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=> 10+ years of coaching leaders at every level as well as many years as a consultant working at the highest levels.

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=> Over the last 8 years I have trained over 150,000 people in 190+ countries in the areas of mental health, mindset, strategic life coaching, NLP, CBT, meditation, mindfulness and more.

I help coaches master their skills and build their sustainable and ethical coaching business.

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Wishing you success in all you do.
Graham

Graham Nicholls

I've trained 1,000+ coaches, 
and certifications didn’t make a single one successful.

Here’s the dirty secret nobody talks about:

No successful coach ever told me their breakthrough came from another certification.

It always came from working with real people.

Most coaches aren’t buying certificates to learn.
They’re buying permission to start.

Most coaching certifications are a complete waste of money.

There. I said it.

Every week I watch new coaches blow £5,000+ on another shiny certificate.
Thinking it'll finally make them "qualified" enough.

I did it as well and let me tell you...

It won't.

You know what happens instead?

They graduate feeling exactly as unprepared as before.
And now they're broke.

The certification industry profits from your imposter syndrome.

Confidence comes from one place:
Actually helping people.

Want to build a real coaching practice? 
Skip the certificates and do this instead:

→ Actually coaching people (yes, just get started)

→ Collecting 10 testimonials that prove you get results

→ Learning to sell without feeling like a used car salesman

The infographic shows what actually replaces certifications when you want real clients, and most coaches aren’t doing any of it.

The market doesn't buy your credentials.
It buys transformation.

Every hour in a classroom is an hour not coaching.

Every penny on certificates is money not invested in your business.

Your ideal clients aren't checking your wall for certificates.
They're feeling if you truly get them.

And the certification industry will hate this.

If you need a certificate to feel confident coaching, you’re not ready to coach.

Some coaches will strongly disagree with this.

💾 Save this. Because once you stop hiding behind certificates, the real work begins.

✅ Follow Graham Nicholls If you’re ready to start coaching.

My first coaching client fired me after 3 sessions.
It nearly ended my coaching career.

"This isn't what I need" 

She was right. I was winging it.

And that realisation punched me in the gut.

The woman who fired me needed leadership coaching, 
not life coaching.

I was throwing generic questions at a specific problem.

My confidence was shattered.

That lesson hurt.

But it taught me more than any certification ever did.

After 20 years and working with 1,000+ coaches, 
I see the same mistakes over and over.

Most coaches don’t fail because they’re bad.
They fail because they repeat the same invisible mistakes.

Here are the 10 that kill coaching careers.

One of them ends careers before they ever start.

1. Relying on instinct instead of structure

You think experience means you can wing it. Wrong. 
Build frameworks you can repeat. Structure creates confidence.

2. Giving away coaching in discovery calls

You're so eager to help you solve their problem for free. 
Discovery calls uncover. Coaching sessions solve. Keep them separate.

(I've added all 10 into the infographic for you)

I noticed myself in all of these.

That client who fired me? Best thing that happened to my career.

Twenty years later, I still use the structure she forced me to build.

Most coaches reading this won’t change a thing.

They’ll nod. 
They'll save it.

And repeat the same mistake with their next client.

Follow Graham Nicholls. I write for coaches who are done winging it
and want repeatable confidence in every session.

💾 Save this so that you avoid the mistakes I made.

7 free sessions to 'prove my value.'
She got incredible results. Then paid another coach.

That’s when I realised free holds no leverage.

My stomach dropped when I found out.

Not because of the money.

Because I'd proven her transformation was possible.

Free doesn't create value in the client's mind.

It creates doubt.

That mistake cost me 7 months of second-guessing everything.

But it taught me to map every trap that destroys coaching practices.

Here are the 10 mistakes killing new coaches:

1. Coaching for free to "prove value"

→ Instead: Charge for discovery sessions. Investment creates commitment.

2. Saying yes to everyone who inquires

→ Instead: Turn away 50% of inquiries. Scarcity builds desire.

Mistake number 3 is where most coaches quietly fail.
If you know, you know.

3. Charging £50/hour because you're "just starting"

→ Instead: Price for outcomes, not time. Results aren't rented by the hour.

4. Trying to solve every problem they mention

→ Instead: Pick one transformation. Become known for that single result.

5. Waiting until you feel "qualified enough" to post

→ Instead: Share one insight regularly. Expertise builds in public.

The rest are in the infographic for you.

The coach who got my client charged £300 per session.

In her mind, that made his work infinitely more valuable.

She didn't just buy coaching.

She bought certainty that it mattered.

The market doesn't pay for your potential.

It pays for your conviction.

💾 Save this so that you avoid the common mistakes coaches make.

✅ Follow Graham Nicholls if building you coaching business is your passion.

