Helping execs in new roles accelerate impact, build credibility fast and avoid costly transition mistakes | xIBM Consulting | xPwC | Certified Executive Coach

You’ve just landed your next big executive role - congratulations!

Now comes the part no one prepares you for: making it successful.

The hard truth is, 40% of executive transitions fail within 18 months.

And the cost is staggering:

2.5x to 30x the executive’s salary in lost productivity, turnover, and disruption.

Career damage for the executive that can take years to recover from.

Maybe it's your first time at the senior leadership table. 
Maybe you've done this before, but this time, the stakes feel higher. 
Different company, industry, department or role.

Either way, you know this first year will define your reputation and your results.

Tell me if this sounds familiar:

You've inherited a team that doesn't fully trust you yet. 
You're navigating company politics, shifting priorities, and sky-high expectations. 
Everyone's watching, but no one's guiding. 
You're smart, experienced, and capable. 
But the pressure to prove yourself is relentless.

This is exactly where I come in.

I help new executives thrive where 40% fail by guiding them through the high-stakes first year.

My coaching is confidential, personalized, and focused on helping you:

✔ Earn trust quickly and secure early credibility
✔ Navigate politics and hidden organizational dynamics
✔ Build and align your leadership team for quick wins
✔ Make high-impact decisions without costly missteps
✔ Lay the foundation for long-term success and legacy

 Why Trust Me?
• 25+ years in Fortune 500 consulting, partnering with senior executives 
• Led $30M+ transformation portfolios and 250+ person practices at IBM 
• Led risk strategy for $100M+ proposals and complex transformations 
• Built and delivered IBM's top global executive coaching programs 
• Certified executive coach with 300+ leaders coached

If you’re ready to accelerate your impact and avoid costly missteps,

let’s make your first year your strongest. 

📩 DM me “Executive Transition” and let’s talk.

Dora Vanourek

That Monday you're dreading
is someone's answered prayer.
We're exhausted by everything we "have to" do.

- Wake up early
- Answer endless emails
- Deal with difficult people
- Attend another meeting

I caught myself overwhelmed by my packed calendar this morning.

Then remembered my friend who's been job hunting for 6 months.

The shift was instant:

What feels like just another day:

→ Monday morning alarm
→ Back-to-back meetings 
→ Endless client calls
→ Inbox overflowing
→ Weekend work sessions

What it really is:

→ Income that supports your life
→ People who value your expertise
→ Clients who trust your guidance 
→ Work that has real impact
→ Freedom to build something

This isn't about toxic positivity.

Or pretending everything's perfect.

Or ignoring real challenges.

It's about perspective.

Every "I have to" is actually an "I get to" in disguise.

What's one thing you're dreading today that someone else would be grateful for?

♻️ Repost for someone who forgot they're fortunate
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for leadership & career insights

If you're not growing in your job, you're shrinking.

But shrinking feels like stability.

Like patience.
Commitment.
Paying your dues.

So you start telling yourself:

'The market's tough right now.' 
'I'm lucky to have a job.' 
'Maybe next quarter will be different.'

And while you're being 'patient':

Someone with half your experience gets promoted.

Someone who started after you becomes your boss.

The job-hopper is making 40% more.

If your company isn't investing in your growth, 
you're not building a career -
you're maintaining theirs.

They get your best years. 
You get a review that says 'meets expectations.'

Growth isn't just about moving up.

It's about expanding your skills.
Taking on challenges that scare you.
Working with people who believe in you.

Ask yourself:

- When did you last learn something that changed how you work?

- Who's invested in your development this quarter?

- What skills are you building for your next role?

If it's tough to answer these, you're not stable.

You're stuck.

And stuck is just shrinking in slow motion.

The riskiest career move isn't leaving too soon.

It's staying too long.

How will you feel next year if nothing changes?

Your growth doesn't need permission.

♻️ Repost to remind someone that loyalty without growth is a trap
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

"I found a better opportunity."

Translation: I found a leader who values me.

I've coached hundreds through resignations.

The real reason they leave: 
it's rarely what they say at first.

Behind "better opportunity" or "career growth" is something deeper:

They don't feel valued.

Nobody says thank you.

Their ideas get ignored. 
Their skills go unused. 
They've stopped learning.

If you want to keep your best people:

- Truly listen
- Say thank you
- Seek their ideas
- Appreciate them
- Provide flexibility
- Make time for them
- Ask for their opinions
- Share timely feedback
- Ask how they really are
- Involve them in decisions
- Provide growth opportunities
- Communicate with transparency
- Trust them to make the right decisions

You don't need a budget for any of these.

