Most service-based founders didn’t start their business to run spreadsheets, chase team issues, or babysit backend chaos.

But that’s where they end up—wearing the COO hat, buried in operations, and stuck running a business they never meant to build.

That’s where I come in.

I work hands-on with founders to:
- Plug profit leaks
- Create clarity with cash
- Build simple systems that scale
- Reclaim time, margin, and control

My 8-week Profitable Growth Accelerator™ is built for service businesses doing $300K–$2M who are ready to grow on purpose, get paid properly, and stop the chaos—without adding more hours.

📊 We start with your numbers
📈 We fix what’s broken
🧠 You get your business—and your life—back

If that sounds like the kind of help you’ve been hunting for, DM me or visit the link above.

Damien Foglio

If you're negotiating your prices after giving an estimate, you're doing it wrong.

Your price was set with purpose: 
To cover costs, make a profit, and deliver value.

Negotiation?
It's a profit killer, or possibly a job done at a loss. 

Instead, I encourage my clients to shift the conversation.

When a prospect says your price is too high, respond with:
"I get that. What's your budget?"

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗶𝘀.

Because if you keep lowering your price, 
you're just devaluing your service and setting a bad precedent.

Stick to your numbers. 
Adjust what you do for what they pay.

Stop giving discounts. 
Start real conversations about scope.

Your clients want clarity, not bargains.
Make your value clear.

And watch the right clients pay what you're worth.

undefined undefined

Cash Flow Freedom - Dec 1

Workshop

📌 On Monday, January 19th at 7 pm EST I am hosting a 1-hr workshop: Profitable Gameplan helping business owners get a jump start on achieving their 2026 goals. 

https://calendly.com/coach-damien/workshop

It's only $25 to join. 
Includes bonuses and a replay.


I help $400k-900k B2B service owners fix profit & cash flow by installing the operating system their business should’ve had from day one — So they grow on a plan, not hope | 8-Week Profitable Growth Accelerator™

My dad is the hardest working man I know.

He's been showing up for work every single day for 35 years, because he wants to. 

You'd think he'd be tired. Want to rest.
Nope.

He pushes harder.
Longer hours.
No fuss.

When I had to move out of my house in one day, I had plans to bring friends at 2 pm. Him and I were done by noon.

When I needed to remodel my house and move in within 90 days, he was there every weekend. Demo, trash, whatever needed doing.

When I forgot my passport for a 7 am flight to Mexico. 
He made it in 35 minutes.

And just this past weekend, when I needed firewood for a rental property, he drove 3.5 hours, worked 3 hours, then drove back. Home by 8 pm.

If you know my dad, this isn't surprising.
If you don't, you're missing out.

He's the kind of person you want in your corner, the one who shows up, works hard, never complains.

Thanks, Dad.

You've set the bar high.

And honestly, I'm still trying to catch up.

Speaking with some very successful business minds this week, I noticed one common key missing ingredient. 

It's not about sales, revenue, growth, or even success in their business. 

It's alignment on their goals with their spouse.

They don't agree on goals.
They're misaligned on finances.
They have their own priorities.

And that makes even small decisions feel huge.

Should we take that trip?
Invest in the business?
Go out this weekend?

When you're not aligned, every choice becomes a debate.
But when you are aligned, everything shifts.

Goals become achievable.
You have someone in the trenches with you.
A real accountability partner.

My wife and I do this too.

We set big goals.
We've delayed some travel plans, cut back on spending.
All to build a stronger safety net.

And to ask: "What would make our lives better?"

This year, it's a new family SUV.

No loans.
Just one certified check.

Not because we're rich.
But, because two years ago, we built a plan.

We saved every penny.

First, a safety cushion.
Then, the car.

𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.
𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲.

It's about knowing you're in this together, no matter what.

The biggest decisions don't need to be stressful.
They become victories.

When both of you are on the same page.

Ready to get aligned?

Stop debating every small thing.
Start building your shared future today.

We use a Christian faith-driven document called "Reverse Engineering our Dream Life". If you would like a link to it, comment below and I will send it over.

