11/11/2025
Here’s a new and important term: “conscious unbossing.”
According to this Forbes article, conscious unbossing is the “decision to avoid or renounce managerial roles in order to preserve mental health, maintain balance and prioritize meaningful work.”
The article goes on to say, “It’s not about escaping effort; it’s rejecting the image of the burned-out boss who sacrifices family and well-being in exchange for power.”
In our opinion, this is an iteration of quiet quitting. Instead of leaving organizations, employees are choosing roles that provide the balance they need and value.
What does this mean for employers?
✅ It’s even more critical now to train and develop your current leaders with the necessary skills that help them engage employees effectively, fairly, inclusively, consistently, and respectfully.
✅ Rethink traditional career ladders: identify and remove or revise aspects of the roles that don’t make sense for the current reality for how your organization operates and what is actually necessary for success in the role.
✅ Revisit the definition of success for a manager or “boss” role? Do the metrics make sense? Do they contribute to burnout? What are reasonable adjustments for the roles?
✅ Consult with legal and HR throughout the process. There’s no need to create legal risks and move forward without your internal experts.
In all, making leadership roles more attractive requires that the people in the roles do the internal work (developing self-awareness, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, etc.) that can help in inspiring people to follow them into their roles. Unfortunately, there are too many examples of what not to do that often overshadow good or exemplary leaders.
The titles and positions aren’t the issues. It’s the people in them that make the difference. After all, people don’t follow titles, they follow or walk away from other people who happen to have the titles.
It isn’t about apathy or lack of ambition: It’s a radical redefinition of what it means to grow professionally.
