The quality of your attention shapes the quality of your decisions.

I learned this in my twenties, advising leaders in the European Parliament. I'd watch the smartest people in the room receive exactly the right advice, then struggle to act on it. Same pattern, again and again.

Until I understood: it wasn't a knowledge problem. It was a capacity problem.

So I spent the next decade studying what most leadership programs ignore: 15+ silent retreats, intensive work with secular Buddhist scholars, direct mentorship from the pioneers of boardroom coaching.

What I found: self-awareness isn't soft. It's the edge.

This is the paradox of my work. I help ambitious CEOs by slowing them down. Stillness isn't the opposite of performance. It's the source of it.

I work at the intersection of three things most advisors keep separate: inner work (seeing your own patterns), organizational systems (governance, strategy, culture), and peer wisdom (learning from others in the same seat).

Today, I create protected spaces where CEOs can surface what they haven't been able to see: through 1:1 advisory, organizational development mandates, or the Wise Leaders Fellowship, a CEO community that begins with silence.

If you're sensing there's something you're not yet seeing, let's talk.

Leadership means doing hard things in a human way.

Yours,

Nikolas

Nikolas Konstantin 🌱

How to install Psychological Safety: The Leadership Lever Most CEOs Misunderstand

In my work with founders and CEOs, I see the same pattern again and again: leaders demand high performance without creating the conditions for it to emerge.

They push their teams into what Amy Edmondson calls the Anxiety Zone. An environment of fear, judgment, and silent suffering.

I often see the symptoms showing up in my diagnostics: 
- Mistakes get hidden instead of discussed
- Innovation stagnates because nobody wants to be wrong
- Your best people leave cause they don't feel encouraged

And some CEOS even go the other way. 

They are too occupied being nice and land in the opposite trap: the Comfort Zone. 

When I enter those cultures, I notice the scent of artificial harmony: Everything feels collegial, everyone gets along, but nothing truly challenging ever gets said. No one dares to talk about the elephants in the room. 

The result? Comfortable stagnation. Wasted potential. Opportunities are lost to those willing to have courageous conversations.

Harvard Prof Amy Edmondson's framework maps how org cultures can get the best or worst out of people by mapping your culture across four zones:

Comfort Zone 
(High Safety, Low Performance): Safe and collegial, but unchallenged. Breakthroughs are rare.

Learning Zone 
(High Safety, High Performance): Open collaboration, embraced challenges, continuous improvement. This is where real results live.

Apathy Zone 
(Low Safety, Low Performance): Disengaged, emotionally checked out. Self-protection over contribution.

Anxiety Zone 
(Low Safety, High Performance): Fear-driven execution. Ideas withheld, mistakes hidden, burnout inevitable.

Most of the time, getting your team into the Learning Zone is the goal. 

Here are some interventions I use to get you there:

Normalize vulnerability
Share your own struggles and mistakes. Authenticity at the top creates permission throughout the organization.

Set ambitious, clear expectations 
Goals should inspire, not intimidate. Challenging but achievable. An invitation to rise, not retreat.

Invite real dialogue 
Don't avoid conflict; create space for it. Rigorous debate without fear of repercussion is a skill you can build.

Reward courage over outcomes 
Celebrate the willingness to speak up, confront problems, and propose bold ideas, even when immediate success isn't guaranteed.

This is difficult work. You need to be able to go into vulnerability and authentic dialogue with yourself. You can't fool the nervous system of your team. To effectively land in the learning zone yourself, you need to find a mirror and a working partner to land there yourself (and to look at your own anxiety or kindness traps). That needs you too look inwards and look at uncomfortable truths. But it pays off, in better cultures, smoother systems and better self-talk with yourself, too. 

A reflection for you: 
Which zone is your leadership inviting?

The person with the fewest blind spots wins. | CEO coaching, org advisory, silent retreats.

5 Books That Shaped How I Think About Strategy:
 
Most strategy conversations I have with CEOs start the same way: smart people, strong intuition, but no shared vocabulary for the choices they're actually making.
 
Strategy isn't about having all the answers. It's about asking better questions, recognizing patterns, and reducing them into an integrated set of choices.
 
