Matt Patterson is the founder and sole coach of Érdem Elevate, a performance coaching brand built on the belief that leadership begins with self-mastery. His work integrates fitness, mindset, and leadership into one disciplined operating system, designed for high-performing professionals who demand more from themselves and their lives. Matt Patterson, Owner Operator, Coach Who is Matt Patterson? Introduce yourself, your hobbies, your favorites, you at home and in business, and tell us something interesting about yourself. When I’m not coaching or posting, my days are quiet but full. I’m constantly planning what’s next, new projects, better systems, and ways I can improve how I serve my clients. As a sole proprietor, I’m involved in everything, strategy, execution, and daily operations. There isn’t much separation between thinking and doing for me. I’m always refining something. One thing people often misunderstand about me, something my wife sees more clearly than I do, is my confidence. At first, it can come across as arrogance, which I genuinely hate. That’s never been my intention. What drives me is ambition rooted in self-improvement. I want to be better in every area of my life, and I want the people around me to grow and win too. That’s where my confidence comes from, not ego, but commitment. At home, I live in a relationship built on partnership. I lead through service. Being the head of the household doesn’t mean control, it means responsibility. I invest time into supporting my wife, not just as my spouse, but as a person. That same servant leadership mindset carries directly into my business. I don’t separate who I am at home from who I am in my work. What doesn’t fit the high-performance coach stereotype is that I’m not loud or high-energy all the time. I don’t rely on hype or constant intensity. I’m actually quiet, reflective, and structured. I think a lot, I plan a lot, and I spend a lot of time alone refining systems. I’ve learned that my best work, and the best results, come when things are calm and intentional, not chaotic. Most people assume high performance requires noise. For me, performance improves when there’s clarity and order. What inspired you to create Érdem Elevate, and what does the name truly represent to you? Right before Érdem Elevate existed, I was running a different business, Patterson Health and Fitness. On paper, things were fine. Internally, I knew it wasn’t enough. What I wanted to say, and what I believed mattered, had outgrown a fitness-only container. It stopped being just about workouts and nutrition. I started noticing a deeper problem everywhere I looked, especially in corporate environments. Across industries, there was a massive lack of real leadership. People were chasing titles instead of responsibility. Leaders were protecting themselves instead of developing their people. Lower management and employees were left confused and burned out, not because they couldn’t handle the work, but because no one had ever shown them the mission. Most companies talk about culture, but very few actually build it. There are no clear values, no leadership development, no standard people can align to, and then leadership is shocked by high turnover. The truth is, most organizations don’t lose people because of workload. They lose them because there’s no direction and no leadership worth following. It wasn’t that what I was doing was unsustainable, it was incomplete. I knew that if I stayed complacent, I’d be ignoring a bigger responsibility. At first, I thought the problem I wanted to solve was the culture inside companies. Over time, I realized something deeper. How someone leads others is a direct reflection of how they lead themselves. The way you take care of your body. The way you handle pressure. The way you lead your family. That’s how you lead in business. You can’t lead anyone if you can’t lead yourself first. Érdem represents merit, which is earned through discipline and action. Elevate reflects the standard I expect people to rise to. Érdem Elevate was built to develop people from the inside out, so leadership isn’t just a concept, but a lived standard. Who do you most love helping, and what challenges are they usually facing when they come to you? The people I work best with usually look successful on the outside, but they’re being shaped by their environment instead of leading themselves. Over time, that almost always leads to burnout. They don’t know how to recover, not because they’re weak, but because they don’t have systems. Many of them also struggle to define what success actually looks like. No one ever showed them how. They’ve been working hard, checking boxes, and meeting expectations without a clear mission or standard to align to. Most come to me thinking the issue is physical, and the body usually does need attention. But the deeper issue is mindset and how they operate day to day. They’re living reactively, not intentionally, and they aren’t actually working on themselves. In many ways, they remind me of who I was before the Marine Corps. No clear direction, just living life the way society laid it out. Most people don’t realize how capable they are because no one ever told them the truth. They’re worth far more than the level they’ve been operating at. That belief alone doesn’t change anything, though. The work still has to be done. No one else will do it for you. Once people are given structure and standards, they rise quickly. In simple terms, how do you help your clients create real and lasting change? I help people create change by giving them structure where they’ve been relying on effort alone. Most of my clients aren’t short on drive. They’re short on systems. They’ve been pushing through days, reacting to their environment, and hoping consistency shows up on its own. That approach eventually leads to burnout or frustration. I slow things down. We clarify what matters, define standards, and install simple, repeatable systems. The body is often the entry point because physical discipline builds momentum fast. The goal is learning how to lead yourself. When structure is in place, consistency stops being a struggle. Action becomes automatic instead of emotional. Over time, that consistency rebuilds confidence because they see proof they can follow through. What makes your approach different from others working in the same space? Most people already know what they should be doing. The problem is that they don’t have a structure that allows them to do it consistently when life gets busy or stressful. I don’t rely on motivation or hype. I focus on how someone actually operates day to day, how they train, how they eat, how they recover, and how they respond when things go off plan. I also don’t avoid the emotional side. Early on, we identify what’s really driving their behavior, frustration, guilt, pressure, or disappointment. When people see that connection, their reaction changes. They stop defending habits and start taking ownership. I don’t separate fitness from life. The way someone treats their body is usually how they show up at home and at work. If there’s chaos there, it shows up everywhere. I stay involved. I pay attention to patterns and fix systems before small slips turn into setbacks. I’m not here to motivate someone for a week. I’m here to help them become consistent and self-led long-term. Can you describe a breakthrough moment you frequently see clients experience when working with you? The breakthrough usually shows up quietly. It’s when clients stop complaining about sleep or circumstances and start getting frustrated that they missed a workout or didn’t hit their macros. That shift tells me everything. It means they’re invested in improving themselves. It’s never a physical win first. It’s a mental shift. They start asking different questions. Instead of why something happened, they ask how to prevent it next time. That’s when systems matter. Because this moment is common, I already have structures built to support it. From there, old habits lose their grip and sustainable habits take over. How does your work help people move from feeling stuck to feeling confident and empowered? Most people feel stuck because they don’t trust themselves anymore. They’ve broken promises to themselves long enough that confidence eroded. One of the biggest lessons that shaped my coaching came from Andy Frisella. The work comes before the belief. That’s absolutely true. I don’t try to give people belief first. I start with action. Clear standards, structure, and non-negotiables. Once they show up consistently, belief builds naturally. Empowerment shows up in behavior. They take ownership, adjust instead of quitting, and stop reacting emotionally. Confidence is earned through action. What role do mindset, discipline, and self-belief play in the transformations you help create? Mindset comes first, but not in the way most people think. It starts with awareness and ownership. Discipline is built, not demanded. Without reflection and structure, life turns into chaos. People move reactively without development. Structure creates repetition. Repetition builds discipline. Self-belief comes last. The work always comes before the belief. Confidence is built during the process, not before it. You can’t skip that phase. You earn belief through action over time. How do you support clients in turning clarity into consistent action and results? Clarity doesn’t mean much unless it leads to action. Once someone is clear, I remove ambiguity. I simplify priorities, set standards, and build systems around real life, not perfect conditions. When something slips, we fix the system instead of blaming the person. Over time, friction decreases, decisions get easier, and results become predictable. What kind of transformation can someone expect if they fully commit to working with you? If someone fully commits to working with me, the biggest transformation isn’t just physical. They become more disciplined, more intentional, and more self-aware. They trust themselves because they’ve proven they can follow through. I don’t promise easy. I help people move from chaos to structure and from drifting to direction. What is the biggest mistake you see people making before they seek support or guidance? The biggest mistake I see is waiting too long and misunderstanding what support actually means. I’m not talking about encouragement from family or friends. I’m talking about structured guidance, accountability, and outside perspective. Most people wait because they think they should figure it out alone. By the time they reach out, they’ve repeated the same cycles for years. Seeking support isn’t a weakness. It’s a responsibility. For someone reading this who feels called to more but is hesitating, what would you want them to know? Clarity doesn’t come from waiting. It comes from action. You don’t need to feel ready. You need to be willing to hold yourself to a higher standard and do the work. If you feel called to more, don’t ignore it. That feeling doesn’t go away. It gets louder until you answer it. You don’t need permission. You need a decision. Closing call to action. If anything in this interview resonated with you, start by paying attention to how you’re operating day to day. If you want to explore these ideas further or have an open conversation about where you’re at and where you want to go, I’m always open to that. My work through Érdem Elevate is centered on building structure, discipline, and self-leadership from the inside out. You can learn more or reach out to work with me at my website . Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Matt Patterson