I've watched brilliant coaches stay stuck.
And I felt like I was letting them down.

They'd have sessions filled with insights. 

Then text me the next week: "Nothing's changed."

It hurt that I wasn't helping.

Then I realised:

The problem wasn't their insight.
It was the gap between knowing and doing.

20 years of coaching experience taught me this:

Clients need proven, repeatable models to navigate the gaps.

Frameworks make insight repeatable.
Coaching makes them transformational.

These 7 frameworks turn awareness into action every time:

🧗 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: 
Identify which unmet needs hold your client back.

🎯 Comfort–Stretch–Panic Model: 
Find the zone where challenge meets safety.

🪜 Ladder of Inference: 
Reveal how thoughts shape beliefs and actions.

📈 Four Stages of Competence: 
Show clients where they are on the learning curve.

🔺 Drama Triangle: 
Spot unhealthy roles and shift from blame to ownership.

⭕ Circle of Influence & Concern: 
Focus energy where it makes the biggest difference.

🔄 The 5D Cycle: 
Lead positive, strengths-based change that lasts.

I've watched these models create transformation.

The difference is immediate. The results are lasting.

Insight without structure rarely survives between sessions.

Most coaches eventually find themselves relying on the same few frameworks again and again.

Download my free guide to 7 powerful coaching frameworks you can use today https://lnkd.in/exDmVjHA

💾 Save this to upgrade your coaching to transformational.

✅ Follow Graham Nicholls for coaching tools that actually move the needle.

7 Coaching Frameworks That You Can Use Today

She spent 90 minutes trying to 'unpack' everything.
I gave her 30 minutes and one framework.
Breakthrough.

She was drowning in awareness with zero clarity.

Sam slumped in her chair. Tears in her eyes. Exhausted.

"I feel worse than when I arrived."

We'd spent 90 minutes in the weeds.

Anxiety. Stress. Fears.

All connected. None resolved.

This brilliant woman, reduced to a tangle of unprocessed thoughts.

I see this pattern constantly with high-performing clients.

That's when it hit me.

More time wasn't helping. It was hurting.

Insights everywhere. Direction nowhere.

So I tried something radical.

Next session: 30 minutes maximum.

One framework.

The LASER Framework was born from desperation.

And it's been my go-to with my clients ever since.

L = Locate (5 minutes)
"What's the one thing that, if it shifted today, would change everything?"

→ The core issue driving everything else
→ One specific problem

A = Analyse (10 minutes)
"When did this pattern start protecting you?"

→ Find the original benefit
→ Name the fear beneath the behaviour

S = Shift (10 minutes)
"What would you do differently if this fear wasn't running the show?"

→ Future self thinking
→ Concrete next steps

E = Execute (3 minutes)
"What's your commitment in 24 hours?"

→ Their words, not mine
→ One measurable action

R = Return (2 minutes)
"How will we know this worked next session?"

→ Evidence-based check-in
→ Accountability built in

Total: 30 minutes. No wandering.

"I need to set one boundary with my boss."

That was it.

90 minutes of complexity reduced to one clear next step.

She left energised. Hopeful. Ready.

Your clients aren't stuck because they don't understand themselves.

They're stuck because they're drowning in understanding.

Most people don’t need more insight.
They need fewer, better decisions.

💾 Save this if you run sessions that feel ‘deep’ but don’t move the needle

✅ Follow Graham Nicholls to help create greater impact for you and your clients.

She didn’t struggle to find clients. 

She struggled to let go of the wrong idea.

Tracy had it all mapped out.

Demographics: 35-45, female, corporate executive.
Psychographics: Driven, overwhelmed, values efficiency.
Pain points: Work-life balance, imposter syndrome.

She'd filled 47 pages of notes.
Created buyer personas with stock photo faces.
Built a perfect avatar that existed nowhere but her spreadsheet.

Then Mark called.

42, male, small business owner.
Messy, scattered, didn't fit any checkbox.

But he had a real problem.
And real money to solve it.

She almost said no.
He wasn't her "ideal" client.

11 months of research said he was wrong for her.
But her gut said something different.

She took the project. Best decision she ever made.

Mark became her template for 23 more clients.

All nothing like her original avatar.
All exactly what her business needed.

I've seen this with many early-stage coaches.

What we think builds clarity:

→ More market research
→ Deeper demographic analysis  
→ Perfect buyer personas
→ Detailed customer surveys
→ Competitive positioning studies

What actually builds clarity:

→ Working with 5 real clients
→ Actually doing the work
→ Tracking what lights you up
→ Noticing who you think about on weekends
→ Observing which conversations drain vs energise you

Niche clarity comes FROM the work.
Not before it.