These five books have shaped how I think alongside executives when we're working through the hard stuff:
 
𝟭. 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗶𝗻 by A.G. Lafley & Roger L. Martin The clearest framework I know for making strategic choices. Not theory for theory's sake; practical scaffolding for real decisions.
 
𝟮. 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, 𝗕𝗮𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 by Richard Rumelt Rumelt cuts through the noise. Most "strategies" are just goals dressed up in fancy language. This book teaches you to spot the difference.
 
𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 by Patrick Lencioni Culture isn't soft. Organizational health is your most durable competitive edge. Lencioni makes the case simply and well.
 
𝟰. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 by Michael Porter The foundation. Dense, but worth the effort. Porter's frameworks still hold up after forty years for a reason.
 
𝟱. 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 by W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne When the game you're playing feels unwinnable, this book asks: what if you changed the game entirely?
 
I keep these on my shelf not as trophies, but as thinking partners.
 
What would you add?

How to understand your organization's DNA:

Where are you on the "4 Cultures Map"?

When I begin my work with CEOs, I use the "4 Cultures Map" to map where their organization is.

When you scale your company, you need to understand two metrics above everything else: 

a) People Orientation: 
→ How much are people valued in my organization?

b) Performance Orientation: 
→ How much is performance valued in my organization?

Your preferences for people and performance as a leader are the building blocks of your company culture. 

Without an understanding of your preferences, you will:
a) hire the wrong people
b) create the wrong incentive structures
c) mindlessly design a culture that doesn't fit you. 

You need to understand where you place yourself on the 4 types of organizational cultures. 

Here they are:

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

People and their well-being matter above everything else.
Example: Family Organizations

𝗔𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

Neither the well-being nor the performance of the workforce is considered important.
Example: Bureaucratic Institutions

𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

Performance is the most important metric. Well-being and people's quality of life are secondary.
Example: McKinsey

𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

People's well-being and their performance are equally valued.
Example: AirBnB, Deep Mind


When I begin my work with CEOs, I use the "4 Culture Model" to ask these three questions:

• Where do you place your organization?
• Where do your employees place your organization?
• Where do you want your organization to be in 2 years?
 

This analysis gives me a deep understanding of 

a) the CEO's cultural preferences 
b) how working in that organization feels
c) the direction we need to design for.

The short:

The 4 cultures are a helpful guide to understanding your status quo and direction as you are growing your organization: 
• Caring Culture
• Apathetic Culture
• Driver Culture
• Inclusive Culture

Where do you place yourself?

I had a call last week with a founder who runs a 200-person company.

Brilliant. Strategic. The kind of person who holds five competing priorities in their head while making you feel like you have their full attention.

Halfway through, he admitted he'd been averaging four hours of sleep for three weeks.

"I'll catch up when we close this round," he said.

I've heard this hundreds of times.

But I also saw if the non-negotiables are being ignored. You don't run faster, but you are only over-clocking the machine. 

The best CEOs I coach are disciplined to their core to get the essentials right every day (Like Daniel Seidel, who never skips the workout, and swears by his daily celery lemon juice)

The fundamentals aren't boring. They're the whole game.

The people who sustain excellence over decades have built their lives around five essentials that most of us know about but few actually honor.

1. Sleep (The Master Regulator)
Fixed wake time. Bright mornings, dim evenings. Seven hours every night beats five weekdays + ten on Saturday.

2. Nutrients (Macro + Micro + Hydration)
80%+ unprocessed foods. Protein at each meal. Front-load hydration.

3. Movement (Resistance + Cardio)
Daily micro-bouts beat sedentary marathons. Ten minutes throughout the day beats one intense session followed by eight hours in a chair.

4. Light (The Circadian Lever)
Morning outdoor light. Dim nights. Consistency beats gadgets.

5. Relationships (Others + Self)
One meaningful bid for connection daily. One self-regulation practice (2-10 min).

These five aren't separate categories. They're a system.

The fundamentals aren't what you do after you've handled the important stuff.

They're what make everything else possible.

Which one do you most need to revisit?

To friendship, to being humbled by waves, enamoured by the ocean's majesty, and to the new ways to see and experience this life. 

