What made you successful will not hold for what’s coming, especially in AI era.


You have a vision.
You’ve built success through capability, resilience, and determination.

And yet, you want a more meaningful impact, wider influence, more peace in leading business and organizaton towards the future.

Pressure builds.
Clarity fades.
Momentum or growth slows.
Doubts creep in.
And fulfillment feels just out of reach.

You are at a leadership inflection point 
— where your inner expansion as human will determine what becomes possible & how you lead the future of your organization and business.

I partner with visionary CEOs and executives at inflection points in their leadership — moments where pressure builds, teams plateau, and the old way of leading no longer works.

I help leaders to evolve who they are, how they lead, navigate uncertainities and shape legacy impact.

Through my signature process, leaders expand their presence, elevate their energy, and become trusted, magnetic forces who shape culture, inspire change, and scale with coherence — not pressure.

Because in the new era, the future is shaped by those who are more human, more present,  and more aligned from within.
----------------------------

With 15 years inside global and Fortune 500 environments, and over a decade in transformational leadership work (incl ICF PCC), I translated what most leaders never access into a proprietary approach — integrating neuroscience, energy, body awareness, executive coaching, and transformational leadership through Extraordinary Leadership™.

I’ve partnered with leaders across industries including Maersk, Abbott, Chanel, IKEA, Roche, Microsoft, and GE, and I’m known for my presence and transformational depth.

If you sence there’s more available - this is your next move.
Book a private consultation.
https://calendly.com/dagmaraasbreuk/30-min-consultation


Book me for your leadership events, summits, leadership team off-sites.
https://calendly.com/dagmaraasbreuk/30-min-consultation

Dagmara Asbreuk

You’re not losing your edge.

You’re in an environment that can’t hold it.

Because even the most capable executives will start shrinking in the wrong system.

Not because you’re not strong enough.
But because the space around you is built for comfort… not evolution.

The right environment expands your leadership.
The wrong one slowly erodes it.

10 signs you’ve outgrown the place (or it’s misaligned):

1. You feel drained more than energized.
 Even when you’re “doing well.”

2. You hear constant excuses instead of commitment.
 “We can’t.” “It’s not possible.” “That won’t work here.”

3. You’re shrinking your goals and expectations.
 Not because you want less - because you’re tired of pushing.

4. You’re constantly convincing others to see potential.
 You’re selling vision instead of leading it.

5. You feel like the only one driving change.
 And it’s exhausting.

6. The organization isn’t truly willing to change.
 They want improvement… without transformation.

7. You feel like you’re going backwards.
 More effort. Less impact.

8. Your standards are treated as “too much.”
 Instead of being respected.

9. You don’t feel safe telling the full truth.
 So you filter, soften, hold back.

10. You feel yourself shrinking instead of expanding.
 And deep down… you know it’s not you.

Your brilliance doesn’t need more proving.
It needs the right environment.

Because the right room doesn’t just value your results.
It amplifies your leadership.

Leadership Partner to visionary CEOs & Executives | Guiding you to lead with inner authority, magnetic presence, legacy impact to build future ready organization | Keynote Speaker | Founder | Podcast host

Culture isn’t a slogan.

It’s a driver of business performance.

The challenge:
leaders try to “build culture” through policies, perks, or programs.

While culture is actually created in the moments that matter most:
✅ how you lead
✅ how you listen
✅ what you tolerate
✅ what you reward
✅ what you normalize under pressure

🎧 In the latest episode of the Extraordinary Leadership Podcast, I sat down with Emma Davies - Founder of Evolve People Network and Evolve Hub, and a People & Culture leader with 20+ years across the UAE and KSA.

We unpack what truly creates a culture that fuels success - not in theory, but in real organizations moving at speed.

In this conversation, we explore:
• why presence beats policy
• why “open door” often means the opposite and what real accessibility looks like
• how to spot culture in seconds (and why surveys don’t always tell the truth)
• psychological safety as a performance strategy - not a soft perk
• why pay rises don’t automatically improve culture (and what actually does)
• the HR–leader partnership dynamic that makes or breaks companies

This episode will recalibrate how you think about performance, trust, and leadership impact.

🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/ekhcSyUX

Question for you:
What’s one leadership move that resulted in better culture and performance?