You need messy experience to find clean patterns.

Stop perfecting your avatar.
Start working with actual humans.

Your ideal client avatar, your perfectly defined niche?

They sound productive. They rarely move your business forward.

💾 Save this if you don't need more clarity, you need more conversations.

✅ Follow Graham Nicholls for more no-BS advice on building your coaching business.

Management Consultant | Coaching managers to transition from middle management stagnancy to senior leadership flourishing | DM “MIDDLE” to get started

You’re a mid-level manager doing everything right, but still watching others move into senior roles ahead of you.

The truth is, most mid-managers get stuck at the same place: doing great work, but still being seen as the executor, not the strategic leader. 
Not the one with vision. 
Not someone decision-makers view as executive material.

I’m Marija, and for almost 20 years, I’ve helped Fortune 500 management teams bridge the gap between "get the stuff done" and "trusted advisor". I’ve learned that breaking into senior leadership has very little to do with more credential and everything to do with how you're perceived.

That’s why I created the Pathway to Senior Leadership workshop. 

In it, I’ll show you:
	• The career mistakes that quietly keep managers stuck in the middle
	• How to advocate for yourself without waiting for permission
	• And how to lead with influence, so the right people champion your next promotion
	
If you're tired of being overlooked, this is the strategy you've been waiting for. 

A clear, actionable plan to help you move into senior leadership in months, not years.

Marija Stevanovic

A rule for career growth:
 
You will never feel ready for leadership.
Step up anyway.
 
I've seen this pattern again and again.
 
The first attempt is always uncomfortable.
 
You hesitate in the exec room.
Your 1:1s feel clumsy.
You over-own. Or you pull back too much.
 
Nothing feels natural yet.
 
Then something shifts.
 
The second month is steadier.
The third, clearer.
 
Not because you learned more theory.
 
But because leadership problems don't arrive on paper.
They arrive live.
 
I've read the books.
I know the frameworks.
 
None of them prepared me for:
– reading a room under pressure
– holding tension without rushing to fix it
– making a call with incomplete information
 
That only comes from doing.
 
Confidence isn't something you think your way into.
It forms after decisions.
 
Want to lead well?
Make the call.
Have the conversation you're avoiding.
Take ownership when it’s uncomfortable.
 
That's how judgment is built.
 
Imposter syndrome doesn't mean you're unqualified.
It means you're aware.
 
If you feel out of your depth, good.
You can see the gap.
 
And gaps are workable.
 
So don't wait to feel ready.
 
Take the role.
Lead the bigger scope.
Give the feedback.
Speak before you’re certain.
 
Leadership isn't about certainty.
It's about stepping in anyway.
 
—
 
If you're done waiting and want to grow into senior leadership intentionally,
DM me "MIDDLE."
 
That's where we start.

Image source: Instagram, original creator uknown

Everyone wants to be a senior leader.
Almost no one wants the process required to become one.
 
They want the title.
The visibility.
The influence.
 
But not the transformation.
 
Because the real work looks like this:
☑️ Rebuilding your identity when praise disappears
☑️ Staying steady while others pass you by
☑️ Making hard calls with no applause or certainty
 
It's not a promotion.
It's a rewiring.
 
When I stopped chasing the title
and committed to the process, everything shifted.
 
Here's what leadership taught me the hard way:
 
1️⃣ Growth is lonely before it's respected
You'll outgrow rooms before earning access to better ones.
➡️ Silence isn't failure. It's part of the gap.
 
2️⃣ Mastery requires subtraction
Advancement comes from letting go, not adding more.
➡️ Stop proving. Start directing.
 
3️⃣ Real leadership is invisible at first
The higher you go, the less credit you receive.
➡️ Build value, not validation.
 
4️⃣ Power moves before confidence arrives
Waiting to feel ready costs momentum.
➡️ Act while it's uncomfortable.
 
5️⃣ Transformation demands release
Of approval.
Of being the best.
Of playing safe.
➡️ Senior leadership isn't a reward, but reckoning.
 
If you want the outcome,
you have to survive the becoming.
 
Most won't.
Not from incapability
but from misreading discomfort as disqualification.
 
🔥 What part of leadership has tested you the most?
 
♻ Repost to normalize real leadership.
🔔 Follow for frameworks that accelerate your leadership growth.

Not every challenge to your leadership is loud.
 
Some arrive dressed as "feedback" or "fit".
 
It's not always direct. But you feel it.
 
When your clarity is labeled intensity.
When your standards are called too much.
When your vision is seen as a risk, not an asset.
 
These are the moments that sharpen you.
 