And to words, in their lushious rich textures that give texture to the unexplainable. 

Thank you life. 

(with Fritz Rabeler)

Some of my favorite moments last year came from working with Live EO CEO Daniel Seidel.

Watching a founder navigate the tension between “what we are today” and “what we could become” is always fascinating. Daniel did this with rare patience, groundedness, and visionary leadership.

LiveEO already helps infrastructure operators monitor railways, power lines, and pipelines from space. 

Today, they officially announced that they’re launching their own satellite constellation to do it better. 

While others were announcing, Daniel built the foundations and partnerships to set the stage to their own satellites. Three years in stealth. No empty marketing. Just obsessive focus on the foundation.

Daniel, it’s an honor to be in your corner. Here’s to the new era 🇪🇺.

"Most of us are living four or five years behind our own transformation."
 
We talk a lot about the fear of change. But there's another fear we talk about less: the grief of staying the same.
 
The slow erosion of pretending that what used to fit still does.
 
The fatigue of maintaining a version of yourself you've already outgrown.
 
This is the hidden tax of avoidance.
 
Not dramatic failure, but quiet deadening.
 
The sense that you're performing your own life rather than living it.
 
You know the right things to say, you hit the milestones, you keep the machine running. And somewhere along the way, you stopped being surprised by your own days.
 
𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨: "𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘈𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨"
 
->

Open article: The Transformation You're Avoiding by newsletter.nikolaskonstantin.com

Why you might be living years behind yourself

What stops many CEOs from working with a coach is finding the right one. Here are the 3 most important dimensions to consider (coming from a coach who does 70+ CEO workshops/year):

1. What type of coach do you need?

There are essentially 2 types:

Expert coaches bring deep sectoral knowledge. They've scaled organisations, led transformations, implemented frameworks. They tell you: "This is how I did it at Mercedes" or "Here's what worked at Google."

This can be valuable - especially if you're scaling for the first time. You're getting their playbook, their version of the best path forward.
_

Systems-thinking coaches don't hand you solutions. They help you understand your organisation's unique DNA - your systems, patterns, blind spots. They're sector-agnostic. The solution comes from within your context.

Neither is wrong. But be clear about which one you're getting.

When a coach says, "Everything we did at Spotify, you should do too," what’s the likelihood that’s going to fit an organisation of your size? Stay realistic.
___

2. Where should each type sit?

My take: At the highest level, you want a systems thinker. Someone who helps you understand what's actually happening before prescribing solutions.

Then bring in experts for targeted interventions - OKRs, structures, specific implementations.
___

3. How deep do you want to go?

Some want operational guidance - someone who's done it and can tell them what to do. Valid. Just know you're adopting someone else's strategy.

Others want lighter coaching - 60 minutes monthly, some questioning, nuggets of insight.

Then there's deep intervention work. Where we question everything. Deep work sessions where you move to slow thinking to uncover the deeper strategic and personal levers holding you back. This is where you set long-term goals and uncover blind spots you couldn't see running. 
___

My best advice: Don't hire a coach for their resume. Hire them because their approach aligns with what you need to grow.

When you decide someone's capacity for growth is limited, you have slipped into a fixed mindset yourself.

When I first start working with executives, many believe they operate from a growth mindset while their teams are stuck in a "fixed" one.

This is what I call the "fixed mindset fallacy".
 
When you decide someone else's capacity for growth is limited, you have quietly slipped into a fixed mindset yourself. You just cannot see it yet.
 
The truth is simpler and more hopeful:
 
No one is permanently stuck.
 
We all move between growth and fixed mindsets throughout the day. The environment determines where we tend to land.
 
Which means your real job as a leader is not to fix people. It is to create conditions where growth becomes the natural default.
 
Three starting points I return to with the CEOs I coach:
 
𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. 
Where do you contract? What triggers your fixed mindset? Self-awareness here is non-negotiable.
 
𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀. 
When you only reward results, people stop taking the risks that lead to learning.
 
𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲. 
Dedicate real time to reviewing how your team arrived at results, not just what they achieved.
 
These three shifts sound simple. They are not easy. But they change cultures.
 
