Tim Hagen

Progress Coaching is a pioneer in the workplace coaching movement with over 26 years of experience helping organizations increase engagement, develop and retain top talent, and create a strong workplace culture by developing managers into coaches!

What we do: 

Using our proven methodology and training system, we will create a custom coaching strategy that:

✅ Saves your organization (and your managers) TIME and MONEY
✅ Speaks directly to YOUR sales or service processes
✅ Promotes and drives YOUR organizational values
✅ INCREASES ENGAGEMENT and REDUCES TURNOVER through a culture of coaching and feedback

You name it, we’ve built it! NO MATTER WHAT the scenario, we can provide a coaching solution – guaranteed!

How it works: 

⭐ We’ll assess your organization’s current culture and goals
⭐ Design a coaching strategy that fits your unique needs
⭐ Deliver training through virtual workshops, online courses, and on-demand resources 
⭐ Facilitate group & one-on-one coaching that addresses YOUR real-life workplace challenges!
⭐ Provide on-going support you can count on! 


Why it works:

✅ Relieve the burden from HR: instead of deferring to HR for every tough conversation or performance issue, managers learn how to have coaching conversations that create strong connections, build trust, and inspire action! 

✅ L&D teams are supported: managers will learn how to structure their conversations to increase performance and become partners in driving the training & development initiatives your organization is already doing!

✅ Managers save time: managers will learn techniques to engage with employees and inspire positive change in as little as 8-12 minutes per week using our proven 4-step coaching conversation model! Through supplemental coaching strategies, managers will learn to scale their time and drive development without even being present! 

✅ Adults learn best when the material directly applies to them, and traditional training alone does not accomplish this. Our PODs format is survey-driven, targeting participants' actual workplace management and coaching challenges, with instruction, discussion, activities, and practice!



Submit your request here 👉  https://form.jotform.com/211636813521147 

Contact me:

💻 Website: http://www.progresscoachingleader.com
📅 Schedule a call: https://calendly.com/timprogresscoaching
✉ Email: Tim@ProgressCoachingLeader.com
📱 Cell: 262-227-8563

President of Progress Coaching  (Till Day I Die)

I own and operate Progress Coaching with 7 employees - we teach managers a very powerful and proven system to engage and develop their staff into high performing talent. We help groups develop, retain and recruit talent by using technology and coaching solutions to increase the bottom line. Progress Coaching has many client types from publicly traded companies to professional sports teams to credit unions to manufacturing companies to banks to people who simply want to become certified Progress Coaches.

Association for Talent Development (ATD) SEWI-ATD - Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of the Association for Talent Development CNY ATD Training Magazine Tracy Maylett Training Industry, Inc. #coaching #leadership Emotional Intelligence

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love this what are your thoughts? Wanna free whitepaper? Comment whitepaper in comments

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We use the word coaching a lot at work. An employee misses a step. A leader gives quick feedback. A behavior gets corrected in the moment. And we say,

Tim Hagen DISC and EQ Certified

Why Do We Call It Coaching When Its Not

Association for Talent Development (ATD)

SEWI-ATD - Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of the Association for Talent Development

CNY ATD

Training Magazine / Training Conference & Expo

Organizational Psychologist | Author | Professor | HR Services Investor

Training Industry, Inc.

Emotional Intelligence

President of Progress Coaching @ Progress Coaching | Certified Leadership Trainer & Coach

📅 Why Calendars + Asynchronous Coaching Are Changing the Way We Develop People
Most organizations don’t have a coaching problem—they have a consistency problem.
Coaching happens when time allows. Development waits for the next meeting. Growth becomes event-based instead of embedded.
In my latest article, I explore why intentional calendars and asynchronous coaching are becoming one of the most practical, scalable ways to build real capability in today’s workplace.
When you combine:
 ✔️ Scheduled coaching rhythms (what gets on the calendar gets done)
 ✔️ Asynchronous coaching nudges, questions, and reflections
 ✔️ Employee ownership between meetings
You shift coaching from reactive to continuous—and from leader-dependent to employee-driven.
The future of coaching isn’t more meetings.
 It’s better moments, reinforced over time.
If you’re thinking about how to scale development without overwhelming leaders or calendars, this perspective may be helpful.
👉 Read the article and let me know what resonates.
#WorkplaceCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #AsynchronousCoaching #LearningCulture #EmployeeDevelopment #Coachability #FutureOfWork #ContinuousImprovement #CadenceCoaching

