Curt Sassak

Teaching Mid-Career Leaders how to navigate life & career transitions using my Proven Recipe / Improve the quality of your life / Create your next chapter by design, not default / Former Chef

Live workshop on July 28th:  Land your next 6-figure role faster. Stop getting ghosted. Start getting noticed. See my featured section for details

𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙃𝙖𝙨 𝘼 𝘾𝙧𝙪𝙚𝙡 𝙎𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙤𝙧

Imagine eating your favorite dish every day for 20+ years, until one day it doesn’t taste good anymore.

Worse, is you don’t know why, and have no idea of what you want. 

That was me at 39.

Award-winning chef. Five-star kitchens. I had everything I wanted on paper. But inside? Empty. 

I had climbed every mountain only to find myself thinking,  “Is this it? What’s next”

I couldn't figure out why I felt like this, and it frustrated the f*ck out of me. 
I pushed through thinking it would pass. Wrong.

Eventually, it all caught up.
I was 60 lbs overweight, drinking to cope, lost $250K in potential earnings, and in a miserable career that no longer fit. 

So, at 40, I took a bold step: I reinvented myself in every way.

I left the only career I knew with no idea and not job; just the gut instinct that I had more to offer.

So I used what I knew:
Recipes.

A recipe is a process. It’s clarity + execution.
That’s how I reinvented myself. 

The result?
I’m in the best physical and mental shape of my life. And, I'm helping change lives for the better. 

I help high-functioning, high-achieving professionals (35+) who want freedom from a toxic job. Freedom to build something with meaning, and leave a legacy. 

You don’t need another “mindset guru” with motivational memes.
As one client put it: “Curt cuts through the noise fast. No fluff. Just results.”

That’s me.

A few wins:

→ Reena beat 457 applicants to land her dream hospital job.

→ Jordan pivoted to a new career he loves, with better pay and family time.

→ Matt said: “Curt didn’t just help my career. He helped me take back my life.”

Enter: The Career Recipe Boot Camp

Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients
 ✓ Get clear on your values, skills & goals
 ✓ Ditch the limiting beliefs holding you back

Step 2: Start Cooking
 ✓ Build a roadmap tailored to your life
 → So you move with purpose—not by default

This isn’t a pep talk. It’s a tactical reinvention plan.

You don’t need to burn it all down.
We build upon what you've already built.

You just need a better recipe.

Ready to cook something that feeds your soul?

Curt

DM me the word "Recipe," and let's write your next chapter. 

Common keywords:
Career coach. Personal development coach. Executive coach. Midlife career change. Career clarity. Personal reinvention. Transition coach.

Founder

So, you’re career driven, have had success, and now you feel like there are no more mountains to climb.

You got to the top of the “mountain,” and achieving your goals only to find you don’t feel fulfilled or happy. It’s like, WTF?

Your life/career no longer serves you. All you know is that you feel stuck and see no way out. You need to make a change. But doing what?

Then fear creeps in. You have questions.  “What do I do now?”  “I don’t know what else to do” 

“If I change careers how will I make enough to pay my bills?” and so on

These are the same questions (and more) I asked myself when I did a career change after 27 years as a chef and started over at 41 from zero.

Did you know a New York Times study found that 75% of Americans don’t have a clear sense of purpose?

And, there are serious health risks associated with a lack of purpose

A lack of purpose affects your self-worth, self-confidence, and self-esteem.
Which, in turn, can lead to depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other health issues.
I experienced all of those.

The good news is this: You’re only 5 steps away from finding the purpose, fulfillment, and new career you so desperately want.

They are the same 5 steps I used to go from feeling lost/stuck and finding a purpose and fulfillment

All it requires from you is self-honesty and a commitment to change

I coach people through one-to-one sessions

You think asking for help is equivalent to failure? Yep, I used to think the same, but that’s your ego talking

Consider: If you’ve been stuck, and the steps you’ve taken have not yielded results, what makes you think anything will change by repeating what you’ve done?

What got you here will not get you THERE.