Written by Dr. Asanee Brogan, Ori Alignment Coach Dr. Asanee Brogan is an Ori Alignment Coach, Ifá educator, and author. She is the founder of Asanee 44, a spiritual brand rooted in the Ifá tradition that offers lineage-based guidance and support through Ifá divination, Odu Ifá wisdom, and Ori-centered ancestral work. She is also the host of the African Spirit Reintegrated + Reimagined podcast.   Many people assume that starting their Ifá journey begins with curiosity, excitement, or a strong sense of desire. Sometimes, that pull comes through imagery or symbolism. Other times, it occurs in moments of urgency, when someone is facing financial problems, relationship challenges, or instability. During such times, they often desire relief. In these instances, interest alone can feel like readiness. But being ready is not a declaration or a reaction to life’s challenges. Instead, it is an internal condition. Feeling drawn to the Ifá tradition does not automatically mean a person is prepared to integrate it into their life. What often happens at the beginning of an Ifá journey is tension between an individual’s interests and limitations. But this is not a clear signal to move forward. This phase explains the pull to the tradition, not what to do about it. The unsettled feeling many people experience early on is often the first sign of internal realignment. How to know when you’re ready for Ifá Readiness does not feel urgent. When someone is prepared to begin their Ifá journey, they are not driven to do things right away or motivated only to fix a problem. The interest is present, but it does not feel frantic, all-consuming, or chaotic. There is room to slow down without feeling the need to ‘do something’ immediately. At this stage, a person recognizes their need for structure, understanding, and empowerment along their journey. They understand that they don’t have to have all of the answers. However, they know that it’s vital for them to find the right sources to guide their path. They are willing to wait for this reality to manifest itself in due time. Why a solid foundation is paramount At the beginning of an Ifá journey, what’s most important is your foundation. People often arrive wanting answers, results, or immediate relief. Yet those impulses say very little about their ability to properly navigate or integrate into the tradition. Once they have a solid foundation, their focus naturally shifts. There is less fixation on outcomes and more attention to understanding the tradition itself, its beliefs, its practices, and its demands. This is where discernment begins. Not because they have been told what to do, but because they recognize that without grounding, everything else is meaningless. Why is it uncomfortable at the beginning The beginning of an Ifá journey often feels uneasy, even when there are no external obstacles prohibiting your path. That discomfort usually comes from not yet understanding what the tradition is about. Many people approach Ifá through fragmented information, sensational imagery, or disjointed narratives. When these elements fail to form a coherent understanding, frustration ensues. This anxiety is compounded by the reality that the Ifá tradition is still widely misunderstood and stigmatized. This leads to a decision shrouded in isolation and internal conflict. These dynamics reflect that reorganization is needed. Familiar belief systems and ways of being feel unstable at this point. However, new structural frameworks grounded in traditional wisdom have not yet fully formed. In this in-between space, proper orientation, education, and mentorship are essential. Without these devices, uncertainty often turns into anxiety or apathy. With them, this discomfort becomes a refined adjustment period. What comes next on the path of Ifá Once you feel ready to start your journey, the next step is orientation. This is when you begin to understand the full essence of the Ifá tradition, its lineage expressions , and how they function. Through this foundation, you gain a deeper understanding of where you fit within the vast framework. From there, Ifá-based educational grounding is crucial. Through a sound learning framework, you gain deeper insight into the structure of the tradition. You learn what it is and what it isn’t. This enhances your sense of agency as you acquire the tools and resources to ‘speak the language’ of the tradition. Even more, Ifá mentorship supports this process by providing you with greater context and human connection. This is what we provide at Asanee 44 . Our platform exists to support individuals at every stage of their Ifá journey. So, if you feel called to the tradition, explore the vast Ifá journey resources we provide at Asanee 44 to get started. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dr. Asanee Brogan Dr. Asanee Brogan, Ori Alignment Coach Grounded in years of study and practice within the Yoruba-based Ifá tradition, Dr. Asanee Brogan creates accessible learning resources. These tools guide individuals toward ancestral reconnection and Ori alignment. Through Asanee 44, she provides Ifá divination, rituals, products, courses, and more that honor African spirituality with authenticity and cultural integrity.

In an era increasingly defined by institutional legitimacy, evidentiary governance, and accountability beyond symbolism, the acceptance of an organisation into the United Nations system remains a meaningful threshold. The recent acceptance of The Empirical House of Chahamana into the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Civil Society database represents such a moment. DESA’s Civil Society database is not ceremonial. It functions as the United Nations Secretariat’s formal registry of recognised civil society actors, providing a verified institutional record that informs engagement across UN departments, thematic consultations, and multilateral policy processes. Inclusion signals that an organisation has met baseline standards of structure, transparency, and purpose, sufficient to be recorded within the UN’s administrative architecture. For The Empirical House of Chahamana, this acceptance reflects a deliberate approach to institutional formation. The organisation positions itself not as a performative entity, but as an empirical house grounded in documentation, continuity, and governance frameworks that intersect Indigenous legitimacy, sovereign history, and contemporary civil society norms. In a global environment where claims of authority are often asserted without scrutiny, entry into the DESA registry marks a transition from assertion to record. Importantly, the DESA Civil Society database operates as a gateway. While it does not itself confer consultative status, it establishes the foundation upon which further engagement with ECOSOC mechanisms, UN forums, and Secretariat-level dialogues may occur. Many organisations seeking influence within international systems underestimate the significance of this preliminary recognition. Without it, institutional voices often remain informal, or peripheral, regardless of their cultural, historical, or moral weight. The acceptance also carries archival implications. Once entered, an organisation’s profile becomes part of the United Nations’ long-term civil society memory, accessible to policy officers, rapporteurs, and missions. In this sense, recognition is not only contemporary, but cumulative. For emerging civil society actors, particularly those representing Indigenous governance models, dynastic institutions, or non-state sovereign traditions, this moment is instructive. International systems respond not to spectacle, but to evidence. Structure, clarity, and consistency remain the currencies of recognition. The Empirical House of Chahamana’s inclusion in the DESA Civil Society database signals an understanding of this reality. It reflects an institutional strategy that prioritises credibility over noise, and permanence over immediacy. As global governance continues to evolve, such foundations matter. Recognition does not conclude a journey. It formalises its beginning.

Written by Kelsey Irving, Licensed Clinical Therapist Kelsey Irving is a licensed therapist and recognized specialist in OCD and anxiety disorders. She is the founder of Steadfast Psychology Group and author of the children’s book Jacob and the Cloud. When anxiety strikes, reassurance feels like relief. A quick Google search. A text to a friend. A silent mental checklist: I locked the door. I washed my hands. I’m fine. For a moment, the tension eases. The mind exhales. And then, often sooner than expected, the doubt creeps back in. This is the paradox at the heart of anxiety and obsessive thinking: the very strategies we use to feel better can quietly keep the problem going. Reassurance works in the short term because it reduces discomfort. Whether it comes from others (“You’re okay, nothing bad will happen”) or from ourselves (“I’ve checked enough times”), it temporarily calms the nervous system. But the brain is a fast learner. It notices that anxiety went down after reassurance appeared, and it draws a powerful conclusion: reassurance keeps me safe. That lesson has consequences. The next time uncertainty shows up and it always does, the brain demands reassurance again. And because no reassurance is ever perfectly convincing or permanent, it must be repeated. What started as comfort becomes a habit, then a compulsion. Anxiety tightens its grip not despite reassurance, but because of it. This loop is especially strong in obsessive thinking. Obsessions thrive on “what ifs”: What if I made a mistake? What if I hurt someone? What if something goes wrong and it’s my fault? Reassurance seems like the obvious antidote. But every time we seek certainty, we reinforce the idea that uncertainty is dangerous and intolerable. The mind becomes less able to sit with doubt, not more. Ironically, reassurance also raises the stakes. If you need reassurance to feel okay, then not having it becomes a threat. Silence from a friend, a vague answer, or even your own internal doubt can feel alarming. The absence of reassurance becomes proof that something is wrong. Over time, life shrinks. Decisions take longer. Confidence erodes. The world starts to feel like a series of risks that must be neutralized before you can move forward. So what’s the alternative? It isn’t positive thinking, endless self-talk, or finding the right reassurance at last. The way out runs in the opposite direction: toward accepting uncertainty. Accepting uncertainty doesn’t mean liking it. It means recognizing a hard truth: no amount of checking, asking, or thinking can guarantee safety. Uncertainty is not a flaw in the system, it is the system. Life has always worked this way. When people stop seeking reassurance, anxiety often spikes at first. This is normal. The brain protests when an old safety behavior is removed. But something else begins to happen, too. Without reassurance, the mind slowly learns a new lesson: I can feel uncertain and still be okay. Anxiety rises, and then, crucially, it falls on its own. This is how confidence is rebuilt. Not through certainty, but through experience. The bottom line is simple, though not easy: reassurance keeps anxiety alive by teaching the brain that doubt is intolerable. Freedom comes from doing the opposite, allowing uncertainty to exist without trying to erase it. When we stop chasing reassurance, we give ourselves something far more durable than comfort. We give ourselves resilience. If anxiety or OCD has you stuck in a cycle of reassurance-seeking and doubt, you don’t have to figure this out alone. Working with a licensed therapist can help you break these patterns, learn to tolerate uncertainty, and reclaim your life from obsessive fear. If you’re ready to take that next step, I invite you to contact me to explore how therapy can help. Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Kelsey Irving Kelsey Irving, Licensed Clinical Therapist Kelsey Irving is a licensed therapist specializing in the treatment of adults with OCD and anxiety disorders. Inspired by a close family member’s diagnosis and the widespread misunderstanding of OCD, she became deeply committed to providing informed, compassionate, and effective care. Kelsey serves individuals through her private practice, Steadfast Psychology Group, and extends her impact through her children’s book, Jacob and the Cloud.