The Strategic Value of Calendars and Asynchronous Coaching in the Modern Workplace In today’s always-on, constantly shifting workplace, development ca

CADENCE Coaching

The BIGGEST opporutnity in next 5-7 years will be helping leaders coach employees to navigate change and new skill development. The Missing Piece: Coaching Application. Read This Article and share your thoughts

Association for Talent Development (ATD) JB Howell Will Chambers, PHR Helene Agerstig Wiese Laurie Gerrish, M.S. HRM Laurie Wiest Training Magazine

Organizations invest millions each year in training—new systems, leadership programs, sales skills, compliance, and emerging technologies. Yet despite

Open article: The Missing Link Between Training and Performance: Coaching Application by Tim Hagen DISC and EQ Certified • 3 min read

The Missing Link Between Training and Performance: Coaching Application

Association for Talent Development (ATD) Jan Stauffer, SHRM - CP and ATD - CPTD Training Magazine Training Industry, Inc. Anne Reid Annette Adams, MBA, CEBS #leadership #coach #coaching Michelle Wendt 🇺🇦 Nancy Sondergard, SHRM-SCP #shrm SHRM Linkage SHRM

Leadership is not a destination—it’s a journey. And like any demanding journey, it’s one leaders were never meant to walk alone. Cadence Coaching exis

Cadence Coaching: Why Leaders Thrive When They Don’t Walk Alone

Dynamic, highly motivated certified trainer (ATD-CPTD) and corporate leader with 14+ years of experience driving organized, efficient processes which builds cohesive teams and significantly impacts company performance.

Vice President, People Director

CHRO and Community Partner

Training & Development Manager I Leadership Coach & Facilitator I Positive Culture Change Champion

HR Consultant and Career Coach at LAK Group

SHRM Linkage

SHRM

Coaching is a term we frequently use at work, but what does it truly mean? 

👉 When an employee misses a step, a leader provides quick feedback, or a behavior is corrected in real-time, we often say, “I coached them.” However, we need to ask ourselves: did we really coach them? 

👉 Too often, what we label as coaching is actually correction, direction, or immediate fixes. While these actions are important, they are not synonymous with coaching.

👉 In today's workplace, coaching has become a catch-all term for any leadership interaction involving guidance. If a leader identifies a skill gap and addresses it on the spot, it’s labeled as coaching. If a mistake is corrected immediately, it’s coaching. If someone is redirected after an issue arises, it’s coaching. 

👉This trend is understandable; leaders are busy, and problems require immediate attention. However, categorizing all these actions as coaching dilutes the true essence of what coaching is meant to be.

👉 Corrective action is reactive, situational, and necessary. It responds to issues that have already occurred, and organizations need leaders who can step in, clarify expectations, and prevent small problems from escalating. This is good leadership and management, but it is not coaching.

Mislabeling corrective action as coaching leads to two significant issues:
1. Leaders may mistakenly believe they are coaching when they are not.
2. Employees may associate coaching solely with mistakes and corrections, rather than growth and development.

Over time, this association can make “coaching” feel tense and focused on errors, rather than fostering confidence and progress.

👊👊👊 True coaching is proactive, intentional, and ongoing. It is scheduled, even if briefly, and focuses on development rather than just addressing immediate problems. Watch This Master Coaching Lesson Volume Three: https://lnkd.in/g8E4a6Ki

The true definition of coaching in the workplace is a structured, ongoing partnership where a leader helps an employee think, learn, and grow—rather than simply telling them what to do.

👉 At its core, coaching involves:
- Asking thoughtful questions
- Listening more than speaking
- Helping individuals discover their own solutions
- Developing skills, confidence, and self-awareness over time

👉 Coaching is not about fixing mistakes in the moment, performance correction disguised as coaching, or a one-time conversation. True coaching is:
- Scheduled, intentional, and continuous—focused on growth, not just results.

When done effectively, coaching builds capability, leading to natural and sustainable performance improvement.

👉 To explain this to leaders:
- Managing tells, while coaching asks.
- Managing drives tasks, whereas coaching develops people.

The best workplaces embrace both approaches without confusing the two.

