The Compass
Reflections, strategies, and real leadership insights to help you navigate change, challenge, and growth.
The Real Reason Teams Break Down (It’s Not What You Think)
Your team is failing, and you know it. The deadlines are slipping. The energy is gone. The talent you fought to hire is mentally checking out. And while you're busy crafting the next all-hands speech about "getting back on track," your best people are already updating their LinkedIn profiles.
You want to blame market conditions. Remote work. Generational differences. The economy. Anything but the person staring back at you in the mirror.
But here's the brutal truth that's going to hurt: Your team isn't broken because they're incompetent. They're broken because you are.
Why 'Nice' Leaders Fail (and What Great Ones Do Differently)
In many organisations, niceness is the mask that hides fear and a lack of clarity.
‘Nice’ leaders smile in meetings, nod in agreement, and write warm Slack or Teams messages — all while sidestepping the conversations their teams desperately need.
They delay decisions, dodge discomfort, and use kindness as a shield from accountability.
But let’s be clear: niceness without clarity isn’t leadership. It’s self-protection dressed up as empathy.
Why Leadership Is the Last Competitive Advantage in Advertising
We used to sell magic. Now it’s algorithms, templates, and turnaround times.
Clients today aren’t hiring agencies for output, they’re investing in judgment, clarity, and courage. They want leaders who can confidently guide, especially when everything around them is automated.
Sure, anyone can buy AI tools or license tech. But leadership must be grown—from within, with grit, with empathy, with heart.
As agencies are commoditised, the biggest gap will be leadership.
Stop Calling It a Culture Problem. It’s Usually a Leadership Problem
We love to talk about culture. We celebrate it in slide decks, measure it in quarterly engagement surveys, and market it with filtered photos of team events and branded T-shirts.
And when things go wrong, when trust erodes, high performers leave, or a team slips into apathy, the diagnosis is almost always the same: “We’ve got a culture problem.”
Coaching With Integrity: Why ICF Standards Matter More Than Ever
In a world where anyone can call themselves a coach, standards matter.
Coaching is an unregulated industry. There are no formal barriers to entry, no central licensing authority, and little accountability unless a coach voluntarily chooses to uphold professional standards.
At True North Executive Coaching & Leadership, we believe coaching should be as trusted and respected as any other profession rooted in human development. That trust begins with ethical accountability.
That's why we're proud members of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the leading global organisation for professional coaching. ICF accreditation isn't just a line in our bios, it's the foundation of how we show up.