What’s Your Career Fantasy?

By Tinyiko Ndlala, Business Unit Director at Leagas Delaney South Africa

Forget the year-end strategy sessions and performance reviews. Tinyiko Ndlala, Business Unit Director at Leagas Delaney South Africa, wants to talk about something you’ve likely forgotten: your career fantasy. Not the sanitised LinkedIn version, but the real one. Here, she reflects on why we stop dreaming once we hit our ’30s, and how to find our way back to those aspirations we quietly tucked away when life got busy.

It’s been a year. Year-end fatigue is settling in, and I don’t know about you, but I am done reading anything that involves steps, strategies, tips or tricks. I am ready to wrap things up (no shade, no tea). What I do find myself reflecting on as the year draws to a close are career dreams, those quiet, persistent visions we sometimes tuck away as life gets busy.

I’m taken back to my high school valediction, one of my fondest memories. We were reminded of Dr. Seuss’s words: “Oh, the places you’ll go”. I remember my English teacher reciting the book, and even now, every time something happens (good, bad or unexpected) the words come back to me. They remind me that life is not intended to be linear. Most importantly, those words felt limitless. Somewhere along the way, especially as the dust begins to settle in our ’30s, we tend to get caught up in the doing and forget the dreaming. We become so focused on tasks, KPIs and daily deadlines that we sometimes forget to ask ourselves what we truly want from our careers, what would make our work feel meaningful, or what would make our professional journey exhilarating.

Why we stop dreaming

There’s something that happens in your ’30s that nobody really warns you about. The world starts asking different questions. Suddenly, it’s not “What do you want to be when you grow up?” but “Where are you in your career progression?” The conversation shifts from possibility to positioning. We trade wonder for stability, and somewhere in that exchange, we convince ourselves that dreaming is for people who haven’t figured it out yet.

Perhaps it’s the weight of responsibility that creeps in. Paying bonds, dependents, the very real need for medical aid and a decent pension. Or maybe it’s simply exhaustion. When you’re juggling client demands, team management and the perpetual quest for work-life balance, fantasising about your career can feel like an indulgence you can’t afford. But here’s the thing: when we stop dreaming, we stop growing. We become maintainers rather than creators of our own professional narratives.

Finding your way back

When I first started out, I had a long list of aspirations, some clear, some that evolved from full stops to question marks, others written in the smallest font, and a few in bold red caps. Some I couldn’t have imagined at all. Like the time I was one of two people selected to represent my agency in Paris for a WPP programme called Craft Skills Training. That wasn’t on my list, but it became one of the highlights of my career. More recently, opportunities like writing and sharing parts of my professional journey have reminded me how fulfilling it feels to see my words out there and to connect and exchange ideas with others. It’s in those moments that I realise career success isn’t always linear or predictable. It’s often unexpected and can be wonderfully serendipitous.

If you’re reading this and thinking “I can’t even remember what my career dreams were”, you’re not alone. Reconnecting with those buried aspirations doesn’t require a dramatic overhaul or a vision board (though no judgement if that’s your thing). Start small. Ask yourself: What parts of my work genuinely excite me? What would I do more of if I could? What opportunities have I dismissed because they seemed impractical or too far-fetched?

Sometimes, it helps to look sideways rather than up. Your dream might not be the next rung on the corporate ladder. It could be mentoring junior colleagues, speaking at industry events, learning a new skill that has nothing to do with your current role, or even working fewer hours to pursue something meaningful outside the office. Give yourself permission to want something different from what you thought you should want.

Career fantasies come in all shapes and sizes, and not all of them have to end up on LinkedIn. For some, it’s a coveted title. For others, it’s financial freedom. It could be working on a passion project, building something of your own, or simply carving out the time to live fully outside of work. Big ones, small ones, they all matter. They matter because careers should be more than a value exchange measured solely by time and remuneration. In an ideal world, we should walk away from our careers with more than just a retirement annuity. Who did you get to meet along the way? Where did your journey take you? How did you positively influence someone else’s path?

It’s easy to forget that the fantasy isn’t just about a title, a salary or a shiny accolade. It’s about fulfilment, impact, growth and joy. It’s about aligning your work with your values and making space for those things that light you up. Sometimes, the fantasy is daring; other times, it’s quiet but no less powerful. It’s the little victories, the risks you took, the lessons learned and the stories you’ll carry forward that truly define it.

So as this year winds down, I’m asking you: What’s your career fantasy? Say it out loud. Write it down. Share it with someone you trust. Give it the space to exist, even if it feels far away or unconventional. Because as Dr. Seuss reminds us, “Oh, the places you’ll go. How much can you lose? How much can you win?” Read that again. Let it sink in. And then, maybe, start imagining the next chapter with courage, curiosity and a teaspoon of audacity.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: With over 10 years’ experience. Tinyiko Ndlala is a strategic Business at Leagas Delaney South Africa Director who leads with both head and heart.