👉 A practical resource for leaders is "The Coaching Habit." This book is useful because it:
- Simplifies coaching into everyday conversations
- Emphasizes curiosity over control
- Reinforces that coaching is a habit, not an event
- Is practical for busy leaders

For those looking for a resource that leaders can utilize without becoming “professional coaches,” this is a strong starting point.

👉 Final takeaway: Workplace coaching isn’t about having the right answers; it’s about helping others find theirs—consistently, intentionally, and with care. That’s where real development occurs. 

#coaching #leadership Association for Talent Development (ATD) Training Magazine Bogdan Apostol SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union ESL Federal Credit Union Summit Credit Union Darlyne Keller, MBA Samantha Hammock Sarah White

CEO @ Nestor | Y Combinator S18 - We’re hiring!

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union

ESL Federal Credit Union

Summit Credit Union

Leadership That Inspires, Strategy That Delivers | 25+ Years of Elevating People, Culture & Business Performance

EVP, Chief Human Resources Officer at Verizon

Aligning Strategy to Market Reality for Growth | Product, GTM & Organizational Alignment for Leaders, Boards & Investors | Global WorkTech HRTech TATech Expert

Two tellers. Same branch. Same goals. Very different outcomes.

Teller A receives observational coaching. A leader watches, makes a quick correction, and moves on. While this is helpful in the moment, once the rush hits, the learning fades. There’s no follow-up, no reflection, and no growth plan.

In contrast, Teller B benefits from continuous coaching. This includes short, intentional conversations, clear focus areas, and regular check-ins. The questions posed build confidence rather than just compliance. 

Over time, Teller B not only performs better but also thinks better. They anticipate member needs, connect the dots, and grow into their role—and beyond it.

That’s the difference. Observation fixes a moment, while continuous coaching develops a person. In credit unions, developing people is essential for winning in service, culture, and careers.

If you're ready to move beyond “I noticed…” coaching and into real, sustainable development, consider Credit Union Coach—the all-in-one leadership coaching platform designed specifically for credit union leaders who want coaching to stick. Great coaching isn’t occasional; it’s a rhythm. 

Get Info Here: https://lnkd.in/gmmGEQah or DM Me Here

#creditunions #coaching ESL Federal Credit Union Summit Credit Union Kris Prince Jane Roberts Laurie Wiest Keri Ashkenazy, MA Darlyne Keller, MBA SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union Rockford Bell Credit Union Libro Credit Union Credit Union Digital Marketing

Client Service Manager

Manager, Administrative Support Team at ESL Federal Credit Union

Chief Engagement Officer (CGO)

Learning & Development Specialist | M.A. Social-Org Psychology, Columbia University | Helping companies train their most engaged and productive workforce

Rockford Bell Credit Union

Libro Credit Union

Credit Union Digital Marketing

What if coaching was seamlessly integrated into leadership? Imagine every leader having a dedicated, certified coach focused solely on helping them apply coaching in real-time—during team interactions, with individual employees, and in those critical moments that truly matter.

This approach emphasizes application over training and theory, addressing the shift leaders are currently seeking.

CADENCE Coaching provides busy leaders with an assigned certified coach who assists them in:

- Translating coaching concepts into meaningful conversations
- Inspiring and motivating individual team members, not just the group
- Maintaining consistency, even amidst packed schedules and high pressure
- Focusing on coaching strengths rather than merely correcting behavior

This isn’t about adding another task to the to-do list; it’s about having someone alongside the leader to ensure coaching becomes a natural part of their leadership style.

What would change if your leaders never had to guess how to coach again? CADENCE Coaching embeds coaching support directly into leadership—without adding time, complexity, or burnout. Consistent application is the key to effective coaching. Get More Info: https://lnkd.in/gz3qz2U4

Coaching doesn’t fail in organizations because leaders don’t care. It fails because coaching too often waits for the perfect moment—a meeting, a review, a quiet week that never comes.

That’s why Coaching Nudges are becoming one of the most powerful tools in modern leadership development. These small, intentional prompts help leaders reinforce growth, awareness, and accountability in real time—without adding meetings or complexity. When used consistently, coaching nudges turn everyday moments into development opportunities and help build a true coaching culture.

👇 Before you read on, reflect for a moment:
 • When was the last time you nudged someone’s growth—without giving advice?
 • What would change if coaching showed up weekly instead of quarterly?
 • How could small questions create big performance shifts on your team?
This article explores how coaching nudges work, why they’re so effective, and how leaders can start using them immediately to drive engagement, performance, and coachability—one moment at a time.

