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Feeling Stuck in Mid-Level Leadership? Unlock Your Path to Senior Roles—Without Burnout
Are you a high-performing mid-level leader feeling stuck on the path to senior leadership? You’re not alone. Many leaders reach a point where working harder no longer works, and the path upward feels unclear or exhausting. If you’re wondering how to move from mid-level to senior leadership without burning out, the answer may not lie in working harder or longer, but in cultivating deeper self-awareness. Through executive coaching, leaders discover the internal patterns, blockers, and beliefs that quietly limit their influence and impact. By understanding these inner dynamics, you unlock leadership capacity that’s already within you, without sacrificing your health or relationships. Why Traditional Leadership Development Falls Short Most leadership programs focus on…
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Why Is It So Hard to Explain What an Executive Coach Really Does?
If you’ve ever wondered what actually happens in an executive coaching session, or what an executive coach really does, you’re not alone. While terms like leadership development and performance coaching sound compelling, they don’t tell the full story. In this article, I pull back the curtain on the lived experience of coaching—what it feels like, how it works, and why it transforms leaders from the inside out. As an executive coach, I’ve been told more times than I can count: “Use more keywords—productivity, performance, ROI. Talk about leadership impact, business growth, and measurable outcomes.” And sure, I wrote copies sprinkled with those phrases. I know how to speak the language…
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My Career Shift from Coding to Coaching: A Quest for Joy and Purpose
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The Startup HR Leader’s Challenge: Turning Paradox into Progress
HR leaders in startups often find themselves caught between compliance and chaos, strategy and firefighting. As veteran HR leader Gretchen Meyer puts it: “Balancing the need for sustainable talent systems with the fast-paced changes of scaling a startup is an ongoing challenge. While HR gets leadership’s attention, true investment often takes multiple budget cycles.” Startup HR Leaders’ Top Challenges I recently polled on LinkedIn on this topic and received this result. 1. Everything is Urgent—No time to assess (44%) Startups operate in survival mode, leaving HR constantly firefighting compliance issues and handling reactive hiring needs. This lack of planning leads to employee dissatisfaction and retention problems. 2. Resistance to Structure,…
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Scale Your Impact: A Simple Coaching Model To Develop Your Team
Randy, a Vice President at a Fortune 200 company, has been a superstar performer since his early career days. However, as his responsibilities have grown, he is overwhelmed by how much his team depends on him. His days are packed with back-to-back meetings with clients and stakeholders, as well as answering emails and Slack messages in between, where he constantly answers questions and provides direction for his team. He works late into the night and even on weekends to keep up. While his leadership recognizes his contribution, they also see that his approach becomes a bottleneck. Yet, Randy struggles with how to change without compromising critical client needs. Solution: Scaling…
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5 Misconceptions That Get In The Way Of Sustainable Success
Over the years, through my coaching work with tech leaders and executives, I’ve helped them uncover hidden misconceptions and limiting behaviors that often hold them back. Many of these leaders were already highly successful, yet by identifying and addressing these patterns, they found new ways to accelerate their growth more sustainably and more fulfilling. Recognizing these blind spots allowed them to approach challenges with greater clarity, adaptability, and confidence. Based on these experiences, I’ve summarized the five most common limiting patterns that, when overcome, can elevate leadership impact and personal fulfillment, i.e, success without burnout. Misconception 1: Starting with Others’ Expectations Many of us begin by focusing on what’s expected…
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Applying Engineering Principles To Solve People Issues
Ron, an engineering manager, faced a persistent challenge with one of his direct reports, Jackson. Jackson’s behavior left Ron questioning his motivation and even his competency. Despite Jackson’s belief that he was doing well, Ron and others saw things differently. Struggling to address this without creating conflict, Ron resorted to giving indirect advice about being more patient and a team player, but nothing seemed to work. Sound familiar? Many engineering managers encounter similar struggles. The core of the issue often lies in: “How do I provide feedback that the other person will accept and act on?” While common feedback strategies like being timely and actionable are important, there’s another highly…
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Beyond Busy: Transforming Work Habits with Neuroscience Insights
In a recent coaching session, Tatiyana, a senior director at a leading global engineering company, opened up about a pressing issue: “I’m grappling with two primary challenges. Firstly, it’s incredibly hard to progress in my big project when my day is full of meetings. Secondly, even after delivering a high-stakes project, I struggle to focus on the next task as my mind continues to dwell on the previous one.” Worried about its impact on her productivity, she sought guidance. This challenge is common for many professionals today, grappling with a relentless schedule of meetings and complex tasks. But here’s the kicker—it’s not a personal deficiency; instead, it’s intricately linked to…
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Are You an Emerging Leader Seeking Next Level of Growth?
Are you an ambitious mid-career professional in tech, STEM, or any high-paced culture? Do you long to make a meaningful, fulfilling impact? Many, like you, sometimes wonder what else they must do to propel themselves to the next level. Given that everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, we can’t scale ourselves just by working more hours. Our brain can’t stay productive like that anyway. So what can we do about it? Like the famous book title by Marshall Goldsmith, “What got you here won’t take you there,” there is something else that will prepare us for the next level of growth. After coaching so many senior leaders,…
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Career satisfaction, Coaching, Happiness, Leadership, Self-leadership, Stress Management, Work-life integration, WorkLife balance
Foundation for Growth: Four Simple Practices Make My Clients Successful
People come to coaching for many reasons. Some want to lead a significant change management initiative, while others want to improve team productivity or develop leadership skills for the next promotion. Whatever the reason, one needs to create the foundation for growth to achieve these outward goals. These building blocks – mindfulness, intentional focus, reflection, and self-care – are essential for coaching success. 1. Mindfulness Mindfulness serves as the cornerstone of this foundation. In a world where we often operate on autopilot or react to external demands, we must pause and ground ourselves. By incorporating bite-sized mindfulness practices, my clients gain the capacity to observe their thoughts and emotions rather…