I Help $300K–$900K Service Owners Fix Profit Leaks & Install Structure for Profitable Growth | 8-Week Profitable Growth Operating System™

No alternative text description for this image

After coaching 30+ small business owners, one thing stands out: 
High performers do things differently.

They don't get caught up in the chaos. They have clarity. 

Every move they make is backed by a clear vision and sharp goals. 
They're not just waiting for opportunities; they create them.

Delegation? They master it. 

Instead of micromanaging, they trust their team. They empower others to own their work, innovate, and grow. That's how scalable businesses thrive.

They are perpetual learners. Whether it's industry events, online courses, or self-study, they stay ahead. They evolve. That's how they dodge the trap of stagnation.

Failure? They see it as fuel. 

Mistakes aren't setbacks, they're lessons that help them pivot faster. They don't fear failure; they embrace it.

Networking isn't just about exchanging cards. It's about building genuine relationships that open doors to new opportunities and fresh insights.

And they don't sacrifice life for work. They get that balance fuels sustained success. Family, health, passions, these are part of the game plan.

This is the blueprint for real growth, not just hustle.

Most businesses look and sound the same.
That’s why their marketing is getting ignored.

The real edge?

Your competitive differentiators.

What separates you from the rest?

That’s what your content should spotlight—again and again.

Because when prospects see why you’re different,
choosing you becomes easy.

👉 What’s one differentiator you lean on in your business?

(My wife and found this amazing place to eat in Bend, OR. Not only was it delicious, but portions were great and price was fair. The line was out the door when we arrived, but worth it.)

Most owners obsess over the big numbers: 
Clients, revenue, net profit. 

I used to do the same. 

Then I learned the real power isn't in the top line. 
It's in the denominator. 

For me, it was 'per hour'. 

'Revenue per hour' 
'Gross profit per hour' 
'Cost per hour' 

Why? 

Because I used to bid my work per hour. 

When I added a 100-hour contract, I knew instantly what it would bring in revenue, profit, and costs. 

That denominator "per hour" became the engine. 

Scale it, and everything else moves. 

For plumbers, it's per job. 
For consultants, per project. 
For you, it's whatever makes your model tick. 

What's the one number that drives your business? 

Figuring that out can change everything. 

If you want help finding it, shoot me a DM. Tell me about your business, and I'll help you identify that key number for free. 

Stop chasing totals. Focus on what truly moves your engine.

One gap I am seeing across a few of my clients: 
Simply not enough time to accomplish all of the responsibilities. 

As business owners, they often have a fixed amount of time (40+ hours per person per week), yet an endless amount of responsibilities, tasks, and deadlines. 

When I see this, I would love to provide a solution that gets everything done by the time it is due. But that's not reality. 

(Even to assume the average worker is actually working 40 hours per week is a bit off - They say the average worker is actually working 4.5 hours per day). 

So what do we do to solve this gap? 

First, pick your first primary deadline. End of today or end of this week. 

Second, identify the items that must get done by your deadline. 

Third, prioritize these to ensure the most important item is done first, second, etc. 

Fourth, identify all the items that will not get completed by your deadline. 
Define those now and notify anyone who is waiting on those items to be done and let them know your new deadline. (Possibly next week). 

Fifth, protect your time by not taking on any new items, tasks, etc. Everything new that comes in must wait till after you are caught up. 

The key in all of this: 
1. Admitting we cannot do it all. But we can do some. 

2. Communicate early and up front on items that are getting pushed to the back. Let the vendor, client, peer, or boss, know it now and make a different decision if they need to. 

Curious – What is your tactic for handling a long to-do list and not enough time?

Look, I'm not for everyone.
Actually, there's a good chance I'm not for you either.

Most people settle. 
They set goals, then hope for the best.

That's not how I operate.

I set big goals. I go after big wins. 

And when I don't hit them? It's not because I won't. 
It's because I'm in the middle of pushing harder.

That's what I want for everyone around me.
My family. My friends. My clients.

Even the strangers at the gym I see every day, year after year, still don't know their names. 

But I believe in one thing:
You can achieve your goals if you want them bad enough. 

It doesn't just happen.

It takes action.
It takes disruption.
It takes discomfort.