Just like a car needs realignment from time to time, our personal and professional vision needs realignment from time to time

So, you can remain stuck and lost, or you can send me a DM

Career, Business & Executive Coach | Mindset & Mental Fitness Coach | DISC® Certified | Mentor

On paper, things are going well.
Day to day, it feels harder.

Revenue is coming in.
The team is bigger than it used to be. 
The business is clearly working.

But decisions feel heavier. 
Everything still lands on you. And it is harder to stay out of the weeds.

You have the same job title. Founder. Business owner. CEO.
But the job itself has quietly changed.

What used to work does not work in the same way anymore.

• operations are more complex 
• people issues take up more space 
• decisions are more interconnected

So you keep jumping in and sorting things out the way you always have.
It takes more time. More energy. More of you than it used to.

At the same time, the business is no longer a small startup. 
And it now needs something different from you.

This is a phase many founders hit as the business grows.

It shows up when the business grows, but decisions, ownership, and responsibility still sit with you.

I have seen this pattern repeatedly across my career. 
In startups. In large organisations. And in my own business.

Each time the team grew, the role demanded more.

That transition is where my work focuses:

- how decisions are being made day to day, and why they keep landing back with you
- where ownership really sits in the team (not just on paper)
- what deserves your time now - and what no longer should

Every business at this stage looks different.

The team, the context, the pressures, and the founder’s role are never the same.

That’s why this work is always one to one. 
No cohorts, templates, or fixed programmes.

We work on what is actually happening in your business, and what leadership needs to look like at this stage.

Outcomes my clients experience include:

• simplified operations and clearer priorities 
• avoided or corrected costly team decisions 
• fewer decisions landing back with the founder 
• stronger ownership and accountability in the team 
• stepping out of firefighting and regaining thinking time 
• highly reduced stress at work and at home

Clients often tell me I make complex situations feel simpler and create the space they need to think clearly and make decisions they trust.

My background:

-	30 plus years in leadership roles 
-	Experience across startups and large organisations 
-	Responsibility for people, HR, operations, and sales 

> CIPD in HR Management
> Certified, ICF accredited coach
> Performance & Neuroscience Coaching
> Positive Intelligence Coaching & DISC

☎️ If you are ready to regain control of your business, you can DM or book a 30-minute consultation via the link in my profile.

Monica Federico

Free snacks don't build culture.
Neither does a mission statement on the wall.

Culture is what happens when someone makes a mistake. 
When there's conflict. 
When a tough decision needs to be made and no one's looking. 

As leaders we set that tone every single day 
(whether we mean to or not).

The turning point for me was realising that the moment I walked into work, I was making the weather for my team.

My mood. 
My energy. 
How I responded to problems. 
Whether I was approachable or distracted.

All of it landed on them - even if I didn't mean it.

Here's what makes this tricky.

Most leaders have a theory about how they want to operate. Maybe even some policies. Values on a slide somewhere.

But theory and practice are two different things.

- You might say you want people to take ownership 
↳ but then jump in and fix things yourself the moment something goes wrong.

- You might say you value open feedback 
↳ but shut down the conversation when someone challenges your idea.

- You might say you want innovation 
↳ but only reward the safe, predictable wins.

The gap between what you say and what you do? 
That's where culture actually gets built.

And it's not about being perfect. 
We all have off days. 
We all fall short of our own standards sometimes.

But it's worth asking ourselves honestly:

 • Am I actually clear on the behaviours I want to see - not in theory, but in specific, daily terms?

 • Do I put them into practice myself, consistently, even under pressure?

 • What am I modelling when I'm stressed or stretched thin?

Because your team isn't listening to your policies.
They're watching what you do.

---------
💾 Save this for later
♻️ Repost to support better workplace culture
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

Founders & business owners (10-100) → regain clarity & control as the team grows | 1:1 Leadership & Performance Coach | ICF Accredited Neuroscience Coach

It's hard because it's new. 
Not because you can't do it.