Written by Sass Allard, Strategic Coach & Change Consultant Sass Allard is a strategic coach and change consultant helping leaders and high-performing women navigate complex change with clarity, resilience, and practical insight drawn from over 20 years in global organisations. What many women feel in midlife isn’t ordinary tiredness. It’s not a lack of stamina, motivation, or resilience. It’s the weight of carrying a system that was never recalibrated as life expanded. Years of holding emotional complexity, anticipating needs, and absorbing responsibility without renegotiation eventually create a fatigue that sleep doesn’t touch. This exhaustion isn’t caused by doing too much. It comes from carrying too much that was never meant to be permanent. For decades, many women have operated with a finely tuned internal compass. Intuition guided decisions, energy recovered quickly, and the body felt like a reliable ally. Then something begins to shift. Perimenopause disrupts the familiar feedback loop between body and mind, not violently but persistently. Signals feel different, and responses change. The body no longer behaves as expected, and the mind no longer trusts its old reference points. What once felt instinctive now feels uncertain. This is often interpreted as a loss, but in reality, it’s a mismatch between who you’ve been and how you’re being asked to live now. The disorientation many women feel is not because they are losing themselves, but because the operating system they’ve relied on for decades no longer aligns with their internal reality. The effort to maintain familiarity begins to outweigh its usefulness. At the same time, a growing cultural narrative insists that midlife must be endured rather than leveraged. If you’re not struggling, the implication goes, you’re not really in it. Difficulty becomes a kind of credential. This framing is corrosive. It strips women of agency and flattens a complex, expansive transition into something to be medicated or quietly survived when, in reality, it can be both challenging and deeply generative. What’s actually happening is not a decline but heightened sensitivity. The system becomes less tolerant of misalignment. What once went unnoticed now registers immediately. Energy drops when something isn’t right, and irritation surfaces where there was once accommodation. The body begins to reject arrangements it once relied on to function. This change is often seen as a failure, when in fact it’s a signal. The problem is that few women have been shown how to work with this new configuration. Instead, they’re encouraged to recover the old one, to push through, to return to a version of themselves that no longer fits. The resulting tension creates a sense of being alien in your own body and mind, as though something essential has been taken away. Nothing has been taken. What’s emerging is a different form of authority. This stage of life demands fewer compromises and greater precision. It asks women to renegotiate roles that were assumed rather than chosen, to question the distribution of emotional labour, and to reclaim authorship over how they spend their energy. The exhaustion lifts not when women do less, but when they stop carrying what no longer belongs to them. Trust in intuition returns not by forcing confidence but by learning to listen again in a changed body. The signal is still there. It’s simply sharper, less forgiving, and less willing to be ignored. When women begin to respond to that signal rather than override it, agency follows naturally. This is why so many women feel simultaneously fed up and quietly powerful at this stage. Tolerance for invisibility collapses. Appetite for appeasement wanes. What replaces it is not anger for its own sake, but clarity. It’s a refusal to continue with arrangements that require constant self-adjustment. Far from fading, many women are at their most compelling here. There is less performance, less seeking, and less need to be palatable. The body may feel unfamiliar, but it is not weaker. It is more honest. The mind may question itself, but it is no longer interested in stories that diminish what is sensed. When women stop trying to return to who they were and begin to work with who they are becoming, exhaustion gives way to momentum. Not the frantic momentum of earlier decades, but something cleaner and more focused. Decisions will land faster, energy consolidates, and presence sharpens. This is not about having a terrible time to prove you’re in it. It’s about recognising that this phase offers a different kind of power, rooted in discernment rather than endurance. Thriving here means adapting how you lead yourself, how you relate, and how you inhabit your body and mind. It means treating this transition not as something to survive but as something to leverage. And once that shift is made, it becomes very hard to go back to carrying life in the old way. Follow me on Instagram ,   LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Sass Allard Sass Allard, Strategic Coach & Change Consultant Sass Allard works at the intersection of leadership, behaviour, and wellbeing, supporting individuals and organisations as they navigate demanding periods of change. Her background spans two decades in global companies, where she has helped senior leaders strengthen culture, clarity, and capability. She brings a grounded understanding of how hormonal shifts shape women’s experience at work without limiting the broader conversation. As a UN Women delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women, she brings a global lens to agency and progress. Sass writes about adaptation, resilience, and the practical shifts that create real movement in work and life.

Written by Naeema Siddiqui, Founder & CEO, Zanovah Middle East – Where Middle Managers Become Multipliers A former top-tier HR evaluator, Naeema Siddiqui, specializes in transforming brilliant but "invisible" managers into commanding executives. She is a leadership strategist and the author of Respect At First Sight: Body Language Secrets for Leaders. In the quiet, high-stakes atmosphere of the corporate boardroom, a recurring tragedy plays out, one that costs the global economy trillions but remains largely undiagnosed. It begins with a celebration, the promotion of a technical genius, a "star" contributor whose technical mastery is undisputed. But the moment they take their seat at the head of the table, their brilliance vanishes. They are talked over in meetings, their directives are met with inertia, and their presence seems to dissolve into the background. I call this the David Syndrome Over seven years on the opposite side of the hiring table as an HR evaluator, I diagnosed a fundamental systemic failure that most organizations miss. I watched companies allocate billions of dollars annually to elevate 'genius-level' technical experts, those who master intricate workflows and crush KPIs, only to see that investment evaporate. Organizations pay a premium for strategic brilliance, only to have that value erased because the leader's weak presence neutralizes their impact. It is a fatal disconnect between internal capability and external demeanor, effectively rendering the company’s most valuable assets invisible.   The 100-millisecond verdict A critical reality that many C-suite executives overlook is that effective leadership is not merely a meritocracy of words but a meritocracy of perception. Research from Princeton University indicates that judgments concerning competence and trustworthiness can be established in as little as 100 milliseconds.   In the high-pressure setting of the boardroom, an individual's fate is often determined at the doorway. When a manager exhibits hesitation through nonverbal cues such as slumped posture, apologetic gestures, or fragmented eye contact, the organization experiences an immediate "Impact Leak," resulting in stalled initiatives and diminished authority.   This strategic void is an organizational drain of massive proportions. According to Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace report, low employee engagement costs the global economy an astounding $8.9 trillion, or approximately 9% of global GDP. Gallup identifies that 70% of the variance in team engagement is directly attributable to the manager. When a manager suffers from the David Syndrome, their team is 60% more likely to experience high stress and active disengagement, directly hemorrhaging productivity and profit.   The trillion-dollar case study: Xerox PARC vs. Apple The most devastating business loss attributable to the David Syndrome occurred at Xerox PARC in the late 1970s. The engineers at PARC possessed undisputed technical genius, they had already invented the Graphical User Interface (GUI), the mouse, and bitmapped graphics, the foundational assets of modern computing. Yet, this brilliance became a wasted investment because the engineers lacked the Executive Presence to sell it. They presented their breakthroughs to Xerox’s senior management using the language of technical specs, failing to command the strategic authority required to move the board. It was the ultimate David Syndrome: The brilliance of the invention was totally eclipsed by the invisibility of the inventors. The board walked away from a trillion-dollar future simply because it wasn't commanded. In stark contrast, when a young Steve Jobs visited PARC, he brought the one element the engineers lacked: Presence. He didn't just see the code, he possessed the influence required to command the market. The result was a historic transfer of wealth: Xerox (High Competence, Low Presence) lost the personal computing monopoly, while Apple (Competence + Presence) built an empire on it. This disconnect serves as a sobering reminder that without authority, even the most brilliant asset is worthless.   The promotion criteria: The proof of presence Research from Coqual found that Executive Presence (EP) accounts for 26% of what it takes to get promoted to the next level. In surveys of senior executives, gravitas (the ability to project confidence and stay calm under pressure) was ranked as the most important pillar of EP by 67% of leaders. Conversely, the traits that most undermine a leader's path to the C-suite are being "timid" (85%) and "lacking confidence" (84%), the exact symptoms of the David Syndrome.   The anatomy of authority: Bridging the presence gap The ultimate tragedy of the 'Invisible Manager' is not merely the stunted career of a brilliant individual, it is the measurable decay of organizational ROI. When leadership presence is neglected, the bottom line suffers in three distinct ways: Execution Velocity slows, as directives need to be 'sold' rather than followed, Talent Retention drops, as high-performers leave leaders they cannot respect, and L&D Investment is wasted, teaching managers what to think without training them on how to be heard. Investing in presence is the single most effective way to close this gap and secure the 9% of GDP currently lost to disengagement. The 'David Syndrome' is the structural blind spot that turns organizational intelligence into wasted overhead. It turns your highest-paid talent into your lowest-performing assets (stranded assets). Global markets are currently sacrificing $8.9 trillion annually to teams led by managers who know what to do but lack the power to command it. This leaves you with a stark choice. You can continue to subsidize the invisible manager, paying a premium for brilliance that no one hears. Or, you can close the gap. By shifting focus from the history on the resume to the authority in the room, organizations can reclaim execution velocity and stop the trillion-dollar leak.   Competence without presence is an expense. Competence with presence is an empire.   If you are ready to master the unspoken rules of power, read my book, Respect at First Sight: Body Language Secrets for Leaders, available now on Amazon .   Follow me on LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Naeema Siddiqui Naeema Siddiqui, Founder & CEO, Zanovah Middle East – Where Middle Managers Become Multipliers For seven years, Naeema Siddiqui sat in the executive "evaluator’s chair" at top-tier firms, witnessing firsthand why brilliant technical experts often fail to command the boardroom. She diagnosed this systemic issue as the "David Syndrome," a costly disconnect between strategic brilliance and executive presence. She provides high-impact toolkits for professionals ready to master the unspoken rules of power and reclaim their influence. Naeema is also the author of the critically acclaimed book, Respect At First Sight: Body Language Secrets for Leaders.