Strategy & action alone do not create momentum.

It's the source beneath them.

“Be consistent.”
“Do not give up.”
“Continue, results will come.”

This advice isn’t wrong.
It’s incomplete.

High-level leaders usually don’t struggle with discipline or effort.

What they miss is something deeper:
Awareness of the real source of results.
Beneath strategy.
Beneath determination.
Beneath action.

- Your identity.
- Your beliefs.
- Your state.

Most leaders never go here.
Yet this is where performance, change, and momentum are actually shaped.

Because very often, the source of strategy and action is not clarity or alignment, but:
• Pressure
• Lack
• Proving
• Fear
• Nervous-system survival
• Exhaustion disguised as ambition

These drivers don’t create momentum.
They create resistance.
Friction.
Stuckness.

So when things aren’t working, the answer is rarely:
- more effort.
- more pushing.
- more strategy.

The most strategic move is often the opposite.

Slow down.
Recalibrate internally - before recalibrating strategy or team.

When outcomes aren’t landing, something deeper is usually asking to shift:
– A belief
– An identity edge
– A subconscious limit
– A suppressed emotion
– A body that doesn’t feel safe to expand
– A vision you’ve outgrown

Recalibrate here, and momentum follows.
Traction returns.
Movement becomes natural again.

So yes - be consistent.
Yes - don’t give up.

But first, recalibrate the inner drivers of leadership success.

Because when you shift internally, the external world responds fast.

Sometimes it’s the same actions.
With a different state.
Creating entirely different results.

👉 Where do you sense it’s time to recalibrate from the inside?

Most culture work focuses on behavior and values.

Important.
And incomplete.

Because culture isn’t only what people do.
It’s what people feel the moment they enter the room.

Culture is an energetic operating system.
An invisible field.

You sense it before anyone speaks.
Before meetings start.
Before data confirms it.

And here’s what most leaders underestimate:
That field is shaped - consciously or unconsciously - not just by what leaders do, but by the internal state leaders operate from.

Neuroscience explains this through mirror neurons.
Humans subconsciously attune to the emotional and physiological state of others.

In simple terms:
people don’t hear leaders, they feel leaders.

Which means this:
Your internal state shapes the dynamics, behaviors, and performance of your organization.

A calm, grounded leader creates psychological safety - without trying.
A stressed, reactive leader creates tension - without noticing.

This is nervous-system leadership.

And this is what I see consistently shifts when leaders change the source:
– Behavior changes without being managed
– Conversations soften without losing clarity
– Accountability strengthens without fear
– Performance increases without burnout

Because culture doesn’t need to be forced, when leadership is internally aligned.

The real question isn’t: “How do I motivate people?”

It’s: “What internal state am I transmitting every day - already?”
That’s the layer that changes everything.

-> If you want to go deeper into leading from your highest state - this is the episode to watch: https://lnkd.in/eZiVvvhh

-> If you’re ready to elevate the signal you’re sending, shape culture from the inside out and lead from a grounded, calm, confident, and coherent state - let’s have a conversation about what will support that shift.

You don’t need a survey to know if your culture is strong.

You feel it the moment you walk in.

The energy.
The pace.
The way people look at each other before they speak.

After years of working in corporate and with CEOs and leadership teams, I’ve learned this:
the strongest cultures are sensed long before they’re measured.

Surveys confirm.
Attunement reveals.

This carousel breaks down 5 signals before any data, dashboards, or engagement scores enter the room.

If you’re a leader preparing your organization for the future, this matters.
Because culture isn’t built through initiatives.

It’s built through presence, safety, and how leadership shows up - every day.

Swipe through.

Then ask yourself one question:
What does your culture communicate the moment someone enters your space?

5 Signs Your Culture Is Strong

Culture isn’t a transaction.

It’s your leadership in action.

Money rises do not buy it.
And I fully agree with what Emma Davies said in our last conversation.

Yes, paying beneath market won’t fuel engagement.
But even strong compensation won’t create trust, ownership, or collaboration.

Thriving culture and performance rise on psychological safety + trust + authentic presence + growth opportunities.