When your team was small, you could solve most problems yourself.

That was the right move then.

Now the team's bigger. 
And that habit doesn't scale.

What used to make you effective is now creating a bottleneck.

The work now is different:

🛑 Stop jumping in to fix things 
↳ Start asking "what would you do?"

🛑 Stop holding all the context 
↳ Start documenting decisions and why they were made

🛑 Stop being the only problem solver 
↳ Start coaching people through their own solutions

🛑 Stop saying yes to every meeting 
↳ Start protecting time to think and plan

🛑 Stop carrying everything in your head 
↳ Start creating systems others can follow

You're not failing at leadership.

You're just stuck using habits built for a team of 5 on a team of 25.

The business has changed.
Your habits can too.

You've already grown the business this far.
You can grow into this next stage.

---------
💾 Save this for later
♻️ Repost to help others with this too
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

Helping founders regain control as their business grows and leadership becomes more demanding | Performance Coaching | ICF Accredited Neuroscience Coach

More hours won't save you.
Better boundaries will.

"I just need more than 24 hours in a day."

I hear this from almost every client I work with.
And I used to say it myself.

But after years of working with leaders under pressure, I've stopped believing it's a time problem.
It's an attention problem.

Because time isn't disappearing.
It's being absorbed.

By decisions that shouldn't need you.
By conversations that drain more than they deliver.
By the habit of staying involved in everything (just in case).

And there's a law for this.
Parkinson's Law: work expands to fill the time available.

Give a task an hour, it takes an hour.
Give it a day, it finds a way to fill it.

The leaders who seem to have time for everything aren't working more.

They're protecting what they have by removing what doesn't belong there.

Not adding. Removing.

That's what these 9 boundaries are really about.
Not a productivity system.
Just a cleaner, clearer way of working.

I started with two.
Number 9 was the hardest, and changed everything else.

Which one would make the biggest difference for you this coming week?
--------------
💾 Save and stack one habit a week
♻️ Share if you’re ready to protect your time too
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more on sustainable leadership

I used to think managing emotions at work meant not losing your temper. That was it. 
Keep a lid on it and you're fine.

But that's not where emotions do the most damage.

The real cost comes from the ones you don't notice.

⊙ Being helpful to the point of overload.
↳ That's not generosity. It's a need to be liked.

⊙ The need to stay involved in everything.
↳ That's not a personality trait. It's fear - fear of losing control, or fear of judgement if something isn't perfect.

⊙ Avoiding a difficult conversation with someone who's creating problems.
↳ That's not being measured. It's discomfort dressed up as patience.

These aren't character flaws.
They're emotional responses that became habits.

And habits feel normal.
That's the problem.

Most of us don't struggle with the obvious emotional moments.
We struggle with the ones that look like work style, leadership preference, or "just how I operate."

Winning isn't just about staying calm when things blow up.

It's knowing which of your daily habits are actually emotions in disguise.

--------------
💾 Save & ♻️ Repost to your network
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

School teaches us WHAT to think.
It almost never teaches us HOW to think.

That’s why many smart people still make bad decisions.

Clear thinking isn’t IQ.

It’s trained mental habits.

Here are 6 that I personally use and will change how you make decisions:

1️⃣ Pause Training

Most bad decisions come from emotional reactions.
Smart thinkers pause first.

Pause → Observe → Respond.

2️⃣ Mental Subtraction

Clear thinking usually comes from removing noise.
Ask yourself: "What can I eliminate?"

Clarity appears when complexity disappears.

3️⃣ Compression

If you can’t explain something simply, you probably don’t understand it yet.

Use the 3–1 rule:

3 bullet points →
1 core idea.

4️⃣ Cognitive Flexibility

Avoid mental ruts.

Ask:
• What would a beginner think?
• What would an expert do?
• What if the opposite were true?

Better thinking comes from new angles.

5️⃣ Pattern Recognition

Smart thinkers notice signals others miss.

Look for:
• repeating problems
• repeated successes
• cause → effect patterns

Patterns help you predict outcomes faster.