What has helped you build an environment where growth mindsets come more naturally?

Executive Coach | Sales consultant | Strategy, business & people management | Entrepreneur | Google | Ex-P&G | One Young World

Hi, I’m Béné ✨

Building a bold career is a lot like throwing clay on a wheel: you need a clear vision, steady hands, and the courage to shape something that’s truly your own.

That’s how I approach my work today, whether I’m leading growth and brand at Yoojo, or coaching leaders into their next leap.

👩‍💼 9–5: I’m the Chief Marketing Officer at Yoojo, where I drive customer acquisition and sustainable growth with a mix of sharp strategy, brave storytelling, and hands-on execution. After 6 years leading high-performing teams and €20M+ growth across EMEA at Google, I now get to build the full marketing engine: brand, performance, lifecycle, and go-to-market, all with one obsession in mind: turning insight into impact.

🌱 5–9: I’m an executive coach, TEDx & podcast host, and public speaker. I help professionals dare louder, lead with energy, and grow on their own terms.

✨ I believe in performance with presence and success that feels personal. I help individuals and teams:
• Dare to lead with conviction
• Energize with intention
• Shine through presence and clarity

🎨 Outside the office, you’ll find me at the gym, behind a mic, trying my best at the piano or elbows-deep in clay, still learning, still shaping, still building.

Let’s connect if you’re exploring what it means to grow with impact, and to lead in a way that’s both bold and human.

📩 benedicte.launois@gmail.com

Bénédicte LAUNOIS

I left Google three months ago.

It took me that long to write this.

Not because I didn’t want to share, but because I didn’t know how.

For six years, Google wasn’t just my employer.

It shaped my thinking.
It shaped my routines.
It shaped my identity.

This is the first time in my life I left a company not because I wanted a better job, but because I wanted a different life.

And that’s been harder to process than I expected.

→ I didn’t leave for a promotion.
→ I didn’t leave to jump to a rocket ship.
→ I left to move to a country I love, and build something personal.

I waited until my probation period at the new job was over.
I waited until I had something profound to say.

But the truth is, this is the post.
This is me saying goodbye to one chapter, and trying to start the next one with eyes wide open.

I’m still not sure if this new chapter will be “worth it.”

But I made the decision that mattered to me.
And I’m learning to be okay with that.

Thank you to Mathilde for saying "you need a picture" on the last day there 😉 

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

Béné Launois

TEDx & Podcast Host | Executive Coach | CMO @ Yoojo | I help people dare to lead, energize their path, and shine where it matters most

No alternative text description for this image

The biggest secret most people never use:

You can start over.

Even if you’ve failed.

Even if you ghosted the dream.

Even if it’s been years.

That shame you’re carrying?

It’s optional.

That voice in your head telling you it’s too late?

It’s lying.

→ You’re not behind.
→ You’re not broken.
→ You’re not out of chances.

As long as you’re breathing, you get to rebuild.

One small move at a time.

Begin again.

Today if you want.

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

For years, I thought being “too easy to work with” was a weakness.

I thought I should speak louder.
Push harder.
Make more noise.

But here’s what I’ve learned:

Being easy to work with leaves a mark.
Not in the moment.
But months or years later, when someone remembers you as the one who made things easier, not harder.

I used to worry that I was too agreeable.
That I didn’t push back enough.
That I didn’t make a big enough impression.

But I was wrong.

In every job I’ve left, I’ve had old coworkers reach out later.
Some just to say thanks.
Some to offer new opportunities.
Some just because I made their day a little lighter when we worked together.

That matters.
More than I thought.

And here’s the part no one talks about:

→ How you leave a job is just as important as how you start one.
→ People remember how they felt around you.
→ Being someone others enjoy working with is a long-term asset.

Credentials matter.
Results matter.
But your attitude?
That’s what sticks.

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

I did not make a single New Year's resolution this year.

Not because I forgot.

But because I just didn’t feel like it.

No fresh energy.
No magical sense of a “new chapter.”
Just fog.

Coming back to social media has felt weird too.

Everyone’s out here posting reflections, goals, and growth stories.

