The most serious leaders I know all have something that sparkles
Two days of mission. Ten interviews. A team under pressure. Then at the break, someone noticed my glitter shoes. Everything shifted.
Carnet de bord
This CFO would rather quit than say he was angry
His group had just chosen a tool he considered wrong. I asked if he was angry. His answer: "No, that wouldn't be appropriate."
“Always more”: what if more is no longer the right direction?
Record revenue, full pipeline — and joy noticeably absent. Two CEO clients helped me understand why "always more" can become a trap.
“Not bad, good job”, the compliment that does not work
A CEO uses "not bad, good job" when he is proud of his team. Our brain retains "bad" first. And "good job" stays impersonal, with little real effect.
When an executive committee seminar goes off script
We had spent weeks preparing this seminar. Then the subject shifted. An entire day repeating the same thing in different forms — and an unexpected mirror in an airplane.
Summer logbook #3 — the dandelion and what you sow without knowing it
As a leader, what do you leave behind if you disappear tomorrow? A field of dandelions asked me this question — and the answers surprised me.
Summer logbook #2 — a tribute to the chrysalis nobody sees
We always celebrate the butterfly. Its freedom, its colours. We forget the chrysalis — that time in the dark, building, risking something to finally emerge.
Summer logbook #1 — Lake Geneva, a silent leader
It is 8pm. I have given everything and taken nothing for myself. So I went to put my feet in the lake. Lake Geneva — which appears calm but carries immense invisible currents.
Summer programme: lighten the load to perform better
I'm sleeping badly. I'm irritable. I arrive at summer on empty. My sports coach said: let's lighten the programme so your body drives your performance — not the other way around.
You don’t ‘find’ time. You choose it.
You say 'I'll find the time.' But what if that phrase reveals exactly how much control you've handed over to the outside world?
What your teams will remember in 10 years — and it’s not your summer offsite
A GM wanted a team offsite to remobilise after three reorganisations. I said no. What teams actually remember are the micro-moments built together during the hard times.
“We’re in the thick of it”: is adrenaline really the only fuel for leadership?
"We're in the thick of it." Words I hear in meetings, from CEOs and CHROs. What if adrenaline isn't the only fuel that drives people forward — or the best one for lasting results?
“I am my own greatest fan”: what took me years to understand
A CEO told me "I'm my own greatest fan." My first reaction? To judge. Then I paused. That reaction said nothing about him — and everything about me.
Jealousy at work: the silent national sport — and what it reveals about you
I recruited him, trained him, pushed him towards opportunities he wouldn't have sought alone. That evening, he didn't remember. I felt two things rise at once: unrecognised contribution, and pure jealousy.
Brownout: when meaning disappears quietly and the brain drowns in the familiar
A CHRO client feels useful 20% of the time in her role. Her brain found its solution: drowning in the familiar. That's brownout — and I saw myself in her mirror.
Managerial courage: I’ve been brave. I’ve been cowardly. The real cost is always the cowardice.
Threatening to resign over a harassment case: brave. Letting a bad hire go through to avoid conflict: cowardly. The real price of managerial cowardice — no one calculates it in advance.
Being content: what my client taught me about ambition and the art of savouring what you’ve built
My client was content with what he had. And I was irritated. Until I found that in 19th-century French, 'avoir son content' meant being fully satisfied — not settling. A complete reversal.
The CHRO not in the room: a reporting line issue, or a signal about perceived value?
A CEO rehearses for his board. His CHRO wasn't in the room when the strategic plan was built. My face said it all. I've been hearing 'it's coming' for 25 years.
A note slipped under a laptop: an unexpected lesson on leadership presence
A note slipped under a mouse on a Paris-Geneva train. A young woman returning from maternity leave, in tears. What we give and receive when we dare to be truly present.
Adrenaline isn’t an infinite fuel : what seven years after a burnout taught me
Seven years ago, I was at the peak of my career. Then everything stopped. Silent burnout, invisible from the outside. What I've understood since changes how I work with executives.
AI won’t make us less human. It will force us to be more so.
AI blurs the line between good and average. It makes experience seem less relevant. And yet it makes certain leadership qualities more valuable than ever.
‘Help me hold on until retirement.’ Here’s why I said no.
A senior executive asks me to help him hold on until retirement. I almost said yes. Then I said no. Because surviving without living is not a mission I take on.
A coffee and some clementines: hospitality as the first act of leadership
A coffee. Some clementines. A Luxury House director who welcomes differently. This apparently minor detail says something essential about what creates lasting connection in an organisation.
That conflict between your directors may not be what you think it is
Two directors in open conflict. Everyone's first instinct: find the culprit. What I saw instead: two executives with no project big enough to absorb their energy. The conflict wasn't the problem.
‘Best job? Holidays.’ What that sentence is actually saying.
A 50-year-old executive living for his next holiday. That's not laziness. It's a signal. And that signal deserves a real answer — not a five-step plan.
Resilience or over-adaptation: do you actually know which one you’re practising?
We admire executives who 'hold the line.' But between resilience and over-adaptation, the line is thin. One strengthens you. The other erodes you. Do you know which one you're practising?
10 years as CEO: the answer has nothing to do with strategy
How does a CEO last 10 years in a major industrial group through repeated crises? The answer isn't resilience or strategy. It's inner freshness.
You don’t ‘find’ time. You choose it.
You say 'I'll find the time.' But what if that phrase reveals exactly how much control you've handed over to the outside world?
Total autonomy is a myth — even for top-performing executives
At 46, I started learning piano. My teacher said: without an objective, you won't progress. This isn't a willpower problem. It's a priority problem — and an accountability one.
‘Help, I’m being held hostage’: when an executive’s brain shifts into survival mode
Held hostage by her board, by governance, by the gap between targets and real resources. When a brain goes into survival mode, strategy and empathy alone won't fix it.