6️⃣ Environment Design

Your environment shapes how clearly you think.

Design spaces for:
• deep focus
• fewer distractions
• better mental states

Better environment → better decisions.

Thinking smarter isn’t about IQ.
It’s about training how you think.

When you build these habits:
• decisions become clearer
• stress drops
• you stop overthinking

And you start making better decisions, faster.

------ ---
💾 Save this before your next big one.
♻️ Repost to your network.
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more leadership & performance insights.

Your brain runs your business. 
Not your strategy. Not your systems. 
Your brain.

I had a week full of life admin, the kind that clutters your head and leaves little space for anything else.

It reminded me of something worth sharing.

When our brain chemistry takes a hit, everything else follows.

Low dopamine and our drive goes flat.
Low serotonin and decisions get murky.
Low oxytocin and our team relationships start to fray.
Low endorphins and stress just compounds.

The problem is that modern founder life quietly attacks all four.

Constant phone use. 
Working alone. 
Rarely moving. 
Not enough sleep.

None of it seems much of a problem. 
All of it is cumulative.

The fix isn't complicated. 
But it does require you to treat your brain like the operational asset it actually is.

This weekend I'm making a point of walking outside, putting the phone down, and sleeping more.

What are you up to this weekend?
(Image credit: Tj Power)
--------------
💾 Save & ♻️ Repost to your network
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

"I never saw it coming."
But looking back, I wasn't really looking.

I had a high-performing sales manager. 
Numbers were strong. 
The team was running well. 

So I focused my attention elsewhere - on the departments that needed me more.

What I didn't know was that he'd already done the maths.
To reach the salary he wanted, staying would have taken years. Moving industry would get him there faster. 

By the time I found out, the decision was made.
I couldn't have stopped it.

But I might have seen it coming, if only I'd stayed in the conversation.

That's the part I got wrong. 
The silence I mistook for satisfaction.

In corporate, losing a high performer is painful but manageable. There are pipelines, succession plans, and structures that absorb the hit.

In an SME, there's none of that. 
The impact is immediate.

And you have fewer tools to keep people. 
No quick promotion ladder to offer. 
No big brand to lean on.

What you do have is the relationship. 
The conversations. 
The attention you pay to the people who are quietly holding things together.

When you stop, they notice. 
Even if they never say it.

You don't always lose them because you're doing something wrong.

Sometimes you lose them because you stopped doing something right.

When did you last give them a reason to stay?
-------------------------
💾 Save it for later.
♻️ Repost this for any founder or manager who's currently flying blind.
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more peak-performance and leadership posts.

I once had a manager who coached me not to micromanage. They were one of the worst micromanagers I'd ever worked for.

Here's the thing about micromanaging:

Most people who do it don't realise they're doing it.

They're not power-hungry. 
They're not bad leaders.
They just never had a good example of what it looks like to actually empower a team.

When I look back at my early career, almost every manager I had was a micromanager in some form. 

The only reason they quickly eased off me was because I was proactive. 
I communicated before they had to chase. 
I stood my ground and delivered.

But the ones that really stuck with me?
The managers who genuinely believed they weren't micromanaging (and actively coached others not to do it) while doing it themselves the whole time.

Those are the hardest to spot. 
And the most frustrating to work under.

The truth is, most of us have picked up habits from leaders who didn't know any better either.

So this isn't about pointing fingers.
It's about checking in with yourself.

Are any of these 7 behaviours showing up in how you lead,without you noticing?

Because the gap between "I trust my team" and what your team actually experiences can be wider than you think.

Worth a quiet look. 👇
----------
📌 Save this reminder for later
♻️ Repost to support a more empowering leadership
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

Hiring smart people means nothing
if you don't let them lead.

Most founders and leaders I work with have hired well.

Sharp people. 
Strong track record. 
Real capability.

But then they hover.

They jump in before the person has had a chance to figure it out.
They course-correct before anything's gone wrong.
They answer questions that were never actually asked of them.