Meanwhile, I’ve been dragging myself out of an end-of-year coma, wondering:
What the hell do I even say?

So I am not saying anything.

And honestly? That’s fine.

We don’t always need to show up with clarity.
We don’t need to post fireworks just because it’s January.

Sometimes you feel like an ostrich with its head in the sand.
And maybe that’s exactly where you’re supposed to be.

→ Resting.
→ Letting the noise pass.
→ Waiting for something real to come back.

So if your brain feels blank this week...
If you’ve opened LinkedIn 5 times and closed it without posting, commentting, engaging, blablabla...
Same.

You’re not behind.
You’re human.

We're human.

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

Everyone talks about New Year, new energy.

But no one talks about the loops you left open.

The conversations you avoided.

The ideas you started, then ghosted.

The decisions you dragged into another year.

Here’s the truth:
→ Just because the calendar reset doesn’t mean you did.
→ Your energy doesn’t follow the clock. It follows closure.
→ Until you shut a door, your gut won’t walk through a new one.

I’m learning this now.

The loops I didn’t close in 2025 are still dragging behind me like loose wires.

And that’s okay.

You don’t need to rush to finish things on society’s schedule.

Your growth doesn’t have to align with January 1st.

You can still be mid-chapter, mid-thought, mid-healing.

But at some point, you do need to close.

When you do, something strange happens.

You start hearing your instincts again.

They were never gone.

They were just drowned out by noise you didn’t finish clearing.

So if something feels foggy right now...
Don’t panic.
Don’t force new beginnings.

Close the loop.
Then see what shows up.

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

No one tells you about the U-curve.

When you move abroad, the first few weeks feel like magic.

New food. New language. New people. Everything is exciting.

You’re in the honeymoon phase.

But then it hits.

Hard.

The smallest things start to feel exhausting.

You get overwhelmed buying groceries.

You start to miss the most random comforts from home.

→ Your language skills feel useless.
→ You question why you moved.
→ You feel lonely in a crowded street.

This is the dip.

And it’s normal.

This part isn’t sexy. It’s rarely shared.

But everyone who moves countries feels it.

And then, slowly, something shifts.

You stop translating everything in your head.

You have a real conversation without getting stuck.
You meet someone who gets it.
You find a local café where they know your name.
You laugh, without thinking how to say it first.

And one day, without realizing it, this place feels like home.

This is the U-curve of moving abroad.

If you’re in the dip, keep going.

You’re not lost. You’re adjusting.

And you’re doing better than you think.

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

Alex just launched his first book today.

I was part of the beta team, and I can tell you, it’s not fluff.

It’s sharp, it’s actionable, and it goes straight into a topic most people avoid: EMOTIONS.

Not in a vague, “just breathe and journal” kind of way.

Real tools for real emotional self-control.

The kind of emotional mastery that makes you sharper at work, calmer under pressure, and more honest in how you show up.

This is the book I wish I read 10 years ago.

It would have saved me from a lot of bad decisions and helped me make better ones faster.

Here’s the wild part:
→ It’s free on Amazon for the next 48 hours
→ It’s a short read
→ And it’s the kind of book you’ll actually use.

If you’ve ever felt hijacked by your own reactions, read it.

Link: https://lnkd.in/dE4qSmY7

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

You’re not lazy.

You’re leaking energy.

I spent most of this holiday season wanting to hibernate.

No LinkedIn.

No WhatsApp replies (sorry friends).

No motivation to do anything except scroll, binge watch and read.

I felt lazy.

But the truth is: I am drained.

This year, I moved countries.

Started a job I’ve never done before.

And tried to hold everything together while my entire identity was changing.

Change is hard, even if it’s the right change.

But what really burns us out isn’t just change.

It’s giving energy to the wrong things during the change.
→ Trying to be “on” all the time
→ Saying yes out of guilt
→ Pretending the move hasn’t affected you
→ Trying to prove yourself in a job you’re still learning
→ Keeping up appearances when you just want quiet

That’s not lazy.

That’s exhausted.

The start of a new year isn’t about setting goals.

It’s about figuring out what you want to stop giving energy to.

Where you were leaking.

And what kind of change is actually right for you.