#Leadership
 #LeadershipDevelopment
 #Coaching
 #CoachingCulture
 #WorkplaceCoaching
 #EmployeeDevelopment
 #CoachingNudges
 #CadenceCoaching
 #ManagerEffectiveness
Association for Talent Development (ATD) Training Magazine Anne Richards Gustafson Annette Adams, MBA, CEBS Betty Harwood Betty Baker, PHR Nancy Wraight, SHRM-SCP

Coaching Nudges: The Small Leadership Moments That Create Big Change Most leaders don’t struggle with wanting to coach their people. They struggle wit

Open article: Want Motivated and Inspired Teams? by Tim Hagen DISC and EQ Certified • 3 min read

A Smarter Way to Coach—Without Adding More to a Leader’s Plate

👉 Organizations are increasingly recognizing a crucial truth: Leaders don’t struggle with the concept of coaching; they struggle because coaching often falls by the wayside amidst their busy schedules. Meetings pile up, urgent issues take precedence, and good intentions fade away.

👉 Cadence Coaching was created to address this challenge. It provides leaders with an assigned, certified coaching partner dedicated to helping them apply coaching consistently and practically within their real workweek. This approach emphasizes application, reinforcement, and meaningful conversations rather than more theory or additional training portals.

👉 Why Leaders Win (and Actually Enjoy It):
- Coaching support without adding more meetings
- Clear guidance on what to say and how to say it
- Strength-based coaching that inspires rather than exhausts
- Confidence in coaching effectively
- Consistency, even during busy seasons

👉 Cadence Coaching is structured enough to drive results, flexible enough to fit into real leadership life, and engaging enough for leaders to actively participate.

👉 The Strategic Advantage:
Cadence Coaching bridges the gap between training and execution, intent and consistency, and knowing how to coach versus actually doing it. Organizations leverage this approach to enhance engagement, retention, and leadership bench strength without overwhelming their managers.

Imagine the impact if your leaders had a coach supporting them every week. Coaching doesn’t fail because leaders lack interest; it fails due to a lack of support. Cadence Coaching changes that. Get Info Here: https://lnkd.in/gz3qz2U4 

SHRM Training Magazine Training Industry, Inc. Association for Talent Development (ATD) Annette Adams, MBA, CEBS Anne Reid Lisa Ely  MBA Lisa Ploszaj, SPHR, SHRM-SCP Lisa Eichten Betty Harwood Janice Krassowski-Quintana Janice Skipwith Jennifer Guilette Jennifer Cardona, MBA-HR, MSW

Join us with Training Magazine for How to Reinforce Training with AI & Coaching
When: Tue, Jan 20, 2026 at 9AM Pacific / 12PM Eastern
Why: 100 % Educational and FREE Cpourse for all live attndees on Coaching!
Register Here: https://lnkd.in/ggmmk2D2

Association for Talent Development (ATD) Amy Walby Amy Debroczy Lisa Eichten #coaching #leadership #leadershipcoaching #training #Learning #trainingreinforcement Bryan Obst Bogdan Apostol Britton Ertman Brittney Medina Milwaukee Brewers

Director, Human Resources

Commercial Leader Strategic planning and Execution

Global Learning and Development | Leadership Development | Digital Learning | Talent Development | Global Learning Program Management | Change Management

HR Manager Wacker Neuson America

Chief Operating Officer at Profi

VP of HR Operations at Marking Services, Inc.

Milwaukee Brewers

Tim DISC and EQ Certified

Executive Leadership Coach | Certified Progress Coach | Helping Leaders Coach, Grow People & Improve Performance | Coaching with HEART – Habits Empower Authentic Resilience & Trust

I am excited about the New Year, a fresh start, and new beginnings. In 2025, we learned many new things, including the new era of artificial intelligence. The more technology advances, the greater the need for human connection and leadership. 

We need to be aware of a couple of things in the job market:
First, AI. Research shows that the top skills people will need are AI.
Second, leadership skills. All eyes are on us; what we do and what we say matters.

This leads to the human connection - something AI will not replace: 
When leaders coach their teams, and I've always said this - questions are the answer. Asking the right questions helps build awareness, and for the coach, the person being coached can also help clarify. 

