“Reaching out to coaches for associate work and reconnection brought it home to me. Coaching gives me the deepest kind of human connection, but I’ve realised I also miss the energy of a team - the camaraderie, the spark that comes from standing alongside others in shared purpose. This week reminded me of that, and how much I value it.””.

“I paid attention to my own words too, conscious of how I was framing things, the questions I was asking, the ground I was trying to hold.

But what I probably didn’t absorb enough was the warmth behind some of the responses. The love, the advocacy, the quiet encouragement that was there for me as much as for the work. I heard it, but I don’t think I let myself fully receive it. That’s what I missed - not because it wasn’t offered, but because I didn’t stop long enough to let it in”.

“There was honesty, alignment, and a shared sense of purpose. It reminded me again that real leadership doesn’t sit in slides — it lives in the willingness to keep showing up.

I also finalised a proposal for a transformation programme I’m genuinely excited about. It’s designed to help leaders understand change, lean into ambiguity, and coach their people through it not around it.”.

“A single tall building in a city of smaller ones - standing firm, with boundaries around it.

It struck me: the leaders I admire most are like that. Not tall in stature, but in presence. Rooted in clarity. Boundaried, not closed. The kind of leaders who know what they’re for - and what they’re not for. Who know their lane, and run it with love.

The boundary isn’t a wall - it’s a stance. And that’s what gives the work its depth.

Many think they know what they stand for, but often they only know what they believe - what you stand for is what you will and wont tolerate. ”.

“As I see it; True strength in leadership comes not from going it alone, but from surrounding yourself with a tribe that holds you accountable, challenges you honestly, and has your back. Whether as coach or coachee, we are teammates in the journey.”

And, to borrow the words of a client, the fact that I’m willing to sacrifice a lot for the cause - and for the people I serve. You can’t bottle that. You can’t replicate it with polish or positioning.

That edge is asking me to own what’s distinct - not loudly, but fully. And the next few weeks and months have to be about how I show more of that to those who are ‘watching’ as well as ‘playing’”.

“The word I’m carrying is tired. After the bikepacking trip, my body feels heavy with fatigue, yet my spirit is motivated to do more. The tension between exhaustion and drive is a place of learning.

I have needed to let my body rest - to truly listen to what it demands.

As poet David Whyte writes:

“Rest and be kind, you have only just enough time.”

Tiredness is not weakness; it is a vital part of growth, a call to kindness, to renewal. Presence here means honouring limits as part of the journey. ”

“So, who are you now? And of that, what deserves celebrating – not because it’s perfect, but because it’s true?

And who do you want to become? What remains the same? What needs to shift?

When people are honest in answering those questions, the change is rarely about becoming someone different. More often, it’s about scale, reach, influence, visibility. Recognition not in place of authenticity, but as an extension of it. ”

“I’ve got—if I’m lucky—30 or 40 years left. I want them to be full. Not just long, but light-bringing.

On my 49th birthday, I’ll make a declaration. On my 50th, something more public. And then—another 50 years of practice.

But this week, I also saw what hasn’t shifted enough.

How the world still fails good people. How ‘good’ often gets lost in the noise.

We need to flip that. Now.”

“I attended a local Time Trial race this week—and I’m wrestling with the idea of racing again.

Long rides at pace? Not really doing it for me anymore.

Touring? Yes. Not slow. But not racing either.

Still—I’ve set the wheels in motion to do a TT again before the year’s out.

Why? An experiment.”

“What I’m noticing at the edges this week is a loss of momentum—around climate, sustainability, and the will to act.

It’s not that people don’t care.

It’s that the urgency is being muffled by fatigue.

The language is becoming stale. The commitment fragmented.

In conversations across sectors, it’s creeping in:

“We’ll circle back to that.”

“We’ve got more pressing priorities.”

“We’re not sure the messaging’s landing.”

But the planet doesn’t pause because our focus shifted.

”.

“….And we reflected on how ‘1 to 5 degrees of difference’ across those dimensions can actually be where the magic lives. Enough common ground to feel seen. Enough contrast to be stretched.

That difference doesn’t dilute the coaching—it deepens it. Especially when the coach brings breadth. Not just depth in one vertical, but perspective across. That range shapes the quality of questions asked, the patterns spotted, and the space held.”.

“It also reveals something bigger—how on (or off) it an organisation really is when it comes to developing its people. When leadership development becomes just another procurement task, something vital gets lost.

I’m thinking of writing about it—maybe a blog, maybe a provocation.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and assign them tasks, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry”.