And they wonder why their team keeps coming back to them for everything.

It's not a hiring problem.

It's a letting go problem.

Bringing in smart people and then managing every move they make isn't leadership. It's expensive supervision.

The shift that changes things is simple, but not easy.

You stop being the answer.
You start asking better questions.
You create space for your team not just to execute the task but to own the outcome. 

That's when the business stops running through you.
And starts running without you needing to be in every room.

You hired them for a reason.
Trust the hire.

---

If this is something you're sitting with, I'm happy to have a conversation.
DM me or book a 30-minute call via the link in my profile.

Your team might read your company values once.
But they watch you every day.

They notice when the 1-2-1 gets cancelled.
Again.

They notice when we say "my door is always open"...
then rush every conversation.

They notice when deadlines slip for us but not for them.

We can write "integrity" on the wall.
We can open every meeting talking about our values.
It won't matter if our behaviour tells a different story.

Because our teams are already collecting evidence.
Every small action either confirms or contradicts what we've said.

Here's two things worth checking this week:

1) Pick one value you talk about. 
↳What would your team have seen from you in the last month that proves it?

2) Look at your calendar. 
↳ Does how you spend your time match what you say matters?
That's where culture actually lives.

The good news is that behaviour can change.
And when it does, your team notices that too.

------------
💾 Save it for later.
♻️ Repost to help others
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more peak-performance and leadership posts.

The hardest workers are often the biggest bottlenecks.

Not because they lack skills or talent.
Because they can't stop doing everything themselves.

More hours.
More involvement.
More personal responsibility.

It feels like leadership.

It's not.

It's the thing that keeps everything stuck.

Here's the pattern👇🏼

↳ The team grows. 
↳ Revenue comes in. 
↳ On paper, things are working.

But every decision still ends up with one person.
Every problem still gets escalated.
Every week feels heavier than the last.

And they think the answer is to push harder.
It's not.

The answer is to look at the beliefs running underneath.

There are 7 beliefs that sound reasonable, but quietly turn capable leaders into bottlenecks.

1. "It's quicker if I just do it myself."
Today, yes. But every task you take back trains your team to wait.

2. "No one can handle this like I can."
Then you'll never stop doing it. You become the ceiling.

3. "I just need to push through this phase."
This phase has been going on for how long now?

4. "I have to be available all the time."
Constant access teaches people to check with you instead of decide.

5. "More hours means more progress."
Tired leaders make slower decisions and miss things.

6. "If something breaks, it's my fault."
So you jump in, and everyone else stops catching it.

7. "Stepping back means I'm not adding value."
Busy feels useful. But it keeps you trapped in the weeds.

These patterns that made sense when the team was smaller.

But what got you here won't get you to the next level.

The leaders who scale aren't the ones who work hardest.

They're the ones who learn to think differently about where they add value.
---------
💾 Save this for later
♻️ Repost to help others with this too
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

If you run a business and have a team…
This is what will make you a great leader 👇

When people talk about EQ, emotional intelligence, they usually mean one thing:

Be nicer. Show more empathy. Stop being so tough.

And for some leaders, that's exactly right.

I work with leaders where EQ is about becoming more curious, listening better, and yes, being a bit... nicer.☺️

But here's what nobody talks about:
EQ works both ways.

If you're naturally empathic, the problem isn't a lack of empathy.
It can be too much of it in the wrong places.

Too much empathy can look like:
→ Saying yes when you should say no
→ Absorbing everyone's stress
→ Dodging difficult conversations to keep the peace
→ Taking work back because it feels easier than giving honest feedback

Over time, that quietly turns into:
↳ People-pleasing disguised as leadership
↳ Poor boundaries disguised as being supportive
↳ Low team accountability disguised as being understanding

It means you care.
But caring without boundaries isn't leadership.
It's self-sacrifice.

Real EQ is also:
→ Saying no without guilt
→ Letting someone struggle instead of rescuing them
→ Protecting your own capacity so you can actually lead
→ Holding the hard conversation because you respect someone enough to be honest

The tough leader needs to develop empathy.
The empathic leader needs to develop boundaries.

