The Compass
Reflections, strategies, and real leadership insights to help you navigate change, challenge, and growth.
The Hardest Truth About Leadership: You Have to Care First
Leadership often feels uneven. You remember their milestones. You check in after tough meetings. You stay late so they don’t fail. You offer support long before anyone thinks to offer it back.
If it feels uneven, that’s because it is.
Leadership isn’t an equal exchange, it’s an intentional one. You give more so your people can become more. And that’s the whole point
The Questions That Change the Way You Lead
Too many leaders still think their job is to have the answers. But leadership today isn’t about certainty. It’s about curiosity.
The best leaders don’t dominate with statements. They disrupt with questions.
In an era of AI, automation, and algorithmic answers, your value as a leader isn’t in what you know. It’s in what you explore.
Questions shape culture. They build trust. They surface insight.
The right question doesn’t just reveal the answer. It reveals the person.
So next time you lead a conversation, don’t try to be the smartest in the room. Be the most curious.
The Hidden Cost of Being ‘Always On’
There was a time when being busy meant being important. Now it just means being exhausted.
“Always on” used to sound like commitment. Today, it’s a warning sign.
We’ve built a environments that mistakes endurance for excellence — where inbox zero passes for impact, and presence is measured by green dots on Teams. But constant availability doesn’t make you a better leader. It makes you a distracted one.
Performance Reviews Are Broken. So Let’s Fix Them
I’ve been through more performance reviews than I care to admit.
Every year, it was the same routine; a polite one-hour autopsy of the past year, filled with vague feedback, forced ratings, and the obligatory “areas for development” that no one ever followed up on.
It always felt more like a ceremony than a conversation.
So, let’s call it: performance reviews are broken. But instead of just complaining about it, here’s how to rebuild something that actually works.
Why ‘Nice’ Leaders Fail (and What Great Ones Do Differently)
Early in my career, I thought being nice was leadership. Smiling through tension. Softening every bit of feedback. Keeping everyone happy.
I believed harmony built trust. Over time, I realised: it didn’t.
What it built was confusion. Mistrust. Even resentment.