Next is action. Activities help facilitate action and skill development. Practice a conversation or technique. This is what stimulates positive change. 

Accountability can be challenging; however, it doesn't have to be. 
Learning projects foster accountability and ownership. Ask an employee to come in with an example of how they positively invested in a teammate
with a strong sense of energy and an outgoing, positive attitude. 

This is a mini snapshot of why human connection is essential in leadership and coaching. It's Getting To The HEART of Progress. Building your moral compass. Habits Empower Authentic Resilience and Trust.

#Leadership  #HumanConnection  #AwarenessActionAccountability  #GettingToTheHEARTOfProgress #CoachingWithHeart

What if you could coach without meeting? Huh? What if a new coaching approach crreated specific plans and timeframes thast saved leaders time to coach ... by as much as 40%! Welcome CADENCE Coaching ... checkout our latest podcast. If intrigued DM me! https://lnkd.in/g8rGkBum

Association for Talent Development (ATD) AJ Perkins Britton Ertman #coaching #leadership Angela Boesel Angela D. Boston Lenn Moorhead-Rosenberg

buzzsprout.com

NEW Coaching Method Saves Time: Welcome CADENCE Coaching - Coaching Conversations in 2025

Go-To Market Expert for Cleantech | Strategic Advisor | Ex-CEO | Built 3 Companies, Closed $15B+ in Contracts

Relationship Banker

Human Resources Director

Director, Organizational Development at St. Charles Healthcare

If you think you're coaching your team by giving advice, think again.

Here's the hard truth: Most managers believe they're coaching, but they're just telling people what to do. And it's costing organizations engagement, retention, and real results.

Real coaching isn't about having all the answers. It's about asking the right questions. It's listening, not lecturing. It's helping people discover their own solutions instead of handing out quick fixes.

I've seen it over and over. A manager has a weekly one-on-one, drops a few "helpful" tips, and checks the coaching box. But the employee leaves uninspired, unchallenged, and unchanged.

Advice can feel productive in the moment, but it doesn't drive growth. It creates dependency. People tune out. The best performers crave ownership, not step-by-step instructions.

So here's my challenge: Next time you're tempted to give advice, pause. Ask a question instead. "What options have you considered?" "What would you try if you weren't worried about making a mistake?" "How can I support you without stepping in?"

The shift is uncomfortable at first, but that's where real development happens. Coaching isn't about your expertise, it's about unlocking theirs.

Ready to break the advice cycle and actually coach? Your team is waiting.

To quote a client "CADENCE Coaching is really innovative. Its like having a workplace coaching expert right next to you assitring you every step of the way." 

👉 Cadence Coaching is a modern approach to leadership and development that moves coaching out of the calendar and into the flow of work. Instead of relying on infrequent, scheduled conversations, cadence coaching delivers short, focused coaching moments—paired with simple application challenges and reflection—on a consistent rhythm. This allows learning to be reinforced where it matters most: in real situations, real decisions, and real behaviors.

👉 For future-ready organizations, CADENCE coaching closes the gap between training and performance. It accelerates upskilling, builds accountability without burnout, and helps leaders develop people continuously rather than episodically. As roles evolve and skills change faster than job descriptions, organizations that embed coaching into daily cadence won’t just keep up—they’ll build adaptable, confident teams that grow with the work instead of chasing it.

#CadenceCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #FutureOfWork #Upskilling #Reskilling #CoachingCulture #LearningAndDevelopment #TalentDevelopment #PeopleLeadership #ModernLeadership #ContinuousImprovement #WorkplaceCoachingi

Mike Carroll has a system for hiring sales people that is so unique! My own referrals to him rave about the approach! Need sales people reachout to Mike!

Founder, Intelligent Conversations | Author | B2B Sales Training Consultant | Converting Sales Teams into Revenue Generating Machines

How confident are you in your sales hiring right now?

I don't mean optimistic or hopeful. Actual confidence. 

I ask because this is the time of year when a lot of leaders feel pressure to “get ahead of it.”

Q1 plans are taking shape. Revenue targets are locked. Gaps from last year are suddenly very visible. And sales hiring starts to feel urgent.

What I see happen next is usually some version of this:
- A role gets posted quickly, using language that worked once before (are you using old job descriptions from previous years?) 
- Interviews move fast because “we don’t want to lose good candidates”
- Decisions get made on instinct, energy, and resume patterns

Don't worry, none of this is careless. It’s human.

