Recently, during a culture review, one executive said something that silenced the room: “In our organisation, we hold on to people because they get results - regardless of their behaviour.” It wasn’t a compliment. It was an indictment. Their values spoke about accountability, integrity and care. But their lived experience told a different story.

A rider attacks off the front. It looks bold, decisive, impressive. For a while, the gap opens. Then something subtle happens. The peloton doesn’t speed up - it fractures. Riders slip off the back. Coordination breaks down. What looked like momentum becomes fatigue and failure.

One of the highlights of my year, without fail, is attending the Tracker Academy graduation in the Karoo town of Graaff-Reinet. It is always unforgettable. The setting, the people, the sense of possibility. The students have worked incredibly hard, and the culmination of their journey is this moment: standing tall in front of their families ...

Thousands of flights were being cancelled. Airports were tense, travellers wary, and the stakes felt higher than normal. JFK was heaving - lines everywhere, people keen and anxious to get home or to get out. And then, in the middle of all this noise and movement, something remarkable happened.

Over the years, working alongside executive teams, I’ve noticed a familiar pattern.
 When results stall or pressure builds, leaders instinctively turn to the plan - the clever strategy, the restructure, the next big move that promises to change everything. But the real work begins elsewhere.

I’ve just come out of a working session with an executive team. After much debate, they agreed on a simple but powerful charter for how they will lead together. Once again I was struck by how much this kind of clarity matters. How the top team shows up really matters.