If you have big goals but aren't willing to put in the work, we won't last long as friends, partners, or clients.

Set your goals. 
Build your route. 
Achieve your results.

Now, let's go get it. 💪

I've been thinking a lot about relationships lately.
Personal and professional ones. 

There's a clear difference between the ones that drain me and the ones that energize me.

I'm in my mid-40s now. I don't have time for the former.
My focus is doubling down on the latter.

You know those people who only call when they want something?
The ones who always need, never give.
The ones who never ask how you're doing, who are okay with you not being okay.

Those drain me.
(And honestly, I'm sure I can be that person to someone else too.)

But I want to spend my time with the ones who call to check in.

Who follow up if I don't pick up.
Who genuinely want to know how I'm doing.
How my business is growing.

The ones who have my best interest in mind, not just theirs.

Maybe it's time for some pruning.
But it might also be a season for planting.

I am a firm believer in that it's okay to let people know where they stand.
If someone wants a different kind of relationship, tell them how.

Life's too short to waste with the wrong people and ignore the right ones.

In the end, it's our faith and our relationships that matter most.

I'm choosing to invest wisely.
Who are you investing in today?

One thing I wish more business owners understood: 
Growing revenue is not the same as scaling a business.

 More revenue can often be achieved. 
However, the real challenge kicks in once that number starts climbing.

More people.
More questions.
More meetings.
More emails.
More calls.
More texts.

Every single one of these eats up time.
And if you're not careful, you'll drown in busywork without moving forward.

That's why productivity isn't a luxury.
It's the foundation.

How you use your time determines if your growth is sustainable or just more chaos.

Focus on that first.
Your future depends on it.

Stop chasing numbers.
Start mastering your time.

Here is why your internal staff promotions are killing your business. 

Leadership is about direction, alignment, and influence. 

Direction for the team to hit their goals. 
Alignment with leadership to the front lines. 
Influence through relationships. 

When you promote the best performer in a position, 
None of these are accomplished. 

Communication, relationships, and follow up are the necessary quality characteristics for leadership. 

When you promote the best performer you actually lose twice. 
1. You lose your top performer. 
2. Your team doesn't have the best leader. 

Stop promoting based upon performance and/or tenure. 

Do this instead: Create a comp plan that allows the best people to remain in their position, without a requirement of a promotion. 

For reference, Mike MacDonald didn't play football past high school, yet he just led the Seattle Seahawks to a Superbowl Championship. 

They chose character and leadership over individual performance. 
And you should too.

One practice that I hope I never give up is focusing on the day and night before to prep for the day and week ahead. 

One of the most valuable weekly habits I have and do my best to maintain is a Sunday church service. 

Being in a house of worship, being around fellow believers, and learning a new perspective or interpretation on God's word. 

I used to take Sunday services for granted, but as I become older (hopefully wiser), I now see this as a part of my weekly reset. 

One where I can set work aside for a bit, put away my anxieties for the upcoming week and just rest in the fact that this is where I need to be at this moment. 

Over the last three week's Pastor Adam has provided a completely new perspective on Heaven and debunking myths. 

Do you engage in any type of weekly reset? 
If so, what helps you? 

I would love to hear them in the comments!

Two and a half years ago, I bet on myself. 

Quit the corporate safety net and started my own business coaching other entrepreneurs.

I had the confidence:

- BA in Business Management (Education)
- Over 20 years running and scaling companies (Personal Experience)
- The ability to guide others to their goals
- A passion for reading, learning, and talking about business

But I lacked one thing:

- Clients
- Lead funnels
- Credibility as a coach

Building from zero forced me to learn quickly. 
It taught me things no book or degree ever could. 

Now I've helped over 30 business owners reshape their companies. 

I've improved my own skills, built a schedule I control, and finally eliminated the commute. 

But it hasn't been easy. 

No more paycheck security. 
No office chatter. 
Working with people who aren't as motivated as I am. 
Stress over every sale.

Yet, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. 
Because the freedom of building my own thing outweighs the costs.

If you're thinking about taking that leap, don't wait. 
The only way to grow is to jump.

What's the bet you need to make?