If you want a thriving culture, here are 10 moves you will need:
✅ Set/co-create the vision + priorities (people can’t perform in confusion)
✅ Ask for input and actually listen
✅ Address issues early (don’t let them grow)
✅ Recognize & appreciate effort - not only results (be specific)
✅ Give real ownership, not just tasks
✅ Create space for honest conversations (psychological safety matters)
✅ Model the standards you expect from others
✅ Show up human and vulnerable, not invincible
✅ Find out what people truly want (what drives them, what they care about)
✅ Create growth opportunities that match it (so they can evolve and stay engaged)
✅ Protect wellbeing + energy (rest, boundaries, sustainable pace)

For that, developing coaching abilities, strengthening emotional intelligence, mastering your state/energy and mindset will be key for you as a leader.

These were true game changers for me.

It’s what helps you move from being an expert…
to become the catalyst and multiplier - for people, performance, and culture.

That’s why when I partner with executives, we work on all of it - the inner leadership and the practical skills that build thriving culture fueling performance.

Because culture isn’t bought.
It’s built.
And what matters most is how you lead.

More on topic of thriving culture in this episode: https://lnkd.in/ekhcSyUX

AI accelerates efficiency and execution.

Human evolution shapes the future of leadership.

Yesterday, I was invited to participate a Singularity University event in Dubai, on exponential mindset & AI driven leadership.

My favorite was speech of John Sanei the futurist who  put one simple truth in the spotlight:

AI will replace intellectual intelligence.
Where we need to evolve is as humans.

Underlying the need to adapt by evolving From within - awareness, perception, EQ and being.


From the lens of my work, I see 3 key areas where leaders must evolve now to stay relevant for the future that unfold very fast:

1. State mastery
Your mind & body determines how you think, decide, and lead under pressure & what culture dynamic you shape.
A coherent state creates clarity, trust, safety & flow.
A survival state creates tunnel vision, stress & chaos.
Aligning & elevating your state is number one leadership superpower.


2. Identity & belief evolution
You don’t see the world as it is - you see it as you are, through the inner filters.
Your identity and belief system shape your perception, choices, leadership capacity.
Most leaders are running unaware on old conditioned program.
Evolving it expands what becomes possible for you, organization, business.

3. Intuition & inner wisdom
Data informs, but intuition decides.
In an AI-shaped world, accessing deeper inner knowing becomes the ultimate human advantage.
From here best strategies & unique approaches will come.

So the future isn’t about knowing more.
It’s about leading from a more evolved inner self.

And its already here and happening at speed.

So the question is:
are you evolving to be on the forefront?

Thank you Varun Malik & Matthieu Bonelli for inviting me to this relevant conversation shaping the future of business and humanity.

Gratitude is not a mindset trick.

It's a state that determines how you lead.

Your brain follows what you focus on.
Your energy follows your focus.

Neuroscience shows: 
gratitude strengthens new neural pathways that help you notice what you already have - instead of staying on autopilot, scanning for lack.

Gratitude activates presence.
It supports emotional regulation, resilience, and wellbeing & psychological safety.

And in challenging moments?
Gratitude is often the first place to return to.

In leadership, that matters.
Because your decisions…
your energy…
your presence…
are shaped by what you repeatedly focus on.

Today, my gratitude looked like this:
✨ Activating the gratitude state through an energetic activation designed by me (one of many inside the Extraordinary Leadership App for State & Embodiment mastery)

🦷 A kindness from the receptionist and wisdom from the doctor. Plus, learning something new.

🌊 Coffee, sunlight, and ocean waves.

💎 And gratitude anchored at home - fragrance + beauty in my office.

Gratitude is a leadership decision.

Choose it daily - especially when things feel intense.

Because what you focus on becomes what you lead from.

What are you grateful for today?

Our closest relationships are never separate from our leadership.

They quietly influence how we decide, regulate ourselves, and show up.
Often beneath the surface.

In many ways, a family is an organization.
And partners are the leadership team.

The relational dynamic between partners shapes the wider system -  including children, culture, and emotional climate.

Cultivating this relationship is one of the most important areas of my own life.

I value friendship, connection, shared purpose, and shared values with my life’s partner.

What strengthened our partnership most was evolving from within, on both sides.

☑️ Understanding and valuing our differences.
☑️ Learning to manage and reduce triggers.
☑️ Growing emotional maturity together.
☑️ Freeing from past conditioned beliefs, memories, traumas.

