Someone has brought me a problem.
You may need to work out whether they need to be heard, need help thinking, or need an issue escalated before you decide what to do.
Leadership & Navigation
You may be preparing for a difficult conversation, deciding how much to step in, or trying not to take back work that belongs with someone else.
Leadership is often less about having the answer immediately and more about working out what the situation actually needs from you.
Before you step in
Strong, reliable people are often quick to take responsibility. That can be useful. It can also mean taking ownership too soon, giving feedback that is too vague, or deciding before there is enough information.
You may need to work out whether they need to be heard, need help thinking, or need an issue escalated before you decide what to do.
You may be tempted to fix it yourself. The useful question may be what genuinely needs to change, and what feedback belongs with the person who owns the work.
You may need to separate what is known, what is assumed, what matters most, and what you are responsible for deciding now.
Two ways to work with a live situation
You may want a low-stakes space to practise and observe how a situation works. Or you may need a confidential one-to-one conversation about a live decision, change, or key discussion. Neither choice requires the other.
Best when
You want a lower-stakes live space to practise noticing what a situation needs, work with realistic workplace dynamics, and learn through observation.
What it is for
Practice Clinics give you a chance to work with one recognisable workplace situation and practise the judgement involved in responding to it.
See the next Practice Clinic and register
They are not group coaching and they are not a required step before one-to-one support. You can book a Sounding Board Session directly when you have a live issue to think through.
Best when
You are preparing for a key conversation, navigating change, making a difficult decision, or want to talk through a current leadership situation with a trusted sounding board.
What the conversation is for
A focused one-to-one conversation that helps you make sense of the situation, see practical options, and leave with clearer next steps and renewed confidence.
Book a Leadership Sounding Board Session
It is not a test of whether you are ready to lead, and it does not require you to have attended a Practice Clinic first.
If you are still trying to work out what the situation is asking of you, you do not need to choose a route today. Return to the question above, make one useful observation, and come back when the current need is clearer.
If the situation is clearer than it was when you arrived, the page has done something useful. You might decide to slow down, ask one better question, give clearer feedback, talk it through with someone you trust, or return when a conversation or decision becomes more immediate.
Keep the question in mind: what does this situation need from me now?
A client experience
I knew we did not have enough funding to deliver the planned program, but my reporting was telling executives that everything was under control. Kathy helped me look at the situation from their perspective and communicate the risk differently. The program received additional funding and we delivered the planned scope.
Rodney P.
Program Manager
The useful shift was clearer judgement about the situation and a more useful way of communicating it. Individual outcomes will differ.
If the issue that feels most immediate is career direction, how your experience is being positioned, or an upcoming interview, you can start from a different current problem. You can also return later with a different need.