Today, I'm looking for three small business owners doing $300k to $3M in revenue. 

No pitch. No fluff. Just real value. 

Just a genuine conversation about your biggest profit leaks and cash flow questions. 

I want to understand what's really holding you back so I can refine my system. 

In 20 minutes, I'll reveal the exact approach I use with clients to unlock clarity and boost profits. 

And you'll get an AI-generated recap afterward, so you know what to focus on next. 

Comment "value trade" below if you're in. 
I'll send you a Google Meet link. 

Let's make your business more profitable.

Here's a tough truth: You might need to replace your top people before your business truly grows.

Reality is, you got where you are with the mindset, approach, and people you have right now.

If you want to reach the next level, sometimes that means upgrading your leadership team. 

You don't grow to the next level with the same mindset you have now. 

A company is only as good as its leadership.
If leadership isn't evolving, neither is the company.

For me, when I was growing my business from $800k to $1.5k, I realized that in order to do so I needed an upgrade at my most pivotal position: Operations Manager. 

The one I had was great, and got me to where I was, but he was not going to get me where I wanted to go. Him and I worked out a deal for him to stay, not take a pay cut, and allow me to hire someone above him. 

In the end, we ended up scaling to $3M with the new operations Manager. 
All while, the previous one was growing with us as well. 

If you want more growth...Grow your leadership.

Otherwise, you're hitting a cap you can't break through.

It's not about replacing for the sake of change. 
It's about strategic upgrades.

Because if your leaders aren't pushing, learning, and leading differently, your business won't either.

Raise the bar on your leadership, and watch your business follow.

Simple. Clear. Necessary.

Ready to make that leap? 
Or are you still clinging to the old?

I was on the phone with an acquaintance today who wanted to see if I had any advice for getting out and starting their own company. He did not like what I had to say...

Before I launched my coaching business, I needed quick cash. 
So I started I hustled any way I could. 

I took 1 week and opened: "Damien's Bike Repair." 
Bike tune ups and repair out of my garage. 

Next, I reached out to friends and family asking for any work they could send my way. 

Every morning, I dedicated four hours to my own business. 
Marketing, building programs, following up with prospects. 
Focused. Consistent. No excuses. 

After a quick lunch, I switched gears. 

Some days, I was repairing bikes. 
Other days, pressure washing driveways. 
Sometimes it was selling on Facebook Marketplace. 

It didn't matter what the job was. 
What mattered was making my goal of $500 a day. 

Every day, I asked myself, "How do I hit that number?" 
And I found a way. 

It wasn't glamorous. 
It wasn't pretty. 
But it worked. 

That hustle built my business into something full time. 
No fancy tricks, just grind and focus. 

If you're looking for instant revenue, forget waiting. 
Start doing what it takes today. 

Action beats the best idea every day. 

What's your next move?

I hated to hear from my employees "I was too busy" or "I didn't have time" as if they weren't in charge of their time throughout the week. 

The truth? 
Everyone only has 40 hours a week.

And by the end of it, most of us look back and wonder what we actually accomplished.

Here's the reality: Each employee is a self-manager. 
They're managing their own time, their to-do lists, their priorities.

They add, do, subtract to it throughout the week, without checking in, verifying, that the right things are getting done. 

But if your to-do list keeps growing, that's not the problem. 
The problem is you're not prioritizing correctly.

If you only have 40 hours, those hours should go to the right things. 
Not just the urgent stuff, but the impactful stuff.

Here's a trick I recommend, whether you're the owner or the employee:

Review this week's to-do list every Monday. 
Look at what absolutely must get done before the weekend.

Then, decide: 
- Prioritize those items 
- Re-assign tasks that don't need your direct input 
- Discard the noise

Reset your priorities. 
Make sure the right things get done. 

The rest? Put on hold. 
Because doing everything means doing nothing.

Stop fooling yourself. 
You don't need more time, you need better focus.

You'll be surprised what gets accomplished when you cut the clutter.

What's the one thing you're going to prioritize next week?

“Stop managing people!”

That's the title of the book I'm in the middle of writing. 
It's also the core of how I coach my clients on leadership.

