After three years away, I’m coming back to work (July 14th 2026) and I want to be honest about what this return looks like.
In 2023, my husband Jeff — my life partner of 33 years, father to our three daughters — was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He died 15 months later. Shattered. Our lives ripped apart and turned upside down.
I am not the same person I was. What matters to me now is different. And my mission is clearer than it has ever been.
Here’s what I’ve learned, living it: time doesn’t make grief go away but time doesn’t take love away either. We can grow around our grief. And, with the right support, it’s possible to grieve fully and live fully, often in the same moment.
Here’s what else I know. One in four people in our workplaces is carrying a loss right now. The diagnosis, the divorce, the death of someone they love. Work keeps going, and before long we expect them to do the same. We are, most of us, grief and loss illiterate — not because we don’t care, but because nobody taught us.
I have a role to play in changing that.
So from 14th July 2026, Evolving Leaders begins the first step in a new chapter: Guiding transitions for people, organisations and a changing world. The first step is walking alongside leaders navigating unexpected life events, as a transition guide and coach and, helping organisations truly support their people through them via Grief and Loss Education.
You can read more about that here.
This isn’t a polished re-entry. My website is still finding its new shape and there’s no glossy brochure. I could spend months waiting until it’s all perfect. But life is messy and imperfect and so is this work. I’m taking the first step and trusting the rest will unfold.
You can read about my new beginnings here.
Perhaps you are in the messy middle of a transition yourself, or you lead people who are? If so this next focus might resonate for you. My diary is open to book now with first available times from 14 July. You can book a conversation here.
In the meantime I have one more hike to do before I am full back and focussed. This time, I’ll be walking off-grid in the Kimberley until mid-July. I will respond to any messages when I’m back.
Thanks for your care and support and for following along as this new chapter unfolds.
Nicola Vague is a leadership coach and transition guide, and the founder of Evolving Leaders. She walks alongside leaders navigating unexpected life events, and helps organisations support their people through the line-in-the-sand moments that turn life upside down.
www.evolvingleaders.com.au