Mentorship & Coaching

The Invisible Brand: (a repetitive tale) Ever feel like you're shouting into the void on LinkedIn? That was Sierah, a brilliant coach with years of experience but zero traction online. Her profile? A digital tumbleweed. Her posts? Echoes in an empty room. Her DMs? Crickets. Sarah was invisible. And it was costing her big time. $20,000 per client, 5 clients a month—that was her goal. Reality? A fraction of that. Why? Because Sarah was making the #1 mistake in personal branding: She was trying to be everywhere instead of talking about 1 specific topic to 1 specific audience. The turning point? Sarah realized that personal branding isn't about being loud. It's about being clear. She stopped the random posts. She focused on her unique story. She shared insights, not just information. The result? → Profile views up 300% → Engagement skyrocketed → Inbound leads started flowing How? 1. Consistency: Daily posts, not sporadic shouts 2. Authenticity: Real stories, not polished perfection 3. Value: Insights that made her audience think, "Aha!" 6 months later: - Sarah's hitting her $100k/month target. - She's booked solid with dream clients. - She's recognized as a thought leader in her niche. The lesson? Your personal brand is your most valuable asset on LinkedIn. It's not about being perfect. It's about being present, consistent, and authentically you. Are you ready to stop being invisible? Also, let's talk if you're a coach or founder struggling to stand out on LinkedIn. I'll help you turn your expertise into a magnetic personal brand that attracts high-value clients without being overwhelmed.

Here’s why sharing strategic thinking “frameworks” without context is useless (and what actually works). I see posts like this infographic daily on social media—pretty boxes, buzzwords… and zero actionable insight. The brutal truth? Posting frameworks without explanation is career virtue signaling at its worst. Strategic Thinking Is actually critical right now: ✅ 57% of business leaders say strategic thinking is the #1 soft skill their workforce desperately needs (Springboard 2024) ✅ The World Economic Forum 2025 Future of Jobs Report confirms analytical thinking remains the TOP core skill demanded by 7 out of 10 companies globally. While everyone’s obsessing over AI and technical skills, the most successful professionals are the ones who can think strategically about those tools. Here are 5 ways I coach my clients to actually develop their strategic thinking which you can adopt right now: 1. Master the “So What?” Question After every data point, analysis, or meeting, → Ask, “So what does this mean for our goals?” Force yourself to connect dots, not just collect them. 2. Practice Scenario Planning Weekly Pick one business decision facing your team. Map out 3 potential outcomes and their implications. This builds your strategic foresight muscle. 3. Reverse-Engineer Successful Strategies Study companies that solved problems similar to yours. What assumptions did they challenge? What patterns can you extract? 4. Create a “Strategic Time Block” Block 2 hours weekly for big-picture thinking. No emails, no tactical work. Just strategic reflection and planning. Non-negotiable. 5. Teach Your Thinking Process Explain your strategic reasoning to others. If you can’t teach it clearly, you haven’t thought it through deeply enough. Strategic thinking isn’t about memorizing frameworks from infographics on Pinterest. It’s about developing the mental discipline to see patterns, challenge assumptions, and connect seemingly unrelated pieces. The professionals who master this will be irreplaceable. The ones who share pretty frameworks will be forgotten. Which one are you? Coaching can help; let's chat. | Joshua Miller #executivecoaching #professionaldevelopment #careeradvice #getahead

Your impact doesn't have to come at the cost of your sanity. Every coach might relate to this situation. Coaches pour themselves into their clients, neglecting their own well-being, and before they know it, they’re on the brink of Burnout. One of my mentors advised me – Coaching is about achieving more while doing less. And the only way to do it is – Time management. 📍 The first thing I started doing was – Saying NO. Every 'yes' is a hidden 'no' to something else. So, I started saying no to tasks that can be done without my direct attention 📍I started by auditing my time. Every minute for a week. I was shocked to discover I spent more time on admin tasks than actual coaching. So, I outsourced my small tasks. 📍 I coined "Power Hours"—90-minute blocks of deep work, followed by 15-minute breaks. 📍I also implemented a 'not-to-do' list. It sits right next to my to-do list, reminding me of the distractions I've committed to avoiding. 📍And finally, time for me, that's 6-9 AM. No emails, no calls—just pure, uninterrupted creation or learning. I've learned that saying 'no' to the many opens up space to say 'hell yes' to the vital few. Today, I'm coaching more effectively than ever, but working fewer hours. What could you powerfully neglect today to reclaim your time and amplify your impact? #coaches #timemanagement #mentors

