• A person is looking at the monitor with numbers and graphs while presenting in an executive leadership meeting
    Communication,  Executive Presence,  Leadership,  Success Strategy

    Feeling Anxious in High-Stakes Meetings? Executive Coaching Helps Lead with Calm and Clarity

    Executive coaching is a powerful, personalized tool for leaders who want to transform anxiety into focus and pressure into clarity. If you’ve ever felt anxious or blanked out during a high-stakes meeting, this story is for you. A Setback Triggered a Path for Growth Prasad, a senior director at a global tech company, shared this with me in an executive coaching session: “I froze. They asked a simple follow-up during the leadership review, and I couldn’t recall the background of the number, even though I knew it. My mind just went blank.” It was a jarring moment for him. He was seasoned, smart, and well-prepared. But performance anxiety doesn’t discriminate—it…

  • Sharmin Banu, Executive coach standing in front of greenery overlooking tall buildings
    Leadership,  productivity,  Success Strategy

    Lead Like a Skyscraper: How Executive Coaching Builds Resilience and Drives Innovation

    Summary: This article explores how executive coaching empowers leaders to transform performance anxiety and reactive habits into resilience, clarity, and innovation. Using the skyscraper as a metaphor, it illustrates the need for inner spaciousness, adaptive mindset shifts, and collaborative leadership in today’s uncertain environment. Real-life coaching stories show how mindfulness and perspective can unlock leadership effectiveness at every level. ——————————— There was a time when the cities’ skylines were modest. Downtowns were dotted with low-to-mid-rise buildings because we didn’t know how to build higher. The limitation wasn’t ambition—it was materials and design. Traditional reinforced concrete (RCC), while strong, had significant constraints. It’s heavy and inflexible under dynamic stress, such as…

  • Leadership,  Self-leadership,  Success Strategy

    Leading by Letting Go: Leadership Lessons As a Parent

    Summary: In this heartfelt reflection on my daughter’s college graduation, I explored the deep parallels between parenting and leadership. Through personal stories, I shared three powerful lessons: empowering others to lead their journey, embracing the strength of community, and mastering the art of letting go. The piece reveals how executive coaching—like parenting—is not about control, but about guiding growth with trust, presence, and compassion. This past week, I watched my daughter formally receive her bachelor’s degree from New York University. As I reflected on her journey, I realized the deep connection between leadership and parenting. It was one of those moments where time folds in on itself—the tiny child who…

  • A woman stading infront of a wall saying Everything is Possible
    Career satisfaction,  Coaching,  Self-leadership,  Success Strategy

    My Career Shift from Coding to Coaching: A Quest for Joy and Purpose

    How often does a dream come true? For me, it did when both my husband and I received job offers from Microsoft – The Mecca for tech professionals at that time. On November 28, 2000, we moved to Seattle from Austin, Texas. It felt like I had finally boarded the right train—life on track, career on point—or so I thought. But less than a decade later, everything shifted. This week marks 16 years since I walked away from my role as a software engineering manager at Microsoft to pursue something completely unknown—the “people stuff”—coaching, connection, and deeper impact. This milestone made me pause and reflect: How did I find the…

  • Superhero
    Career satisfaction,  Communication,  Emotional Intelligence,  EQ,  Executive Presence,  Leadership,  Self-leadership,  Success Strategy

    Confidence Is Not the Absence of Doubt

    Carol, a senior leader in healthcare, recently transitioned from HR to strategy. She felt out of her depth. In leadership meetings, she hesitated to share her opinions, lacking the confidence she once had after 30 years in HR. Similarly, Steve, a veteran financial executive, had just stepped into a new role. Playing it safe, he stayed agreeable and held back. But over time, his frustration grew as he struggled to gain support for his initiatives. It’s true that decades of experience can bolster confidence, but we don’t always have the luxury of time. The good news? Confidence isn’t solely built on tenure. It’s about finding the conviction to move forward…

  • Powerful Questions Image Pixabay.com
    Coaching,  Leadership,  Success Strategy,  Work Culture

    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…

  • A woman is driving a car
    Career satisfaction,  Emotional Intelligence,  productivity,  Self-leadership,  Success Strategy

    What Driving Teaches Us About Navigating Our Careers

    I was chatting with Andrea, a senior director at a major corporation in Seattle. Brilliant and hardworking, her resume spoke volumes about her accomplishments. Yet, in this new role, she was hitting unexpected roadblocks. The feedback she received was clear: people didn’t understand the value she was bringing to the organization, and her contributions were flying under the radar. Andrea believed the solution was simple—if only she could be more vocal in meetings and better at promoting her achievements. But deep down, she wasn’t confident in her contributions either. Most of her time was spent stabilizing her team, handling layoffs, and navigating an organization with shifting priorities and limited resources.…

  • Communication,  Executive Presence,  Leadership,  Success Strategy,  Uncategorized

    Is Pushing Back Hard for You? 3 Ways to Get Better

    Susan (not her real name), a director at a manufacturing company, found herself navigating a common yet delicate workplace challenge. She pushed back on a request from a partner team; in her email, she explained that resource shortages and prioritization concerns prevented her team from accommodating it. To her surprise, her manager later provided feedback that her response came across as rude. In corporate environments, the ability to push back is often regarded as a hallmark of strong leadership. Done thoughtfully, it reflects assertiveness, strategic thinking, and professionalism. Yet for many—particularly women, minorities, and those from cultures that emphasize deference—pushing back tactfully can feel like walking a tightrope. Having faced…

  • An open notebook that says "New Year Goals" and a hand holding a pen.
    Self-leadership,  Success Strategy

    Falling Behind on New Year’s Goals? Here’s How to Bounce Back

    Did you know that most New Year’s resolutions don’t make it past spring? According to a Forbes Health/OnePoll survey, the average resolution lasts just 3.74 months, with 65% of people abandoning their goals within four months. To make matters worse, unofficial holidays like “Ditch New Year’s Resolutions Day” (January 17) and “Quitter’s Day” (the second Friday in January) highlight how quickly motivation can fade. If you’ve already started wavering on your resolutions, don’t worry—you’re not alone. More importantly, you’re not doomed to fail. Understanding the root causes behind these setbacks allows you to adjust your approach and set yourself up for success. Here are the three key reasons resolutions often…

  • Knitting yarns
    Career satisfaction,  EQ,  Happiness,  Leadership,  Success Strategy

    My Holiday Knitting Project and The Threads of Life

    Crochet and knitting have become my cherished hobbies, a comforting ritual during the holiday season. Growing up, I often watched my mom knit cozy sweaters for us and other family members. Her steady hands and creative spirit inspired me, and now I find joy in carrying on that tradition. This year, I picked on a special project: knitting a scarf for my college-going daughter, who is home for the Holidays. She excitedly chose a yarn from my collection—two beautifully contrasting shades that perfectly reflected her vibrant personality. I started the project knowing I would need to buy more to complete the scarf. So I went to the local craft store,…

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