October 14, 2025 Hi Reader TL/DR: The old motivational contract (authority + incentives = performance) is broken. The new one (belonging + autonomy + purpose = engagement) feels fragile and slow under performance pressure. Perhaps you don't need softer standards? Maybe you need a new system that upholds excellence while speaking a different psychological language. Here are 4 steps towards that. (3-minute read) What if your best player just walked out of a ‘feedback session’. They’re not...
13 days ago • 5 min read
October 14, 2025 Hi Reader TL/DR: You think you're good at giving feedback because people nod and say "thanks for your thoughts." Most feedback, in reality, isn't developmental, it's just criticism with professional packaging. The gap between what leaders think feedback is and what it actually requires is costing teams their best talent and organisations their competitive edge. Ask a group of people if they are good drivers…90% answer that yes, of course, they are. Asking leaders about their...
20 days ago • 4 min read
September 26, 2025 Hi Reader Sometimes the best advice is the exact opposite of what everyone's telling you. Last week's newsletter about challenging conventional wisdom struck a nerve. The responses made one thing clear: leaders are hungry for perspectives that go against the grain of popular thinking. This week, I'm diving deeper into inverse logic. We’ll look at those moments when the smartest move is the one that feels completely backwards. When success comes from doing less, not more....
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
September 19, 2025 Hi Reader This week, I'm rethinking and reframing. Questioning things I thought I believed. Tl/dr: You might well be operating off a flawed operating systems of baked in assumptions. (3-minute read) You know that feeling when someone says something that makes you realise you've been thinking about something backwards? That's been my past two weeks. Three separate conversations forced me to confront assumptions I didn't even know I was making. About authenticity. About...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
September 12, 2025 Hi Reader Part 3: The Confidence Series - Final The feedback caught me totally off guard. "You're killing our creativity," one of the ‘leadership group’ said during a quarterly review. "Every time we bring you an idea, you improve it. And you wonder why we’re not coming up with new stuff anymore?" I thought I was being helpful. Collaborative. Adding value through experience. Turns out I was suffocating the very innovation I thought I was cultivating. That conversation ten...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
September 4, 2025 Hi Reader Part 2 of “The Confidence Series” I used to be proud of my decision-making track record. Quick analysis. Clear choice. Confident execution. Results that “proved me right.” Then I started working with top leaders who made decisions that looked terrible on paper but delivered extraordinary outcomes. It puzzled me and so I sat with it until I realised something uncomfortable. My "best" decisions were often preventing me from making truly great ones. The very approach...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
August 29, 2025 Hi Reader Part 1 of “The Confidence Series” "I'm confident this strategy will deliver exactly what we need." Ever heard anyone utter those words? You might have yourself. I heard those words recently in a meeting-room, and they hung in the air like a red flag for anyone who actually understood the complexity of what was being proposed. While there were some approving nods at such decisive leadership, I watched the most experienced person in the room, a performance manager with...
2 months ago • 5 min read
August 22, 2025 Hi Reader I walked into my client’s office all full of the joys. I changed tact quickly though as she was looking exhausted. "My team keeps coming to me with problems," she said. "I solve them quickly because I have the experience. But somehow, more problems keep appearing." She runs a luxury hotel group here in Mallorca. Smart leader. Great results. But drowning in other people's problems. The chat took off something like this. "How often do they bring you problems?" I asked....
2 months ago • 5 min read
August 15, 2025 Hi Reader Let's just say that you've mastered the language of leadership. Your emails are articulate. Your presentations are comprehensive. Your explanations are thorough. But you’re a bit curious that people aren't responding to you with the respect your position deserves. Sound familiar? There's an underlying uncomfortable truth. The communication patterns you believe demonstrate professionalism are actually broadcasting weakness to everyone around you. Let’s see why that...
3 months ago • 6 min read