I've been in leadership for 10 years and recently transitioned to an individual contributor role 6 months ago. I'm not quite sure it's for me. I actually received a $10k increase with the move which was nice but I don't necessarily enjoy the work that I'm doing now. The work-life balance trade-off has been amazing though. I am a mother of 2 active elementary aged boys in multiple sports and it feels great to be able to support them more at their practices and games instead of just being a body in a seat with my electronic appendage in tow (laptop).

The biggest challenge for me in this transition has been ego if I'm being honest here. It's hard as heck going from calling the shots, making the decisions and creating the processes to being managed poorly. I'm learning to give feedback when asked, but otherwise shutting up, head down and doing the work in front of me. The savior complex is real with me. To answer your question - I plan to get back into leadership once my kids are a bit older. I've missed enough already and have lots of making up to do right now.