If you’re into Human Design, I even ran mine through ChatGPT to guide me into 2026.

Whatever tool works for you, use it.

But stop calling yourself lazy.

You’re just tired from giving your energy to the wrong things.

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

Confidence is not a personality trait.

It’s a skill.

And like any skill, you can build it.

I know, because I’ve coached hundreds of people before high-stakes moments, interviews, negotiations, public speaking, and I’ve used the same tools myself.

Here are three things I actually do before big moments:

→ Power posing.
Stand like Wonder Woman for 2 minutes.
Back straight. Hands on hips. Eyes forward.
It feels silly, but it works.
Amy Cuddy's research shows it signals your brain to project confidence, on camera or in person.

→ Mental rehearsal.
Close your eyes and run through the moment.
Hear the question. See yourself answering it.
Train your brain before the moment actually happens.

→ Reps.
Confidence comes from proof.
So practice until your answers stop sounding like practice.
Out loud. On video. With a friend.
The more you say it, the less you doubt it.

Confidence is built. Not inherited.

And it starts before the moment ever happens.

On this note, I'll be registering to International Geneva Toastmasters this year to practice even more 😉 

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

I did not get lucky with my group of friends.

I built it.

I built secure bases.

A secure base is someone I can talk to without fear.

A secure base listens without judgment.

A secure base helps me think, feel, or act better.

Being away from my partner while we move countries forced growth.

Distance created space.

Space pushed me to connect deeper with others.

I developed friendships I never expected.

Different ages.

Different countries.

Different backgrounds.

Different life experiences.

These people see things I miss.

They challenge my blind spots.

They help me when life gets messy.

Each secure base has a strength.

→ Some help me untangle emotions when my head feels full.

→ Some help me slow down and think clearly.

→ Some help me take action and fix things fast.

→ Some connect me to the right people at the right time.

I am learning who to turn to and when.

That skill changes everything.

I feel grounded even during uncertainty.

I feel supported even when things feel heavy.

I feel grateful every single day.

This group of friends is a gift I earned.

And I do not take it lightly.

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

What is a secure base?

We’ve built the strategy.

We’ve built the product.

Now we’re building the brand.

I’m hiring someone to own our social media, lead our creative output, and help define how the world sees us.

This is the final piece of our new team.

We’re not looking for someone to just schedule posts.

We want someone who can turn ideas into scroll-stopping content.

→ You’ll work directly with me.
→ You’ll shape the voice of the brand.
→ You’ll bring creative firepower to a team that’s hungry to grow.

We’re moving fast.
We’re experimenting a lot.
We care deeply about quality.

If you live and breathe brand, and want a blank canvas with a ton of upside, DM me or apply.

Let’s build something unforgettable.

#job #hiring #switzerland

Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland (On-site)

Someone told me recently that I was brave for being honest.

Hello Neïss 👋

That stayed with me.

Not because I felt brave.

But because honesty should not feel rare.

Most people ask How are you as a reflex.

The expected answer is Fine.

Great.

Amazing start to the year.

We all know that answer is usually a mask.

I have learned you do not owe anyone a perfect response.

You are allowed to say things are hard.

You are allowed to say you are figuring things out.

You are allowed to admit something did not go as planned.

This is not about complaining all the time.

This is about being real when it matters.

When you open up just a little, something shifts.

The conversation gets quieter.

The listening gets deeper.

People lean in instead of nodding politely.

I have noticed a few things when honesty enters the room.

→ People feel safer to share their own struggles.

→ Surface level talk fades fast.

→ Real connection shows up.

→ You stop feeling alone with your thoughts.

We all face setbacks.

We all hit moments that test us.

Pretending otherwise does not make them disappear.

Sharing them builds trust.

It builds understanding.

It builds human connection.

Next time someone asks How are you, pause.

You do not have to perform.

You can answer with truth and respect.

That honesty might be the bravest thing you do that day.

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𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 💡

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Nikolas Konstantin 🌱

Bénédicte LAUNOIS

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The Battle

Nikolas Konstantin 🌱

Bénédicte LAUNOIS

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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);}Nikolas Konstantin 🌱's LinkedIn Performance

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