Just the other day, I heard a familiar narrative: “Women make better leaders.”

The reasons often cited?
Empathy. Organisation. Being people-centric. Results-driven.

Recently, I was invited to speak at Kmart Australia & Anko Sourcing’s AI Ready Week.

I asked the audience:
“Does AI give faster or better answers?”

Most of them responded: “Both”

I agree with them.

Just the other day, I heard a familiar narrative: “Women make better leaders.”

The reasons often cited?
Empathy. Organisation. Being people-centric. Results-driven.

I was at Oriental Kopi recently.

Like always… there was a queue.

They’ve been around for years, expanded to multiple outlets… yet demand hasn’t dropped.

I recently heard a commencement speech by Roger Federer where he shared something surprising. Even at the highest level of tennis, he only won about 54% of the points he played.

A recent survey by Intelligent.com, covering nearly 1,000 U.S. business leaders and reported by Fortune, found that 6 in 10 employers say they have already fired Gen Z employees shortly after hiring them.

Some years ago, I went through a major life event that shook me deeply. It felt like my world had collapsed. It shattered my self-identity.

For a while, I lived with the question:
“Why is this happening to me?”

When we’re under pressure, some of us resort to being “nice” in communicating our intent, hoping the other person gets it. Most of the time, this approach ends up in disaster.

I’ve been reflecting on what leadership really comes down to.

Whether leading teams, coaching leaders, or building my own business, I’ve noticed that most problems aren’t capability problems.

They’re alignment problems.

Anger. Sadness. Fear. Guilt. Jealousy. Disappointment. All these negative emotions are just data.

They’re not our permanent state. They’re not who we are.

Lately, I’ve been noticing a tension within myself.

One part of me wants to step forward to be more visible: to share ideas, to influence, to make a difference. But another part is pulling the brakes: “Be careful. Don’t look like you’re seeking attention.”

Both voices feel true.

Here’s why I’m even talking about this.

Most managers don’t treat people like commodities on purpose.

They’re just under pressure to deliver results.
However, there is a cost to this mindset.

Most leaders aren’t over-controlling because they don’t trust their people. They do it because they feel responsible for everything.

We like to believe leadership is instinctive. When the time comes, the “leader within” will automatically rise to the occasion. But the truth? Leadership demands the opposite of what our brains are naturally wired to do. In short, leadership is not automatic.

Delegation is not about giving people tasks and walking away. It's about giving clarity, inviting ownership, and building accountability. Done well, delegation empowers others while freeing up your time.

In business, the real power lies in your ability to blow away your audience with a message they can’t ignore. Here’s a four-step formula to do just that.

In the workplace, accountability is often misunderstood. It’s thrown around in meetings, performance reviews and embedded in company values. But for many leaders, it sparks anxiety.

Stop chasing every new shiny thing. Success is rarely about novelty. It’s about cadence.

What if the reason you’re not getting results isn’t because you’re doing the wrong thing but because you keep switching too soon?

Stop using the sh*t sandwich approach. It doesn’t work. Instead, try “stretching the bread”. Here’s what I mean. 

We've all heard of the “sandwich method” in giving feedback: start with a compliment, slide in the criticism, and close with another compliment. On the surface, it sounds like a kind, strategic way to soften the blow. But here’s the thing—it doesn’t work.

Why do we clash with others, even when our intentions seem good? We often enter into conversations wanting to help or improve something, but we end up in disagreement.

I recently ran a workshop on giving difficult feedback at work. But something struck me after the session: “Before we even get to feedback, we need to understand where the misalignment came from.”