They didn't affirm your potential, but questioned your presence.
↳ The exec who told you to tone it down in the boardroom
↳ The peer who dismissed your strategic input as "too ambitious"
↳ The stakeholder who preferred the version of you that played smaller
 
They didn't ask for less leadership. They asked for less of you.
 
Here's the quiet tension that senior leaders face:
 
Some want your title, just not your full expression.
↳ They're fine with visibility, until it comes with authority
↳ They'll support you, if you stay predictable
↳ They accept difference, as long as it doesn't challenge the norm
 
But real leadership doesn't perform. It anchors.
↳ It stays calm when the room gets uncomfortable
↳ It speaks clearly when silence is easier
↳ It holds vision when consensus hasn’t caught up
 
And it rewrites the script.
↳ From "Am I asking for too much?" to "Is this what's needed?"
↳ From "Let me adjust" to "Let me align"
↳ From doubt to direction
 
Who asked you to tone it down just as you were stepping up?
Who made you second-guess what you already knew?
 
That pressure didn't shrink you, rather showed you what to protect.
 
Now, your turn:
Be the person who honors their voice, even when it's inconvenient.
 
Especially when it's inconvenient.
Especially when it's unpopular.
Especially when it would be easier to stay silent.
 
💜 Like if you're committed to leading at the next level
📤 Share with a mid-level leader ready to grow into more

Promotions aren't blocked by skill.
They're blocked by discomfort.
 
Competence is common.
Especially at your level.
Especially among your peers.
 
But senior leadership isn't watching for output.
They're watching for how you hold pressure.
 
They pay attention to how you pause.
How you deliver bad news.
How you react when ignored.
How you lead when things break.
 
When you stop avoiding tension,
Strategy sharpens.
Team trust deepens.
You stand out, quietly.
 
Your discomfort threshold
Matters more than your credentials.
 
Leaders notice who leans in.
Not who knows the answers.
Not who says the right thing.
Just who stays steady.
 
This is how elevation happens.
Through resilience.
 
Try this:
↳ Sit with problems before solving them
↳ Share feedback even when it feels risky
↳ Say "I don’t know" without apology
↳ Take the heat without passing it down
↳ Let silence do its work
 
Discomfort doesn't block leadership.
It reveals it.
 
Remember:
Your next level will require more nerve.
 
💜 Like if comfort's been holding you back
♻️ Share with the manager who leads through pressure, not perfection

Most mid-managers don't lack potential.
 
They lack people who bet on them before it's obvious.
 
Not after the results.
Not once the title changes.
Not when the case study is already written.
 
But earlier.
 
When you're still figuring it out.
Still building trust.
Still proving, to yourself, that you belong in the room.
 
That's when the right people matter most.
→ The ones who speak your name in quiet rooms
→ The ones who give you the project before you've done it
→ The ones who see leadership without waiting for metrics
 
That kind of belief changes how you move.
- You take bigger swings
- You stop playing it safe
- You grow beyond your job description
- You start becoming the leader others lean on
 
I used to think growth was about performance.
 
Now I know it's about proximity.
→ Who bets on you before the win
→ Who builds your reputation when you're not there
→ Who treats you like you already belong
 
If you have those people, protect them.
 
If you are that person, keep going.
 
Because that's how real careers are built.
Long before any title catches up.
 
♻️ Repost this if someone bet on you early and it changed everything.

Image credit: @leadershipfirst on Instagram

The hardest part of getting promoted isn't learning something new.
 
But unlearning what worked before.
 
That quiet recalibration begins with a simple question:
 
What if doing more is holding me back?
 
It's not a lack of skill.
Not a lack of drive.
Not a lack of strategy.
 
It's identity.
 
Most middle managers were rewarded for being dependable, driven, and dialed in.
 
So they build careers on being the glue.
The steady hand.
The ones who always step up.
 
But what got them here won't take them further.
 
Because if you're always stepping in, people wait.
If you always catch the ball, no one else reaches.
If you own everything, you're seen as part of the system, not beyond it.
 
That's the hidden barrier.
From glue to gravity.
From momentum to magnetism.
From doing the work to changing the work.
 
Most managers don't even notice the trap.
 
They're praised for reliability.
So they over-own.
And unintentionally signal: I'm not ready to let go.
 
Remember:
Leadership isn't earned by being essential.
It’s earned by becoming unnecessary.
 
That means disappearing from some rooms.
Letting bad decisions play out.
Allowing silence when you know the answer.
 
If you're stuck between management and leadership, ask yourself:
 
→ What part of me am I protecting by staying busy?
→ Where am I proving I'm capable, when I need to be showing I'm ready?
→ What do I fear will fall apart if I take my hands off the wheel?
 
Senior leaders aren't the most involved.
 
They're the least needed, on purpose.
 
