Prepared - Stefan’s Week-notes 26/04/2026
Inspired by the weeknotes of friends and coachees including John Fitzgerald, Steve Messer and Nour Sidawi - I thought I'd give it a go.
1. What activities did I get up to this week?
A full week of coaching.
Mostly senior leaders carrying more than their roles ever say on paper.
Some quieter space too - thinking, refining, questioning where I’m taking the work next.
A few conversations that went beyond the brief - into identity, direction, and what leadership actually asks of someone.
2. What’s the central theme or thread that tied my week together?
A question that kept showing up:
Who am I allowed to be here?
Which builds into who am I prepared to be, a blend of identity, values and purpose. What can you not stand by and watch happening and what are you prepared to risk.
And what could you do to lessen the risk and increase the likelihood of success.
Questions that run through much of my coaching and reflections; too.
3. What moments lit me up this week?
A senior leader pausing and saying:
“I have an epic coach, helping me do epic shit.”
It made me laugh.
It mattered - because it was real.
And another moment - someone realising they didn’t need to become something else to lead well.
Just more of who they already are.
That matted to me - as much as it did to them.
4. What did I wrestle with this week?
The gap between what organisations say - and what they actually do and create.
We talk about empowerment.
We move decision making around.
We flatten structures.
But we don’t always build the conditions that let people actually lead.
In many ways, we’ve spread leadership out - but we haven’t always backed people to carry it.
So people hold responsibility - but hesitate. Not because they lack capability - but because the space around them doesn’t quite hold it.
We need to change that; many are trying - but we need it to happen.
5. What personal moments felt significant this week?
A quieter check in with myself.
Where am I shaping to fit what’s expected?
Where am I holding something back that might actually be needed?
And where do I want to be a bit braver?
I believe in walking the talk - not as performance - but as remaining connected to the shifts I am helping create.
I don’t have to be better at ‘it’ than those - doing it - I strongly believe that as a coavh; in fact it helps to not have that element of ego - in the ring - but what I do want to know is that having stared ‘it’ in the face - my questions carry a compassion to what someone is carrying.
6. Where did I see stewardship in practice this week?
In small moments.
A leader saying the thing that needed saying - not just the thing that would land well; as much to themselves first - in order to take that narrative more widely. I admired that
Someone holding the line on values even when it created friction. Not performance. Not for effect - but because the choice to do so was right.
7. What metaphor or image captures the feeling of this week?
Standing in a shifting tide.
And also - riding cobbles. I picked up Rouleur - The Classics Issue this week. It’s been waiting for me - at my previous address.
Those races aren’t about perfect conditions. They’re about holding your line on rough ground. Absorbing impact and staying steady when everything underneath you is unpredictable.
That felt pertinent to this week. I feel we have a ‘space’ to span - between where we are and where we need to get - and thats about choosing the right line through rough ground.
8. What did I notice beneath the surface this week?
A quiet wait for permission.
To challenge.
To say no.
To lead in a way that feels true.
But often - that permission doesn’t arrive. And I’m seeing more people waiting rather than creating the leverage and conditions for it. Not heroics, but a stance, quietly, loudly or otherwise.
It’s happening - in some arenas but i think at a wider scale we have actually disempowered people rather than set them fully free in our organisations.
Imagine dropping someone in an ocean when they cant swim. yes - some learn in that moment to swim - but think of the number that won’t and the scars it leaves.
9. What am I carrying forward into next week?
A more direct version of the question:
Who am I prepared to be - even if it’s not what’s expected?
And how do I create enough space to stand in that?
Both for me and my clients.
10. What writing flowed from me this week?
Less posting - more responding.
Most of my writing showed up in conversations on LinkedIn.
Picking up threads.
Building on other people’s thinking.
Saying what I actually see.
This was one that felt right this week; on linkedin - an interplay between I and Lin Hinson - in the comments of another beautiful post by the fabulous Bola Ogundeji
“Lin Hinson, this really resonates and I love that you pointed to Neel’s comments, which I agree with.
I do think we have confused removing hierarchy with creating empowered leadership. We have moved decision rights around but not built the conditions for people to actually lead.
So people end up holding responsibility without the safety or capability to act on it.
For me, people need to be able to say yes and no and mean it.
That only happens when they can bring themselves to the work and live the values of the organisation, not just perform them. Being able to say when what we’re doing isn’t aligned to how we say we work.
This is where your point on structure really matters. Without the right support, distributed leadership becomes shared risk - just in a different form to when it sits with the few.
And on situational leadership, I think this is where it needs to evolve.
Not just flexing based on development stage, but leadership moving based on context - who is best placed to lead this moment.
That requires facilitator and coaching capability, system awareness, and people who can hold cohesion, not just manage tasks.
Without that, we drift or snap back to hierarchy.
And neither creates the kind of leadership we are actually aiming for”.
It felt like a clean articulation of something I’ve been noticing for some time. It weaves in some powerful thinking from Bola, alongside the idea of the “polymorphic organisation,” which Perry Timms has been exploring so eloquently in recent months.
Perry was kind enough to invite my thoughts on this last year - a real honour, given the depth and relevance of his work. There’s clear merit in what he’s shaping.
And it feels like there’s something more here - perhaps an opportunity to continue the conversation, particularly around application. That’s always been the space I’m most drawn to: where ideas are tested, shaped, and made to happen.
11. How do I want to sign off this week?
Be Present.
Try not to resolve it all - rather be willing to meet the work properly.
I’d rather run a great race and lose than win via skulduggery or lose knowing that I didn’t really show up.
Remember, we often run better races with the right prep, consistency and the right coach.
12. What thought or question do I want to leave myself (and others) with?
Who am I prepared to be here?
And what would it take to create the space
to be what’s needed - not just what’s wanted?
Why?
Because I feel more than ever we need that stewardship.
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For now; thank you
I am…
An executive coach and the CEO of Be The Waves, growing stewardship for a thriving planet.
I helping good people lead great things; in other words - I empower Stewardship
Good people care about others, our planet and beauty. Great things are changes for the betterment of society and all that lives within an around it. It sounds big and fun - it is.
I'm also an endurance racing cyclist and a go getter.
You can read more about me and what I do; how I work here