Reaching ‘halftime’ and how leaders can shift from success to significance

In the world of CEOs and business leaders, there is a phase of life that demands more than mere success—it calls for significance. This transition is often framed as “halftime”—a more virtuous look at the otherwise cliché and demoralizing notion of a midlife crisis. Bob Buford popularized the concept in his seminal book Halftime.

Buford articulated that halftime is the pivotal moment where individuals reassess their lives, moving from chasing success to finding significance. As someone who has lived this journey and mentored others through it—including serving as the chairperson of the Halftime Institute in Australia—I want to explore how leaders can make this shift effectively.

Understanding halftime

The idea of halftime is rooted in the metaphor of a sports game. At the midpoint, teams retreat to the locker room, reflect on their performance, and adjust their strategies for the second half.

For leaders, halftime is about reflection and recalibration, moving beyond success—often defined by personal and career achievements—toward significance, which focuses on meaningful impact in the lives of others​.

This message particularly resonated with me early in my career. I was deeply engrossed in building my national physiotherapy business, Back In Motion, when a friend introduced me to Halftime. Though I wasn’t yet in my forties and still in the throes of my first half, transitioning from success to significance struck a chord. I was compelled to pause and ask: “Who am I, and what do I want to achieve with my life?”​

Lessons from the locker room

Halftime is not about abandoning success, but about building on it to create lasting significance. The critical point is to understand that while success benefits the individual, significance impacts others. The essence of halftime is learning how to pivot your wealth, experience, and influence into something more meaningful. John Sikkema, another advocate of this transition and author of Enriched: Redefining Wealth, mirrors these sentiments, describing his own halftime journey where he redefined wealth as much more than financial gain. He focused instead on how he could use his resources to enrich the lives of others​.

I’ve seen this transition in many I have mentored through the Halftime Institute. In each case, the path from success to significance is a deeply personal one, often involving a period of struggle, reflection, and a commitment to something larger than oneself. For instance, Sikkema realized that his corporate success left him unfulfilled until he redefined his purpose to include giving back to his community and leveraging his business for social good​.

The three steps of halftime

Reassess: Halftime begins with intentional reflection. It requires stepping away from the daily grind to question where you’re headed and how you’ve defined success. For many, the realization comes that they have achieved what they thought was important, but it’s no longer fulfilling.

Reframe: After reassessment, leaders must reframe their goals. This means shifting focus from personal ambition to collective impact. The question transitions from “How can I succeed?” to “How can I help others succeed?”

Realign: Finally, halftime is about realigning your life—time, talent, and treasure—towards significance. This might mean stepping down from a role, starting a foundation, or investing more time mentoring others​.

My halftime journey

Personally, I’ve come to view my life as a series of locker rooms rather than one defining moment, each allowing me to recalibrate my focus on significance “as I grow” my business. I initially thought the business success I was achieving at Back In Motion was the pinnacle, but through reflection, I realized that the second half of my life needed to focus on making a meaningful impact in parallel.

Through charitable ventures, mentoring programs, and the Iceberg Leadership Institute, I’ve aimed to empower others to find their own path to significance. These experiences allowed me to transition from building a physiotherapy empire to serving a broader mission of investing in people’s lives and helping them navigate their own halftime​.

Why leaders must embrace halftime

For CEOs and leaders, the halftime moment is crucial. The demands of business can drive you to prioritize profits over purpose, and success over significance. However, real leadership means leaving a legacy of influence that transcends financial success. In my experience, this shift not only benefits society but also enriches the leader’s life in ways that pure success never could.

As leaders, we must constantly ask ourselves: “What will my legacy be?” Will it be defined solely by balance sheets and market shares, or will it include the lives we’ve touched and the communities we’ve uplifted? The choice to move from success to significance is not just a personal one; it’s a leadership imperative.

Transitioning from success to significance isn’t an overnight decision. It requires deliberate thought, courageous pivots, and often, the guidance of mentors who have walked the path. Halftime is a gift—the chance to transform the fruits of your success into something far more meaningful. The second half of life can be better than the first, but only if you choose to pursue significance.

For those of us in leadership, halftime offers a chance to redefine our goals and use our influence for a purpose greater than ourselves. Let this be your moment to reflect, reframe, and realign your life toward lasting significance . . . accepting that very likely your best fruit will grow on other people’s trees.