Understanding Leadership

Leadership is more about behaviour, conduct, and connection than about position, power, and personality

Having been involved in the coaching business, I have always found that no leader wants to be bad —every leader strives to bring something good to their role. My years of experience have shown me that most leaders have an understandable functional blindness to their own flaws, especially those who have been fast-tracked into leadership due to their performance.

Leadership is more than just skill —it’s about connection and understanding. I recently worked with a CEO who was a tech wizard, rising quickly through the ranks due to his technical brilliance. However, once he became the CEO, things took a downturn. The company saw high attrition, disengaged employees, and frustrated stakeholders. People simply didn’t want to work with him.

The problem? While he was exceptional at technology, he lacked the communication skills and empathy required to lead people. He struggled to understand his team’s concerns, often dismissing them as excuses rather than real challenges. The business suffered as a result.

That’s when the owners of the company approached me for transformational coaching—a structured program designed to develop leadership skills through self-awareness, goal-setting, and mindset shifts. Over 12 structured coaching sessions, we worked on:

Goal Setting – The CEO set weekly leadership goals, not me. This ensured personal commitment and accountability.

Review & Reflection – Every session, we reviewed progress, identified roadblocks, and refined strategies.

Perspective Shifts – He learned to see the bigger picture, understand his team’s struggles, and view challenges objectively and with a semblance of understanding

Empathy & Communication – He improved his ability to listen, respond, and collaborate effectively with his leadership team.

After six weeks, when I met with the company owners, they had already noticed a transformation in his leadership approach. A senior manager —who had once vowed never to work with him—now described him as “completely transformed” and much easier to collaborate with.

This shift didn’t just make him a better CEO—it changed the entire company culture. The team became more engaged, communication improved, and collaboration increased. When leaders grow, their organizations thrive.

Leadership isn’t just about technical expertise—it’s about understanding people, setting the right structure, and driving change. That’s what transformational coaching is all about.

I’ve worked with many CEOs and C-level executives, and the most rewarding part of this work is the ripple effect—helping one leader impacts an entire organization.

Coaching can work wonders by providing unbiased support, helping leaders identify small yet significant changes that make a big difference.

In this case, we were able to avoid a potential leadership miscarriage because of a premature birth.