If you're an executive who...

- Lies awake at 3 AM second-guessing today's decisions
- Feels trapped in an endless cycle of reactive firefighting
- Knows you're capable of more but can't find the breathing room
- Watches your family time disappear into your inbox

...then you know the dirty secret of executive leadership:
The higher you climb, the lonelier and more overwhelming it gets.

Here's what nobody tells you:
➡️The solution isn't working harder or longer.
➡️It's not another productivity hack or morning routine.
➡️And it's definitely not "just delegating more."

The real breakthrough comes when you transform how you think.

My clients typically experience:
→ Making decisions in minutes that used to take days
→ Getting 10+ hours back each week 
→ Watching their teams step up and take ownership
→ Finally having energy for family at day's end
→ Feeling like themselves again

The transformation happens through my RAFT® Executive System:
• Custom-built from leading 80+ people before age 30
• Refined through an MBA while raising a newborn
• Proven with executives across industries

But don't take my word for it:

"I solved significant time management challenges in our very first session" - Senior Executive
"My relationship with my son improved significantly" - CEO

"I shifted from constant self-doubt to total clarity and ownership" - Director

Here's the truth:
You don't need to sacrifice your life for your leadership.
You don't need to choose between impact and balance.
You just need to think differently.

I only work with 10 executives per quarter who are:
✓ Done with the endless hustle
✓ Ready for genuine transformation
✓ Willing to think differently

Is this you?

Then you have two choices:

1. Keep pushing through, hoping things will magically get better
2. Book a Transformation Strategy Call and start your breakthrough

The next quarter's spots are filling up.
Which choice will you make?

Book your call: https://app.paperbell.com/checkout/packages/95704

Terez Rijkenberg

Imposter syndrome often gets louder when leaders level up.

Not because they lack capability. Because their brain has practised self-doubt for years.

Neuroplasticity does not rewire based on truth. It rewires based on repetition.

If the thought you have rehearsed most is “I’m not ready”, your brain will keep returning there, even after promotions, praise, and proven results.

In this clip I share a simple way to interrupt that pattern and train a more useful default.

What thought have you been rehearsing lately?

#Leadership #ImposterSyndrome #Neuroscience #ExecutiveLeadership

Terez Rijkenberg - Executive Coach

Executive coach helping C-suite leaders reclaim 10+ hours a week for strategic priorities without sacrificing work-life balance | Trusted by executives from FTSE 100 companies | DM me to book a FREE strategy session

Everyone assumes confident leaders always have the answers.

The reality is very different.

In this video, I share the emotional skill that separates strong executives from stressed-out micromanagers. 

It’s not intelligence. It’s not experience. 

And it’s definitely not having a bulletproof plan.

The most effective C-suite leaders master something far more powerful. 

In this video you’ll learn:

- Why the pressure to “always be right” quietly fuels imposter syndrome

- How this mindset leads to micromanagement and kills team creativity

- The emotional regulation skill top leaders rely on instead

- What confident leadership actually sounds like when uncertainty hits

If you lead a team, make decisions under pressure, or want to build unshakeable executive confidence, this shift will change how you show up.

How would your leadership change if you stopped needing to have every answer?

Let me know in the comments how you handle moments when you’re put on the spot.

There are always two reasons someone does something.

The good reason.
And the real reason.

I used to think this quote (by JP Morgan) was clever.

Now I think it’s more than that, it's diagnostic.

Because after years of coaching C-suite leaders, I can tell you this:

The good reason sounds brilliant:

→ “We’re restructuring to increase agility.”
→ “I’m stepping in to support the team.”
→ “I’m staying for stability.”

The real reason is usually more human and vulnerable:

→ “I don’t trust them to do it well enough.”
→ “I’m scared to lose relevance.”
→ “I don’t want to be judged.”
→ “I don’t know who I am without this role.”

And here’s the expensive part:

When the real reason is fear, ego, guilt or validation… it shows.

It shows up as overwork.
Micromanagement.
Delayed decisions.
Emotional volatility.
An inability to switch off.

You can’t build a high-performing, self-directed team on unexamined real reasons.

And you definitely can’t build unshakeable confidence on them.

One simple tip you can use today:

Before your next big decision, ask yourself:

“If nobody knew I made this choice… and it had zero impact on how I’m perceived… would I still do it?”

Sit with that for a bit.

If your answer changes, ask why it changed.

You’ve just found the real reason.

That question alone has saved my clients:

Months of indecision
Talent they were unconsciously suffocating
Energy they were burning trying to look composed
Strategies that looked good externally but felt wrong internally

This is the work most leaders avoid.
Not because they’re incapable.