Written by Teela Hudak, Burnout Recovery Strategist Teela Hudak is a burnout recovery strategist with 15 years in psychology and social services. She helps high-achieving professionals restore energy, clarity, and focus through evidence-based, person-centred strategies. The most expensive leak in your company is not a line item on your balance sheet or a failed product launch. It is the silent, strategic erosion of the person at the helm. Burnout deeply impacts a leader's sense of purpose and self-worth . Treating recovery as a simple exercise in feeling better is a professional mistake. In today's volatile market, resilience is a critical leadership performance metric. Modern leadership demands specific capabilities to protect the bottom line: The ability to respond promptly and adapt to change. The capacity to maintain performance under sustained pressure. The psychological resources to drive innovation and competitiveness. These attributes represent strategic organizational capabilities. Organizations already measure productivity, risk, and strategic outcomes. Resilience belongs in this category because it serves as the infrastructure of sustainable leadership. This is a strategic investment in enduring professional success and integrated capacity. Systemic depletion is a hidden performance drain, not a personal failing The erosion of the strategic self is an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It arises from environmental and organizational factors. While wellness programs often target symptoms, they frequently fail to resolve the root causes of exhaustion. Focusing solely on individual coping can lead to an overestimation of benefits while the actual systemic drivers remain unaddressed. High rates of depletion are empirically associated with workplace stressors such as excessive workload, a lack of job control, and weak leadership communication. Leadership capacity often erodes quietly long before a visible failure occurs. This erosion disrupts cognitive functioning, emotional regulation, and social sensitivity, which are the exact tools required for effective decision-making. This depletion undermines performance in several critical areas: Cognitive function: Chronic stress is associated with measurable deficits in executive function, working memory, and attention. Emotional regulation: Diminished capacity for emotion management correlates with poorer outcomes in complex leadership tasks. Professional efficacy: Declines in task performance and social sensitivity often emerge well before overt errors are noticed. High performers face a unique risk because consistent delivery often obscures underlying exhaustion. The ability to maintain high output can mask an internal decline, creating a deceptive appearance of stability while turnover risk and cognitive fatigue increase. In complex roles requiring sustained decision quality, this mental depletion raises susceptibility to errors as executive resources are spent simply trying to maintain a baseline. Even the most accomplished leaders can falter in strategic domains when their inner system is no longer supported. What leaders actually lose when resilience is low Systemic depletion results in a measurable decline in work quality and productivity. Chronic stress impairs higher-order cognitive functions, including rationality and analytical thinking, which are essential for leadership decision-making. This drain on cognitive resources diminishes logical reasoning and forces a reliance on reactive choices. Environments that lack the stability of resilient leadership often correlate with risk-avoidant decisions instead of optimal strategic moves. The loss of time and energy is evident in the prevalence of rework and communication breakdowns. When leadership capacity is low, mistakes are more likely to be repeated or concealed, necessitating additional time to correct tasks. Systemic depletion also fosters withdrawal behaviors where leaders and teams avoid challenging tasks instead of addressing them proactively. The exhaustion of energy reserves leads to prolonged recovery cycles. This means individuals require significant time to return to baseline functioning, which slows the overall organizational tempo. Leadership resilience is the primary driver of psychological safety within an organization. This safety enables the open communication and risk-taking required for innovation. A lack of resilience in leadership undermines team learning and performance. Leaders who signal a lack of support or a fear of mistakes indirectly reduce team engagement and efficacy. Resilient leaders model high performance and learning, whereas the behaviors associated with depletion reduce team productivity across the organization. Why traditional wellness metrics miss the mark Traditional workplace wellness programs frequently fall short of producing measurable performance outcomes. Systematic reviews indicate that initiatives focused on individual behavior change show modest or inconsistent effects on productivity and health markers. Large, randomized evaluations confirm that while comprehensive programs might influence self-reported behaviors, they do not produce significant improvements in healthcare costs or key employment outcomes such as job performance. This creates a gap between widespread corporate adoption and the actual realization of economic impact or enhanced professional capability. Many stress management initiatives operate as secondary coping strategies designed to help individuals manage reactions to pressure. These approaches do not alter the underlying stressors or build long-term adaptive capacity. Isolated mindfulness or relaxation exercises often yield only short-term benefits and rarely lead to sustained improvements in work performance without broader structural supports. Adaptive resilience systems integrate ongoing support mechanisms and organizational changes to foster long-term workforce capacity. This methodology establishes resilience as an enduring, adaptive system for self-regulation. It functions as critical leadership infrastructure. High-performing leaders face unique pressures and performance expectations that generic programs are not designed to address. One-size-fits-all interventions often lack the personalization required to meet the specific demands of high-stakes roles. Research suggests that interventions tailored to job context and individual demands show higher engagement and effectiveness. Targeted and sustained approaches are necessary to replace generic wellness solutions that produce small, short-lived results. Evaluating performance impact is the priority over tracking simple participation metrics. Transitioning to this model requires a deeply personalized framework unique to the strategic goals and professional demands of the leader. Resilience as the infrastructure of sustainable leadership Resilience serves as the foundation for organizational consistency. Leaders who cultivate this attribute help sustain performance under changing conditions. Transformational leadership positively influences organizational resilience, which in turn supports innovation performance even during periods of significant uncertainty. This asset is a critical capability for sustaining comparative benefit and performance in volatile environments. This strategic capability protects leadership capacity during volatility. Specific resilient behaviors, such as adaptive and supportive leadership, predict better organizational crisis recovery. By integrating collaborative approaches, leaders maintain their capacity to operate effectively under uncertainty. This stability extends throughout the organization, as resilient leadership behaviors also strengthen employee resilience during crises. Long-term competitiveness relies on the ability to sustain performance amid shocks and disruptions. Resilience helps organizations adapt and sustain performance over time rather than slipping into complacency. It functions as a decision-protection mechanism by serving as a protective buffer for strategic continuity. This mechanism mitigates the negative effects of environmental dynamism on performance contexts. Furthermore, resilience acts as a capacity multiplier because it amplifies a leader's ability to influence tangible results like innovation. Adaptability is central to mobilizing resources and sustaining high-level performance. Viewed through the lens of risk, resilience is a strategic management mechanism that goes beyond technical compliance frameworks. It helps mitigate the impact of environmental volatility on organizational outcomes. What high-performing leaders measure instead Evaluating the adequacy of recovery after high-demand periods provides a clear view of sustained capacity because insufficient recovery between intense work cycles leads to accumulative strain which reduces both personal well-being and job performance. Chronic high workloads without these deliberate recovery opportunities result in psychological and physical fatigue that impairs a leader's ability to function optimally over several weeks. Monitoring deliberate recovery processes, such as scheduled breaks and periods of rest, ensures that performance and motivation remain sustainable. This intentional approach to recovery directly impacts decision clarity under sustained pressure, which serves as another vital performance signal. Physiological stress responses alter cognitive processing, which risks the consistency and quality of strategic choices. Acute stress impairs the cognitive processes underlying both individual and group decision-making, emphasizing the importance of tracking how clearly one thinks during peak pressure. Because stress consumes cognitive resources, leaders find themselves less capable of logical and analytical processing when constant pressure is left unmanaged. Protecting these cognitive resources requires maintaining boundary integrity