And creating intentional time together, 
outside of family chores.

I’m not a personal relationship coach.

But some of my clients move through profound life phases that unfold alongside our core partnership.

And these moments inevitably influence their leadership, clarity, and capacity.

With care, I want to share two resources I often recommend when it comes to closest partner relationships:

1. The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work
 — John Gottman

If you want to strengthen your relationship in a practical, research-backed way, this is foundational.

The principles focus on:
➝  Building deep friendship
➝  Managing conflict without damage
➝  Creating shared meaning
➝  Protecting respect and emotional safety

Clear. Grounded. Timeless.
And helpful in challenging common myths that quietly erode connection.

2. Conscious Uncoupling
 — Katherine Woodward Thomas

If you are separating or divorcing, this book offers a radically different orientation.

It supports:
➝  Ending a relationship without destruction
➝  Taking responsibility without self-blame
➝  Extracting wisdom rather than carrying residue
➝  Creating a clean emotional future - for yourself and others involved

Both books center consciousness, choice, and maturity.
Whether you are staying together or parting ways.

I trust this share will serve you or someone close to you.

Feel free to pass it on to leaders and friends who may need it now.

Your organization and business can’t outgrow you.

When pressure rises, complexity grows and AI challenges your relevance - strategy is not the first place to look into.

Elevating who you are and how you lead - is.
Because your impact & business results depend on your inner architecture.

Here is how it works:
→ Your state determines your leadership capacity - shaping decision quality, execution speed, and culture under pressure.
→ Your identity shapes your authority - what you tolerate, how you operate, size of your vision and how decisively you move when it matters.
→ Your beliefs define your strategic range & possibilities-  and whether growth feels constrained or inevitable.
→ Your energy creates organizational leverage - influencing momentum, performance, and how people respond to you.
→ Your ability to access intuition stabilizes leadership under pressure & uncertainty - enabling decisions that are fast, aligned, and sustainable.

Mastering mind, emotions, and inner state, changing beliefs & expanding your identity is real leadership work.

And in a world where AI replaces IQ, who you are becomes the competitive advantage.

This is the real work I support my clients with.

So they lead with inner authority, magnetic presence, and create legacy impact - while shaping future-ready organizations.

So they don’t just stay relevant - they set the direction.

Entrepreneur / Finance Lawyer / Ex Professional Tennis Player / Author

Winning isn’t just about trophies or deals. It’s about leading with clarity - and living on your own terms. That’s where I come in.

I know what it takes to perform when everything is on the line - first as a professional tennis player, then as a BigLaw partner advising on billion-euro finance deals, and now as a coach to ambitious leaders navigating high-stakes transitions.

👉 I work with founders, executives, and consultants facing: 

- Identity shifts during career transitions

- Pressure to perform at the highest level

- Redefining success beyond titles and trophies

- Reinvention after plateau or burnout

My approach blends the discipline of elite sport with two decades of legal and financial leadership. It’s performance coaching reimagined - designed for leaders who want bold results without losing themselves in the process.

I’m also the author of Winning Inside, which explores how high-performance principles help leaders thrive in business and in life. It’s the foundation of my keynotes and workshops for organizations preparing their leaders for the future.

📩 Let’s connect if you’re ready for coaching, workshops, or speaking engagements.

************

📩 Contact

Workshops, speaking, coaching, advisory: ak@angelakerek.com

Legal advisory in banking & finance: akerek@drkerek.com

Brand collaborations: https://app.limelighthq.com/p/angela-kerek

Website: www.angelakerek.com

🎓 Education & Credentials
- Executive MBA - Kellogg/WHU
- Executive Training - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Health Tech & Innovation - MIT
- Certified Nutrition Coach - Precision Nutrition
- PhD in Constitutional Law - Humboldt University of Berlin

🏆 Recognitions
- AZUR Award - Most Innovative Project (2020)
- WirtschaftsWoche - Best of Legal (2021)

🌍 Languages
German, English, Hungarian, Romanian (fluent at the highest level)

Dr. Angela Kerek MBA

Your top performer might be your biggest liability.

Simon Sinek explains why.

Top performers don't miss targets, but
 they quietly redefine what’s acceptable.

They hit numbers.
They deliver results.
So their behavior gets explained away.