But because they’re successful enough to hide from it.

Executive coaching, at this level, isn’t about productivity hacks.

It’s about aligning your real reasons with the results you say you want.

When those match:

→ Decision speed increases.
→ Influence sharpens.
→Your team grows up.
→ And you stop carrying things that were never yours to hold.

Your executive coach,
Terez

📌 Save for your next high-stakes decision.
 💬 What’s one decision where the real reason surprised you?
 ♻️ Repost if another leader needs this question in their back pocket.

Ottawa, I’m coming.

I’ll be speaking at CxOutsourcers Mindshare event 2026 (May 18–20) on executive leadership and the ripple effect it has on everything downstream. 

In an industry that sits right on the frontline of customer trust and brand reputation, future-ready leadership isn’t optional. 

It’s the differentiator.

If you’ve ever wondered why strategy sounds great on slides but falls apart in execution, we’ll be talking about the real reasons… 

CxOutsourcers brings together leaders who are shaping what’s next in customer experience. 

I’m looking forward to being part of that conversation. See you there. 😎

Your executive coach,

Terez

Executive leadership and its impact on outsourced customer management will be in the spotlight during a keynote address by Terez Rijkenberg - Executive Coach who will be a featured speaker at CxOutsourcers 2026 in Ottawa, May 18 - 20th.  Make sure to secure your spot today at www.cxoutsourcers.com

Your 360° review process is training your people like lab rats.

There. I said it.

Last week, one of my CEO clients was telling me about their annual review cycle.

It is a full 360° process. Surveys. Calibration meetings. Peer feedback. Self-assessments. Manager write-ups. External benchmarks. Probably a small woodland sacrificed to produce the paperwork.

He told me how many hours it takes.
He told me how much his team hates it.
He told me how drained everyone feels by the end of it.

And then he shrugged and said, “We have to do it. It’s required.”

I felt my usual allergic reaction rise.

Not to him. To the ritual.

Because most annual review processes are not leadership. They are performative.

Worse, they actively work against how human motivation actually functions.

Let me introduce you to variable reinforcement theory...

<Click the article to read more>

Your 360° review process is training your people like lab rats. There. I said it. Last week, one of my CEO clients was telling me about their annual r

Open article: The science of why annual reviews don't work by Terez Rijkenberg - Executive Coach • 5 min read

The science of why annual reviews don't work

The 1 metric every organisation should be measuring...

I’ve sat in boardrooms where:
→ 30 KPIs are being tracked
→ 6 strategic pillars are being debated
→ Every function has its own “top priority”

And no one can answer one simple question:

What is the one number that defines winning?

That’s where a North Star metric comes in.

It's not revenue.
Revenue is the end scoreboard.

A North Star measures the value your customers consistently receive.

✅ Airbnb measures nights booked.
✅ Netflix measures hours streamed.
✅ Spotify measures time spent listening.

Each one tracks delivered value. 

Because value for your customers is what drives business growth.

Here’s the filter I use with executive teams:

- What behaviour proves customers are getting real value?
- If that behaviour increases, does revenue reliably follow?
- Can multiple teams influence it?

If the answer isn’t yes to all three, keep refining.

When your North Star is clear:

Strategy simplifies.
Meetings shrink.
Energy aligns.
Politics reduce.

Because everyone knows what matters.

What’s your North Star metric?

P.S. You can also create a north star metric for functinal teams and for yourself as an individual, would you like me to share more about those too?

📌 Save this for your next strategy session
 💬 Share your North Star metric in the comments
 ♻️ Repost if your leadership team needs sharper focus

The moment you decide “change takes ages”…

…you make it harder than it needs to be.

A client said to me recently:

“Change takes a long time.”

And I said:

“Don’t make that the rule. Don’t tell your brain it’s meant to take months. Erase the timeline.”

Because the second you decide change must be slow, your brain starts acting like it.

🫣 You move cautiously.
🫣 You delay.
🫣 You overthink.
🫣 You keep having the same internal conversations… instead of having the real ones.

Change can happen in an instant.

Not because life becomes easy overnight.

But because you make a decision and take one step forward. That's the moment change happens.

This week, notice where you’re using time as a hiding place:

“I’ll do it next quarter.”
“I’ll have that conversation when things calm down.”
“I’ll start when I feel ready.”

Sometimes that’s strategy.

A lot of the time it’s plain-old fear….

One simple tip you can use today:

Swap “later” for “next step”.

Pick one thing you’re postponing and write the smallest next action that moves it forward.

