Every higher education leader has experienced a professional setback—a search that didn’t end in an offer, an initiative that stalled, a role that was eliminated, or a vision that the institution simply wasn’t ready to embrace. What separates leaders who grow from those experiences from leaders who are diminished by them is rarely talent or resilience alone; it is knowing how to process disappointment with intention. This thoughtful piece from Inside Higher Ed introduces the concept of “productive grief”—the idea that acknowledging and working through professional loss is not a detour from forward momentum, but the very path toward it. If you or someone you mentor is navigating a difficult professional moment, we encourage you to read it here.