“They’re just intense.” (yep)
 “They don’t mean it.” (they actually do)
 “That’s the price of excellence.” (not necessarily)

While leadership rationalizes,
the rest of the team is watching.

They learn that output matters more than respect.
 No matter the cost.
That values are negotiable.

That some people are untouchable.
This is how trust erodes without a single announcement.

The acceptance of these high-performers does influence results.
But they set the standard.

And when that standard rewards ego, blame, or fear,
the cost doesn’t show up immediately.
It shows up later:
in disengagement, silence, and the quiet exit of people you actually wanted to keep.

Great leaders don’t choose between performance and culture.
They understand that behavior IS performance.

What you tolerate today
becomes your culture going forward.

👇 Any thoughts?

✅ like and ♻️ re-share if this resonates
➕ Follow Dr. Angela Kerek MBA for more

Money talks.

But reputation echoes.

A young founder asked me: "What's the one thing you'd protect at all costs in business?"

Without hesitation: Reputation.

Warren Buffett said it very clearly in 1991:
"Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation, and I will be ruthless."

He wasn't just talking. During the Salomon Brothers crisis, he put his own reputation on the line to save the company. Why?

Because he knew:
• Money is replaceable
• Trust is not
• Markets forgive losses
• Markets never forget betrayal

Think about the companies that lost our trust in the last decade.
How many recovered?
How many disappeared?

The math is simple:
20 years to build trust.
20 seconds to break it.
20x harder to rebuild it.

✅ Like
♻️ Repost for Integrity in Business.
➕ Follow Dr. Angela Kerek MBA for more.

Mindset & Transformation for Founders & Leadership | 18+ years experienced Finance Lawyer to CFOs | Author | Ex-Tennis Pro 🎾 & Ex-BigLaw Partner💲 | Defining Success on Your Own Terms

Feeling “fine” is the biggest career red flag.

Not because something is wrong.

But because nothing excites you anymore.
Most people ignore that feeling.

Until burnout decides for them.

This is your life.
Your job.
Your career.
You decide.
You transform it.

👉 Before changing anything, start here:
Awareness.
Not judgment.
Not panic.
Just honesty.

1️⃣ Spotting the Signs

9 signs you may be ready for a career change
- Your energy is constantly drained
- Motivation feels forced
- You’re bored more often than not
- Bad moods spill into most days
- Your mental health is taking a hit
- You see no real perspective ahead
- “What if” thoughts about other roles keep showing up
- You keep telling yourself you’re “fine”
- There’s no joy. No fresh ideas.

2️⃣ Evaluate before you leap

- List what regularly zaps your energy and motivation
- Note what you avoid
- Go deeper and question the narratives behind it
- Identify aspects of your job you still or would enjoy
- Create your space to think and be freely

3️⃣ Prepare with intention

• Build skills deliberately
• Update your CV with real impact
• Optimize your LinkedIn presence
• Explore new networks and environments

4️⃣ Networking Strategically

• Build skills deliberately
• Update your CV with real impact
• Optimize your LinkedIn presence
• Explore new networks and environments
• Trust your intuition about fit and opportunity

5️⃣  Then move

• Have a transition plan
• Choose your timing
• Communicate clearly
• Keep promises you made to yourself
• Act — even when it feels uncomfortable

✨ Remember:
Don’t wait until you crash.
Changing jobs is common.

Changing careers is often a sign you want to live fully.
Be who you want to be.

‼️ The purpose of your life is the one you give it.

Do you agree?
Let me know ⬇️

♻️ Repost this to inspire your network.
➕ Follow Dr. Angela Kerek MBA Kerek for more like this.


🫵 Take the first step and join my 21 Day Challenge to find out your next step: 
https://lnkd.in/e6Rz4Uvf

🆓 Grab my Workbook to Make it Happen 2026! https://lnkd.in/d6vYf2qd

Most stress comes from trying to control the wrong things.

For years, I burned through energy like it was unlimited:

- Refreshing my inbox after sending proposals.
- Waiting for investors to call back with the "right" tone.
- Doing favors for people, then feeling resentful when they didn't return them.

I was living in a constant state of "what if."

- What if they don't like my idea?
- What if they think I'm pushing too hard?
- What if they never respond at all?