during peak workloads to act as a safeguard against systemic depletion. Clear boundaries between professional and personal time support recovery and preserve the well-being necessary for elite performance. Daily strain frequently compromises boundary control, making it essential to assess the strength of these limits as part of a workload management strategy. Poorly managed boundaries relate to greater interference between life domains, which inevitably leads to fatigue and degraded output. When these boundaries are held firmly, evaluating energy predictability across weeks provides deeper insight into long-term resilience. Patterns of recovery across days, evenings, and weekends influence motivation and professional capacity over time. A cumulative workload that lacks these recovery windows depletes energy stores and contributes to chronic fatigue. By observing these longitudinal patterns, leaders can refine their personal systems to ensure their energy remains a reliable and competitive asset. Why personalization is non-negotiable for ROI To establish a genuine return on investment, resilience must be treated as a multi-dimensional construct rather than a uniform checklist. Generic approaches frequently fail because they overlook the individual traits, such as personality and self-efficacy, that determine how a leader responds to adversity. Cognitive flexibility and individual psychological profiles are essential components of stress regulation, meaning that strategies only become effective when they align with these internal realities. Because intervention trials show significant heterogeneity in results, the need to tailor methodologies to the individual's specific context is paramount for achieving profound transformation. The effectiveness of these strategies is inseparable from the personal context of the leader, including their role demands and life values. Dispositional traits like optimism and a proactive personality influence how resilient behaviors are enacted. When leadership styles and individual attributes interact, they modulate the impact of performance behaviors, reinforcing the fact that resilience does not operate in a vacuum. A robust model of workforce resilience must integrate these stable personality traits and coping mechanisms into a framework that functions within real organizational settings. Relying on generic resilience advice often dilutes the overall impact and professional credibility of an intervention. Without standardized personalization, it remains difficult to generate a consistent ROI across diverse individuals. Non-personalized formats often produce only small, fleeting effects due to the high variability in how leaders engage with the content. By ensuring a plan is as unique as the DNA of the professional who uses it, resilience moves from a surface-level wellness add-on to a sustainable, competitive asset. The missing architecture of peak-performance The cost of ignoring resilience has moved beyond the abstract and now represents a direct threat to leadership longevity. Resilience serves as an essential leadership performance safeguard, protecting the cognitive and emotional assets required to lead with clarity and impact. High-achieving leaders already invest heavily in capability protection through executive training, risk management, and strategic consulting. It is time to apply that same level of strategic rigor to the internal system that powers every professional outcome. For many, the persistent exhaustion associated with burnout is not a personal failure but a signal that a critical piece of infrastructure is missing. This infrastructure is the adaptive system required to continuously self-regulate and strengthen capacity. When this system is built and personalized, well-being ceases to be a liability and becomes a sustainable, competitive asset. Resilience is simply the missing architecture that allows a leader to maintain their influence and fulfillment without sacrifice. Building this architecture begins with an intentional strategic intervention. Secure a place at an upcoming live masterclass  to begin mapping a personalized system for sustained professional excellence. Additional resources and strategic frameworks for leadership longevity are available at the Resilient Self Growth digital home .   Follow me on  Facebook ,  Instagram , and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Teela Hudak Teela Hudak, Burnout Recovery Strategist Teela Hudak is a burnout recovery strategist and writer who helps professionals restore clarity, energy, and steadiness. With 15 years in social services and a degree in psychology, she draws on proven techniques, evidence-informed practices, and her own lived experience to guide people in creating tools that fit their lives. Each person she works with walks away with a customized approach designed around their needs, values, and rhythms. Her work offers a clear, supportive framework that helps people move out of survival mode and into sustainable ways of living and working.

Written by Millah, Founder & CEO of YouTuneIn Millah Barbosa, Founder & CEO of YouTuneIn, is a wellness innovator dedicated to elevating consciousness through sound and frequency. She bridges science and spirituality to help people and organizations achieve clarity, balance, and transformation. Something ancient is moving again, something energetic. Something that many of us can feel, even when words fail to explain it. Humanity is remembering who it is. At the same time, we are living inside an era of extreme acceleration. Technology evolves faster than our nervous systems. Artificial intelligence observes our behaviors, our reactions, our patterns, our emotions. It learns how we think, how we choose, how we respond to the world. Where will all of it take us? And yet, in the middle of all this external expansion, something essential is being forgotten. Is consciousness evolving along with it? At the same speed? What are we missing? I guess, the ability to look inward. With so much happening externally, we are slowly losing the ability to look within. And a great collective awakening is happening. The moment we could no longer ignore ourselves Let me tell you, not long ago, turning inward was not part of daily life. Emotional exhaustion existed, but we didn’t name it. Burnout was present everywhere, yet “invisible.” We learned to push through, to keep functioning, to survive. Until one day, many of us began to realize that our emotional system was overloaded. Exhausted. The body began to speak louder, emotions surfaced with intensity, and many of us realized that something inside was overloaded, unheard, and had crashed. And little by little, we started to pay attention. Right? To how we feel. To what our bodies were saying. To the weight we were carrying silently. Something shifted. And with that awareness came something beautiful: Care. Care for ourselves. Care for one another. The collective pause that changed everything It started when COVID initiated a profound movement. It forced us to slow down. A collective pause emerged. Silence entered homes. Time slowed. The world, in an unexpected way, invited humanity to sit with itself. To look into our own eyes. To meet ourselves without distractions. To face our own reflection. To reconnect with what had been avoided for so long. Many souls felt it coming. And they started building new paths, new tools, new ways of supporting human consciousness. That is how projects like YouTuneIn  were born, from that awareness. From that desire to contribute to our collective consciousness and human expansion. Is it just me… or can you feel it too? Contraction or expansion: The inner choice We are collectively awakening for real. I feel it within my body, at a cellular level, and perhaps you do too. The world will continue to move forward, regardless, it is all part of the grand expansion. It may shake again. Systems may tremble. Structures may dissolve or collapse. Reorganization and recalibration might occur from time to time. We must know that. The deeper question is not what will happen externally. The question is what we choose internally. Because every collective direction begins inside individual hearts. When consciousness contracts, humanity returns to survival. Fear becomes language. Separation becomes identity. Anger replaces listening. The nervous system leads decisions, and the heart closes. Yes, it closes. When many humans choose this simultaneously, “contraction”, we enter the same dense quantum field, filled with conflict and separation. When life experiences disappointments, losses, and trauma, it slowly creates layers around the heart, and protection becomes a habit. Holding becomes normal. And over time, the heart forgets its own openness. The heart and higher frequencies And when the heart is closed, higher frequencies cannot flow through it. Read it again. When the heart is closed, higher frequencies cannot flow through it. The heart can only process what the heart is able to process. The mind wants to understand everything, but it is not the mind’s job to process what is felt only by the heart. Healing happens when the heart is cleared. Do you get the point? Expansion is gentle On the other hand, when consciousness expands, evolution is felt, and something else becomes possible. It does not demand effort. It asks for presence. It begins when we gently turn inward. When we take care of ourselves without guilt. When we soften instead of hardening. When we allow space for what we feel instead of suppressing it. When we learn acceptance, the heart opens. And when the heart opens, something ancient returns. The frequency of Mother Earth. The intelligence of life itself. It is important to be aware that consciousness is not something we seek, it is something we allow, and suddenly it is remembered. And suddenly, we awaken. We become aware that we are aware. Shivoham! I truly wish that as you read this, you don’t just understand it, but feel it. And that you choose evolution. That you choose freedom. This shift is already happening inside homes, bodies, emotions, and breath. The planet is changing, and we are changing with it. And I believe that we are not being forced into it, but consciousness naturally seeks expansion. Its unfolding cannot be measured by productivity, systems, or numbers. It cannot be captured by algorithms or defined by timelines. It is happening in the subtle field, within the planetary field itself. For centuries, progress was defined as outward movement. Now, humanity is learning something new. The greatest transformation of our time is inward, my dear brothers and sisters. It is moving internally. It is subtle, quiet, and gentle. It is already happening. It is already here. Namastê. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Millah Millah, Founder & CEO of YouTuneIn Millah Barbosa is the Founder & CEO of YouTuneIn, a wellness innovation company pioneering advanced sound and frequency solutions for emotional balance, clarity, and resilience. With two decades of experience as a creative entrepreneur and coach, she bridges science and spirituality to help people and organizations align with their highest potential. Her work empowers leaders, teams, and individuals to live with greater purpose and consciousness.

