Articles

Your results speak for themselves. So why does the room still feel hard to read? Why does feedback feel like a minefield? Why do people seem cautious around you? This is the question two of my CEO clients are sitting with right now.No matter your personality —...

Spring hit differently this year.New York City plunged to 3°F (-16°C) this winter and stayed below 20°F for 16 consecutive days. The roughest winter I've experienced here in 20 years. By February, I wasn't sure I remembered what green looked like.Then the crocuses...

The 2026 Gallup State of the Global Workplace, reporting on engagement at work, dropped last week. One of my most anticipated reports of the year. And honestly? The numbers held steady, which is both reassuring and alarming.Global engagement sits at 20%. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘁...

I just finished reading this book, and honestly, I could have written it myself. Not because it's obvious, but because everything Alisa Cohn shares aligns deeply with what I believe and practice every day with my clients.Alisa is a business coach who has worked with...

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄There are two moments in a career when the difference between authority and influence becomes impossible to ignore.The first is when you get your manager title.Most people wait for it, believing it will solve everything: the friction, the...

𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝟯𝟬% 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝘂𝘅𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀.The lever is almost always the same: emotional intelligence, cascading through every client interaction. Here is what it looks like in practice.𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝘂𝘅𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹...

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝘀 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗼?That is the question Emmanuelle Duez poses in her latest essay, and it's the right one. Her analysis centers on workplace engagement, as defined by the 2025 Gallup study. The numbers are stark: France sits at 7%,...

𝗔𝗜: 𝗪𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴Last week, I switched from ChatGPT to Claude. OpenAI just introduced ads, a sharp turn from its nonprofit origins and a sprint toward the most aggressive profit-seeking imaginable. Digging deeper, I read Dario Amodei's essay. He's...

“𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁.”Even though Dacher Keltner’s book is not directly about leadership, it helps us understand how power works. He describes the Power Paradox: we rise because of our best human qualities, yet we fall because of our worst. This tension...

Over the past decades, empathy has been discussed more and more, and rightfully so,as it is a beautiful and powerful human trait. By 2020, it had become a buzzword, widelyused in self-development and leadership articles, as well as in marketing narratives.Innate for...

Over the past few months, I had the privilege of attending three coaching and leadership conferences. In just six days, I listened to more than 35 speakers, including well-known voices such as Amy Edmondson, Brené Brown, Adam Grant, and Scott Galloway. One topic...

My favorite leadership book of 2025 is 𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘴 by Jennifer Garvey Berger. Not because it offers easy answers but because it helps leaders see reality more clearly.Berger makes a powerful distinction between what is complicated and what is...

Leadership matters. More than ever. At a retail conference on Sunday, I was struck again by how weak the answers werewhen two senior executives, each managing budgets of hundreds of millions, wereasked about their leadership approach. The question came last, and so...

In 2025, I will have read 53 books: 39 non-fiction, including 20 focused on leadership.As a child, I was not an avid reader. My overstimulated brain made reading difficult; letters and words rarely lined up in an orderly way. As an old soul, I also found children's...

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥: 𝙉𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙄𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙩 by Jeffrey Hull, Ph.D. BCC and Margaret Moore has been one of my absolute favorite leadership books released this year. I’ve known and admired Jeffrey for over 15 years, and he’s had a tremendous influence on...

One of the most common complaints I hear from leaders is their team’s lack of initiative and motivation. Yet even in the US, where 32% of employees are engaged (vs. 8% in France), the opportunity to energize people is enormous.Daniel Kahneman (author of 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘢𝘴𝘵...

A few months ago, I discovered Lisen Stromberg's newsletter. Her perspective on DEI, shared with empathy, intelligence, and conviction, completely charmed me. Curious to learn more, I read 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿, the book she co-authored.It’s structured around six core...

During my years as a leader, I observed that one of the greatest challenges was accountability. And yet, accountability is one of the core pillars of leadership. It drives growth, builds excellence, increases efficiency, and ensures results. Accountability isn’t about...

Learn to Grow: The Moves vs. the DanceLearning is knowing the moves. It involves acquiring knowledge, skills, and strategies—through books, workshops, or training—and can happen quickly.Growing is dancing them. It’s applying and practicing what you’ve learned. Growth...

In a world where conversations feel increasingly polarized and challenging, this book offers intelligent perspectives and practical lessons on growing through disagreement.Disagreement isn’t a threat—it’s the engine of progress. Research shows that 65% of startups...

Last week, a creative friend asked me: "Is leadership even an interesting topic? Who cares?”Most leaders focus on deliverables, top line, or KPIs. That’s the scoreboard. Yet behind the numbers, they often confess, “My vision isn’t understood. I feel alone. I repeat...

I’ve always loved fashion—and always will. You don’t have to be a fashionista to know that Anna Wintour, the embodiment of the ultimate Fashion Guru, has found her successor, Chloe Malle, for the role she has held at US Vogue since 1988.Her achievements are legendary....

All Champions Have Coaches.Business coaching has its roots in sports. In the 1970s, Timothy Gallwey, captain of Harvard’s tennis team, wrote a series on personal and professional excellence. Inspired by him, Sir John Whitmore, a former racecar driver, coined...

On August 1st, while many in the US and Europe were on summer holidays, the news broke: a +39% tariff on Swiss watches.Having worked in the industry for nearly a decade, with many of my best clients still in it, I felt what most leaders felt — surprise, concern, and a...

I often hear from my clients, including experienced executives and managers, that they realize that authority alone no longer moves the needle. This is a decisive turn to negotiate, not always easy to take. The lever is no longer control; it is influence.In Modern...

The Art of Feedback and the Shift Toward FeedforwardGiving and receiving feedback is one of the most essential yet complex aspects of leadership and collaboration. Feedback serves as a mechanism for accountability and growth.The complexity of feedback lies in its dual...

Among the many leadership approaches, coaching has always been my favorite. When I first earned my coaching certification from NYU, I was eager to launch my practice. The corporate world had other plans. So, beginning with my team, I incorporated coaching into my...

The role of a manager today goes far beyond task execution. Our managers are not just responsible for daily operations—they are leaders who shape culture, drive engagement, and influence growth. This classic comparison between management and leadership highlights the...

As a leader, I always encouraged my team to challenge the process. I actively invited them to question me and speak up when they disagreed. It was a requirement to be part of my team. Yet, despite this encouragement, it was still difficult for them to speak up. I...

Why does kindness often have such a negative reputation in business? It's regarded as a powerful, positive trait in every other aspect of life. So why does it seem so out of place in business? Here are the usual reasons: Business is competitive. Traditional leadership...