📍 DM me "MIDDLE" if you're ready to become less essential and more influential.

Mid-level careers often get stuck for one simple reason:
 
You only plan around what might go wrong.
 
So, you:
⛔ Stay in the "safe" role too long
⛔Wait until you're 100% ready
⛔Let doubt lead every decision
 
You tell yourself:
"What if I apply and fail?"
"What if I change jobs and regret it?"
"What if I'm not cut out for more?"
 
But you forget the better question:
 
"What if it does work out?"
 
That's when momentum starts to build:
↳ You start seeing openings that match your goals
↳ You stretch before you're "officially" qualified
↳ You build clarity faster than before
↳ You stop hiding your ambition
 
The shift looks like this:
 
1/ You imagine the best case scenario
↳ And you finally start aiming for it.
 
2/ You stop waiting for permission
↳ And start acting like the next level is already yours.
 
3/ You clarify your actual goal
↳ And move beyond vague career growth.
 
4/ You use your current role as a launchpad
↳ Not a ceiling.
 
5/ You tell people what you want
↳ And attract help instead of hiding.
 
6/ You build a strategy for growth
↳ Not a backup plan for failure.
 
7/ You build proof fast
↳ Instead of waiting for someone else to validate you.
 
This is how careers accelerate.
 
Not by fear-proofing every step,
But by focusing on what might go right.
 
Your next level doesn't come from staying safe.
It comes from acting on your best case scenario.
 
📍 DM me "MIDDLE" if you're tired of overthinking your next move, and ready to grow with a plan.
 
Quote and visual credit: amazing @goldiealexx on Instagram

Ever felt like you're just surviving in your role?
 
I have, more times than I can count.
 
Restructures. Mergers. Strategy shifts.
New leaders. New direction. Same cycle.
 
I lost track of how many managers I've had.
How many visions we rolled out and quietly abandoned.
How many high-priority projects vanished overnight.
 
And it left me in a dangerous place:
 
✅ Delivering results
❌ Disconnected from purpose
❌ Waiting for clarity that never came
❌ Postponing growth until things "stabilized"
 
That's the trap of middle management.
 
And I sat in it for too long.
 
Instead of:
- Defining the kind of leader I wanted to become
- Clarifying the legacy I wanted to build
- Reclaiming control of my path
- Designing a strategy to rise, even in uncertainty
 
If that's where you are now, here's what I know:
💥 Conditions won't magically improve
💥 Recognition won't just land in your inbox
💥 But you can stop waiting, and start leading forward
 
You can spend another year:
↳ Overdelivering and staying overlooked
↳ Letting org chaos shape your career
↳ Hoping someone sees your potential
 
Or:
 
You can start showing up like the senior leader you're meant to be.
 
It starts with owning your voice.
Setting your pace.
And leading from where you are, upward.
 
🚀 Let's build your momentum, before the system decides for you.
 
💜 Like if this speaks to where you are
📝 DM me "LEVEL UP" if you're ready to talk
☑️ Follow for frameworks that accelerate your leadership growth

Be the manager people trust, when no one tells you how.
 
7 lessons mid-level leaders learn the hard way:
 
Middle management is pressure without power.
Accountability without clarity.
Leadership without backup.
 
You get hit from both sides, and expected to hold the line.
 
Here's what separates survivors from standouts:
 
1/ Absorb chaos
↳ Block the noise your team doesn't need.
↳ Translate exec chaos into clear plans.
↳ Stay calm when no one else can.
 
Stability builds more trust than status.
 
2/ Play defense and offense
↳ Shield your team from bad pressure.
↳ Push the right pressure when it matters.
↳ Hold the line and move it, at once.
 
This role is the balancing act.
 
3/ Move without permission
↳ Make the call when no one else will.
↳ Act on limited data.
↳ Own results you didn't cause.
 
Lead first. Justify later.
 
4/ Perform under fire
↳ Deliver with broken tools.
↳ Lead when the plan is unclear.
↳ Show control, even when you're spiraling.
 
Perception becomes your protection.
 
5/ Speak three languages
↳ Decode exec-speak.
↳ Simplify for your team.
↳ Catch what's not being said.
 
Your communication is your power.
 
6/ Grow without support
↳ Ask before feedback is forced.
↳ Learn the politics and the people.
↳ Adjust on the fly.
 
Nobody's coming. Build yourself.
 
7/ Lead anyway
↳ Create clarity when none exists.
↳ Deliver wins without recognition.
↳ Become the one everyone leans on.
 
Middle management isn't glamorous.
It's exactly where real leaders get made.
 
📍 DM me "MIDDLE" if you're stuck managing the mess,
and ready to lead through it.

If your influence disappears with your title, it was never leadership.
 