Just intention, and genuinely caring for your people.

Be the leader you wish you had.

♻️ Repost to remind someone they matter
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for leadership & career insights

7 phrases that are quietly damaging your credibility:

(and what to say instead)

1. I'll try:
↳ Sounds like you're already half-expecting to fail.
↳ Say: "I'll complete it by Friday and will keep you updated on my progress."

2. No offence, but…:
↳ Nothing good ever follows this phrase. 
↳ Say: "Here's my perspective." or "I see it differently."

3. This might be a stupid question, but…:
↳ Undermines your question before you even ask it.
↳ Say: "I'd like to clarify something."

4. That's not my problem:
↳ Makes you sound dismissive and unhelpful.
↳ Say: "Let me help you find the right person."

5. We've always done it this way:
↳ Makes you appear resistant to change.
↳ Say: "Let's consider other options."

6. I guess…:
↳ Shows lack of confidence.
↳ Say: "Here's what I think." or "This is what I know so far."

7. Does that make sense?
↳ Sounds like you're doubting yourself or the other person's intelligence.
↳ Say: "What questions do you have?"

Your words shape how others perceive you. 

Own your words, own your impact.

♻️ Repost to help someone.
🔔 Follow Dora Vanourek for more.

7 seemingly innocent phrases that hurt your credibility

Self-doubt kills more careers than 
bad bosses ever could.

It paralyzes talented people into inaction.

And pushes many of us into traps like:

❌ Waiting to feel confident before starting
❌ Seeking perfection before launching
❌ Taking "one more certification" before applying

But perfect circumstances never come.

A year ago, I left my 25+ year corporate career.

It was the scariest step I ever took.

Nothing was guaranteed.

Yet, my family depended on me.

And honestly? I am still figuring it out every day.

But I realized that waiting for "safe" was the biggest risk of all.

Small steps will change your life:

1. Stop collecting certifications like armour
→ You already know enough to take the first step
→ True learning happens in the doing

2. Shift your mindset
→ Replace "I'm not qualified" with "I'll figure it out"
→ Turn "I'm not ready" into "I'll learn as I go"

3. Build momentum
→ Take one small step. Then another.
→ Progress creates confidence, not the other way around

Remember, someone with half your talent is out there doing it.

You are more than ready.

Take that first step today.

♻️ Repost to remind someone to bet on themselves
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

We've built hiring systems that strip away humanity.

Then we wonder why trust is broken from day one.

It’s because we have normalized 
the unacceptable:

❌ Posting ghost jobs to signal growth
→ while real people wait for an email that never comes

❌ Automated rejections
→ after someone spent hours filling out a complicated application form

❌ Six rounds of interviews
→ because no one trusts anyone else's judgement

❌ Ghosting people after the final rounds
→ because giving feedback is not a priority

❌ "Not enough experience"
→ when they could learn the job in a month

The hiring managers feel this too.

They're drowning in reqs.
Pressured by systems they didn't design.
Told to move fast while also de-risking every hire.

People are not numbers.

Every resume represents someone's hopes.
Their rent. Their kids' futures.
Their career turning point.

To the hiring managers doing their best within broken systems:

Thank you. It matters more than you know.

♻️ Repost if you believe hiring should be more human
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

People won't remember your job title.

They'll remember how you made them feel.

Because true happiness at work isn't about being employed.

It's about feeling valued.

The best leaders live by this.

They don't just manage tasks.
They empower people to grow.
They appreciate them genuinely.

Be that leader:

- Listen without judgement
- Provide stretch assignments
- Genuinely ask, "How are you?"
- Be kind, even on the tough days
- Open doors to new opportunities
- Acknowledge their unique strengths
- Empower others to explore and learn
- Share feedback that helps others thrive
- Invite input in decisions that impact others
- Show appreciation - it means more than you know
- Believe in someone before they believe in themselves

Leadership isn't just about budgets or targets.

It's about kindness, respect, and leaving people better than when you met them.

Have you had a great leader?
Tag them to thank them ⬇️ 

♻️ Repost to inspire your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

Early in my career, I made the same mistake 
with every piece of feedback.

It's not that I disagreed with what they said.

I just wanted to explain myself.
Provide context.
Share the circumstances.

I didn't want them to think I was incapable.

But here's what they heard:

Excuses.