Written by T an Chrissis, Speaker and Mindset Coach Tan Chrissis is a Speaker and Mindset coach, serving as the CEO of CognitiveVerse, a platform dedicated to personal growth and cognitive wellness. Most people don’t fail because they’re not talented enough or smart enough. They fail because they repeatedly postpone the actions that matter. Procrastination isn’t just a bad habit, it’s a silent dream killer. The longer you wait to act, the bigger the gap grows between the life you want and the life you’re actually living. The good news? You’re not stuck. Once you understand how procrastination works and why it has such a grip on you, you can break free and build a life fueled by momentum instead of avoidance. Understanding the procrastination problem What procrastination really is (and isn’t) Procrastination isn’t laziness, it’s avoidance. Laziness is not wanting to do something at all. Procrastination is wanting to do it, knowing it matters, and still delaying it. We procrastinate on things we care about the most, dreams, careers, relationships, passions. Nobody procrastinates on scrolling social media or watching Netflix, those are effortless. We delay the meaningful work because it triggers discomfort. The emotional loop behind delayed action At its core, procrastination is emotional regulation. When a task feels overwhelming, uncertain, or high-risk, your brain opts for the safer path, avoid now, feel relief immediately. But that relief is temporary. Soon, guilt and pressure creep in, making the task feel even heavier. And thus, the loop continues. Why procrastination is so dangerous Lost time means lost opportunity Time is the only resource you can’t replenish. Every time you say, “I’ll do it tomorrow,” you trade today’s potential for future regret. Dreams die slowly, not with dramatic failure, but with years of postponement. Confidence and identity erosion Every time you delay something important, you send yourself a message, “I can’t handle this.” And your brain believes you. Over time, procrastination doesn’t just delay your goals, it reshapes your identity into someone who doesn’t follow through. Confidence isn’t built by success, it’s built by keeping promises to yourself. The psychology of procrastination The brain’s reward system and short-term comfort Your brain loves dopamine, the feel-good chemical. Social media, snacks, and entertainment offer instant dopamine, while meaningful tasks often delay reward. So your brain swaps long-term fulfillment for short-term comfort. Fear, perfectionism, and avoidance Many procrastinators aren’t unmotivated, they’re afraid: Afraid of failing Afraid of criticism Afraid of not being good enough Perfectionism makes you believe that if you can’t do it flawlessly, you shouldn’t start. But here’s the twist, perfectionism produces procrastination, and procrastination produces mediocrity. Decision fatigue and overwhelm When you have too many choices or tasks, your brain freezes. That “I’ll figure it out later” feeling is just mental overload in disguise. Different types of procrastinators Not everyone procrastinates for the same reason. Here are the most common types: The perfectionist: Avoids tasks to avoid imperfections. Believes there's always a “right” moment to start. The dreamer: Has big visions but struggles turning ideas into concrete action steps. The worrier: Avoids change and risk, clinging to comfort and predictability. The crisis maker: Believes they work best under pressure and waits until the last second to feel urgency. The key is identifying your type so you can outsmart it. How procrastination kills dreams in silence The compounding effect of tiny delays: Every delay seems harmless, but procrastination compounds like interest, in reverse. It slowly eliminates opportunities, weakens skills, and erodes ambition. The person you could become fades a little every time you push things off. The gap between potential and reality: Everyone has potential. The world is full of talented people who never acted. Potential without execution becomes regret. Success isn’t about being extraordinary, it’s about doing the ordinary tasks consistently. Proven strategies to beat procrastination for good Now let’s get practical. These are methods backed by behavioral psychology and real-world effectiveness. Strategy 1: The 2-minute kickstart method Commit to working on something for only 2 minutes. That’s it. Why it works: action creates momentum. Once you start, your brain hates stopping mid-task. Strategy 2: Break tasks into micro-commitments “Write a book” is overwhelming. “write one paragraph” is doable. Big goals paralyze. Tiny tasks mobilize. Strategy 3: Use implementation intentions This formula works wonders: “When x happens, I will do y.” Example: “when I finish breakfast, I will write for 10 minutes.” This eliminates ambiguity and creates automatic action pathways. Strategy 4: Rewire your environment for action Your environment shapes your behavior. If you want to practice guitar, leave it in the middle of the room, not in a closet. If your workspace triggers focus, productivity becomes easier. Strategy 5: build accountability systems Humans perform better with social pressure. Try: Productivity partners Coaches or mentors Public commitments Apps that track progress Accountability converts intention into execution. Building habits that support consistent action The power of daily routines: Routines reduce decision fatigue. The less you debate whether to start, the more you get done. Success isn’t exciting, it’s repeated daily. Tracking and celebrating small wins: Progress psychology shows that the brain thrives on visible progress. Track your wins. Celebrate your consistency. It fuels motivation. Learning to rest without quitting: Burnout leads to avoidance. Sustainable progress means resting strategically, not disappearing for weeks. How to reprogram your mindset around productivity Progress over perf ec tion: Perfection is the enemy of done. Success belongs to those who start messy and improve on the way. Discipline over motivation: Motivation is emotional. Discipline is structural. Motivation fluctuates, discipline compounds. Identity-based habit formation: Instead of saying: “I want to exercise.” Say: “I am someone who doesn’t miss workouts.” Identity drives behavior. Final Thoughts: Your dreams need you to act Your dream will never walk toward you, you must walk toward it. Procrastination steals your future one delayed day at a time. But action, even tiny action, builds momentum, confidence, and fulfillment. If you want to change your life, you don’t need more passion. You need more follow-through. Start today. Start messy. Start small. But start. Follow me on Instagram  and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Tan Chrissis T an Chrissis, Speaker and Mindset Coach Tan Chrissis is a visionary leader in cognitive wellness and personal growth. As the founder and CEO of CognitiveVerse, he has developed innovative tools to enhance mental performance and unlock human potential. Tan’s expertise spans cognitive strategies, digital innovation, and lifelong learning, empowering individuals and organizations to thrive in a fast-evolving world. Through his work, he aims to inspire others to achieve clarity, creativity, and growth.