Both are emotional intelligence.

The one we need to work on is the one that doesn't come naturally.
-------------
💾 Save this reminder for later
♻️ Repost to help others with this too
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

We all want to be liked and be in control.

But in leadership is a trap.

Here's the uncomfortable truth I see again and again:

👉🏼 Sometimes we allow constant interruptions from our team because they serve a deeper purpose.

They make us feel essential.
Irreplaceable.
Still in control.

I watch this pattern play out everywhere:

→ The leader who says they want fewer meetings.
↳ Then responds to every Slack message within minutes.

→ The founder who talks about needing deep work time.
↳ Then jumps into every decision "just to make sure it's right."

→ The MD who's exhausted from being pulled in all directions.
↳But still reviews every email before anyone hits send.

This isn't really about poor time management.
It's about identity.

For years, being the go-to person was your superpower.

- Being needed meant you were valuable.
- Being in control meant things got done right.

But at some point, that superpower became a cage.

The busier we are, the more important we feel.
The more people depend on us, the more we matter.

Except now the thing that once drove our success is driving us into the ground.

Setting boundaries isn't just about protecting time.
It's about reimagining what makes us valuable.

Change happens when we realise: 

Our real value isn't in being everywhere.

It's in building something that works without us being everywhere.

---------
💾 Save this for later
♻️ Repost to help others with this too
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

Your performance review process should be consistent. 
Your approach should not.

Six reviews in one week.

When you'd rather just get on with it, it's easy to have the same conversation with everyone and get through the list.

And if some of those conversations feel awkward, it's probably because feedback hasn't been happening along the way. 

A performance review shouldn't be the first time someone hears something important.

Before you walk into any of those rooms, stop and ask: 
where does this person actually sit right now?

Not "good" or "not good." 
Not "performer" or "underperformer." 
More precise than that.

 • Capable but disengaged
 • High potential, high impact
 • Reliable and steady
 • Engaged but underperforming
 • Disengaged and underperforming

Most people won't sit neatly in one place, but this is a useful starting point before the conversation.

Each pattern needs something different from you.

The one that's easiest to get wrong? 
Your reliable, steady performer. 

They deliver, they don't make noise, so "keep doing what you're doing" becomes the default. 

We tend to spend our energy on high performers and underperformers. 
The steady ones get left alone. 

And that's often where quiet disengagement starts.

The framework in the graphic gives you a starting point for each one.

They all need your leadership. 
-------------
💾 Save this for your next 1:1
♻️ Repost to help others with this too
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

Grit is a stronger predictor of success than talent. 
But at scale, grit keeps you stuck.

Grit is what got you here.

You pushed through the early years. 
You solved every problem. 
You figured things out when no one else could. 
You didn't quit when it was hard.

That's not nothing. 
That's how the business exists.

But here's what happens when the team grows:

The instinct that made you push through now makes you jump in on things that aren't yours anymore.

→ It's quicker if you do it.
→ No one else has the full picture.
→ You don't trust it'll get done without you.

That stops being leadership.
It becomes grit in the wrong place.

And the harder you push, the more your team steps back.

Why would they take ownership if you're always there to catch it?

You don't need to stop being gritty.
You need to point it at the right things.

Less doing. → More mentoring.
Less jumping in. → More trust.

The hard work doesn't stop. 
But where you put it has to change.

----------
💾 Save this reminder for later
♻️ Repost to help others with this too
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

Many capable leaders fall into people-pleasing without realising it.

Not because they lack standards.
But because they value harmony.
They want to be fair.
They don’t want to demotivate anyone.

Unfortunately when you avoid discomfort:

• Feedback comes too late
• Standards slip quietly
• Ownership shrinks
• Decisions drag for too long
• The team feels less safe

Kindness is different.

Kindness is clear.
Kindness is direct.
Kindness protects the goal.
Kindness holds the line.

