership is a Rainbow” and about how embracing your full spectrum allows you to lead with balance, authenticity, and depth.
But then the question struck me: what happens when some of those colours start to fade? When you start feeling that maybe the colours are blending into each other, and you don’t know who you are becoming as a leader. Ever have that happen to you? I know it happened to me.
When the light dims
The thing is that the fading does not happen all at once for many of us. It is subtle – the slow drift from vivid to muted. From the knowing to the unknowing.
At first, you tell yourself it is just a busy period. Things to do and people to see. Then one day you realise your natural warmth has cooled, your creativity has gone quiet, or your drive has lost its rhythm. Many of us start questioning if we have lost our mojo. Or in some cases, whether we have just lost our ambition.
Do you know the feeling? It is like looking at a familiar painting under a different light. The image is still there, but the vibrancy has changed.
In leadership, that shift often goes unnoticed because we are taught to keep moving. To stay consistent, composed, and reliable.
So we push through, operating in grayscale, forgetting that our presence is the colour.
Why it happens
I have spent a lot of time thinking about this topic and discussing it with many clients, friends and colleagues. At the core of it, our colours fade because we have turned the dimmer down ourselves; to fit in, to stay safe, or simply to get things done. No judgement on the why, but more to understand the how come.
Some of the reasons they shared were:
- Cultural conditioning: Some workplaces reward a narrow palette. Logic over intuition, results over reflection. So many of us learn to hide the hues that don’t “fit the brief.”
- Fatigue and pressure: Under stress, we revert to our dominant colours (ie behaviours) and usually the boldest ones. The softer tones, like empathy or imagination, quietly step aside.
- Feedback confusion: “Be confident, but not too assertive.” “Be kind, but stay professional.” Mixed messages blur our boundaries until everything looks beige. And we start questioning ourselves.
- Burnout: The ultimate desaturation. You are still functioning, but the spark, that inner luminosity, is dimmed. And perhaps worse, your humanity towards yourself and others diminishes.
None of this means you are broken, of course. It simply means you have adapted. The light has shifted, and your system has adjusted to survive.
But leadership is NOT meant to survive. It is meant to illuminate.
Reillumination: Finding your colours again
So how do you bring the light back?
It starts with noticing. Noticing is where awareness meets energy and that is where change begins.
Take a quiet moment. Close your eyes if that helps.
Think about when you felt most yourself in leadership. That is when things felt aligned, flowing, almost effortless.
What colours were alive in you then?
Maybe your red courage was strong. You spoke truth, even when it was uncomfortable.
Maybe your blue empathy was clear. You connected deeply, listened fully.
Maybe your yellow optimism made people feel lighter just by being near you.
Or your green curiosity opened doors to ideas no one else could see.
Now, sense into what feels dimmer right now. Which colour is waiting in the shadows?
That is your invitation point.
One colour at a time
Restoring your full spectrum does not mean repainting your whole leadership canvas. Far from it. It is one hue at a time and one small act of reconnection.
- If your blue empathy feels dim, give someone your undivided attention. Not because you have to, but because you want to feel that resonance again.
- If your green curiosity has gone quiet, ask one genuine question this week that has no agenda.
- If your red drive has burned out, shift it to gentler action. Perhaps something that energises instead of depletes.
- If your yellow optimism feels heavy, spend time with someone who still believes. Borrow their light until yours returns.
The goal is not to fix yourself. It is to remember what full feels like.
Keeping the spectrum alive
If the first post in this series was about recognising your full spectrum, this one is about tending it with the ongoing art of reillumination.
A few simple practices can help:
- Check your palette weekly.
At the end of the week, ask: Which colours did I express? Which ones were missing? What is one way to bring that hue into next week? - Surround yourself with contrast.
Too much of one colour makes everything look flat. Pair your energy with people who bring shades you do not have at this moment. The visionary if you are grounded, the empath if you are analytical. - Let yourself be seasonal.
You are not meant to shine all colours all the time. Sometimes one hue leads while others rest. Trust the cycle and the process; it is how renewal happens. - Don’t chase brightness; follow alignment.
You do not need to turn up the volume on everything. Sometimes the right colour at 50% saturation is perfect.
The spectrum is still yours
If your rainbow feels dull right now, pause. Step back. Notice where the light has shifted.
Then, gently, start turning the dimmer on one shade at a time.
Because leadership (whether of yourself or others) is not about staying bright; it is about staying connected.
And when your full spectrum is alive, everyone around you feels it too.
As always, if you invest in yourself, the rewards will be unfathomable.
Until next time.
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