Practical guidance for tackling common leadership challenges
Over the years, in my businesses, as an executive coach, and in leadership development, I have seen the same challenges recur repeatedly. How do you keep a team engaged? How do you raise performance? How can we help people navigate change? How do you balance results with relationships? and so on.
These questions rarely have a single answer. What matters most is the way a leader chooses to respond. Each choice not only drives performance, it also shapes the climate and culture that others experience.
I aim to offer you practical guidance and a fresh perspective, blending science and stewardship, not as fixed solutions, but as insights and steps you can apply immediately. Think of each post as both reflection and practice: useful now, and part of a longer journey of growth.
You’ll find new questions added regularly. If there’s one you’re wrestling with, I invite you to share it with me.
For those looking to develop a specific capability or competency, the Leadership Library offers one hundred areas for you to develop yourself.
How can I set boundaries with my team that create clarity and improve performance?
Setting boundaries is not about control but clarity. Learn how to use boundary mapping to create shared agreements that build trust and improve performance.
How do I help my team move beyond grumbling?
Grumbling is part of organisational life, but when it becomes the culture, energy drains away. This article explores five research-based pathways leaders can use to shift teams from complaint to contribution, rekindling agency, pride and possibility.
How do I lead my team through uncertainty and build resilience?
In times of uncertainty, strategy alone is not enough. Learn ten practical ways leaders can help their teams steady themselves, build resilience, and sustain trust and creativity in the face of constant change.
How do I answer tough questions under pressure without losing composure?
Learn how to answer tough questions under pressure with clarity and confidence. A simple five-step approach to stay calm, connect, and lead.
How can I identify my leadership strengths? (VIA Character Strengths)
How can I identify my leadership strengths? This article explores strengths-based leadership through VIA Character Strengths. Discover all 24 VIA strengths explained in depth, plus ten practical ways to bring strengths into business leadership.
How can I leave work at work without feeling guilty?
Leaders often ask, “How do I leave work at work?” This article explores boundaries, recovery, role transitions, autonomy, and resource management. Grounded in research and written with a reflective tone, it offers practical ways to switch off and reclaim balance without guilt.
How can I say no at work without damaging relationships?
Saying no at work is not easy. Many of us keep saying yes out of habit or fear, but it leads to stress, burnout, and strained relationships. This post explores how to say no at work without damaging trust or respect, using a simple rhythm: acknowledge • pause • respond.
How can I spend less time in meetings and make better decisions?
Tired of endless meetings? Learn how to reclaim time by distinguishing between one way and two way door decisions, empowering people, and making meetings matter again.
How can I know which decisions to make alone and which to share?
The Waterline Principle helps leaders and teams decide when to act alone and when to consult. It offers a shared language for risk and responsibility, anchored in three questions: the upside, the downside, and whether you can truly live with the loss.
How can I make my meetings more effective?
Most meetings drain time without delivering value. Research shows up to one third are unnecessary and 35% unproductive. This article explores ten practical yet human-centred ways to make meetings meaningful, focused, and effective.
Should leaders be friends with the people they lead?
Should leaders be friends with employees? Explore the benefits, risks, and strategies to balance trust, fairness, and performance at work.
How can I build trust at work? (Three Dimensions of Trust)
Explore the three dimensions of trust; character, communication, and capability, with simple practices to strengthen collaboration and confidence at work.
How can I get my team to think differently? (DeBono Six Hats)
Teams often get stuck in the same patterns of talk. De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats offer a way to think differently, creating space for facts, feelings, risks and possibilities to emerge in turn.
How can I cope better as a leader?
Discover how proactive coping helps leaders build resilience, anticipate challenges, and cope better in today’s volatile workplace.
How can I stay resilient every day and keep my emotions in check as a leader?
Resilient leaders are not born, they are built through daily practices that strengthen emotional self-regulation. From mindfulness and reflection to protecting boundaries and practising gratitude, leaders can create stability for themselves and their teams. This guide explores five proven strategies backed by research to help leaders stay composed, focused, and effective in the face of pressure.
How do I use OKRs to give my team focus?
Learn how to use OKRs to give your team focus. Discover their origins, benefits, pitfalls, and practical steps to connect daily work with purpose.
How do I rebuild trust and resilience in my team after constant change?
When a team has faced layoffs, turnover, and shifting leaders, stability becomes the true test of leadership. This guide shows how to rebuild trust and resilience after constant change by focusing on four resilience behaviours, shared identity, and strengths-based teaming. It also offers a clear sixty-day path for creating steadiness your team can believe in.
How can I influence others without manipulating them?
This guide explores how to influence others without manipulating them, introducing five respectful approaches that build trust, commitment and genuine buy-in.
How can I clarify decision rights to make my meetings more effective?
Unclear decision rights are one of the biggest reasons meetings stall. In this article, I explore five ways decisions can be made and offer practical invitations for leaders who want to bring more clarity, trust, and accountability into every meeting.
What should I do when an employee hates their job but won’t quit?
A team member dislikes their role but refuses to resign. As a leader, how do you respond? This article explores five research-based frameworks that explain why people stay unhappy in jobs and what you can do to re-engage them with meaning, trust, and choice.
How can I lead people who are older and more experienced than me?
Being promoted early can feel daunting when you are asked to lead older, more experienced colleagues. This article explores four proven psychological theories, impression management, social identity, leader–member exchange, and self-determination, that help young leaders show up with steadiness, build belonging, earn trust, and empower ownership.
How can I lead when I disagree with decisions from above?
When senior leaders choose a path you would not, how do you respond without losing integrity or influence? This post explores evidence-based practices for regulating your reactions, acknowledging loss, practising self-compassion, reframing the situation, and grounding in values so you can lead with steadiness through disagreement.
How can I lead with authority when I don’t have all the answers?
How can you lead with authority when you don’t have all the answers? Drawing on behavioural science and self-stewardship, this article explores impostor phenomenon, self-compassion, growth mindset, tolerance of ambiguity, and narrative identity to help leaders stay steady and trusted in uncertainty.
How can I manage conflict between strong personalities at work?
Conflict between strong personalities can drain a team or strengthen it. Leaders who steward these moments with care can turn heated clashes into progress. This guide shows six evidence-based approaches and practical tools to host conflict in ways that protect dignity, regulate tension, and anchor people in shared purpose.