All business owners hire people to perform tasks, processes, and responsibilities in their business. 

They hire them, train them, and manage them. 

When things don’t go as planned, they go directly to the people. 
They make it a “people problem”. 

When, most often, it is not. 

Instead of managing the task, process, or responsibility...
Instead of managing the training and SOP's....

...They manage the people. 

Hiring isn't just about filling a seat. 
It's about finding a match. 
A real match between the role and the person. 

Here is what you can do instead: 

Write out your processes for your business, step by step. 
Train each individual to perform the processes they need to perform. 

When there is an issue with the process, review the process first. 
Solve it WITH the person performing it. Not AGAINSTthem. 

Only if responsibilities are right and training has been given, set up a performance plan. 

Give them 30 days. Weekly check-ins. Hold them accountable. 

Because managing people? That's a losing game. 

Leading them? That's what drives real growth. 

Stop managing. Start leading. 

And watch how your team transforms.

I was tired all the time. Showed up drained for work, trying to force my body into gear it wasn't ready for.

It hurt my work.
It hurt my family.
It made handling problems feel impossible.

Then I realized something: 
𝗦𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲.

Getting a good nights sleep was more important than more hours at my desk. 

A well-rested person outperforms the smartest, most talented one tired out of their mind.

I'd rather work focused and sharp for 8 hours than stretch into 16 hours of exhaustion.

Because tired equals irritability.
Energy drops.
Problems seem bigger.
People like you less.

Getting good sleep isn't a luxury. 
It's a game changer.

Are you risking your success by ignoring your sleep?

Make rest your secret weapon. Start today.

DM me "Sleep" if you would like to know the items that I have made a part of my routine every single night.

All businesses have problems. No business is exempt. 
However, the two primary differentiators that can set a small business part from its competition: 

1. Quality of Service. 
2. Level of Responsiveness. 

Improve quality by: 

Hire the best people. 
Train them well. 
Promote the best. 

Increase responsiveness by: 

Answer the phone. 
Respond quickly. 
Provide solutions with deadlines. 

If a business owner is focused on these two things, the word will spread. 

Simple, but not easy. 
Everything great takes intention.

Highly capable leaders don’t stall because they lack effort, intelligence, or ambition.They stall because they keep applying effort where leverage is required — and the system quietly rewards them for it… right up until it doesn’t.Early success trains this pattern.Promotions come from delivering under pressure.Credibility builds on solving what others can’t.Influence grows by being the person who figures it out faster than everyone else.Then scope expands.And effort stops compounding.The leader is still performing. Still delivering.But decisions carry more weight.Influence doesn't move as easily.And working harder produces diminishing returns.That's the inflection point I work in.I coach VP–C-suite biopharma leaders whose roles have outgrown the effort-based model that made them successful.I bring a rare combination to this work: a PhD in neuroscience, McKinsey training, and 20+ years in biopharma—including senior executive roles as Chief People Officer, Chief Learning Officer, and Head of Medical Affairs.I know this environment from the inside. That changes the conversation. You don’t have to explain the pressure — or defend the tradeoffs. We work on what matters so the impact is unmistakable.“25 years into my career, and the 6 months I worked with Angela was a transformative experience.” — Julie B., EVP, Human Resources“Angela is a rare strategic thought partner… coaching with her transforms how you think, act, and lead.”— S.M., Founder &amp;; CEO“I now know I have a rightful place at the decision-making table—and I’m showing up that way.”— Fiona I., VP, People &amp;; Organisation, Global Biotech“Having worked with several coaches, I can confidently say Angela is top-tier—smart, strategic, and pragmatic.”— JS, SVP &amp; Board Director

Angela Justice

Nobody's fooling themselves on a Sunday night.

The conversation you keep replaying. 
The one you know you need to have — and you know it's going to be hard. 
The decision you can't quite make.

This comes up in coaching all the time.

A client will say, "I'm not sure what to talk about."

So I ask what they were thinking about on Sunday night.

They always know.

Angela Justice, PhD

Executive Coach to Biopharma Leaders | Former Chief People Officer

Angela Justice, PhD in a reflective moment on Sunday

Here’s something that comes up far more often than you might think.