I was at the EDGE of my Emotions That EDGE made me manage it well though So what is this EDGE The EDGE model of emotional intelligence is a structured approach used to develop and enhance emotional intelligence (EI). It stands for Evaluate, Decide, Generate, and Enable. Here’s a breakdown of each component: 1. Evaluate: This step involves assessing your current emotional state and the emotions of others. It requires self-awareness and social awareness, allowing you to understand what emotions are present and why. 2. Decide: After evaluating the emotions, the next step is to decide how to respond to these emotions. This involves considering the best course of action and how it will impact both yourself and others. 3. Generate: This step is about creating an appropriate emotional response. It’s the process of managing your emotions to align with the decision you’ve made, whether it involves calming yourself, expressing empathy, or motivating others. 4. Enable: Finally, enabling involves using your emotional intelligence to facilitate positive outcomes. It means applying your understanding and management of emotions to enhance relationships, solve problems, and drive successful interactions. The EDGE model is often used in leadership development and personal growth, helping individuals to harness the power of emotional intelligence in various aspects of life. #emotionalintelligence #corporatetrainer Dr.Shivani Sharma

March 15th of 2016, I was woken up at 4 am by an intense pain in my stomach. Attempting to start my day, I found myself staggering downstairs, only to be overwhelmed by nausea. It was a wake-up call, signaling that something was seriously wrong. This episode led me to a diagnosis that many hard driving professionals are familiar with: chronic stress and burnout, the silent toll of juggling multiple roles. At the time, I was navigating between 3.5 roles 1) being the Director of Business Development at a technology company 2) being an Executive MBA student at USC Marshall 3) being a new father 3.5) enduring a grueling three-hour daily commute from Pasadena to Santa Monica daily This pivotal moment marked the beginning of my deep dive into mindfulness. Until then I have studied various philosophy but never practiced. It’s a journey that transformed not just my personal well-being but also my professional performance. Through studying of classics like “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind,” immersing myself in multiple meditation retreats, absorbing countless content, and meeting with PhDs, I crafted a suite of mindfulness practices that became my cornerstone for not only managing stress but the source of high performance achievement - hit 120% of my sales goal that year 🛠️It’s became a secret weapon. A very useful tool. Here are some practical steps I've integrated into my life, which I believe can profoundly impact anyone's professional journey: 🧠Mindfulness Practices for High Performance Establish a Daily Practice: Each morning, I dedicate time for box breathing exercise (adopted by Navy Seals) This simple act of returning my focus to my breath whenever my mind wanders has sharpened my focus, improved my emotional regulation, and cultivated a powerful presence in all aspects of my life. Mindful Moments: Wove mindfulness into the fabric of my daily activities. I have blocked off time on my calendar in between back to back meetings. These brief moments for mindful activities between tasks have become a forcing function to reset and recenter. They enhance my engagement and efficiency with each task at hand. Mindful Listening: In every meeting and conversation, I practice fully focusing on the speaker, absorbing not just their words but also their non-verbal cues, without crafting my response in my head. This approach has not only deepened relationships but also ensured that I fully comprehend the nuances of each interaction. My journey underscores that peak performance transcends technical prowess; it's equally about nurturing mental resilience, embracing mindfulness, and fostering a profound connection with our personal value. In the high-stakes realms of management and revenue functions, where success is often quantified by outcomes, goals, and quotas, mindful approach offers a sustainable and fulfilling path to what we do. Helpful material in comment 👇🏼 #selfdevelopment #mentalhealth #mentalperformance #leadership