And over time, people stopped telling me the truth.

Here's what I wish I understood sooner:

When you stop listening, people stop sharing.

And that's when growth stops too.

5 ways to receive feedback without getting defensive:

1. Pause before responding
→ Your first instinct is to explain. Resist it
→ Take a breath. Let the words settle.

2. Say "thank you" first
→ Even if it stings. Especially then
→ Gratitude keeps the door open for next time

3. Reflect on it later
→ You don't have to process it in the moment
→ Come back with questions tomorrow

4. Find the truth in it
→ Even if you don't agree 100%, there's usually something real
→ Find the 10% of truth, even if the other 90% is wrong

5. Separate the message from the delivery
→ Feedback can be poorly delivered and still be true
→ Don't let imperfect delivery block valuable insight

The most coachable people grow the fastest.

Not because they're the smartest.

But because they stay open when it's uncomfortable.

♻️ Repost to help someone stay coachable
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for modern leadership

Most leaders obsess over the wrong things.

They chase better processes.

Refine strategies.

Restructure teams.

And when results don't improve:

They apply pressure.
Tighten timelines.
Use fear as a tactic.

Meanwhile, the people who care the most, stop caring.

The best leaders do the opposite:

✅ Know their names and their stories
↳ "How's your daughter's soccer season?"

✅ Treat everyone with equal respect
↳ The intern's time matters as much as the VP's. Act like it

✅ Follow through on their feedback
↳ Actually listen and act. Or explain why not. Silence kills trust faster than "no"

✅ Share your own mistakes first
↳ "Here's where I messed up" opens doors to honesty

✅ Replace "Who did this?" with "What can we learn?"
↳ One question assigns blame. The other builds resilience

✅ Address toxic behaviour quickly
↳ Every day you wait, good people update their resumes

You don't need another framework.

You need to look up from your spreadsheet and see the humans in front of you.

Before the best ones stop caring completely.

♻️ Repost to inspire people-first leadership
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

High performers don't always get promoted.

Sometimes they get silenced.

You're excelling at everything 
- except getting recognized for it.

The problem isn't your performance.

It's how your success makes someone else feel.

7 signs your boss sees you as a threat:

1. The Control Trap 🔍
↳ They micromanage you while trusting others
↳ Build relationships beyond your manager

2. The Information Freeze ❄️
↳ You're always the last to hear what's happening
↳ Create multiple information channels

3. Credit Confusion 🎭
↳ Your wins become nameless "team efforts"
↳ Document your contributions consistently

4. The Expertise Challenge 🧠
↳ They undermine your expertise in front of others
↳ Back your ideas with clear data

5. The Strategic Isolation 🔒
↳ "Accidentally" excluding you from key meetings
↳ Join high-visibility projects independently

6. The Performance Paradox 📊
↳ Lukewarm reviews despite strong results
↳ Collect written feedback from peers and clients

7. The Growth Block ⛔
↳ Your opportunities mysteriously keep getting delayed
↳ Create your own path outside formal systems

Remember: Their insecurity is not your ceiling.

You don't need to shrink to keep others comfortable.

Keep showing up.

📌 Navigating your first year in a new role?

Get weekly insights in The First Year newsletter: 
dora.coach 

♻️ Repost to help someone
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

7 Signs Your Boss Sees You as a Threat

Toxic managers don’t just crush your confidence.

They rewire how you see yourself.

They use guilt, fear, and shame to maintain control.

Their tactics leave you questioning:

❌ your judgement
❌ your worth
❌ and even your sanity

But it's not you – it's them.

7 phrases toxic managers use:
(and how to protect yourself)

1. You should be grateful you even have a job
↳ Uses fear to silence your legitimate concerns
↳ "I want to contribute effectively. Can we find a solution?"

2. Everyone else is managing just fine
↳ Unfair comparison shames you into silence
↳ "Let's review my workload and priorities"

3. I have a lot of pressure from above, so you need to...
↳ Shifts poor planning onto your shoulders
↳ "I understand. Let's align on priorities"

4. You're being too sensitive
↳ Minimizes feelings to avoid personal accountability
↳ "This is affecting my work performance"

5. I'm doing this for your own good
↳ Masks controlling behaviour as genuine care
↳ "Can you explain how this helps me?"

6. If you were really loyal, you'd stay late...
↳ Emotional guilt-trips to ignore healthy boundaries
↳ "Can we align earlier on priorities?"

