33% of employees in the US and engaged and a meagre 13% in Europe (Gallup, 2025). Depressing. There’s no other word for it.

What does this mean? An almost infinite amount of untapped potential in companies and individuals. 

And at huge cost.

Disengaged in many cases will equal unhappy. Unhappy, can also equate to difficult personal relationships, health issues, social issues, not participating  with communities and society in general . 

And for companies, disengaged employees means untapped productivity, underforming and less impactful companies. I’m a big believer that business contributes positively to society (with some noteworthy exceptions of course). But with such limited engagement, that positive impact is being severely limited. 

Think about the ripple effect. It’s huge.

And why are we in this situation?

Leadership.

Ouch, that feels like a bit of a punch in the face doesn’t it?

But leadership is at the core of everything. Everything.

What’s the primary reason people leave their jobs? According to an MIT Sloan Management Review, the leading reason for people walking away from their jobs was toxin culture which includes people feeling disrespected and unethical behaviour. In other words, poor leadership. 

All sounds really depressing doesn’t it?

But let’s flip this on its head. If we’re starting here, let’s see this as an opportunity. An opportunity to make our businesses and in turn society and the world a better place. 

Let’s control what we can individually control as leaders, founders, CEOs, executives. It’s down to us to make a difference.

And yes, we’re all operating in a context of unprecedented change (AI, politics, changing business models, the future of work). There’s a huge amount of pressure for results, often with less resources. But we have agency.

I’ve been there, I’ve run companies and P&Ls. I love it. But I have been exhausted. Often, without being fully aware of the toll on myself and the people around me. I’ve felt exhausted at the end of every single day. I’ve desperately wanted to turn up for my team with energy and in doing so, would drain myself even further. I knew I was operating at 25% and it wasn’t fair on me, my team and my business. And I didn’t really know what to do about it. I felt like I didn’t have the time or headspace to work it out. I felt alone because who do you talk to?

And this is where coaches have helped me and why I work with leaders. 

By working with a coach to really understand myself, what drives and energises me, what my superstrengths are, my values, my purpose, my boundaries, my limiting beliefs, my healthy routines, I went from being exhausted to thriving. I was able to perform and keep my energy levels high despite the pressure, daily problem solving and general chaos that can come with running a business. My teams and business performed better too. 

As an executive coach, I adapt my approach to every client, the challenges and opportunities they face. Ultimately, in over twenty years of running businesses, one of the most rewarding parts of my job was coaching others and seeing them develop beyond what they thought they were capable of. 

I have the privilege of this being my career. Supporting CEOs, founders and executives to thrive is what lights me up. I’ve seen the results and there’s nothing more rewarding than being there to support them, their teams and ultimately, their business to have more sustained impact. This is about high performance but in the long term. . 

It starts with leadership. How we show up, set the vision and direction, our energy, our emotional regulation, how we deal with difficult situations, how we build teams and culture. 

Leaders are contagious. How we show up affects others in so many ways, some of which  we’re not even aware of. 

It’s not easy and we need to work on ourselves but it’s so worth it. When we learn what we need to perform at a high level, in a sustained way, it changes everything.

When we love leading, everyone performs better.

Put yourself first. That’s how great leaders serve.

Stop doing more. Make more impact.

Don’t just lead. Love leading.

This is why I do what I do.