But it’s also how hiring mistakes quietly get repeated.

The warning signs rarely show up immediately. 

They surface months later as slow ramp time. As deals that stall. As managers spending more time coaching basics than building momentum. As the realization that the role itself may never have been clearly defined.

At that point, the question becomes “Why isn’t this working?”

When the better question earlier would have been “What are we actually hiring for?”

Strong sales hiring starts with clarity. I'm sure you know this. 
- Clarity about the environment someone is walking into.
- Clarity about the skills this role actually demands.
- Clarity about what has made people succeed here and what has caused others to struggle.

The most effective leaders I work with do something that feels counterintuitive right now.

They pause before acting. They assess before posting. They get specific before interviewing. They slow the process down just enough to avoid speeding into the wrong decision.

I’m curious what you’re seeing.

Where does sales hiring feel hardest for you right now? 

Attracting the right candidates? Evaluating them well? Or being clear on what success in the role really looks like?

This is a conversation worth having early on.

How to Reinforce Training with AI & Coaching with Training Magazine

Most training doesn’t fail because the content is bad.
 It fails because reinforcement never shows up.
Leaders leave training inspired…
 Then Monday happens.
In this upcoming free webinar, I’ll break down:
 ✔ Why training alone rarely changes behavior
 ✔ How AI can reinforce learning in the flow of work (not in more meetings)
 ✔ Where coaching conversations create the human connection that AI can’t replace
 ✔ A simple reinforcement loop leaders can apply immediately
This session is designed for:
 • Leaders overwhelmed by “initiative overload”
 • HR & L&D teams tired of low training adoption
 • Organizations looking to scale coaching without adding calendar pressure

If you’re thinking about how AI fits into leadership development without losing the human side, this will be practical, grounded, and very real.

📅 Save your seat and bring a colleague who cares about performance, not just programs. Register Here: https://lnkd.in/ggmmk2D2

#LeadershipDevelopment #CoachingCulture #AIatWork #TrainingReinforcement #FutureOfWork #PeopleDevelopment #WorkplaceCoaching Association for Talent Development (ATD) Training Industry, Inc.

A quick reminder as you end this week: your only real competition is yourself.

Entrepreneurship is not a race, and it is not meant to be. It is shaped by your goals, your season, and the life you are building.

✨ Someone else’s progress does not take away from yours
✨ Someone else’s pace is not a standard you have to meet
✨ Someone else’s wins do not tell the full story

The only comparison that actually matters is who you are becoming compared to who you were yesterday.

Stay focused on your own growth. Build at a pace that is sustainable. Keep taking the next right step.

If this resonates, share it with someone who could use a little encouragement today.

#Entrepreneurship #Leadership #GrowthMindset #BusinessOwner #PersonalGrowth

What happens after training? What do leaders say to employees? What do they facilitate to reinforce training? Do they? The missing piece?  COACHING APPLICATION: Check out our latest podcast: https://lnkd.in/eUjXgST3

Association for Talent Development (ATD) Gary Broesch Gary Wendel, SPHR Gary Rosia Gary Deppe Harry Kohal Kelly Lake Training Magazine

Get referrals on autopilot: build an AI-powered referral system in 15 minutes a day

Change Leadership, General Manager PFA @ Batgroup & Member of the Board @ Putzfrauenagentur

Leadership isn’t about volume.
It’s about clarity, confidence and direction when the pressure is on.

I partner with HR leaders, GMs and Executive Teams across MENA & Asia to strengthen leadership capability from the ground up. My work sits where strategy, people and day-to-day execution meet in service-driven organisations.

Most performance issues in hospitality, retail and education aren’t about effort.
They come from three gaps:

❌ Leaders promoted before they’re ready to lead
❌ Executive Teams pulling in different directions
❌ No clear pipeline or succession to stabilise performance

So my work covers both sides of the leadership equation:

Strategy & alignment for senior teams
Facilitated Strategy Days that help GMs and Executive Teams:
✅ Agree a small set of must-win priorities
✅ Translate those into a 90-day execution plan
✅ Build the clarity and focus teams need to perform
✅ Name the leadership behaviours that sustain results

Leadership development for emerging & mid-level managers
Practical, human-centred programmes that build the skills to lead through others, communicate with clarity and coach across cultures.

