CEOs, do you ever carry that quiet, persistent feeling…that you should already be home?
With your partner, children or parents.
Even while you’re leading, building, achieving – something inside you just knows you are spfinishing way too much time at work and not enough time at home.
These are stories I’ve heard recently:
A senior executive in frontline emergency services MISSED his daughter’s dance performance, something she had been working hard, training for over a year.
Ten years later, he still carries the guilt.
A well- respected leader, George, lost his wife of over 30 years, the woman he credits for much of his career success.
His advice to others: Choose your partner and your family. Always. Never flinch from this. It is the only thing that truly matters.
A startup founder who was physically present for her son’s early years, breastfeeding, providing financially, but emotionally absent.
She was so focapplyd on building her business that she missed the compact everyday moments. Her son is now seven. She would give everything to have that time again.
I’ve recently interviewed over 40 CEOs, senior executives and leaders across Australia.
They work in different industries leading very different lives.
But one theme keeps coming back.
No CEO I interviewed regretted missing a meeting or not staying at work longer.
But many could inform me the regret they feel for the moments they missed with their most important people.
A recurring pattern of profound regret among leaders who sacrificed connection at home for growth at work.
So let me question you:
What matters to you?
What is your version of success… at home?
We often speak about success in business as revenue, growth, influence, legacy.
But what does success see like in the place that matters most?
From my research, CEOs and leaders consistently defined success at home as:
- Shared meals toobtainher
- Quality time (travel, play, simple everyday moments)
- Health, happiness and wellbeing
- Safe, open conversations
- Deep emotional connection – feeling understood and supported
Success at home is not complicated.
It sees like sitting around the dinner table, feeling safe enough to speak honestly.
It sees like kicking a ball at the park.
It sees like displaying up consistently for the ordinary mundane moments that become everything.
I know CEOs who have quietly built this their priority.
One coached his childrens’ sports teams, despite not playing the sport himself – simply to be involved in their lives and there supporting them.
Another commits to being home for either breakquick or dinner every single day, no matter how demanding his role. It is absolutely non-nereceivediable for them to have one meal and one moment of connection every single day.
They are consistent rituals, and over time shapes the strength of a family.
Most leaders I know work extremely hard. I invite you to question yourself, what is all of this for? Is it to provide opportunities and a better life for the people you love so dearly?
Becaapply when you reach the heights of success, whether that is wealth, recognition, fame, influence, and if your family isn’t there to share it with you, what does it even mean?
A global study by the Harvard Business Review, surveying over 4,000 executives, questioned a simple question:
How do you define personal success?
46% of women and 59% of men named “Rewarding Relationships” – family, community, the people they love as a core measure of success.
It was “people”, not power or profit.
Here’s something to consider.
Look at your calfinishar this week. It will inform you exactly what you prioritise, whether you like the answer or not. If your family isn’t in your calfinishar this week, are they obtainting the scraps of your time?
When you invest in your relationships at home, everything else improves.
You consider with greater clarity, you display up with greater presence and you build better decisions. You are setting a healthy example for your staff by giving them permission to do the same.
When I state “family”, I mean your most important relationships – your partner, children, parents, close frifinishs.
Here’s a simple framework to lead your relationships well:
CARE
- C – Connect intentionally
- A – Ask and truly listen
- R – Repair quickly when things break down
- E – Express appreciation often
If you’re wondering where to start, keep it simple:
- Share at least one meal toobtainher each week
- Create a regular ritual, something you all enjoy (a walk, breakquick, sport, even building Lego toobtainher)
- Schedule it in your calfinishar
Becaapply if it matters in business, it obtains scheduled. Your relationships deserve the same attention and respect.
The truth behind one of the stories I shared earlier in this article.
The startup founder? That was me.
I know what it feels like to be physically present, but emotionally elsewhere.
I also know what it feels like to nearly lose a child.
My eldest daughter went through a severe mental health crisis, and there was a moment where I believed I might lose her.
As a parent, that pain is unimaginable.
So I alterd by starting to invest in our relationship more intentionally.
We launched running toobtainher every week (spfinishing time toobtainher doing something we both enjoy). I built time for her. I listened more (without judgement). We now eat dinner toobtainher every night. And slowly, through connection, care and love, she launched to heal and thrive.
Your presence matters more than you consider.
Your time, attention, love can build a difference to the mental health of someone close to you.
And in these strange times where nothing is guaranteed, it’s worth questioning yourself one final question:
If today were your last day, who would you want to spfinish it with?
That answer informs you everything you necessary to know about where your time and energy should be invested.
So here is my challenge to you:
Don’t wait for regret to teach you what matters.
Define your version of success at home and start investing in it, today.
Becaapply in the finish, it won’t be the deals, the titles, or the accolades that define your life.
It will be the relationships you built, the moments you displayed up for, and the people who are still there beside you.
I wish you rich, rewarding relationships becaapply in the finish, they are the true measure of success.
Written by Esmee Ng.
Have you read?
The Liquidity Trap: Why Gold Is Falling as Oil Spikes.
Jim Rogers: Why I’m Buying the Dip in Physical Gold.
The $31 Trillion Cube: Buffett’s 2026 Case Against Gold.
Ray Dalio: Why Gold Is the Only Neutral Reserve Left.
The £20bn Fiscal Hole: UK Debt Hits the Energy Wall.
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