Leadership

I’ve been thinking a lot about the phrase, let the work speak for itself. This phrase is often spoken with a certain pride, as though the person saying those words has resisted something corrosive that might cheapen the work if they were to explain it out loud. They believe that good work shouldn’t require a […]

The last big job is different, mostly because you finally understand what it costs. “I’ve got one last big gig in me,” they’ll say, usually followed by something along the lines of, “and I want to make this one count.” Not necessarily in the old sense of making it count, either. They’ve done the big […]

This week, Simon Sinek said something that gave me hope. “AI can do many things, but it can’t struggle for us. In a world of accelerating tech, it’s not certainty that makes great leaders. It’s the willingness to wrestle with uncertainty, sit in the discomfort, and still show up.” Lately, leaders have been asking the […]

This is not a typical “3 tips to build your personal brand” article wrapped in fake promises. Ok, there are three things. But they’re not tips! Think of them as a call to cut the BS and come home to yourself. Most executive brands are too polished and too safe. They’re optimized for approval and […]

A wandering essay on the quiet, murky, liminal space after a Very Big Chapter ends By Kate Allinson June 2025 I’ve always been curious about what happens in the blank bit. That bit after the big job ends but before the next thing makes sense. I’ve been watching it unfold in a few of my […]

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” — Emerson, Self-Reliance. I’ve been reflecting on reinvention, thinking deeply about the whispers of change that come when the summit has been reached. It’s a different kind of overwhelm, the kind that doesn’t come with sudden deadlines or boardroom battles […]

This is a note for CEOs, founders, investors, anyone who’s just approved a headcount for a critical exec hire and handed it to a recruiter with a list of bullet points and a quiet sense of panic. I get it. The board wants reassurance. You want movement. Your team wants air. And the spreadsheet says […]

I sat across from a friend and mentor recently. One of those people who seems to know where the world is heading before the rest of us catch up. We were in one of those quietly perfect spots – a humble, home-cooking kind of place where the napkins were paper and the butter came in […]

A client of mine – brilliant, the kind who lights up a room with ideas – got the call last week. Three months, six gruelling interviews, and a recruiter hyping him up with “They’re obsessed with you!” every other day. He was all in, heart on the table. Then the email: “We’ve gone another direction.” […]

A new kind of presence for a new kind of leader. For years, I treated conferences like a sprint. Show up, shake hands, sound smart, stay visible, stay grateful, stay late. I’d come home hoarse, strung out, and a little ashamed of how desperate it all felt. The truth is: I was trying to be […]