Titles get handed out.
Then handed off.
 
Leadership that only works with a title doesn't last long.
 
Your title can shift.
Your team can change.
Your seat can be filled tomorrow.
 
But the impact you made?
 
The team you backed in the middle of a pivot.
The person you mentored when no one was watching.
The calm you brought when pressure spiked and everyone looked to you.
 
That doesn't disappear with a new org chart.
 
Title-chasers struggle when change comes fast.
 
But the ones who stay flexible, stay learning, stay useful
especially in the messy middle?
 
They rise.
Even if their email signature never changes.
 
So how do you build impact that outlives any title?
 
Three ways I've seen work:
 
1/ Focus on what you changed, not what you held
"Redesigned a process that saved 40 hours" lands harder than
"Led the operations team."
 
2/ Keep receipts on what shifted
Did morale lift?
Did someone step up?
Did performance turn around?
 
Capture the before, the after, and your role in that story.
 
3/ Ask this in your next 1:1
"What's one thing that improved because we worked together?"
 
Listen.
Then write it down.
 
It's simple.
And it's how quiet leaders stop being invisible.
 
The difference between being remembered and being replaced?
 
Not louder leadership.
But lasting impact.
 
Because titles don't define leadership.
The people you helped do.
 
👉 If you’re building your career from the middle
and you want that impact to compound,
DM me "MIDDLE".

I respect finger-pointers.

They remind me exactly how I choose to lead my teams.
 
The worst kind?
The ones who hide it behind cheap shots, thinking no one sees it.
 
But the ones doing the actual work?
They see everything.
 
They know how hard you've worked to become the leader you are.
 
So your instinct kicks in fast:
Protect what you've built.
Protect your people.
 
It exposes the finger-pointer.
They backpedal.
"I didn't mean it like that."
"Yes. You did."
 
You meant to undermine.
You meant to shift blame.
You're in a role built by others, just coasting in the title.
 
But your weak leadership won't hurt them.
It'll only make them stronger.
It'll spotlight the real ones.
 
The ones who get pulled aside after and hear:
"Thanks for stepping in when it mattered."
"Thanks for having our back."
 
Because titles don't make leaders.
 
The team decides who they follow.
 
♻️ Repost if you believe leadership is earned in moments like these.

If there's one piece of advice I'd give
to every mid-manager trying to move up,
It's not confidence.
It's not visibility.
It's not speaking louder in meetings.
 
It's this:
 
Deliver on your promises.
Then do it again.
 
I've watched incredibly capable managers stall
because their leadership was built on
things that don't hold under pressure:
 
Good intentions
Long hours
Verbal commitments
"Everyone knows I'll handle it"
 
That's not trust.
 
That's hope.
 
And hope doesn't get you promoted.
 
Senior leadership is built on something far more basic
and far more demanding:
 
Doing exactly what you said you would do.
When you said you would do it.
The way you said you would do it.
 
And owning it when you don't.
 
This isn't one of those recycled speeches
about "working harder" or "going the extra mile".
 
This is about becoming reliable at a level
other people can build on.
 
Because once you lead people,
every promise becomes relational.
 
A promise to your team
that you'll remove obstacles.
 
A promise to your client
that you'll deliver clarity, not excuses.
 
A promise to your execs
that they don't need to chase you for answers.
 
That's where trust is earned.
 
And trust does something most people underestimate:
 
It steadies you.
 
It frees mental space because you know you delivered.
It gives you credit to draw from when things go wrong.
It lets you acknowledge wins quietly
and survive the inevitable hard seasons.
 
The leaders who advance fastest
are the ones whose word holds.
 
They understand the separation:
 
Intent from impact.
Effort from outcome.
Potential from proof.
 
You don't get promoted for what you meant to do.
You get promoted for what others can rely on you to finish.
 
Trust isn't declared.
But accumulated.
 
Quietly.
Consistently.
Over time.
 
And once you have it,
you don't need to convince people you're ready.
 
They already know.
 
📍 DM me "MIDDLE" if you want your reliability to translate into promotion.

A lot of mid-level managers say they want to grow.
What they often mean is:
 
They want senior roles without making the shifts that earn them.
 
They stay buried in execution.
They keep ownership instead of building capability.
They confuse doing more with leading better.
 
When you hold onto tasks that no longer stretch you,
You block the people you should be developing.
You slow your own path upward.
You signal you're not ready to scale impact.
 
The fast-track to senior roles isn't about tenure.
 
(It's not even about performance metrics alone.)
 
It's about mindset, leverage, and leadership capacity.
 
In practice, that looks like this:
 
1/ Delegate to develop
Stop hoarding work. Start giving away real responsibility. Capability grows when people are trusted with stakes and support.
 