7. You're lucky I'm protecting you
↳ Creates dependence through imagined threats
↳ "What am I being protected from?"

You can't change who they are.

 But you can control what you tolerate.

You deserve to thrive, not just survive.

♻ Repost to help your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

📌 Navigating your first year in a new role?
Get weekly insights in The First Year newsletter: 
https://lnkd.in/gkbJnUVb

7 phrases toxic managers say to manipulate you

Nobody deserves to be insulted or belittled.

Too often, we stay silent and wish we'd spoken up.

Or we react emotionally and regret it later.

There's a better way to respond with calm, clarity, and strength.

7 ways to handle insults at work:

1. Seek Clarification
↳ Make them reflect on what they said
↳ Did you mean to embarrass me just now?

2. Set Boundaries
↳ Clearly state what behaviour isn't acceptable
↳ That tone is not ok with me.

3. Use the Pause Technique
↳ Strategic silence followed by a calm response
↳ [Pause] Let's take a step back and approach this differently.

4. Mirror With Professionalism
↳ Reflect their behaviour so they confront it
↳ I'm hearing frustration. Is there a bigger issue?

5. Redirect to Solutions
↳ Shift from personal attack to problem-solving
↳ Let's focus on next steps, not assigning blame.

6. Use Humour (if it fits your style)
↳ A light touch can defuse tension
↳ That's one way to start a Wednesday meeting!

7. The Direct Approach
↳ The clearest response is often most powerful
↳ That was inappropriate. Let's restart or pause here.

You don't have to shrink to keep the peace.

Stand your ground with calm power.

📌 Navigating your first year in a new role?
Get weekly insights in The First Year newsletter:
https://lnkd.in/gkbJnUVb

7 Smart ways to handle insults at work

The fastest way to fail in a new role?

Do exactly what got you hired.

It's called the competence trap - 
where your biggest strength becomes your blind spot.

7 mistakes leaders make in the first 100 days:

1. Misreading the Culture 🏢
↳ Seeing surface behaviours but missing deeper values
↳ Schedule listening tours with employees at all levels

2. Bringing the Old Playbook 📚
↳ Forcing familiar fixes onto problems creates resistance
↳ Ask "Why is it done this way?" to understand

3. Neglecting Key Stakeholders 🤝
↳ Focusing only on direct reports misses critical support
↳ Map all stakeholders and build an engagement plan

4. Moving Too Fast on Team Changes 👥
↳ Misreading team dynamics creates unnecessary instability
↳ Assess systematically before making changes

5. Underestimating Organizational Politics 🎭
↳ Overlooking hidden alliances leads to blindsided resistance
↳ Map informal networks before launching initiatives

6. Failing to Renegotiate Unclear Mandates ⚖️
↳ Not clarifying conflicting expectations from stakeholders
↳ Renegotiate KPIs and budgets

7. Energy Depletion 🔋
↳ Proving yourself while well-being slips
↳ Remember: your energy, not just time, is your scarcest resource

Success isn't about your track record.

It's about decoding the rules where you are now.

📌 Navigating your first year in a new role?
Get weekly insights in The First Year newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gkbJnUVb

♻ Repost to help your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

7 Mistakes Leaders Make in the First 100 Days

I do LinkedIn Profile Optimization & Branding for Founder's & Creators + Carousels & Cheatsheets - For Better Leads Conversions

You find deals off-market (after a lot of hassle).

👋🏻 Now, you ask your family, friends, and old investors for capital.

You successfully raise a few thousand dollars... but the deal still isn't closed yet.

You need checks worth hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, but your network is limited.

Here's where you get stuck.

But for one second, imagine this...

You have a list of high net worth individuals, family offices, and investors who trust you and know you well. You find a deal, share the deck with your email list, post it on LinkedIn where hundreds of HNWIs already follow you...

And the capital flows in.

How easily could you raise millions?

Yes, this is possible. A lot of RE firm founders are doing this right now. They're building personal brands, earning trust, and silently filling their investor pipeline.

If you're not doing this, you're missing out on something big.

Here's what we do for our RE clients to help them achieve that:

- Build a trusted LinkedIn profile that positions you as the obvious choice
- Develop a content strategy that speaks directly to accredited investors
- Create weekly LinkedIn content that attracts the right people
- Build and nurture an email list of qualified investors
- Run outbound campaigns to fill your CRM faster

Results in the last 365 days (as of Jan 1, 2025):

- 1+ million impressions
- 100+ inbound investor inquiries
- 350+ investor calls booked

If you're a founder of a real estate investment firm raising capital for deals or private equity funds...

