The most strategic advantage you have right now is your willingness to be wrong. This is the new paradox of leadership. We’ve all been trained to believe that the right decision requires perfect information, yet volatility has stripped that certainty away. Markets shift overnight, teams restructure faster than the org chart, and data seems to contradict itself weekly. The leaders who win aren’t the ones chasing certainty. They are the ones who have mastered the art of deciding in the dark.
Every executive team I coach works hard to align on strategy. They debate priorities, refine ROCKS (quarterly priorities), and finally walk out of the room confident they’ve nailed it.
Yet a few months in, progress feels uneven. Teams are stuck in old habits. Projects stall. Strategy looks great on paper, but it isn’t fully alive in day-to-day work.
When growth slows, most leaders look outside for answers—market conditions, competition, talent shortages. But in my coaching work with executive teams, I see a different pattern. More often than not, the bottleneck isn’t out there. It’s in the leadership team itself.
In our always-on world, disconnection feels counter-intuitive. Leaders often believe constant presence equals constant impact. We're wired to think "always on" means "always productive." But what if this mindset is actually holding you and your leadership team back?
The truth is, genuine disconnection is a strategic necessity. It's the deliberate act that unlocks clarity, fuels innovation, and builds a more autonomous, resilient team.
Recently, I had a profound conversation with Brian Wish on his podcast, the "One Away Show". We explored the power of a single pivotal moment that can completely alter the trajectory of your life. At the heart of my story is the decision to step away from a long-standing and high-profile CEO role that had become central to my identity. This is deeply relevant to any leader who must find the courage and clarity to make a choice which could transform the entire course of their company or career.
We’re currently in one of the most competitive job markets in the history of business. Top talent has become a precious commodity, and the ability to recruit and retain A-players can be a differentiator between a stagnant or declining company and one that is vibrant and poised for growth.
According to a recent study by IBM’s Smarter Workforce, 1 in 6 employees are actively looking for a new job and 46% of employees would consider a better job opportunity even if they weren’t actively looking.
Most leaders agree that the customer experience (CX) can be the difference between a vibrant, growing business and one on the decline or stagnant. The strongest companies regularly monitor their CX and constantly look for areas to improve.
But how many companies put the same focus on the employee experience (EX)?
In his iconic business strategy book, Good to Great, Jim Collins shares what he calls the “flywheel effect” — a transformational phenomenon that he observed in some of the world’s most successful companies.
It’s not about a single big idea or innovation, nor one groundbreaking marketing campaign or lucky moment. Instead, it’s a gradual, focused progression — much like pushing a massive flywheel forward, turn by turn, accelerating momentum until it reaches a breakthrough point.
the clearest vision, the perfect strategic plan and an exceptional product or service, but without the right team, you won’t get too far.
Legendary business guru Patrick Lencioni, author of The Ideal Team Player, says to look for three essential values in every team member. “It’s the combination of the three where the magic happens.”
I recently attended Patrick Lencioni’s first-ever UnConference, an event focused on teamwork, leadership and organizational health. Patrick, the acclaimed author of Five Disfunctions of a Team, The Advantage, and many other books, delivered a wealth of information around maximizing the “health” of your company. Additionally, he had several renowned CEOs who shared their leadership strategies and successes in driving winning cultures in their organizations. One of the most extraordinary was the keynote from Alan Mulally, the legendary former CEO of Boeing and then Ford, who is credited for turning Ford into the number one automobile brand in the USA.
Alan has been on Fortune’s list of World’s Greatest Leaders. He’s also known as one of the kindest, most authentic leaders. As he spoke in depth about the leadership principles that have guided him throughout his career, I could absolutely see why all of this was true. In fact, he believes that Skilled and Motivated Teams are the foundation of every successful company, and he showed us his Principles, Practices and Management Systems which were printed on a single sheet, and said he reviewed this with his team before each meeting.
New Year = Fresh Start. It’s the perfect opportunity to evaluate where you’re spending your time and to make necessary changes which will improve your performance and effectiveness.
We’ve all heard of the Pareto principle (the 80/20 rule): 80% of your results will come from 20% of your activities. How much time are you devoting to tasks that don’t have a significant impact? The key to boosting personal performance is understanding what your high-payoff activities (HPAs) are and making sure these are prioritized. Identifying these HPAs will bring the greatest value to you, your organization, team and customers.
New Year = Fresh Start. It’s the perfect opportunity to evaluate where you’re spending your time and to make necessary changes which will improve your performance and effectiveness.
We’ve all heard of the Pareto principle (the 80/20 rule): 80% of your results will come from 20% of your activities. How much time are you devoting to tasks that don’t have a significant impact? The key to boosting personal performance is understanding what your high-payoff activities (HPAs) are and making sure these are prioritized. Identifying these HPAs will bring the greatest value to you, your organization, team and customers.
