✨ Lessons From the Detour ✨ | Volume 1, Edition 17

Sep 14, 2025

Welcome back! This week in Lead Anew: Insights and Growth we delve into life’s unexpected detours and how they often carry the very lessons we need most. I share how being laid off from a job I thought I loved, and even stepping into a role that didn’t fit my values, ultimately became the turning point that led me to a career aligned with who I am. Along the way, I discovered a passion for writing and coaching, and I realized that detours are not failures but teachers. This story explores how the roads we resist often hold the growth, resilience, and opportunities we never knew we needed.

When was the last time life took you somewhere you did not plan to go? Maybe it was a career shift you never saw coming. Maybe it was a door that closed before you were ready. Perhaps it was a curveball in your health, family, or finances. Whatever it looked like, chances are you did not love it at first. Detours rarely arrive with a cheerful bow. More often, they show up disguised as disappointments. But here is the thing about detours: they are not failures. They are teachers. And sometimes, the reroute turns out to be the real path.

Growing up, I was sold the story that success was linear. Study hard, get a good job, climb steadily upward, and one day you will arrive where you planned. Simple, neat, predictable. Except life has a sense of humor. The road is rarely straight. There are potholes, exits you did not expect, and detours that send you miles away from your carefully drawn map. At first, those turns feel frustrating. They mess with our sense of control. But often, it is in those unexpected miles that we grow the most.

I have experienced many detours in my journey, unexpected shifts in leadership, doors I thought would open that remained closed, and personal seasons that pulled me away from the path I believed I “should” be on. At the time, each detour felt like a setback, but with perspective, I realized every detour was shaping me. They strengthened my resilience, taught me humility, and expanded my skills in ways a straightforward path never could. One of my most significant detours happened when I was laid off from a job I thought I loved. That season shook my confidence, and in my rush to regain stability, I accepted a position that didn’t align with my values. Initially, it felt like a painful step backward, but it ultimately became the catalyst for my growth. That detour led me to a company that truly shares my values and to a role I love. Along the way, I discovered a passion I hadn’t expected: writing and coaching. What initially seemed like loss and misalignment became the foundation of a career and calling that feels authentic and fulfilling and set the stage for my second season.

Detours teach us things that straight roads cannot. Flexibility matters more than perfection. A straight road feeds the illusion that perfection is possible, but a detour teaches you to adapt, to pivot, and to find new ways forward. Identity is bigger than any one role. When a role ends or shifts unexpectedly, it can shake your sense of identity. But detours remind you that you are more than a title, a job, or a position. Your worth is not bound to one lane. Growth hides in the unexpected. We rarely seek out the hard turns, but those are often the very places where we learn resilience, creativity, and courage.

We resist detours because they mess with our expectations. We like predictability. We want to know the plan. Detours strip away that certainty and ask us to trust something bigger than our timeline. But if we only ever stayed on the straight path, we would miss the richness of discovery. We would miss the lessons hidden in the side roads.

Detours are not only personal. They show up in leadership too. Plans shift. Teams change. Projects reroute. The leaders who thrive are not the ones who cling to the original map. They are the ones who adapt with grace, who guide others through uncertainty, and who remind their teams that the detour might be leading somewhere even better. I have seen organizations panic when a detour arrived, and the fear rippled through the culture. I have also seen leaders frame a detour as an opportunity, and the entire team rose to the challenge with creativity and resilience. The difference was not the detour itself. It was the response.

I once worked with a colleague who was devastated by a role change she did not expect. She had mapped her career in a straight line and this shift felt like failure. But within a year, that detour introduced her to new mentors, new skills, and eventually a new passion she never would have discovered otherwise. What felt like a setback turned out to be her launching point. I think of her often when I am tempted to resist my own detours. Her story reminds me that the road is rarely wasted, even when it feels unfamiliar.

This week, take some time to reflect. What detour in your life has taught you the most? Where are you still holding resentment toward a turn that may actually hold wisdom? What would change if you saw your current reroute as preparation instead of punishment? Write your answers down. Sometimes clarity comes when we give ourselves permission to name the detour and the lesson it is carrying.

Detours are not failures. They are teachers. Flexibility is more valuable than perfection. Your identity is bigger than your current role. The unexpected road often leads to unexpected growth. Leadership is not about avoiding detours but guiding others through them.

The next time you find yourself on a road you did not plan, take a deep breath. Look around. There may be something on this path you could never have discovered otherwise. Because sometimes the reroute is not a delay. Sometimes it is the real path.

✨ Until next time, may you lead anew, trusting the detours as part of the journey.