It says:

“This matters.”
“You can do better.”
“We’re capable of more.”

That is not harsh.
That is leadership.

Because leadership isn’t about being liked.
It’s about building people who can perform without you carrying them.

Kindness is strength.
----------------------

💾 Save it for later ♻️ Repost 
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more peak-performance and leadership posts.

The hardest part of leadership isn't the strategy.
It's the people.

A client once said to me:
"I love my business. I'd just love it more without the people in it."

He laughed when he said it.
But it wasn't really a joke.

Because behind that laugh was a conversation he'd been avoiding for months.

Most of us have been there.

As leaders, we know when something isn't working.
We feel it. Even if we don't say it.

And sometimes when we finally do, it comes out wrong.

Too harsh. 
Too vague. 
Often too late.

Having a tough conversation is one thing.
Having one that actually works is something else.

Here's what I've seen make the difference:

→ Approach it with curiosity.
Don't walk in convinced you already know what's going on. You probably don't have the full picture.

→ Understand first.
Ask what's happening for that person. Listen properly. The facts might surprise you.

→ Choose your moment.
Not squeezed between meetings. Not when you're stressed. Not in front of the team. Give the conversation the space it deserves.

→ Be direct, but be kind.
You can be honest without making someone feel small. The goal is progress, not punishment.

→ Say what good looks like.
Don't just flag the problem. Be clear about what you need to see going forward.

The best leaders don't avoid hard conversations.
They've just learned how to have them well.

Save this for next time you're putting off that chat.
-------------
💾 Save this for next time you're putting off that chat
♻️ Repost to help others with this too
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

There is someone on your team you need to talk to

Our brain craves certainty. 
But nuance is your leadership advantage.

Most leadership advice pulls you toward extremes.

Be decisive or be empathetic.
Hold people accountable or protect morale.
Be self-reliant or ask for help.

But the best founders I work with don't live at the extremes.

They've learned to hold two things at once.

→ No one is coming to save you. True.
You are responsible for what you tolerate, what you prioritise, and how you respond.

↳ And asking for support is still taking responsibility. Also true.
It means recognising where you lack perspective, knowledge, or simply can't carry the pressure alone.

→ You are accountable for your reactions.
That means understanding your triggers and choosing how you show up.

↳ And you are allowed to draw a line.
Responsibility doesn't mean absorbing poor behaviour or pretending everything is fine.

→ You will need to grow to lead at the next level.
Scaling brings new pressures, new decisions, new dynamics. What got you here may not be enough to take you further.

↳ And you are not broken.
Development isn't about fixing yourself. It's about expanding your range.

In practice, this might look like:

- Investing in someone's development while being clear about the standards required.

- Taking ownership of what you can control, and genuinely letting go of what you can't.

- Caring about your people and still making the tough calls that protect the business.

If it feels uncomfortable to hold both, you're probably doing it right.

----------------------

💾 Save it for later ♻️ Repost if you agree
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more leadership and performance posts.

If you give everything to the business but rarely anything back to yourself...
This is for you.

The best Valentine's gift you can give your business is not working on it this weekend.

In 1992, Gary Chapman introduced The 5 Love Languages. A framework for how people give and receive love. 

It was written for romantic relationships, but the principle applies far more widely.

So I borrowed it.☺️

Because if you're a founder or CEO, chances are the person you invest the least in is yourself. 

Not because you don't care, but because there's always something more urgent.

This weekend, pick one love language from this list and actually do it. 

Not as self-care. 
As an actual leadership decision.

You can't lead well when you're running on empty. 
This weekend, put something back in.

Happy Valentine's Day. 

Yes, it's okay to be a little cheesy once a year.

----------
♥️ Save this reminder for later
♻️ Repost if you believe in the importance of self-leadership
🔔 Follow Monica Federico for more like this

taplio

The Battle

Curt Sassak

Monica Federico

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreMonica Federico's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Curt Sassak

Monica Federico

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Monica Federico's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMonica Federico's LinkedIn Performance