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I was scrolling past yet another "here is how to prepare for #job #interviews article" hoping it would say something new. Of course it did the usual: polish your story, practice your examples, and yes, manage your appearance. And that got me thinking, in 2026, with all the talk about #skills-based hiring and remote #work, how much does "looking the part" still run the show? So I fell into the rabbit hole of lookism. What the Duck Is Lookism? Lookism is bias or discrimination

I have always disliked the word "weaknesses" in interview questions, feedback forms, and performance reviews. In my coaching work, I encourage people to discover and play from their strengths. That said, there is an uncomfortable truth we often skip. Every strength can become a pitfall if it is overused or left unmanaged. And that pitfall usually forms quietly. Strengths keep you contently in your comfort zone. You are good at something, so you keep doing it. Again and again.

January did not arrive gently! The world is loud, heavy, and relentless, and most teams are walking into 2026 with a low-grade sense of doom. So here is a slightly rebellious leadership idea: why not try to make work more fun? Not childish and definitely not forced. Not "everyone smile, we have pizza." Fun as a deliberate design choice that makes #work lighter, clearer, and more enjoyable. When Was the Last Time You Had Fun at Work? I'm not talking about the occasional team o

If you scroll long enough, you'd think the world of #work is only getting worse. But that's not entirely true. In 2025, some things genuinely moved in the right direction, and beyond that, there are quietly uplifting shifts taking place and real opportunities starting to form. That's why, in this two-part post, I'm choosing to focus on hope. Here's my take as we head into the new year. AI Is No Longer a Concept. It's a Working Tool. Stanford's 2025 #AI Index confirmed somethi

As the year wraps up and feeds start filling with retrospectives and predictions, I wanted to focus on hope. This is the first of a two-part post focused on positive news from the world of #work and #leadership. It's about amazing things from 2025 that you may have missed but are worth ending the year with, and it's a great reminder that, despite the noise, some things did move in the right direction. Shorter Workweeks Are Proving They Can Work One of the largest multi-countr

Regardless of whether you're a fan of the holidays or not, December has a certain atmosphere. People are stretched thin, juggling deadlines, pressure, family chaos, and the countdown to "finally switching off." You can almost feel the collective fatigue in every meeting. The year may be ending, but the race is not. And as a leader, you know that your team is running a marathon, not a sprint. So how do you send off your team for a break and make sure they come back feeling re-

Your team is dragging their feet... Meetings lack energy, initiative has slowed down, ideas are uninspired and everyone feels stuck in a rut. tIs this fatigue from too much work? Or is your team actually under-stimulated instead of overwhelmed? The 3 zones of effort The model is well-known, simple and every leader should be able to navigate their team through the zones efficiently. Comfort zone: Think of comfort as the soft landing. People feel safe, competent, steady. It is

In all my years in HR, I’ve seen promotions used for the wrong reasons: to keep someone from leaving or reward long tenure that “felt right" or to make a team look stronger on paper (and the leader more successful) even when the person promoted wasn’t ready. None of this helps the employee and it certainly does not help the #team. Now, don't get me wrong - I wholeheartedly believe in development. It is one of the strongest motivators we have. It sits together with sense of pu

Gossip exists because humans need social information. Evolutionary psychologists describe gossip as a bonding mechanism, a norm setting tool, and a way for people to understand “who is safe” in a group. In the workplace, the instinct stays the same but dynamics are more complicated. When people do not understand what is happening around them, they fill the gaps with stories. The conditions that fuel gossip inside teams Research from MIT Sloan and Gallup points to the same pat

For the first time, five generations overlap in the workforce, and this mix is only getting bigger and more complex. The older workforce has nearly quadrupled since the mid-80s and, with the retirement age consistently going up in most countries, people are staying employed for much longer. At the same time, Gen Z has already been entering the job market and will account for 30% of the workforce by 2030. Congratulations! You now lead the widest age spread in modern history. �

Conflict has a bad rep but it's not actually a bad thing. In fact, when managed well, it’s one of the clearest signs of a high-performing #team. But, that only holds true when leaders handle it with care and structure. The first step in managing #conflict is to recognize it Conflict escalates in predictable stages - from mild tension to open confrontation. Knowing when and how to step in makes a big difference in the outcome. Have a look at the below presentation to see how t

If you're a fractional/ interim/ consultant leader - or thinking of becoming one, then this is for you. Interim leadership role usually look like this: You’re brought in to make an impact fast, but the clock starts ticking the moment you arrive. The unspoken expectation is “deliver transformation, but don’t break anything.” That creates a strange tension: you must move decisively without the benefit of long-term trust or deep organizational context. The four biggest challenge

No leader enters a role hoping to fire people. Yet at some point, every leader faces it. Sometimes because #performance is not improving or because the business changes and budgets shrink. Either way, involuntary exits test not only your leadership skills but also your integrity. This is part 2 of a two-part series. Check out last week's post for part 1 on voluntary exits. Performance based exits ✔️Step 1: Understand the legal background Performance management must sit on a s

Few things test a leader more than watching a valued team member walk out the door. This is part 1 of a two-part series - today we focus on voluntary exits (i.e. a team member hands you their notice). Next week we’ll tackle the equally challenging involuntary exits. 🔎Spot the early signs No leader can control someone else’s #career choices, but, you can tune into the signals that someone might be considering a #change: Drop in engagement or curiosity Reduced participation in

Everyone talks about “investing in people.” But when it comes to actual learning and development, too many leaders tick a box and move on. Maybe you have a learning budget or maybe your #team even attended a workshop last year. That's a great start but not a real investment. Especially not when McKinsey’s research shows that demand for advanced #tech #skills could rise by almost 90% by 2030. And it’s not just technical know-how but social, emotional, and critical thinking ski

I once worked with an engineering team lead in a #tech scale-up who, after three successful years leading a team, decided to pivot back into a DevOps role. He cared deeply about his people, but he missed building things. The more his leadership responsibilities grew, the further he drifted from hands-on technical #work. And like many first-time leaders, he had no real mentorship or formal training - he was simply “the most senior engineer” and his still young start-up at the

Most people only think about personal branding when they’re job hunting or promoting a business. But your brand is bigger than that. I'm sure you’ve heard the classic line: a brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. In other words, your reputation. Philosopher Gloria Origgi even calls reputation a form of currency. And like any currency, you either manage it wisely or let it lose value. Regardless of how important your reputation is as a leader, I'm de

Every #hiring decision feels urgent. Which is why many leaders skip the first, most important question: Where should I look? Inside the...

Disclaimer: the purpose of this post is NOT to stress you out but to prepare you. You can keep reading, it's safe (and optimistic!) For...

By now, you’re probably sick of reading about AI. I am too. Most of the content about AI is either written by AI or written by someone trying to convince you it’s the second coming of electricity. Revolutionary as it is, I want to explore a slightly different angle and something far more personal: the moral choices leaders face when deciding where AI belongs in their day-to-day #work. AI is great at certain things. Summarizing a meeting transcript so you can focus on listenin