2/ Teach what you know
You move up by transferring knowledge faster. Teach your team how to think, not just what to do.
 
3/ Protect time for thinking
Execution is loud. Strategy is quiet. Make space for reflection, synthesis, and forward planning.
 
4/ Build your replacements
The clearest signal you're ready for more? That someone beneath you is ready for your seat. Build them intentionally.
 
5/ Let go to level up
Leaders don't get promoted for doing it all. They move forward because they know what to stop doing.
 
The people who rise aren't the busiest.
 
But the ones who create scale: in thinking, systems, and people.
 
Drop the tasks. Build the team. Step into the next level.
 
That's the difference.
 
Let go and level up.
 
📍 DM me "LEVEL UP" if you're ready to move past the middle and lead at the next level.

Welcome to Moodlandia.
Inhabitants: every middle manager holding it together with coffee 
and passive-aggressive calendar invites.
 
You know that moment when you're smiling in a meeting but internally screaming?
 
When you're praised for being calm under pressure but it's only because your soul left your body?
 
When you're trying to lead like an adult but a Slack message derails your entire worldview?
 
That's not dysfunction.
That's the standard entry fee to Moodlandia.
 
I used to think staying level-headed meant I was suppressing the real me.
 
Now I know: being in a good mood on purpose is a leadership skill.
 
Not toxic positivity.
Not fake pep-talks.
But mastering the ability to respond instead of react.
 
Because the managers who spiral every time chaos walks in?
 
They become the chaos.
 
But you? You're already earning your Moodlandia passport:
 
→ Smiling while rescheduling the same meeting for the 4th time
→ Staying neutral during your team's "friendly disagreement" at 9am
→ Letting go of the email that made you clench your jaw
→ Not using sarcasm as a weapon in the all-hands
 
Every great manager I know hit a fork in the road:
 
Be the thermostat. Or be the thermometer.
 
The difference?
One sets the tone. The other reflects the drama.
 
At some point, you stop being managed by the mood of the moment.
 
You decide: I will not be emotionally kidnapped today.
 
So many promising managers burn out because they try to fix everything and feel everything.
 
So many teams carry stress because no one’s modeling calm.
 
So many leaders stay stuck in survival mode.
 
You can't hack Moodlandia.
You can't outsource it.
You build it, mood by mood, mess by mess.
 
And when you arrive?
 
You realize the goal was never to feel amazing all the time.
 
It was to stop giving your power away to every annoying Slack ping.
 
The view here?
Still full of problems.
But your peace doesn't vanish every time one shows up.
 
Your move.
 
♻️ Repost if someone needs this as their Tuesday mantra
❓ What's your #1 mood-derailer right now and how do you handle it?

Stop entering new roles like you have something to prove.
 
Most mid-managers make the same mistake:
They arrive fast.
They speak first.
They change everything before understanding anything.
 
They think speed = strength.
But teams don-t want strength.
They want safety.
 
When you rush to prove yourself:
→ You signal that everything before you was wrong
→ You make people defend the very work you-re meant to improve
→ You build resistance, not trust
→ You win authority but lose influence
 
What actually works:
→ Slow down, even if it feels weak
→ Listen, even if you already have answers
→ Understand the current system before replacing it
→ Make one change at a time, not ten
 
Trust isn't earned by being impressive.
It's earned by being consistent.
And respectful.
And boring, honestly.
 
You don't need to outshine the person before you.
You need to make your team feel seen.
 
That's how you lead.
Not with urgency, but with humility.
 
And yes, that's slower.
But it's how real leadership sticks.
 
👉 Who are you trying to impress: your team, or your ego?
Subscribe to learn more: https://lnkd.in/d3hCJ_iM

Mid-level leaders grow when they do three things consistently:
Think bigger. Speak clearer. Own more.
 
It's not about tenure or titles.
It's about how you show up every day.
 
Ask yourself these three questions without skipping:
 
1/ Am I thinking like a strategist?
↳ Not just tasks and timelines, but business outcomes.
↳ Do I connect my team's work to the company's goals?
 
2/ Am I communicating like a leader?
↳ Not just updates, but insight that moves things forward.
↳ Do I simplify the complex and make decisions easier?
 
3/ Am I leading like an owner?
↳ Not just managing, but stepping into accountability.
↳ Do I take initiative, offer solutions, and own the result?
 
Three questions.
That's all it takes to shift how you lead.
 
Because here's what happens when you don't ask:
 
- You become the go-to for execution, but not for decisions
- Your updates get heard, but your ideas don't get actioned
- You're told to "keep doing great work", but not considered for more
 
And here's what the rising leaders figure out early:
 
✅ If you don't connect the dots, no one sees your strategic value
✅ If you can't simplify the problem, you won't influence the solution
✅ If you only own what’s assigned, you'll never be trusted with more
 
Start now.
Ask those 3 questions.
Start leading like you're already there.
 