My mind was running scenarios on repeat.
Rehearsing conversations that might never happen.
Preparing for reactions I couldn't predict or control.

‼️ Anxiety isn't random. It's misplaced control.

The turning point came when I realized:
🕯️ I was spending 80% of my mental energy on things that were 0% in my control.

Other people's opinions? Not mine.
Their timeline for decisions? Not mine.
Whether they'd reciprocate my effort? Definitely not mine.

So I made a rule:
💪 Focus only on what's actually yours.

My attention. My words. My response. My boundaries.
My next action. My standards. My follow-through.

I gave myself permission to move forward WITHOUT their approval.

When someone didn't respond to my proposal?
Data point. Not a personal rejection.

When an investor passed on the deal?
Information. Not a verdict on my worth.

When someone didn't return a favor?
Good to know. Adjust expectations accordingly.

This wasn't about becoming cold or detached.
It was about channeling my energy where it could actually make a difference.

💡 Here's what shifted:

- I stopped creating stories about what people might be thinking.
- Stopped waiting for the "perfect" response before taking my next step.
- Started treating reactions as feedback, not validation.

The irony?
My results improved dramatically.

Not because I cared less.
But because I cared more intentionally.

💡 Remember: 
When you stop trying to control their reactions,
you free up all that energy for what you can actually influence.

Keep focusing on your next steps.
Let go of trying to control their reactions.

That's where your real power lives.

❓ What's one thing you're trying to control that you need to let go of?
Drop it in the comments. 👇 

🫵  Focus on what you can control - pick this as your 21 Day Challenge to LEVEL UP YOUR GAME: https://lnkd.in/e6Rz4Uvf

Teams don’t hide ideas by accident.

They learn to.

They learn when their feedback is ignored.
When their honesty is punished.

When silence feels safer than speaking up.
When they feel that nothing they say or do matters.

Over time, people stop sharing what they see.
Even if they care, they don't do it because they’ve learned the cost of caring.

And that’s how cultures quietly break.
Not through bad intentions.
But through repeated signals that say:
 “Keep your head down.”

If you want better ideas,
don’t ask for louder voices.
Build safer rooms.

💡 Remember: 
Culture is defined as "the way we do things around here every day"!
It is not what you say it is on paper.

👇 Let me know - what means to have a good culture to you?

✅ Like and ♻️ re-share if this resonated.
Follow Dr. Angela Kerek MBA for more on leadership and culture.

This isn't a practice run.

But most of us live like it is.

We wait for the "right moment" to launch that business idea.
We postpone the difficult conversation with our team.
We delay reaching out to that potential client.

I see this pattern everywhere.

The proposal has been sitting in drafts for weeks.
The partnership conversation that keeps getting pushed to "next quarter."
The business pivot everyone knows needs to happen.
The will to lose weight is there; only needs a kickstart.

They're all waiting for someday.

But someday = never ‼️ 

Someday is a place that doesn't exist ‼️ 

The timing will never feel perfect.
You'll never have all the answers.
The fear won't magically disappear.

Think about it.

That client you've been meaning to reach out to?
They're probably looking for exactly what you offer right now.

That team member who needs feedback?
They already sense something's off, and they're wondering why no one's talking about it.

That new direction your business needs to take?
Your competitors aren't waiting for perfect market conditions.

The difference between leaders who thrive and those who survive isn't about having more information.

It's about acting with what they have.
Starting before they feel completely ready.

Because readiness isn't something that happens to you.
It's a CHOICE.

Your next breakthrough isn't waiting for the stars to align.
It's waiting for you to decide that the stars are aligned enough.

❓ The question is: what are you not doing while you're waiting to be ready?

👇 What's the one thing you keep pushing to "someday" that could change everything if you started today?

✅ Like and ♻️ re-share if this resonates
➕ Follow Dr. Angela Kerek MBA for more on taking action

🫵 Grab my Make It Happen Workbook as a first step: https://lnkd.in/d6vYf2qd

The word NO changed my life. 

Here's why it might change yours too.

Learning to say no means protecting YOUR time, energy, and personal boundaries. 

And you don't owe anyone an explanation.

The more you say no, the more space you create to say yes to what truly matters to YOU.

For decades, I struggled with this. I thought the more yeses I said, the more people would like me. 

