Leading with Intention: How Job Crafting Can Reignite Energy, Focus, and Meaning at Work
What if your role could evolve with you, not just demand more from you?
If you're in a leadership role, chances are your job has grown and shifted over time. More responsibility, more people to support, more complexity to hold. And with all that, it’s easy to feel like you’re pouring out energy without always feeling connected to why it matters, or to what lights you up.
For many professional women I work with, the traditional shape of a job doesn’t always leave room to breathe, flex, or grow. You might be spinning plates during peak seasons, then feel unanchored when things settle down.
That’s where job crafting comes in.
It’s not about tearing up your job description. It’s about gently reshaping your role so it feels more aligned with your strengths, values, leadership style, and the rhythm of your work. When done intentionally, job crafting helps you stay connected to meaning, and lead in ways that are sustainable, strategic, and distinctly yours.
What Is Job Crafting?
Job crafting is the process of making small, intentional changes to the way you work, so your role feels more aligned with your strengths, values and leadership style.
There are three ways to approach it:
Task crafting by tweaking what you do: increasing the tasks that energise you, reducing those that drain you, or approaching them differently.
Relational crafting by shifting who you connect with: deepening relationships that inspire you, and creating boundaries where needed.
Cognitive crafting by reframing how you think about your work: connecting to a bigger purpose, or rediscovering what gives your role meaning.
These adjustments don’t always need permission from above, but they often benefit from open dialogue, especially if you want to embed them more formally in your role.
Job Crafting in Practice: What It Can Look Like
Let’s look at a few real-world examples from clients I’ve worked with in high-performing, high-pressure environments, like financial and legal services.
1. Avoiding Burnout During Busy Periods
One senior leader in audit knew Q1 was always incredibly intense. Together, we explored how they could use job crafting to:
Protect deep focus time during peak weeks
Delegate earlier, reducing last-minute crunches
Anchor their weeks with small routines that offered calm and structure
These weren’t big changes, but they helped them lead with more steadiness under pressure, and model sustainability for their team.
2. Using Quieter Periods Intentionally
Once the storm passed, the same client often noticed their motivation drop. Without the urgency and external pressure, it was harder to stay focused or energised.
Together, we reframed this quieter season as a strategic opportunity, not something to simply get through, but a chance to invest their time more intentionally. They used it to:
Take on mentoring and internal capability-building projects
Create space for reflective planning and development
Reconnect with the aspects of their role that felt most meaningful
The biggest shift wasn’t in what they did, but how they thought about it. Rather than waiting for the next wave of intensity to feel purposeful, they began using quieter periods to lead with intention - crafting a more balanced and sustainable rhythm that supported their energy, development, and impact.
3. Crafting Around Strengths and Neurodivergence
Another client, a senior leader with ADHD, realised their sharpest thinking came in short bursts. Through job crafting, they began:
Grouping meetings in the afternoon when their social energy peaked
Using voice notes to communicate ideas quickly
Taking on a cross-functional project that played to their creativity and quick problem-solving
This wasn’t about fixing “deficits.” It was about designing their day around their natural ways of working. And their impact grew because of it.
Having the Conversation
Not all job crafting needs permission, but if you're planning a more formal shift, it helps to bring your line manager or stakeholders into the conversation.
Here are some ways to open it up:
“I’ve been thinking about the parts of my role where I add the most value. Could I share a few reflections with you?”
“There are aspects of leadership I’d like to lean into more. I think they’d benefit the wider team too.”
“Would you be open to exploring how I could shape parts of my role this quarter to align more with our strategic goals, and play to my strengths?”
Done well, these conversations signal ownership, self-awareness, and a commitment to growing as a leader.
Leadership That Fits You
Leadership isn’t only about showing up for others and rising to challenges. It’s about shaping roles and rhythms that help you show up as your best self - sustainably.
Job crafting is a powerful tool for:
Leading with greater authenticity
Reclaiming focus and energy
Shaping a role that fits who you are, and where you're heading
You don’t need to overhaul everything or wait for someone else to offer it. You can start with one shift. One conversation. One new rhythm that better supports your growth and impact.
Over to You
What part of your role feels ready to evolve?
Where are you most energised, and where are you just getting through?
What would it look like to lead from your strengths this quarter?
How might you start a conversation about what helps you thrive?
If this sparked something, I’d love to hear what landed. You’re welcome to join my mailing list, or get in touch to explore how coaching can support you to lead in a way that feels more like you.
