“As you step up what will you put down?”

A few weeks ago I was talking with one of my mentoring clients.

I asked them: “As you step up what will you put down?”

They paused.

Looked at me.

Tilted their head slightly. “Good question, Lucy.”

It was the look of someone who hadn’t quite thought about it like that before.

The truth is, my job as a mentor is easy. I just get to ask all the questions… and my mentees have to do all the hard work 😉

But this question always lingers.

When we step into something new, a promotion, a board role, a bigger challenge, we focus on what we’re gaining. But do we pause to ask: What will this cost me in time or energy? What can I no longer carry? What might suffer if I try to do it all? There are still only so many hours in a day.

So many meetings we can attend. So many responsibilities we can genuinely do justice to.

If we keep adding… what gives?

And then, once we’re settled, more opportunities arrive. More invitations. More “This would be perfect for you.”

Which means at some point, we have to practise that word that many of us find uncomfortable:

No

So a rhetorical question for you (or answer it if you like!) As you’ve stepped up recently… What have you put down?

Or perhaps more honestly… What do you need to put down?