Why Your Promotion Into Senior Leadership Feels Harder Than Expected
Quick Summary After coaching leaders for more than eight years, I’ve come to believe that the most underestimated transition in a career isn’t becoming a manager. It’s becoming a newly promoted senior leader. A senior sales leader at a high-growth technology company came to me last year with a specific request: teach me leadership frameworks…
Why Focusing on People Will Give AI Tech Leaders a Competitive Advantage
The industry that once promised wealth, status, and job security is now generating something else entirely: fear. Here’s what’s going wrong, why it matters, and why focusing on people again will give AI tech companies a competitive advantage. I haven’t spoken to a single senior tech leader in the past six months who would describe…
Why Leadership Teams Break at the Scaling Stage
Quick Summary Scaling requires a new leadership approach: The habits that help companies succeed in the early stages often become obstacles as organizations grow. Decision bottlenecks slow growth: When leaders stay involved in every decision, teams become dependent on approvals and execution begins to stall. Delegation means transferring ownership: Effective scaling requires leaders to give…
Three Small Rituals to Develop Leadership Presence
Nearly 25 years ago, I was an entry-level sales rep at Eli Lilly, sitting in a large annual sales meeting. The CEO at the time, Sydney Taurel, took the stage. I don’t remember what he said. What I do remember, almost three decades later, is how he made me feel. Calm. Impressed. Intrigued. He had…
Where Smart Leaders Are Investing in 2026 Hint: It’s Not All Ai
As we settle into 2026, many senior leaders are already back in the familiar rhythm: packed calendars, constant decision-making, and the pressure to get priorities right—fast. It’s easy to get swept up in the fast moving current of corporate life without taking the time to really think through strategic initiatives and smart areas to invest…
Year-End Leadership Reflection: 7 Questions That Inform Next Year’s Success
I recently attended my annual year-end debrief and planning retreat with fellow coach entrepreneurs. We started with a leadership year-end reflection exercise to debrief 2025 and some of my findings were… surprising. While I focused a lot of my mental energy on thinking about work, it was the non-work events that influenced me the most…
How Gratitude Can Improve Leadership Effectiveness
Gratitude as a Leadership Strategy Mark Zuckerberg isn’t known for harping on the insight that gratitude can improve leadership effectiveness. But the one time that we know he tried it, it worked. Years ago, long before Facebook became Meta, Mark Zuckerberg wanted a key team member to move from New York to Silicon Valley. She…
How Great Leaders Keep Top Talent During Times of Uncertainty
The workplace is shifting — fast. If you’re a leader in biotech or tech, you’re likely feeling the ripple effects: reorgs, AI-driven change, tighter budgets, new expectations, and teams stretched to capacity. And the data makes the picture even clearer: If you’ve felt the subtle hesitation in 1:1s… the quieter Zoom calls… the increase in…
How To Navigate Year-End Pressure Without Burning Out Your Team
The last quarter of the year is crunch time. Budget deadlines. End-of-year board meetings. Annual planning. Ambitious Q4 targets. The holiday calendar. It seems there is always year-end pressure to meet mounting goals. Sound familiar? For leaders in tech and biotech, the final 6-8 weeks of the year often feel like the ultimate test of…
The AI Fear Gripping Silicon Valley- and How Leaders and Companies Can Respond
If you lead in today’s business world, you already feel it — AI isn’t just knocking on the door, it’s kicked it wide open and rearranged the furniture. July 2025 was particularly brutal for the tech industry. Just over 46,000 people were laid off with Intel, TCS and Microsoft leading the pack in making cuts. …
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"Amy asked questions that challenged me, pulling me out of my comfort zone and guided me. This was exactly what I needed, without realizing it. I came away tools to better manage my day to day and propel me forward. I recommend her to anyone who is seeking clarity, whether it be professional or personal. Read more."