We are writing this editorial in autumn; the leaves changing colour on the trees outside often put one into a reflective frame of mind. It so often looks like an ending, and the new season feels a long time away. Yet the need to have a time of low-visibility activity to deal with harsh conditions, to store energy and decide on where to grow next is as relevant to organizations (and, indeed, this Journal) as it is to nature. This will be the last issue of Practice Development in Health Care in its current form, and the need to move and change is ever present for us too. It is, however, only human to look at change and feel a certain fatigue. As leaders in the health care environment, we are not exempt, as we look around we see: 1 Many health care teams who have been running at top speed for too long 2 A work force which is more characterized by menopause than maternity and all the associated life transition challenges it poses 3 Established leaders being asked to mentor not one or two but three generations of health care workers, each generation being characterized by its own set of beliefs and needs 4 A political environment which adds a level of complexity not always informed and supportive in its actions.
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