Shouldn't I know how to do this by now?

Sometimes the hardest promotions aren't about responsibility—they're about identity. It often shows up with scientists, researchers, and technical experts who have become leaders. If you're second-guessing every decision, you may be trying to solve leadership like a research question.

What does a session actually look like?

A conversation. Usually an hour to ninety minutes. No presentation, no homework, no performance. Just somewhere to put the things you're thinking about.

Can we do coaching while walking?

Yes. Sometimes by phone, sometimes side by side in person in Verona, Italy or across Europe. Moving through a landscape while thinking changes the conversation.

Do you have to know what you want before starting coaching?

No. Uncovering what you actually want rather than what looks good on paper is often the core focus of the coaching partnership.

Messy Mondays

Oct 5

Written By Jason Peter Edwards

You don’t need a win every day.

Treat work as a game?

Not gamification. Just the simple idea that you make a move, see what happens, then make another.

Often, we make work heavy. Every move has to prove something.

That we’re good enough. That we’re progressing. That we’re making the right decision. That we’re not wasting our time.

Suddenly, a Tuesday afternoon feels like a referendum on your entire life.

Maybe the trick is to take the work seriously without taking every move seriously.

Have a way of starting. Put the phone away. Open the difficult document first. Go for a walk before the meeting. Give yourself twenty minutes to make a mess.

Not because these things will make you more productive. Because they get you into the work.

Then pay attention. Make the move. See what happens.

Change direction if you need to.

And when the work is done, stop.

You don’t need to squeeze a lesson out of the day.

Some things worked. Some didn’t.

Tomorrow, there’ll be another day to work with.

You don’t need to win every Monday.

In fact I’ve come to accept messy Mondays.