💜 Like if you're committed to leading at the next level
📤 Share with a mid-level leader ready to grow into more

The snow in January.
We hope for it all December.
Only to complain the second it arrives.
 
We wanted it for the holidays.
For the magic. For the feeling.
But when it finally falls,
We're caught unprepared.
 
It's too cold.
Too messy.
Too hard to walk through.
Too inconvenient for the life we've built without it.
 
Leadership is the same.
 
We long for it for months, even years.
The title.
The team.
The opportunity to shape the future.
 
But when it comes, many forget why they wanted it in the first place.
 
It stops being about the people.
And starts being about the prestige.
 
We get so focused on surviving the storm,
We forget we prayed for the snow.
 
Let me remind you:
 
Leadership isn't the status you achieve.
It's the standard you uphold.
Especially when it's uncomfortable.
Especially when it's messy.
Especially when the shine wears off.
 
Still want the snow?
 
Then show up when it sticks.
 
✅ Like if this shifted your perspective
📤 Share with a leader who's lost sight of the reason
☑️ Follow for real talk on what leadership actually looks like

Writing on LinkedIn is still my favorite part of the job.
 
Not because it builds a following.
But because it pre-frames how people read my decisions.
 
Before a meeting.
Before a pitch.
Before a role even exists.
 
The senior leaders who reach out don't come for writing tips.
They come because something already shifted.
 
Their judgment is clearer.
Their thinking is easier to place.
Their name starts to travel without them being in the room.
 
Most never commented.
They just read long enough to notice this:
 
Visibility isn't noise.
It's signal.
 
If you don't shape the signal, the system will do it for you.
Usually based on outdated roles, old wins, or other people's interpretations.
 
That's why I keep writing.
Not for attention.
For leaders who want to stay legible as their scope expands.
 
If your role is growing faster than how you're perceived,
this is where you regain narrative control:
 
https://lnkd.in/d3hCJ_iM
 
♻️ Repost if you've ever realized too late that others had already decided who you were.

The word I used to avoid?
 
Unexpected.
 
As a delivery manager, I built my days around planning, structure, and control.
 
Unexpected meant risk.
Unexpected meant failure.
Unexpected meant I didn't plan well enough.
 
I used to think:
My job is to anticipate everything before it happens.
 
But over time, that shifted.
 
I started to see the unexpected as something else:
Not something to avoid, but something to grow through.
 
Because when a project went sideways,
when a stakeholder changed their mind,
when things didn't follow the plan,
 
That's when I learned the most.
That's when people started noticing.
That's when I stepped forward, not just managed.
 
Now I see "unexpected" as a signal:
That this is a moment to stretch.
That this is a chance to speak up.
That this is where differentiation starts.
 
Not just in how you lead others,
But in how you grow yourself.
 
It's a shift more mid-level managers need:
Less head-down execution.
More career-level awareness.
 
Take the uncertain assignment.
Go meet that stakeholder in person.
Tell the story others skip: the one with some failure in it.
Let people see what's real, not just what's polished.
 
Because your edge won't come from doing what everyone else does.
 
It will come from what only you have experienced
and how you choose to share it.
 
If you're always waiting for the perfect plan,
You'll miss the growth that happens when you don't have one.
 
Subscribe to Leadership Bits & Pieces for short reflections on growth through the unexpected:
https://lnkd.in/d3hCJ_iM

Most mid-managers answer "what do you do?" like this:
 
"I lead a team."
"I manage operations."
"I wear too many hats."
 
Here’s what I say instead:
 
"I help mid-level managers stop being human sandbags for broken systems."
 
Because here’s the truth:
→ You weren’t hired to chase updates
→ You weren’t meant to translate vague strategy
→ You weren’t trained to fix upstream chaos
 
But that’s where you spend 70% of your time.
 
So what do I do?
 
→ I help mid-managers clarify priorities
→ Create workflows that make sense
→ Communicate up, down, and across with confidence
 
Instead of feeling stuck in the middle, you become the one who runs the middle.
 
Thanks to Ambassador Terry Earthwind Nichols for giving me space to share this. Hope you will enjoy the conversation as much as I did!

Vision & Business Strategist | Father of RBCR® | I help Thought Leaders neutralize the Amnesic Memory driving Self-Sabotage & Imposter Syndrome in one easy step | Award-Winning Profiler

View Ambassador Terry Earthwind Nichols’ profile

Episode 238 What is a "Stall Zone" you may ask? Well...


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