Written by Lindsey Leavitt, Transformational Coach Lindsey Leavitt is a transformational coach. Her expertise stems from her lived experience of abuse, mental illness, and chronic pain. Lindsey's transformation has inspired her to utilize her knowledge and abilities as an artist/musician to advocate, empower, and lift others. Uncovering the hidden dangers of high-control religious systems, this article explores the psychological impact of grooming, obedience, and institutional blindness. Lindsey Leavitt reflects on her own journey of healing, revealing how authority, secrecy, and silence contribute to prolonged suffering. Learn why religious institutions must be held accountable to protect children and support survivors, and how transparency and reform are crucial for ending cycles of harm. Framing abuse as a game I did not know I was abused. I did not remember until I was 41, when flashbacks began to surface, sudden, visceral, and physical. For decades, I believed nothing harmful had occurred. That belief was not denial, it was the predictable outcome of grooming within a high-control religious system, where obedience is moralized, authority is sanctified, and questioning is discouraged. He told me it was a game. The word shaped my reality. As a child, my inner dialogue was simple but rigid, This is allowed. This is safe. If something feels wrong, it must be me. My body often disagreed, confusion, fear, panic, but the story I was told overrode instinct. By framing the experience as play, the coercion went unrecognized, and memory encoded participation instead of violation. The child’s inner lens A useful lens to understand this comes from The Lion King. When Scar instructs Simba to enter the gorge, the danger is real, but Simba’s inner dialogue interprets it as trust: He believes in me. I’m choosing this. Authority shapes perception. Danger exists, but is cognitively inaccessible. My inner dialogue mirrored this: I didn’t say no. If it were wrong, someone would have stopped it. The long shadow of authority For decades, I carried anxiety, fear, depression, suicidal thoughts, and six years of chronic pain, believing these were reflections of my own failing. Meanwhile, my father maintained a public image of moral integrity and authority. Within the religious system, that image was reinforced, appearances were sacred, obedience was expected, and questioning was dangerous. The tension between his perceived virtue and my lived experience made me internalize responsibility for harm that was not mine. It was only later that I began to understand the dynamics at play, the pain I carried had been shaped by patterns of projection within the household and amplified by institutional structures that reinforced obedience, secrecy, and authority over individual safety. High-control religious environments can unintentionally channel unresolved conflicts, shame, and expectations onto children, creating profound internalized suffering. Projection and the internalized narrative The inner exile mirrors Simba’s. After Mufasa’s death, Scar rewrites the narrative, This is your fault. The child internalizes responsibility for events beyond their control. In high-control religious systems, institutions enforce a similar pattern, compliance is rewarded, questioning is discouraged, and abuse can occur in plain sight while remaining unrecognized by the survivor. When my memories resurfaced at 41, they came as fragmented flashbacks, bodily sensations, emotional surges, and intrusive imagery. Recognition was gradual because the system had trained me not to recognize abuse. Trauma had been encoded in the nervous system long before my conscious mind had the language to process it. I did not fail to recognize abuse. I was structurally prevented from recognizing it. Power shaped language. Language shaped meaning. Meaning shaped memory. And institutional silence ensured that the cost of maintaining authority fell entirely on the child. Religious accountability and reform This is the core danger of high-control religion. Abuse does not require overt violence to persist, it thrives through authority, obedience, and secrecy. Institutions must be held accountable, rules, doctrines, and cultural norms that prioritize appearances over safety create environments where harm can be normalized, minimized, and concealed. Reform is not optional. Transparency, independent oversight, and cultural accountability are essential to protect children and survivors. The most enduring damage is not only the abuse itself, but the years spent carrying responsibility for someone else’s unresolved conflicts. Understanding this truth is not simply liberating, it is a call to action. Until religious institutions confront the ways authority, secrecy, and doctrine can enable harm, children will continue to suffer, and survivors will continue to inherit burdens that were never theirs. Follow me on  Facebook and   Instagram  for more info! Read more from Lindsey Leavitt Lindsey Leavitt, Transformational Coach Lindsey Leavitt is a transformational coach. She is certified in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). The model focuses on emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and mindfulness. Lindsey battled with anxiety and depression throughout her life. She implemented various therapeutic modalities, but none were effective. Finally, Lindsey implemented the DBT approach, which changed her life forever. Now she is helping others take back their power, regain control of their lives, and start living an abundant life.

Sarah is one of two managing partners at Vane Percy & Roberts, with 25+ years in global comms, strategy, public affairs, and stakeholder relations. Known for her clear thinking, sharp wit, and approachable style, she delivers tailored solutions that drive impactful change. Her mission is to lead with authenticity, foster collaboration, and ensure every team member feels heard and valued. Recognised for her bold, inventive approach, Sarah is a gifted networker and convenor of creative talent, always ready to make strategic choices that drive success. Sarah Roberts, Global Strategy and Communications Leader Who is Sarah Roberts? I work as a strategic advisor to boards, senior leaders, and businesses, supporting organisations and brands as they navigate complexity, scrutiny, and change, across communications, external relations, and public affairs. At the heart of my work is a belief that leadership is as much about humanity as it is about authority. I sit in the space where governance, reputation, and people intersect, helping leaders make confident, sometimes difficult decisions, while staying grounded in empathy, ethics, and long-term impact. I’m particularly interested in reframing communications not as words or messaging, but as a leadership philosophy, one that shapes behaviour, judgement, and how organisations show up internally and externally when it matters most. Alongside my professional work, I am studying for a counselling qualification, volunteer with Age UK, and have coached children through sport. I’m increasingly interested in the role of intuition, mental wellbeing, and self-care in leadership and how the quieter, internal work shapes how we show up in positions of responsibility. I’m also in the process of writing a book that reflects on a personal journey through challenge and growth, and what that has taught me about resilience, perspective, and finding your voice. What inspired you to start Vane Percy & Roberts and focus on communications strategy? I joined an agency while I was still at university because I wanted to learn the craft properly - not just the tactics, but how communications really influences leadership, behaviour, and outcomes. Over time, working alongside my business partner, we began to see a gap in how many agencies operate. The model is often pyramidal, senior leaders sell the work, and then disappear into the background. Or there’s a tendency to tell executives what they want to hear rather than what their organisation actually needs. We also noticed how often communications was treated as a kind of dark art, hidden behind layers of creative language or cleverness, when in reality, the most effective work is far more human. It’s about clarity, empathy, and helping people recognise themselves in what’s being said. We wanted to build something different. Vane Percy & Roberts was created as an executive-led consultancy. One that stays close to decision-makers, understands the business and governance context, and isn’t afraid to challenge when something doesn’t feel right for the organisation, its people, or its stakeholders. How would you describe your core approach to strategic communications in one sentence? I see communications as a leadership discipline, not a set of tactics, where trust, behaviour, and impact matter more than visibility. What makes your consultancy different from others in the communications and outreach space? We don’t do communications for communications’ sake. We take a holistic view of reputation, culture, governance, and stakeholder trust and then shape an approach that fits the reality of the situation, rather than forcing a predetermined solution. A core part of our work is helping leaders surface the ethical, emotional, and human dimensions of the decisions they’re making, not to soften them, but to strengthen them. Communications isn’t just about what an organisation says, it’s about what it stands for, what it’s prepared to defend, and what it’s willing to be accountable for. One of our non-negotiables is alignment between what an organisation says and how it behaves. If those two things don’t match, no amount of storytelling will fix it. There have been moments where that’s meant walking away. In one healthcare engagement, a non-medical doctor was positioned as the public face of a dermatology product in a way that could easily have been misinterpreted by consumers as medical endorsement. When the client chose not to change course, I chose not to stay. Ultimately, it’s about helping leaders see the bigger picture, communications isn’t just the right words. It’s an organisation’s voice, personality, and intent and it needs to be embodied consistently across leadership behaviour, culture, and every point of contact with the world. Trust, both with the public and with ourselves, matters more than any contract. What are the most common challenges you help clients overcome? One of the biggest is a narrow view of what communications is actually for. In some organisations, communications becomes a supporting function, something that’s brought in to “do social” or “get coverage”, rather than a leadership capability that shapes how the organisation is experienced. A pattern I see often is organisations focusing on what they want to say, rather than what people actually need to understand. Explaining the issue first, the context, the stakes, the human impact, and then positioning your product, service, or decision as a response to that is almost always more powerful than leading with a commercial message. At its core, the challenge is helping leaders move from persuasion to clarity. When people understand the situation they’re in, and why it matters, trust follows more naturally, and decisions are far more likely to land with credibility. Can you share an example of a client success story where your strategy made a measurable impact? Some of the most meaningful work for me isn’t about headlines but about outcomes. I’ve worked with sceptical clients who initially resisted a more patient, stakeholder-led approach, particularly in policy and healthcare spaces. In more than one case, that shift in strategy contributed to real-world change including policy