Insights and ramblings

As the year comes to a close, many of us feel the urge to slow down and take stock. And yet, we rarely do it well. We either skip reflection altogether or turn it into a vague mental recap that quickly dissolves into plans for what’s next. What often gets lost in the process is…

Trust is the quiet force that makes collaboration possible. It shapes how teams communicate, solve problems, take risks, and show up for one another. When trust is high, work flows. When trust is weak, friction becomes the default operating system.Yet trust is often assumed rather than cultivated. It is treated as something teams “have” instead…

Most leaders agree that accountability matters. Few understand just how much it determines performance, profitability, and long-term success. And even fewer know how to build it. Accountability is not a soft concept. It is a behavioural and cultural system that determines whether a company scales or stalls. It is also one of the biggest sources…

Most people underestimate how much of their success is repeatable. They assume it was luck, timing, or the right project. Yet behind every strong performance, there’s a pattern. You’ve developed it partly consciously, partly unconsciously, and refined it through experience until it became your default way of succeeding. The problem is that few people ever…

Few people have an up-to-date job description. Yet, every year, most organizations conduct performance reviews as if those documents existed and reflected reality. Over time, as processes shift and colleagues come and go, responsibilities morph. A temporary favour turns into a permanent duty. A “helping hand” becomes part of someone’s daily routine. Eventually, the original…

We often treat effective leadership as the gold standard. It is thoughtful, sustainable and built around people and purpose. But the truth is that even the most effective leadership can fail when it is applied at the wrong time. Leadership isn’t one posture. It is a balance of stances, and knowing when to lean on…

Most leaders judge their team’s performance through a lens they rarely name out loud: their own expectations. Not expectations written in job descriptions or SMART goals, but deeply personal, often unspoken standards. Things like how quickly an email should be answered, how polished a slide deck should be, or how collaborative a teammate should be…

You can optimize your cost structure, pivot your strategy, and launch new initiatives, but if your people aren’t emotionally and cognitively “all in,” you’ll never capture full value. What if the highest-leverage ROI decision you could make this year wasn’t a product launch or AI investment, but ensuring your people feel appreciated, clear on purpose,…

Leadership advice has become a crowded space. One week it’s about vulnerability, the next it’s about decisiveness, and the week after that it’s about servant leadership. Leaders can feel like they’re chasing a moving target. Yet when you strip away the trends and look at decades of serious research — from Peter Drucker’s writings on…

There are moments in work life when emotions run high. A stakeholder is upset about a delay. A colleague is pointing fingers. A client is impatient for answers. And there are other moments that feel just as tense: when you need to give constructive feedback, raise a concern, or present a counter-argument to your manager…

There’s a reason you feel behind, even when you’re working non-stop. It’s not that you’re disorganized. It’s that your time is up for grabs. Your calendar isn’t just a shared planning tool. It’s a window into your priorities. And if you don’t claim time for your own work, others will, meeting by meeting, request by…

Why feedback feels so uncomfortable When most people hear feedback, they imagine tough conversations—correcting mistakes or delivering criticism. Naturally, that anticipation brings tension. But feedback doesn’t have to be heavy. It can begin with a caring observation—a simple, compassionate comment that says: I want things to be better—for you, for me, for the team. Giving…