Example:
→ If it’s a conversation: write the first two sentences you need to say.
→ If it’s a decision: list the 2 trade-offs and choose one.
→ If it’s a habit: do the first 5 minutes, not the full plan.

Clean decision + small step = Momentum.

What are you currently delaying that you already know you need to handle?

If you want support getting out of the loop and back into clean decisions (without burning yourself out), that’s the work we do in RAFT® Executive Coaching.

(1 spot available for March)

Your executive coach,
Terez

P.S. If you’ve been saying “next quarter” since last quarter, your calendar isn’t the problem. 😄

A client of mine lost 4kgs in a month.

No specific weight loss plan or special rules. It just happened.

And the interesting bit is we weren’t coaching “weight loss”. 

We were coaching leadership.

Better boundaries. More self-trust. That kind of thing.

I’m an executive coach, yes.

But coaching never stays neatly inside work. 

It ripples into sleep, health, relationships, patience, confidence. All of it.

And a reminder you might need today:

The way you lead doesn’t just affect people's performance. 

It affects people’s lives.

A calm, steady leader can change how someone feels about themselves for years.

Coaching and Leadership impacts everything.

Can I ask you a question you won’t be able to un-hear? 

When was the last time you delayed a decision even though you knew it was costing you time, energy, and credibility?

If you’re currently thinking, “That’s unfair, I’m not delaying, I’m being strategic,” congratulations. You are exactly the target market for this story.

A donkey. Two identical hay bales. No difference between them. The donkey can’t decide… and that’s the point. 

The story is meant to be theoretical. 

Unfortunately, it’s also a pretty accurate description of leadership in high-stakes environments when everything is urgent and everyone has an opinion.

If you’ve been postponing a decision because both paths have upside and risk, this will feel uncomfortably relevant.

Read more to find out what you can do about it...

This is about Buridan’s ass, or why your decisions feel like two identical hay bales Can I ask you a question you won’t be able to un-hear? When was t

Open article: Why rational leaders freeze between two good options by Terez Rijkenberg - Executive Coach • 5 min read

Why rational leaders freeze between two good options

How to get better decisions from your team without giving them the answers (two questions to ask...)

When your team says “just tell me what to do”, it feels efficient… but it can quietly turn you into the bottleneck. 

In this short video, I share the two questions that build ownership without sounding harsh. 

Your executive coach,
Terez

Your calendar is no longer just a scheduling tool. 

It’s evidence.

Most leaders say they want to focus on strategy, visibility, growth, and building stronger teams.

Then they look at their calendar.

Back-to-back meetings.
Constant approvals.
Reactive problem-solving.
No space to think.

And that’s when the disconnect becomes obvious.

For context:

There’s what you want to be known for
And there’s what your time is training you to become

Your calendar shows the truth faster than your intentions do.

When your time aligns with your real priorities, you feel clearer.

Less scattered.
Less reactive.
More effective in the places that actually matter.

My take? This is one of the fastest ways for a leader to increase their impact.

Do this right now.

Screenshot or copy your last two weeks of calendar entries into ChatGPT and use this prompt:

“Based on these calendar entries, what are the five priorities this leader appears to be focused on?”

Then compare those five priorities with the five things you most want to create impact through.

If they match, great.
Your time is supporting the kind of leader you want to be.

If they don’t, you have two options.

Option 1: change how you spend your time

Option 2: use this follow-up prompt:

“These are the five priorities I want to lead through: [list them]. Redesign my calendar structure for the next two weeks so it reflects this.”

The gap between intention and allocation needs to close.

Most leaders don’t realise how much their calendar shapes their focus, energy, and sense of progress.

Which means if you do this now, you can start feeling more in control, more strategic, and more confident in the impact you’re actually making.

Takes ten minutes.
Could change the way you lead your week

P.S. Busy is not a leadership strategy. It’s often just a very socially acceptable distraction.

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How are you personally using AI right now?

Other? Share in the comments...

Leaders are told to be productive AND innovative.

Ideally before lunch.

Here’s the problem:

You cannot be operationally productive and deeply innovative at the same time. 

It requires different ways of thinking and different expectations. 

And creates different outcomes.

Yet most senior leaders quietly judge themselves for not “getting enough done” on the very days they’ve done their most important thinking and decision making.

That tension is expensive. To your wellbeing and also therefore for the organisation.

In this upcoming webinar, "6 Habits That Help Leaders Stay Productive While Fostering Innovation" - brought to you by ideasUK...

