If you've been a leader for many years, the question, "Is this all there is?" may be rattling around in your head, leading you to believe you're burned out. However, as executive coach Marcel Schwantes writes, you're likely experiencing misalignment between what you're doing and your true desires. Schwantes offers four steps to realign with your purpose, including slowing down, revisiting your values and finding what energizes you.

Put it into practice: Every day, ask yourself what would move you closer to who you're becoming, not who you have been, Schwantes writes. "Over time, this question becomes a compass to point you to your True North."

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Leadership during the age of AI will belong to those who can use the technology as a tool without losing sight of the limitations of AI, writes Naphtali Hoff, an executive coach. "The leaders who thrive long-term will be those who wield AI responsibly -- ensuring it amplifies human potential rather than erodes it," Hoff writes.

Put it into practice: AI is one area where leaders shouldn't delegate. "The leaders who thrive in the AI era will be hands-on learners who actively explore and experiment with new technologies," Hoff writes.

Understanding what motivates difficult coworkers can help you see the situation from their perspective, writes Brittney Maxfield from Crucial Learning. Maxfield also recommends doing a strength development inventory to uncover three common motivations that shape behavior and feelings of self-worth: people, process and performance.

Put it into practice: If you're motivated by helping people, a co-worker motivated by performance could come across as aloof. The inventory "helps us understand is the value of personality differences, and that understanding can improve our interactions and strengthen teams," Maxfield writes.

By dedicating 45 minutes to a single, meaningful task with no distractions, you can tap in to your brain's natural peaks in attention and creativity -- something called your "ultradian rhythm," writes career coach Luciana Paulise. Taking a 15-minute break in between work sessions acts as a buffer and should be spent stretching, walking or briefly checking emails before diving back in, Paulise notes. "Once you master the rhythm, expand it beyond work. Timebox everything: your workouts, lunch, family time, reading and even rest."

A harbor seal, seeking to avoid becoming a meal for a pod of orcas, recently saved his own life by jumping onto the stern of a boat rented by wildlife photographer Charvet Drucker in the Salish Sea near Seattle. The orcas were determined to knock the seal back in the water by using coordinated movements to create large waves, but they gave up after about 15 minutes, and the seal remained safe as the orcas swam away. Drucker caught a dramatic photo of the orcas tossing the seal about before it took refuge on the boat.

If you're beginning to feel dissatisfied (or have been feeling so for a while) with your leadership role, wondering if this is all there is after checking off all the boxes, climbing the ladder and building your business, it's probably not burnout. As Marcel Schwantes notes, it could be that your outer accomplishments and inner values are no longer aligned.

To get realigned, Schwantes recommends revisiting your core values, honestly evaluating what you stand for today. Then, you must have the courage to act authentically, making decisions and speaking in ways that reflect your true beliefs rather than conforming to external expectations. Finally, strive for congruence by aligning your internal world (purpose, beliefs, values) with your external behaviors (how you lead and how you present yourself). 

This realignment isn't a shift in identity so much as a deep integration of who you are inside with how you lead -- and, in doing so, you rediscover meaning, restore energy and build the kind of leadership that feels both powerful and true.

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