Coaching & capability building
1:1 and group coaching, Train-the-Trainer, and tailored L&D that strengthen the pipeline and reduce turnover.

Across 25+ years with Apple Retail, Swissôtel, St. Regis and service organisations in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, one truth holds: engagement and commercial performance rise when leaders at every level know where they’re going and how to bring their people with them.

If you’re building your leadership pipeline or want stronger alignment at the top, I’m happy to explore how we can work together.

📞 Book a call: https://cal.com/jeffross

Jeff Ross

I’ve been quiet on LinkedIn for a few weeks.
Intentionally.

The end of 2025, especially early Q4, was demanding. Not just professionally, but mentally and emotionally too. So I chose to step back, spend time with family, and create some much-needed white space.

Here’s the thing we don’t talk about enough in leadership:

Growth doesn’t only happen in motion.
Sometimes it happens in pause.

Over the break, I did what I often encourage leaders to do, though many struggle to make time for:
• Reflect honestly on what worked (and what didn’t)
• Revisit priorities instead of blindly setting new goals
• Notice patterns in my own behaviour under pressure
• Ask better questions, rather than rushing to better answers

Self-awareness isn’t built in the middle of constant execution.
It’s built in moments of distance.

The leaders I see grow the most aren’t the ones who push hardest every quarter.
They’re the ones who regularly step back, recalibrate, and return with more clarity than noise.

As we step into 2026, my focus is simple:
Fewer reactions.
Clearer priorities.
More intentional leadership, starting with myself.

If you haven’t created space to reflect yet, consider this your reminder:
White space isn’t time lost.
It’s leadership work.

Here’s to a more conscious, grounded, and human year ahead.

Helping service brands align strategy, strengthen pipelines and deliver consistent performance | Strategy Days, L&D and coaching | MENA and Asia

People are not “human capital”.
And they are not “assets” either.

I keep seeing employees described this way in leadership, L&D, and wellbeing content.

I understand the origin of the term.
Historically, human capital described skills and capabilities built through investment, not the people themselves.

But the distinction has blurred.

Here is the line I think we need to redraw.

❌ People are not capital
❌ People are not assets

They are human beings who choose, every day, how much energy and judgement they bring to work.

Human capital is what grows through investment
Skills. Confidence. Capability. Leadership depth.

That growth comes from:
✅ training done properly, not tick-box
✅ coaching that changes behaviour
✅ managers who develop people, not just measure them
✅ time and safety to learn, practise, and think

That is where human capital lives.

Language shapes decisions.
Decisions shape culture.

If we want more human leadership, we should start by speaking like humans, not balance sheets.

Calling people “human capital” is already the problem.

If people are capital, then what are they?

Owned?
Optimised?
Written off when returns dip?

No serious leader believes this.
Yet the language sticks.

Here is a cleaner distinction.

People are not human capital.
People are not assets.

Human capital is the outcome of investment, not the object of it.

You build it when you:
✅ develop managers instead of promoting the best technician
✅ coach leaders instead of just reviewing them
✅ invest in learning instead of squeezing efficiency
✅ play the long game, not just the quarter

Strong organisations do not extract value from people.

They create conditions where capability compounds.

If your culture talks about people like inventory,
do not be surprised when engagement feels transactional.

Words are never “just semantics”.
They are shortcuts to how decisions get justified.

In fast growing organisations across the UAE, managers are often promoted quickly to keep pace with expansion.

What usually does not scale at the same speed is leadership capability.

New managers are suddenly expected to lead multicultural teams, absorb pressure from both sides, and deliver consistency under operational intensity.

With little preparation.

When that happens, managers compensate.

➡️ They over control.
➡️ They escalate everything.
➡️ They work longer hours instead of building capability.

❌ This is not a motivation issue.
❌ It is not a generational issue.
✅ It is a pipeline design issue.

Growth without leadership infrastructure creates silent pressure in the middle.
And silent pressure always leaks somewhere.

If you want scale without burnout, development cannot be assumed.
It has to be designed.

In the UAE and GCC, managers are expected to be decisive, inclusive, and steady, all at once.

When we don’t develop them for that reality,
pressure doesn’t disappear.

It concentrates.

Promoted for doing the job.
Stuck because you are still doing it.

The peer to manager transition is not a mindset problem.
It is a capacity design problem.