I’ll challenge a few assumptions that may be shaping your calendar more than you realise:

▶️ The guilt that shows up when you think instead of execute
▶️ The way your week is structured that makes innovation almost impossible
▶️ Why your biggest ideas rarely arrive at your desk
▶️ The trap that keeps strong leaders stuck in incremental gains
▶️ And the uncomfortable truth about what actually creates value at senior level

If you’re leading at scale, you don’t need more hours.

You need a different relationship with productivity and innovation.

I’ll show you how to build that into a real leadership week.

See you there,

Your executive coach,
Terez

Manira Ahmad, James Kurd and 40 other attendees

View event: 6 habits that help leaders stay productive while fostering innovation

6 habits that help leaders stay productive while fostering innovation

Which skill do you think will define exceptional leaders in the next 5 years?


Why Your Funding Round Is Stalling (And How to Unblock It).

Fundraising is not a numbers game. It is a signal game.

If you have pitched 20 investors and haven't received a term sheet, the market isn't "tough" - your fundraising asset is defective.

Most founders try to fix this by "polishing the pitch deck" or asking for more intros. This is a mistake. You cannot design your way out of a structural problem.

I do not "coach" fundraising. I fix the signal.

As a serial founder ($75M+ raised), I act as the "Red Team" proxy for the investors you are trying to close. I look at your business the way a VC does: looking for the specific red flags that are causing them to pass.

The Seed Stage Trap:

At Pre-Seed and Seed, you don't have years of data. You have a narrative and a deal structure. If those are slightly off, investors will ghost you without telling you why.

The Solution: The 90-Minute Diagnostic
I run a forensic audit of your entire fundraising approach. We identify the "Silent Killers" hiding in your pitch—the specific friction points that stop an investor from writing the check.

You leave with one of two things:

1. A clean bill of health to close the round.
2. A diagnostic report on exactly why you are getting "No," and the surgical fix required to get to "Yes."

Do not burn your best leads on practice swings.

FundingDX.com

Mash B.

I am opening a few spots on Hubble for Investor Pressure Tests.

45 minutes. You pitch me cold. I narrate what the investor across the table is actually thinking at every stage of your pitch. Where they lean in, where they check out, and where they start writing the rejection email in their head while still nodding politely.

This is not pitch coaching. I am not going to tell you to make more eye contact.

This is structural. I will tell you for example that when you said X, the investor categorized your company as Y, and that is why they will never write a cheque no matter how polished your deck looks.

12 ventures. 7 exits. $75M raised. I have sat on both sides of that table.

Shoutout to Kevin Jurovich and Timo Gehrke for building Hubble around the idea that the right conversation at the right time can change the trajectory of a company. That is exactly what I have seen happen hundreds of times.

First slots are open now.

👉 https://lnkd.in/e_9Xhezn

Mash Bonigala

Investor Pressure Tests | $75M Raised | 12 Ventures, 7 Exits | Founder of FundingDX

An investor with a fast no is giving you a gift. The investor who passes in 48 hours just saved you 6 weeks of follow up emails, a second meeting that was never going anywhere, and the mental energy of treating a dead conversation like a live pipeline.

The expensive rejection is the one that takes 2 months. The partner who keeps saying they are interested, asks for one more data point, loops in a colleague, requests a customer reference call, and then eventually goes quiet. That whole time you were counting them as a warm lead and adjusting your strategy around a check that was never coming.

I have seen founders burn an whole quarter chasing 3 or 4 of these slow nos while ignoring 20 investors who might have actually moved.

Investor Pressure Tests | $75M Raised | Serial Founder: 12 Ventures | Founder of FundingDX

Founders who gets told to come back with more traction believes the same thing. If I just hit $1M ARR, if I just land 3 more enterprise logos, if I just double MRR, the round will come together. So they put their head down for 6 months, grind like hell, hit the numbers, go back out to market, and hear the exact same hesitation from investors wearing a slightly different mask.

I have watched this cycle repeat more times than I can count. The founder comes back with better metrics and the same positioning, and the investors who passed before can feel that something still does not click even though the numbers improved. They can not always name it. They just know the deal does not feel like a fund-returner, and no amount of traction fixes that feeling.

Traction solves a credibility problem. It proves the product works, customers want it, and revenue is real. What it does not solve is a clarity problem. If an investor could not figure out what they were actually investing in 6 months ago, better numbers inside the same frame just give them a more expensive version of the same confusion.

I have seen founders with $300K ARR close rounds in weeks because the investment thesis underneath was so tight that investors could see exactly where the money goes and why it compounds. I have seen founders with $3M ARR struggle for months because the thesis had gaps that no amount of revenue could paper over.

If you are about to go back to market with better numbers and the same positioning you had 6 months ago, the numbers are not what needed to change.

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The Battle

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Engagements

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