Why the Mid-Year Pause Matters We are almost halfway through the year – it creeps up on us every time. For many leaders, June brings a familiar mix of surprise and pressure. The year that felt spacious in January now feels full. Strategic priorities for FY27 have multiplied, budgets are set, calendars are crowded, and teams are deep in delivery mode. There is often a quiet realisation: we are moving quickly, but are we still moving in the right direction? That is why t

Peer accountability is one of the hardest topics when working with senior leadership teams. When I ask, “How good are we at holding each other accountable?” the responses are often honest… and familiar… · We would, but we are just so busy with our own work. · Not sure why the leader isn’t addressing it… have you spoken to them? Oh no. · Their work is very specialised, I’m not sure where to start. · We don’t really make firm commitments… we stay in our ow

An early leadership learning for me, one that became even clearer when I started working as an executive coach, is the importance of applying your own oxygen mask first. It’s not selfish. It’s essential. It enables you to look after your own wellbeing, so you are actually able to support others. Recently, this lesson has become very real for me. I had a total knee replacement, and everyone - especially the surgeon and my wonderful physio, said the same thing: take the t

You controlling your calendar, not the other way around. Structure = freedom.

Setting an intention for the year is the easy part. Living it — especially as a leader with competing demands — is where the real work begins. Many leaders start the year with clarity, only to find by February that urgency has taken over again. Emails multiply. Meetings expand. Priorities blur. The question isn’t whether your focus will be tested…it’s how you will protect it. One of the reasons I like choosing a word or theme for the year is that it creates a simple

January often arrives carrying a familiar weight. New plans. New goals. A long list of things we should be doing differently this year. And yet, for many leaders I work with, the real challenge is not a lack of ambition… it’s a lack of focus. As leaders, we are constantly deciding. What to prioritise. What to say yes to. What to defer. What to let go of. Over time, the volume of decisions can crowd out the most important question of all: What truly matters now?

Four more workdays before the OOO goes on to finish 2025… YES! By this time of year, many leaders arrive at the finish line running on fumes — half dreaming of ham and champagne, half trying to clear the inbox before the “See you in January!” messages start rolling in. For me, this transition into the Christmas break doesn’t happen with a single deep breath. It happens through small rituals, gentle signals to my brain that it’s safe to power down. That the world will keep

In my last blog, we explored why reflection matters — the gift of pausing before racing ahead. But what if reflection wasn’t something you did only at the end of the year? What if it became part of your everyday leadership rhythm? The best leaders don’t treat reflection as a luxury. They treat it as a lever — one that sharpens decision-making, builds self-awareness, and strengthens the culture of the teams they lead. Here are a few ways to make reflection practical, cons

As 2025 edges toward its close, it’s tempting to rush headlong into planning for next year — targets, budgets, and strategy decks, filling every spare calendar slot… But before we move forward, there’s incredible value in looking back. Reflection is one of the most underrated leadership disciplines. It is what turns experience into insight and motion into meaning. It helps us see not just what happened, but why it happened — and how we might approach it differently next

Leadership presence, “What actually is it and why is it important?”