decisions that improved access to care. Those moments matter to me because they reinforce something I believe deeply, if communications doesn’t create impact, it’s just noise. The “why” always has to come before the “what.” Why is effective stakeholder engagement essential for organisations today? Because trust has become one of the most valuable, and fragile, assets an organisation holds. Stakeholders today aren’t passive audiences. They’re informed, connected, and often influential in shaping perception, policy, and reputation. Too often, organisations approach stakeholder engagement the same way they approach communications, by focusing on what they want to say, rather than what others actually need to hear. Real engagement is a two-way relationship. It’s not just about sharing information or positioning expertise. It’s about listening, understanding different perspectives, and asking more meaningful questions, what matters to this group? What do they need from us? And what can we genuinely build together? When stakeholders are treated as partners rather than an afterthought, relationships tend to be more resilient, more honest, and better able to withstand moments of change or challenge. Over time, that consistency is what turns engagement into trust, not as a message, but as a lived experience. How do you help leaders and organisations build and protect their reputation? By helping them understand that reputation is built internally first. What leaders tolerate, reward, or ignore inside their organisation will eventually show up on the outside. Culture always travels. I work closely with senior teams to develop a clear leadership voice and presence. One that feels authentic, considered, and consistent across different contexts, boardrooms, employees, regulators, media, and the public. In moments of pressure, that voice shouldn’t be improvised. It should feel familiar because it’s been practised. You’ve described communications as a leadership discipline rather than a tactical function. In moments of pressure or scrutiny, what do you believe separates strong leadership judgement from reactive decision-making? Strong leadership judgement is rooted in clarity, not speed. Reactive decisions are often driven by fear, fear of scrutiny, loss of control, or being seen to hesitate. Good judgement comes from understanding what truly matters in the moment, who will be affected, and what the long-term consequences might be. Leaders who can pause, even briefly, tend to make decisions that hold up over time, rather than ones they later have to explain away. What role does thought leadership play in your clients’ growth and visibility? At its best, thought leadership isn’t about being seen as clever. It’s about being seen as useful. The strongest leaders I work with use it to clarify what they stand for, how they think, and what kind of contribution they want to make to their industry or society. When it’s done well, visibility becomes a byproduct of credibility, not the other way around. How has your decades of senior experience shaped the way you advise clients? It’s taught me that most challenges aren’t really about communications. They’re about judgement. Experience gives you pattern recognition. The ability to sense when something is going to escalate, land badly, or quietly undermine trust long before it becomes obvious. It’s also taught me the value of stillness. Not every situation needs an immediate response. Sometimes the most strategic move is to pause, understand what’s really happening, and then act with intent rather than urgency. What is one piece of advice you would give to businesses struggling to communicate their value? Start by explaining the problem you exist to solve. If people don’t recognise themselves in the issue, they won’t care about the solution, no matter how good it is. Clarity builds connection. Connection builds trust. And trust is what ultimately creates value. What should potential clients expect when they work with you and your team? They should expect challenge as well as support. We work best with leaders who want a thinking partner, not a “yes” team. People who are willing to share information, invite perspective, and sit with uncomfortable questions if that’s what the situation requires. What they gain is not just an external advisor, but an extension of their leadership team. We become deeply invested in what our clients are building, because our role is to help shape how it is understood, experienced, and trusted, internally and externally. We also connect communications directly to business objectives, whether that’s driving growth, supporting a sale or exit, influencing policy, or strengthening long-term reputation. If your website speaks a different language to your onboarding, something is misaligned. If your media and social presence doesn’t reflect how your people actually experience the company, it won’t land. Our role is to help bring those pieces into coherence. So what an organisation says, does, and believes feels like part of the same story. Your work increasingly explores the quieter, internal side of leadership. Why do you think this inner work is still undervalued in senior leadership conversations, and what does it change when leaders take it seriously? Because it’s invisible, and it doesn’t come with a neat framework or metric. But leadership is always felt before it’s measured. When leaders invest in their internal work, understanding their triggers, values, and blind spots, they lead with greater consistency and humanity. It changes how they listen, how they make decisions, and how safe others feel bringing the truth into the room. It also shapes who they invite in around them. Leaders who trust their own judgement are more open to challenge, more willing to seek support, and more likely to value perspectives that strengthen, rather than simply affirm, their own. Final question: What guides your work, personally? Intuition is a compass if we allow ourselves to be still enough to listen. In leadership, in communication, and in life, the quiet signals often tell you more than the loud ones. The work is learning to trust them. Follow me on LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Sarah Roberts

Written by Dr. Donya Ball, Leadership Expert, Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author Dr. Donya Ball is a renowned leadership expert, keynote speaker, author, executive coach, and professor specializing in organizational development. She captivates audiences and readers around the world with her thought leadership, including her TEDx Talk, "We are facing a leadership crisis. Here's the cure." This is not a status update. It is a warning sign. A “things are fine” approach typically emerges when friction underneath the surface is strong, when teams are doing what they need to but they aren’t purposeful.  Evidence shows alignment isn’t merely a sense of warmth. It has been shown to be a measurable accelerant for engagement, performance and long-term success.[1]  When alignment is ambiguous, people stop pressing the hard questions. This is not because all is right, but because they don’t see exactly what the organization’s impact may be.  The difference between fine and aligned You can have an organizational functioning but not be aligned. People show up. Tasks get done. Metrics look okay. But function by itself does not build strategic momentum.  Actually, research indicates that strategic alignment in which objectives and actions are closely interrelated across levels in the organization is positively associated with performance outcomes.  In the absence of alignment, teams tend to do stuff but don’t realize how their work aligns with the company’s bigger goal, which diminishes their motivation to engage.[2] Fine is compliance. Alignment is commitment.  Fine keeps people showing up. Alignment moves things forward. When “fine” becomes the ceiling When leaders accept “fine” as their answer, they cease to ask deeper questions. To align, you need clarity, strategic conversation, and decision making on purpose.  Strategic alignment research suggests that clear alignment across organization goals can drive engagement and strengthen the ability of teams to contribute to strategy implementation.[2] Misalignment, by contrast, correlates with “low-performance” and a disparity between goal statements and real performance.[3] Organization alignment, in particular by coordinating organizational structure, goals and leadership behaviors, has also been identified as one of the major influences on sustainable performance in current research.[4] Why purpose is the bridge to alignment Purpose is a filter, it links meaning and action. Research has found that alignment of individual and team goals with organizational purpose leads to greater clarity, a greater sense of belonging and increased strategic action.[5] In the absence of this connection, people may accomplish tasks in the technical sense but ultimately still feel disconnected from the organization’s purpose.  Focusing on the goal does not always happen automatically, it is a deliberate action through communicative and shared understanding and, in line with the value system of the organization.[6] How leaders go from fine to aligned Name the gap openly. “Fine” is not failure, but it certainly is not success. Leaders have to be ready to say, “We are not in alignment,” without pointing blame. Communicate purpose clearly. Before approving initiatives, establish alignment on purpose. This means that the team can see the direct relationship between what’s happening and how this leads to impact. Invite real dialogue. Alignment is maintained through conversation, not necessarily consensus. Encourage disagreement, questioning, and uncomfortable conversations without penalty. Model alignment publicly. Leaders can’t ask teams to be linked to purpose they themselves, under stress, also miss. Consistency inspires trust even more quickly than mission statements. Measure what matters. Companies and organizations that track only quantifiable outputs overlook alignment gaps. Alignment has to be measured on clarity, engagement and morale, and what links between goals and results.  The leadership reality Fine is easy. Alignment is intentional. Fine avoids conflict. Alignment requires courage. Alignment is not a buzzword. It is a measurable leadership discipline, one associated with higher engagement, higher performance, and better organizational health.[7] So the question is no longer whether everyone is okay. The real question is this, are you willing to do what it takes to shift from fine to fully aligned? Because leadership is not just about stability. It’s about making sure that what is stable is also meaningful. And that is where real impact starts.  Follow me on Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Dr. Donya Ball Dr. Donya Ball, Leadership Expert, Keynote Speaker, Best Selling Author Dr. Donya Ball is a renowned keynote speaker, transformative superintendent, and passionate author. With over two decades of experience, she also serves as a professor and executive coach, mentoring and guiding aspiring and seasoned leaders. She has authored two impactful books, Adjusting the Sails (2022) and Against the Wind (2023), which address real-world leadership challenges. Her expertise has garnered national attention from media outlets like USA Today and MSN. Dr. Ball’s TEDxTalk, "We are facing a leadership crisis. Here’s the cure," further highlights her thought leadership. References: [1]  (Gede & Huluka, 2023) [2] (Gede, 2025) [3] (Tessitore, Corsini, & Iraldo, 2023) [4] (Stanikzai & Mittal, 2025) [5] (Armstrong, 2025) [6] (Nayak, 2025) [7] (Lasa, Pedroni, Komm & Lavallee, 2024)