I was giving power to everyone else's priorities, not my own.

Here are 5 simple questions to ask yourself regularly. Write down your answers to track patterns and progress: 

✅ What am I not saying no to?

✅ How does my inability to say no impact my life?

✅ What signals of my body am I overlooking?

✅ What is the narrative behind my inability to say no?

✅ Where did I learn this narrative?

Whenever you say yes to something that doesn't align with your values or priorities, you're inadvertently saying no to opportunities that truly matter to you. 

The initial discomfort of declining requests stings. 

But it's nothing compared to the resentment of overcommitting or the regret of neglecting your own needs. 

What helps you decide when to say NO? 

👇 Share your strategy below.

♻️ Repost this to help someone set better boundaries.
➕ Follow Dr. Angela Kerek MBA Kerek for more insights on growth and leadership.

Wanna make 2026 your best year? Grab my FREE Workbook and get started! https://lnkd.in/d6vYf2qd

Questions based on Gábor Maté's: The Myth of Normal

It started in the 1980s.

It never really stopped.

Tennis has been THE quiet constant in my life.
Not in a straight line.
And certainly not always lovingly.
 
Sometimes intensely, resentfully.
Other times, obsessed. Many times distant.
Often, it just grounds me.

In the center of the focus or distantly. But it is always there.

Over the decades, my relationship with the game kept changing.
At first, it was about learning the rules.
Then, about winning or losing everything.

Then, about proving something. During my studies, it kept me afloat, and I financed my studies just through playing and teaching the game.

Then I pushed it away, and I kept a distance. I refused to see it.

Then, about staying fit. Then, about staying sane.

And then it brought me back to life when I was in my deepest lows.

Now it is teaching me about winning without holding a trophy in your hands. About winning at life!

Same sport.
Different decades, different relationships.
Different perspectives and filters.

What kept me grounded over and over wasn’t motivation or discipline in the abstract. It was repetition. 

The same movements. The same kind of attempt to hear that sound and feel that resonance in my body when hitting the ball.

That feeling when timing clicks. When effort disappears.
It is addictive.

Over and over. 

Forehands. Backhands. Footwork. Serves, volleys.
Hundreds of thousands of repetitions.

When life felt chaotic, the body remembered.
When my head was loud, the game kept being simple.
 
Sport becomes a constant like that.
A lens you keep returning to.

The game changed, and my relationship with it evolved over the decades.
But it always was and is a standpoint that centers me.
It can be so calming when everything around me is reduced to the next ball.

A lot of my fellow players quit.

And I just kept going back to it.
Because it always reflected something that was deep down in me.

Forty years of showing up doesn’t look dramatic. It looks ordinary.
Quiet. Maybe unremarkable from the outside.
But that’s the point.
Some things just need room to evolve with you.
Same court. Lots of new chapters.
And somehow, decades later, still playing.

💡 Much about life is about falling in love with the ordinary - the repetitions.

👇 What game do you love?
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🔔 Want to practice repetitions - on your own terms for your own game?
Join me in a 21 Day Challenge starting TOMORROW, 10 January: https://lnkd.in/e6Rz4Uvf

Life through the lens of tennis

On January 1st, new partners were announced.

It exposed my real failure.

I never made someone up as a partner.
I mean in the real sense. 

Yes, I stepped aside.
Yes, I handed over my position.

But that’s not the same thing.

Leadership isn’t leaving a seat.
Leadership is helping someone grow into it.

While I was a partner, I didn’t have the opportunity to develop others to that level. I had to focus on performance, delivery, and survival.
There was no room for multiplication.

That realisation changed how I see careers in professional services.

Today, I work with:
- Lawyers/consultants who want to become partners
- Mid-career professionals who feel stuck and need to reshuffle
- Senior partners who are “sitting it out” because they don’t know what’s next

Too many brilliant people wait.
They prolong the inevitable and focus on preservation.
Not because they lack talent - but because they can’t see alternatives.

👉 There is more to life than just self-protection.
More impact. More relevance.
More leadership - even without a title.

Preservation makes you feel small.
Opening up expands the self and the options in life.

And this time, I’m committed to doing the part I once missed.
I help those who want to raise and those who help others raise to the next level!

Congratulations to all newly made-up partners!

