411: The Quiet Crisis Facing Today's Leaders with Digby Scott

Leadership thinker and author Digby Scott joins Zoë Routh for a deep, reflective conversation on leadership transitions, success, and what it truly means to matter.

As leaders move into later stages of their careers, familiar formulas begin to lose their power. Hustle becomes exhausting. Achievement feels hollow. The question shifts from What more can I do? to How do I contribute differently now?

Drawing on decades of leadership experience, Digby explores the shift from ego to eco, from hero leadership to host leadership, and from achievement to contentment. Together, Zoë and Digby unpack how mature leaders can create leader-full, resilient organizations and meaningful lives, without clinging to authority, identity, or legacy.

Key Quotes

"Much of what got me here won't get me where I need to go next." - Digby Scott

"Leadership matures when we move from ego to eco, from focusing on ourselves to stewarding the whole system." - Digby Scott

"Don't try to create a legacy. Do good work, and let what lasts take care of itself." - Digby Scott

"Success later in life is less about achievement and more about contentment." - Digby Scott

"Practice is the path. You don't need to know where it leads, only that you can take the next step." - Zoë Routh

Questions Asked

• What does success really mean at this stage of my leadership journey?
• How do I know when it's time to step back, step aside, or step in differently?
• Am I leading in ways that create dependency or resilience?
• How do I move from being the hero to becoming the host?
• What does "mattering" look like when titles and authority fall away?
• Which of my daily choices enlarge my life and which diminish it?

Take Action

Identify one responsibility you can intentionally hand over to grow someone else's leadership.

Shift one focus this week from doing the work to creating the conditions for others to thrive.

Reduce one thing, urgency, obligation, or noise and notice what space it creates.

Key Moments

00:00 Introduction and the Question of What's Next
00:42 Meet Digby Scott
01:42 The Big Questions Facing Mature Leaders
03:17 Redefining Success and Legacy
06:05 From Hero Leadership to Host Leadership
11:52 Reflective Practice and Organizational Culture
16:59 Ego, Responsibility, and Power
32:47 Mattering and Meaning
37:01 Ego vs. Eco
39:26 Contentment Over Achievement
46:17 Reflective Questions for Leaders
49:06 Fast Three Questions
56:23 Final Reflections

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