We can help you attract investors through LinkedIn.

Book a call, and our team will work with you to achieve your capital raise goals.

Arpit Sharma

You think LinkedIn is a professional network.

LinkedIn thinks it's TikTok with a salary requirement.

LinkedIn isn't here to help you network.

It's an advertising platform that lets you post for free.

One priority: keep people on the app.

Time on app = ad revenue.

Here's the deal:

You help LinkedIn make money → LinkedIn gives you reach.

How?

Keep people scrolling.

Content that keeps people on the platform → Algorithm rewards you.

Content that makes people swipe away in seconds → Algorithm buries you.

If you get likes and comments from your 1st-degree connections right after posting, the algorithm pushes it further.

Most syndicators post content that helps investors, not content that helps LinkedIn.

That's why their reach is dead.

You can't control the algorithm. But you control this:

1. Post helpful content with different visual styles
- Text posts. Carousels. Images. Native Videos

2. Consistency matters
- Post 5x per week minimum.

3. Be the first to reach out to investors
- If you don't reach out first, you'll lose them.

Bonus trick:

Pull your last 90 days of LinkedIn analytics.

Find your top 5 posts.

See what worked → Improve it → Replicate it.

That's your LinkedIn blueprint.

Founder @ GoRise Media - Helping Real Estate Investment Firms consistently book accredited investor calls via the Capital Magnet System in 90 days | 300+ Investor Calls Booked

You don't need another $500 LinkedIn course.

You need 60 posts and your analytics.

That's it.

Most people spend 3 months planning their content strategy.

Meanwhile, their competitor posted 50 times and already knows exactly what works.

Strategy without data = expensive guessing.

You can't strategize with 5 posts.

You don't know how LinkedIn works for YOUR profile yet.

You don't know what YOUR audience responds to.

You're just guessing based on what some guru said works.

And guessing costs you months of zero traction.

Here's what nobody tells you:

99% of LinkedIn creators never open their analytics.

They're sitting on a goldmine. Walking right past it. Complaining they're broke.

For some accounts, selfies get 5,000 views. 

Carousels designed by pros? 100 views.

For others, it's the complete opposite.

You won't know until you have the data.

But here's the problem:

You're planning. Your competitor is testing.

You're perfecting. They're learning.

You're thinking. They're booking calls.

Months 1-3: Post. Test. Connect. Repeat.

Month 4: Open analytics. See what won. Do more of that.

Revolutionary, I know.

Stop planning. Start posting.

Week 1-8: Post 5x per week

What to post:

- Deal insight
- Personal story
- Investor Education
- Market observation
- Question to your network

That's your whole strategy. For now.

Daily: Connect with 20-30 investors

Your content needs eyeballs. Preferably ones with checkbooks.

Week 9: Open your analytics

Profile → Analytics → Posts

Find your top 5 by views + engagement.

Look for patterns:

- What format killed? (Text? Carousel? Selfie?)
- What topic resonated?
- What hook stopped the scroll?

Week 10+: Do more of what worked

Your data just built your strategy.

For free.

Without a course.

Without a guru.

Just 60 posts and some attention.

Data first. Strategy second.

Your competitor already figured this out.

"LinkedIn is saturated. Too late to start."

I heard this from a syndicator last week.

Their empty pipeline made them feel defeated.

Here's the truth about LinkedIn for capital raising:

- 70% of syndicators post inconsistently or not at all

- The ones booking 15-20 investor calls monthly have been at it for less than 6 months

- You only need 280-320 qualified connections to build a real pipeline

- Most "competition" is posting motivational quotes, not investor-focused content

Let me say that again.

You're not starting from zero.

The playbook that works:

→ Optimize your profile to attract accredited investors 
→ Use Sales Navigator to find 200 investors weekly 
→ Post 3-5x per week with trust-building content 
→ DM investors daily with value, not pitches

The problem isn't LinkedIn saturation.

The problem is believing what everyone says about LinkedIn saturation.

The best investor pipelines are built on consistency and positioning.

And you've got plenty of runway to claim that space.

What's stopping you from posting this week?

taplio

The Battle

Dora Vanourek

Arpit Sharma

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDora Vanourek's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreArpit Sharma's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Dora Vanourek

Arpit Sharma

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dora Vanourek's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreArpit Sharma's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDora Vanourek's LinkedIn Performance