Tag someone whom you admire for developing leaders!
 👇 

♻️ Repost this to inspire your network.
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Self-asses to see opportunities!
🆓 Grab my Workbook to Make it Happen 2026! https://lnkd.in/d6vYf2qd

DM me if you want to chat about how to become a partner, how to level up, and how to exit without losing!

Image credit Leonardo Freixas - follow him for more on leadership

My runs and workouts now defend entire communities.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

I've planted over 1,500 mangrove trees.

Just by running and going to the gym.

The Active Giving app tracks every mile and workout I log and converts it into real trees. 
Their partners handle the actual planting while I handle the running.

It sounds too simple to matter.
Until you see what these trees actually do.

This video shows a model from a Dutch research institute.
Watch what happens when waves hit mangroves.

The trees don't just stand there.
They absorb the wave energy.

They weaken storm surges.
They prevent coastal erosion.

During hurricanes and extreme weather, mangroves act like natural seawalls.
Communities survive because these trees exist.

Every run I take and every workout I do builds that protection.
1,500 trees growing into barriers that will defend coastlines for decades.

I was already running and working out anyway.
Now my movement creates something that lasts - impact!

No guilt.
No complex offset calculations.
Just movement converted into real impact.

The connection is direct:
Your activity becomes their protection.

❓ How do you create impact - inspire me and the network - I am looking for ideas, always! 👇 

Want to join my Active Giving team?
Do you want to level up your game anyway?

🫵 Anyone who grabs my 21-day Challenge gets access to our group where we're turning workouts into forests: https://lnkd.in/e6Rz4Uvf

Your next run could save someone's home.


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Video from Mehrtash Soltani, Ph.D who's account I absolutely love - follow him for extraordinary engineering stories

47 pages. Five scenarios. Zero progress.

Six words to close the deal.

47 pages. Five scenarios.
A backup plan for the backup plan.

It felt thorough.
It felt smart.
It felt safe.

Then my senior partner closed the deal with six words:
“This works. Let’s do it.”

No justification.
No defensive framing.

Just clarity.
This is something uncomfortable.
Because I wasn’t being rigorous.
I was hiding behind complexity.

Here’s what was really happening:
• I confused activity with progress
 More analysis felt productive. It wasn’t.

• I used complexity to hedge myself
 If it failed, the system was at fault. Not my judgment.

• I was addicted to looking smart
 Simple felt obvious. So I added layers.

The cost?
👉 Complexity is expensive.
It drains time, energy, and the one thing that actually moves decisions forward: clarity.

What helped me change this:

I no longer ask,
 “What else should I consider?”
I am now asking,
 “What actually matters?”

If I can’t explain the decision in one sentence,
I’m not done thinking.

Simple isn’t easy.
Simple is essential.

💡 Remember:
The best leaders aren’t the smartest in the room.
They’re the clearest.

👇 Now your turn:
What was the six-word version of your last big decision?
Drop it in the comments.
(If it took more than six words, that’s the point.)


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Silence in meetings is not alignment.

It’s fear.

Fear of looking stupid.
Fear of challenging the boss.
Fear of being labeled “difficult.”

So people nod.
They agree.
They stay quiet.
And leaders mistake that silence for buy-in.

I have observed this in numerous partner meetings.
You go in full of ideas. Fresh perspective. 
Challenging assumptions.

But every time you speak up, responses you fear are:
"We've tried that before."
"That won't work here."
"Let's take that offline."

It takes just a couple of months until people stop contributing.
The start just sitting there, taking notes, and nodding along.

Because they learn, the room didn't actually want them.

The team thought they had alignment.
What they really had was someone who had given up.

Real alignment sounds noisy.
It sounds like disagreement.
It sounds like uncomfortable questions.
It sounds like “I see this differently.”

The best teams I’ve seen weren’t polite.
They were honest.

Psychological safety isn’t about everyone agreeing.
It’s everyone feeling safe enough to disagree.
If your meetings are quiet, ask yourself this:

👉 Your move as a leader: 
In your next meeting, don't just ask "Any questions?" 
Ask "What concerns do you have?" or "What am I missing?" 
Then wait. 
Actually, wait for the answer.

Do people feel heard… or watched?
Because the absence of conflict isn’t leadership success.
It’s often a warning sign.

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---
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