What I thought was a teachable moment for two software engineering interns turned into a wake-up call for me. I was explaining a complex optimization problem and wrapped up with, “And I’d fix it if I had more time.” One intern asked, “How? What does the solution look like?” I spent 30 minutes walking them through the solution, how I came up with it, and how I’d implement it. Two days later, the interns scheduled a code review with me. They’d put in a couple of 16-hour days and implemented the optimization. That version wasn’t pretty, but after a week and 3 iterations, they had a working implementation. I could have spent the same amount of time teaching them to implement the optimization or implementing it myself. 2 years later, the optimization was deprecated, but the interns had become exceptional software engineers. Make time to develop people on the team because that investment has a higher ROI than most other work you’ll do. Be patient with people who don’t work as fast or do everything right the first, second, and third time. It’s hard to stand back and watch, but that’s how people learn. Pair junior engineers, developers, and data scientists up to do the work with a senior++ mentor doing periodic reviews. Mentor people on real-world problems, even when the complexity exceeds their current capabilities. Teach them, but expect them to struggle with the problem independently before coming to you for help. At the senior++ and manager levels, we transition from software developers to people developers. Mentoring and teaching are capabilities that must be taught and developed, too. Invest in upskilling people making the transition, not just junior-level people.

Why presentation skills coaching is actually leadership coaching (and vice versa)... When I do presentation skills coaching, I'm bringing equal parts of my experience as a professional speaker and my experience as a leadership coach. Why? Because while sometimes getting better at public speaking is about refreshing someone's tips, tools, and techniques, it's just as often about something else entirely. Here's what I've learned: You can teach someone the "rule of three", how to work a stage, or how to tangle tough questions, but if they're carrying invisible weight into that conference room, no amount of "remember to pause for emphasis" is going to help them connect authentically with their audience. The real work I do often looks like this: 1. The overwhelmed parent whose mind is split between this presentation and everything waiting at home. They're running through pickup logistics while trying to remember their own slide deck. The technical skills are there, but the mental space isn't. 2. The leader still carrying childhood wounds, like that teacher who embarrassed them in front of the whole class decades ago. That memory is still traumatic, still shaping how they show up when all eyes are on them. 3. The professional working for a catastrophizer whose boss makes mountains out of molehills, so they've learned that any minor stumble could become a major disaster. Now they're so focused on being perfect that they've lost their natural presence. The gestures, the vocal variety, the structure; that's the teachable part. The harder part is helping someone recognize that their presentation struggles might not be about presentations at all. Because the overwhelm doesn't stay home just because we've entered a professional setting. The old shame doesn't disappear just because we're adults now. The hypervigilance doesn't switch off just because we're in a different room. This is why I rarely work with someone and think, "They just need better slides." I'm looking at a whole human trying to show up powerfully in one slice of their life while managing everything else that makes them, well, them. And that's the work that actually moves the needle. So if you're looking to become a more powerful presenter and more polished communicator, consider starting from the inside out. The technical skills matter, absolutely. But the inner work -- understanding what you're really carrying into that room -- that's often where the transformation begins. #publicspeaking #communicationskills #leadershipcoaching

💥 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗔𝗜. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆. And you don’t get clarity from buzzwords. You get it from mastering the basics. Yet too many PMs skip straight to frameworks, tools, and certifications—without ever understanding the fundamentals: What phase are we in? What’s the actual goal? Who needs to know what, when? Here’s my unpopular opinion: 🚫 Gantt charts don’t save projects. 🚫 Tools don’t manage risks. 🚫 Templates don’t align teams. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗱𝗼. 𝗜𝗳 - 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗳 - 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 ↳ Understand how projects evolve through phases—and why jumping ahead kills momentum. 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ↳ No jargon. No fluff. Just saying what needs to be said—at the right time, to the right people. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 ↳ Not just dates and tasks. But dependencies, priorities, and the courage to say “this won’t work.” 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 ↳ A proactive mindset beats risk logs every time. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲-𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 ↳ Because no methodology replaces trust, clarity, and emotional intelligence. 📌 That’s what I coach. That’s what I train. And that’s what consistently separates high-performing teams from chaotic ones. 𝗦𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 “𝗔𝗜-𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗠 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹,” 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: ➡️ Do you understand what good project management looks like, without the aid of a tool? Because clarity scales. Complexity doesn’t. 🔁 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲? 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁—𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁? 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀. 💬 Drop your hardest project lesson in the comments. ♻️ Repost to help project leaders refocus on what matters. 💾 Save this post for later, because back-to-basics never goes out of style. ➕ And follow Markus Kopko ✨ for more. #ProjectManagement #PMLeadership #BackToBasics

