Blog

Lopez Island Clarity: Why Letting Go Grows Your Business

I just returned from a week camping on Lopez Island in the Puget Sound. Cell service was spotty, but it didn’t matter. Before I left, I gave clear instructions, confirmed ownership, and put simple guardrails in place. The team knew what good enough looked like—and they ran with it.
As I watched the t...

08.28.25 08:51 AM - Comment(s)
Case Study: Eight Weeks to Shift from “Hero” to High-Leverage Leader

The Set-Up

When Maria Santiago stepped into her new team-lead role, her old success formula—see problem, fix problem—followed her. Within weeks teammates stopped offering ideas and began handing work back to “the boss who always gets it right.” Maria’s evenings disappeared into rewrite after rewrite,...
08.25.25 07:52 AM - Comment(s)
Naivety & Grit: What I Learned Launching a Company.... Again- At 58!

When I opened the doors of my first venture at 27, I felt like a downhill skier: leaning forward, thin margin for error, but the speed itself kept me upright. At 31 it felt much the same. Nearly three decades later, starting a new business at 58 felt more like hiking that same slope—eyes wide, pack ...
08.19.25 06:12 AM - Comment(s)
When Helping Hurts: Confessions of a 'Hero' Leader

When My Helping Hurts: Confessions of a “Hero” Leader

I used to think of myself as the reliable fire-fighter—swooping in whenever flames licked at a project or a teammate’s confidence. Hero-ing felt noble: deadlines met, crises averted, everyone safe. But somewhere along the way I noticed something u...


08.13.25 09:07 AM - Comment(s)
Bootstrap OR Funded

When the spark hits at 3 a.m.—that “what-if…” moment scribbled on a napkin—whose dream is it, really? Yours? Or the investor who’ll soon be checking your burn-rate spreadsheet?
If, like me, you’ve bootstrapped ventures because outside money felt suspiciously like a new boss, you’re in good company. A...
08.04.25 07:50 AM - Comment(s)
Delegating Up

When Leaders Become the Center of Everything

Imagine this: It’s 11:37 a.m.and your lunch is still untouched. Three team members are queued outside your door, two more are pinging you on Slack, and your calendar is double-booked. You hired bright people precisely so you wouldn’t be the bottleneck—yet ...


07.29.25 08:37 AM - Comment(s)
Love Your Work

Imagine it’s Monday at 8 a.m..

One leader glances at the calendar and feels a familiar heaviness; another feels a pulse of quiet excitement. Both have the same meetings, the same market pressures, the same 10-hour day ahead. The difference lives inside the relationship they’ve built with their work.
F...
07.26.25 08:22 AM - Comment(s)
Beyond the Victim: Reclaiming Power Through Practice
Break free from the victim mindset. Learn how to reclaim agency, build resilience, and lead teams toward strength and growth. Read more.
06.30.25 06:49 AM - Comment(s)
Seeing Clearly at Work: How Projections Shape—and Distort—Our Business Relationships
Discover how unconscious projections shape workplace dynamics. Learn to spot, understand, and shift them to lead with clarity and emotional intelligence.
06.22.25 12:00 PM - Comment(s)
The Animal Behavior Framework for Leaders
Decode team behavior with the Animal Behavior Framework. Learn to lead Lions, Monkeys, Mice, and T-Rexes with clarity and confidence. Read more.
06.15.25 12:00 PM - Comment(s)