If nothing changes in how time, decisions, and responsibility are allocated, leadership never starts.

What I have seen work repeatedly is simple and structured:

✅ 30 percent doing the old tasks to stabilise
✅ 30 percent pairing and teaching to hand over
✅ 40 percent coaching, prioritising, removing blockers

For the first 60 days.

One rule makes or breaks it.
The handover must be scheduled.

If it stays informal, it does not happen.
Urgency will always win.

A promotion does not create leadership.
The moment you stop being the bottleneck does.

Question worth answering this week:
Which task will you stop doing by Friday, and who will learn it instead?

Training the peer-to-manager transition muscle

If a manager is still doing most of the work, you have not promoted a leader.
You have relabelled a high performer.

Leadership starts when decisions move down, accountability stays up, and capability is built deliberately.

Without that shift, organisations stay dependent on individuals instead of systems.

This is why middle management feels stretched in so many businesses.
The role changes, but the expectations do not.

❌ Titles do not create leverage.
✅ Design does.

✅ When leadership transitions are supported early, pressure reduces later.
❌ When they are ignored, problems surface quietly and expensively.

The question is not whether someone earned the promotion.
The question is whether the system changed enough to let them lead.

Coming up on one year since we moved back to the UAE.

So much has changed since we lived here nearly two decades ago, and a lot of that change has been really good.

I’ve seen owners of large companies walk the floor, greet employees by name, ask about their families, and mean it.

And then I’ve seen something else, in the same companies:
Middle managers who abuse power over the people under their care.

Not always loudly.
Sometimes it’s subtle:

❌ public shaming disguised as ‘standards’
❌ threats disguised as ‘performance’
❌ pressure passed down because ‘that’s how we do things here’

Here’s the part leaders don’t want to hear:

Culture doesn’t scale through the founder’s intent.
It scales through the manager’s habits.

And the numbers in MENA should make every owner pause:

Only 14% of employees are engaged, while 24% are actively disengaged.

46% are watching for or actively seeking a new job.

31% experienced anger ‘a lot of the day’ yesterday.

Only 25% are ‘thriving’ in life evaluation.

You can invest millions in brand, strategy, and service standards…

…but if a middle manager creates fear, distrust, and turnover, your business pays for it twice:

in retention + recruiting costs
in inconsistent service + customer experience

Gallup has a brutal line leaders should sit with:

Managers drive most of the variance in team engagement.

So the fix isn’t ‘hire faster’ when people resign.
The fix is slow down and build the capability that prevents the resignations in the first place:

✅ Train new managers before they ‘learn leadership’ by copying the worst examples.
✅ Coach existing managers on how to lead under pressure (without leaking it onto their teams).
✅ Make people metrics visible at leadership level (turnover, internal mobility, manager 360s, team climate).
Reward leaders who build trust, not just those who hit numbers.

Because in this region, trust is everything.

And owners should be able to trust their management teams to execute the vision, for the business and for the people.

Question for leaders in the Gulf:
Where is your culture breaking, in strategy, or in the middle layer where it gets executed?

In fast-growing organisations across the UAE and GCC, leadership gaps rarely show up at the top.
They show up in the middle.

High-performing specialists are promoted quickly to keep pace with growth.
Suddenly they’re expected to:

➡️ lead multicultural teams
➡️ balance global standards with local realities
➡️ deliver consistency under constant operational pressure

Without a leadership pipeline, this becomes improvisation.

That is not a talent issue.
It’s a development design issue.

Organisations that scale sustainably here invest early in:

✅ leadership transitions, not just promotions
✅ manager development as ongoing infrastructure
✅ clarity, coaching, and judgement, not just skills

Middle management doesn’t fail loudly in this region.

It absorbs pressure quietly, until it can’t.

Many first time managers say the same thing, quietly.
“I do not want to get this wrong.”

So they hold on longer than they should.
They delay delegation.
They avoid conversations they know are coming.

Not because they lack confidence.
Because they lack support.

Leading former peers, older colleagues, or more experienced team members carries real emotional weight.

When organisations treat new managers as finished products, people protect themselves.
When they treat them as learners, behaviour changes.

❌ Confidence does not come from the title.
✅ It comes from practising leadership with permission to learn.

If you want managers who act calmly under pressure, give them room to build judgement before you test it.

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The Battle

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