7 words of the best advice if you keep hearing "Be more strategic" Strategy isn’t tasks. It’s visibility of thought. A few years ago, I hit a wall: My feedback always came back to strategy. Even when my results were top-tier. “You’re doing great. Just think more strategically.” Meanwhile, peers with less execution power got tapped for bigger roles. And every time I’d ask: “Can you clarify what being strategic looks like here?” They’d say some version of: “Take a broader view. Think beyond your lane.” Even though I’d already been connecting dots across functions. If you’ve heard that same vague feedback... You know how frustrating it feels. When you’re delivering (amazing) results But still not seen as “ready.” Here’s what I had to learn: Strategic isn’t about adding more to your plate. It’s about making your thinking visible. If your work only lives in execution—no one connects it to leadership. This is when you stall: “You’re excellent at delivery, but we need someone thinking a few levels up.” Heard that before? So what now? Follow this shift: Strategy isn’t said. It’s shown daily. When I coach mid-career pros into Director and VP roles, this is the pivot we make: We stop asking: “Why don’t they see me as strategic?” And we start asking: “How do I make my strategic thinking visible?" Two examples: Example 1 They say: “We need to think bigger across departments.” Instead of nodding, try: “I’ve noticed X trend across two teams. What if we built a joint approach to solve that? I’d be happy to map it out and lead coordination.” Now you're showing strategic thinking. Not asking for permission. Example 2 They say: “We’re looking for someone who sees the big picture.” Instead of going quiet, try: “I’ve been mapping out how X impacts Y across teams. I’d love to share a few scalable plays I see from here.” Too bold? Maybe. Now you’re not waiting to be called strategic. You’re proving it in real time. That’s the shift. If you’re waiting for someone to label you strategic, you’re behind. If you’re showing it, you're already being measured that way. Big difference. Bottom line: “Be more strategic” is often code for “show us the thinking we haven’t seen yet.” If that landed for you... Join my free masterclass to unlock your next promotion: https://lnkd.in/grCCCHp3 I'll show you how to shift your strategy from being the best-kept secret to the obvious next leader.

Many L&D people are attracted to the profession because they want to help others in a meaningful way. Yet, to make a real difference in organisations, it’s not enough to be great at the craft or strong in your learning expertise. To make a real impact, we need to think commercially - understanding how our work contributes to the bottom line. That means getting comfortable with business fundamentals. Start with the financial reports and KPIs, then work your way back into how learning fits. Strategic thinking in L&D is about understanding the environment and the bigger system in which we operate. Some things that help: - Know the business. If you don’t already, start learning about the financial drivers and priorities in your organisation. It’s not about becoming an accountant, but knowing what moves the needle. - Think in systems. L&D doesn’t operate in a vacuum. You need to work alongside many other teams – from HR/People & Culture through to IT, Comms, Strategy … and more! When you understand how everything fits together, you can position learning as part of a larger, value-driving system. - Sharpen your business acumen. You don’t have to be an expert in strategy, but knowing the basics can change how you approach learning solutions. When you speak the language of the business, you can connect learning directly to outcomes that matter. Building these skills takes time, and it can be hard to know where to start. One of the areas I help L&D professionals with through mentoring is to develop their strategic thinking and become more business savvy in how they work. If you’d like to explore how mentoring could help, feel free to reach out. I’d love to help you get clear on how L&D can drive real business results. https://lnkd.in/eqYvMJnK #LearningStrategy #LearningAndDevelopment #Mentoring #LearningUncut