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Three months after my Google career came to an end, someone asked me at a dinner event: "So, what do you do?" I hesitated before I started answering. It wasn't that I didn't have enough going on for me to be able to give a coherent answer. I was building my executive coaching business and working with a few exciting businesses as an advisor / consultant.   I hesitated because none of them felt fully-baked yet. It all seemed too hand-wavy.   For 11 years, the answer had been e

You've done the prep.   You know your achievements.   You've researched the company.   You walk into the interview room (or log into the Zoom) ready to impress. And then it happens. "So, tell me about yourself." You hear yourself say:   "Well, I'm   sort of   passionate about... " "I   think   I could be a good fit because..." "I've been   trying to   develop my skills in..." And just like that, you've undercut yourself before you've even started. The Power of Words The words

Congratulations. You got the promotion. The title changed. The compensation went up. Maybe you got a new team, a bigger scope, or a seat at a different table. Most people think the hard part is over. It's not. It's just starting. Here's what usually happens: People spend months (sometimes years) positioning themselves for a promotion. They work extra hours. They take on stretch projects. They manage up. They do everything right. Then they get the promotion — and promptly take

I work with a lot of B2B sales leaders. Founders still running founder-led sales.   VPs trying to professionalize chaos.   Sales managers inheriting teams that look busy but don't reliably convert. Most of them say the same thing: "We have strong people, but something isn't clicking." They're right. And the problem is almost never talent. Great sales teams don't outperform because they hustle harder or chase more activity. They outperform because they operate differently — wi

Every year, I look back not just at the metrics and milestones, but at the cultural touchstones that colored my days — the books that shifted my thinking, the films that stayed with me, the podcasts that became companions on long walks, and the experiences that reminded me why all the hard work matters. Here's what made the cut this year: 🎥 Favorite Movie: About Dry Grasses Nuri Bilge Ceylan's latest masterpiece. Slow, deliberate, and devastatingly human. It's a film about i

As the year winds down, I’ve deliberately slowed my pace to reflect. I’m writing this from the USA, far from my own home, and that distance has been surprisingly helpful. Being away has given me perspective — on what worked, what didn’t, and what I didn’t do this year that I want to be doing more of. 2025 was a strong year. Productive, expansive, and intellectually stimulating. The work grew in scope, the rooms got sharper, and the range of what I delivered widened meaningful

Earlier in my career, I flew to Orlando for what was supposed to be a global offsite. The agenda looked ambitious — strategy sessions, team alignment, big-picture planning. We were pumped. After we landed and checked into the hotel, we walked into the conference room for the opening ceremony. That's when they told us: our teams were being disbanded. Our roles were no longer going to exist. I still can't decide what was more absurd — the fact that they flew us across the world

A few months ago, a client came to our second session. She'd always been composed, strategic, the kind of person who thinks three steps ahead. That day, she was exhausted. "I quit," she said flatly. "Sent the email this morning. No backup plan. Just done." She'd been at the company for six years. Senior role. Respected. Good at what she did. From the outside, everything looked fine. But when we unpacked it, nothing had been fine for months. She'd been drowning in admin work t

Few leadership moments test your integrity like a layoff. There’s no easy way to tell someone their role is being eliminated. Even when it’s necessary — a restructuring, a funding slowdown, a market shift — it leaves a mark on everyone involved. And while companies often focus on legal compliance, messaging, and PR risk, what really defines a leader in these moments is how they show up. Layoffs aren’t just about who leaves. They’re about who stays.

Stepping into a management role is already a shift in identity. Stepping into a management role over people who used to be your peers is a different kind of stretch. This is where many new managers get stuck. They know how to do the work. They are less sure about how to lead people who knew them before they were “the manager.”

A few months ago, a founder I coach said something I hear almost every week: "I feel like I'm juggling twenty balls, and none of them can drop." She runs a fast-growing startup.   Her calendar is a wall of back-to-back meetings.   She's managing a team, closing deals, mentoring, hiring, fundraising, fixing ops issues. If this sounds familiar to you, you are not alone.   Whether you're a founder, an executive, or a people manager, the reality is the same: You're constantly pul

You spent six weeks finding the perfect candidate. She nailed every interview. The team loved her. The offer package was ready. Then came the email: “I’ve decided to pursue another opportunity.” It’s easy to blame compensation, timing, or “the market.”   But most of the time, candidates aren’t rejecting your offer.   They’re rejecting your process. When the Process Sends the Wrong Signal I had coffee recently with Marcus, a VP of Engineering who’d lost three senior hires in a

There's a Buddhist parable I come back to when I'm coaching leaders who shy away from visibility. A group sits in a room. It starts to rain. A leak appears in the ceiling. Water drips — quiet at first, then relentless. Everyone shifts their chairs. Someone grabs a bucket. The conversation continues, but now everyone's distracted, uncomfortable, trying to work around the problem. One of them is a plumber. She sees the problem immediately. She knows exactly how to fix it. She's

Ten years ago I was on the terrace at Google’s San Francisco office telling a friend, “I’m not starting a company.” She felt the same. We were happy at work, growing fast, earning well —and quite frankly would have no idea how to make that leap. Fast-forward to now: We both run our own businesses — and we’re happy we jumped. We wouldn't have it any other way.   I coach a lot of professionals at that same edge. One of them — let’s call her Amy — who inspired this article, was

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