For most of my career, I was criticised for “moving jobs too often.” In interviews, I’d brace myself for the inevitable question: “Why do you jump around so much?” For a long time, I carried that as a flaw: something to explain or justify. But what some people saw as “job movement,” others recognised as a real strength - a sign of adaptability, courage, fast learning, and a breadth of capability you simply can’t gain by staying in one place. I moved countries. I built a life

One of the biggest gaps I see in leaders isn’t capability. It’s the inability or the lack of willingness to have honest, direct, timely conversations about performance. Somewhere along the way, “challenge” became a negative word. Something to soften. Something to avoid. Something we worry will upset, offend, or demotivate someone. But challenge, when delivered with positive intent, is one of the strongest and most generous acts of leadership. Challenge Isn’t Conflict . . . It

Last week, I had a powerful conversation with a senior leader that reminded me how often mindset (not capability) is what holds people back from navigating change. We were discussing impending growth, new ownership, and what the next chapter might look like. She paused and said, “I don’t cope well with change.” Yet at the very start of our meeting, she’d casually mentioned three things: She’d recently moved house. She’d joined the company 6 months earlier after switching care

I’m someone who loves data. Facts, patterns, trend lines, diagnostics - all the things that help you uncover the truth beneath the noise. But here’s the thing I’ve learned over decades of leading, transforming, and stepping into complex businesses: Data tells you what’s happening. Intuition helps you decide what to do next. Somewhere along the way, intuition started getting a bad rap - as if it’s reckless, fluffy, or the opposite of rigor. But intuition isn’t the enemy of goo

Most problems in business aren’t actually the problem. Sales are down. Customer experience is slipping. Teams “seem disengaged.” On the surface, these look like issues. But they’re not. They’re symptoms. And symptoms rarely tell the full story. One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is jumping straight into action. More training. Another workshop. A new campaign. A tightened process. These are the “quick levers” leaders grab when pressure hits. But often nothing meaningfull