People in senior roles saying some version of this:
“I’m exhausted.”

Not from the workload.
From carrying the consequences of decisions they didn’t want to make —
but still have to stand behind.

It’s a quiet kind of weight.

And it has a way of sticking around.

Being right doesn't mean anyone will listen.

Early in my career, I heard this more than once: "You have a sharp edge."

I didn't quite understand it.

I could see second-order consequences clearly. 
Name tradeoffs most people wanted to avoid. 
Predict what a decision would set in motion three moves out.

I thought that was the value.

What I missed:

When you name consequences before people are ready to hold them, it doesn't land as insight.

It lands as judgment.

Not of the situation. Of them.

I was diagnostically right. 
But I hadn't built the relational foundation that makes hard truth bearable.

So the same insight that could have been useful felt like an attack.

I see this pattern constantly in biopharma.

We promote people for their analytical strength. 
Their ability to see around corners. 
Their diagnostic speed.

Then we're surprised when that same sharpness doesn't feel collegial.

It's not that they're wrong. 

They just haven't done the work that makes hard truth useful instead of alienating.

The leaders who scale impact aren't the ones who learn to soften their message.

They're the ones who do the relational work first.

They listen before they assess. 
They carry other people's context, not just their own read. 
They show up in the calm moments so people know they're invested — not just observant.

Once that foundation exists, the edge doesn't disappear.
It becomes useful.

The same truth that once felt sharp starts to feel relieving. Because people know you're naming the thing for them — not at them.

Senior leadership isn't about choosing between warmth and directness.

It's about earning enough trust that your directness can land.

Being right is the entry point.

Earning the right to be heard is the work.

Indispensability is the fastest way to cap your leadership.

Getting promoted is about you.
Your judgment.
Your output.
Your ability to deliver when it matters.

What comes next isn’t.

What used to earn recognition is now supposed to be done by your team.
And they’re not as good at it as you are.
At least not yet.

So you stay close.

You jump in.
You fix things before they break.
You go to meetings you really shouldn’t have to be at.

Staying close feels necessary.
You tell yourself it’s only temporary.

But quietly, something else starts to happen.

The more you step in, the more your team waits.
The more you carry, the less confident they become.
The more indispensable you feel, the smaller everyone else starts to play.

So you work harder.
And they rely on you more.

And without anyone deciding it,
the system starts depending on you
instead of growing around you.

This is where scaling breaks.

You can muscle through this for a while as a Director.
At VP, it turns into a rate-limiter.
At the C-suite, it collapses.

That’s when capable leaders end up exhausted —
not because they can’t delegate,
but because they’re still trying to do the old job
inside a role that now requires something entirely different.

If this feels familiar, I’m not surprised.
A lot of capable leaders end up here —
trying to keep all the plates spinning,
knowing they can’t keep doing it this way forever.

There are ways to stay close to outcomes
without holding everything personally.
And they’re easier to put in place
before any of the plates drop.

At 9:15 a.m., she was prepping for a meeting.
By 10:00, she was unemployed.

No warning. No performance issues. No indication anything was coming.

She was good at her job. Really good.

She'd assumed that was enough.

It's the assumption most high performers never think to question — because it's worked their entire career.

Do good work. Deliver results. Stay focused.

But in a volatile industry, that's not a visibility strategy. It's a hope strategy.

And right now, with layoffs moving through biopharma again, a lot of people who did everything right are finding out the hard way that being valuable inside your role isn't the same as being visible beyond it.

I wrote about this last year. It's worth a read if you're feeling more uncertain than your performance review would suggest.

https://lnkd.in/eVaa_Cke

Are you managing your career — or just your job?

Open article: Loyalty Is a Flawed Strategy—And It Can Cost You by biospace.com

Loyalty Is a Flawed Strategy—And It Can Cost You

Competence has a shadow side.

The better you are at something, the more it finds you.

It shows up in your inbox. On your calendar. In the meeting where someone says, "You're the best person for this."

And they're not wrong.

You are good at it.

But at a certain level, being the person who can do anything becomes the reason you're doing everything.

And slowly, without anyone intending it, you stop doing the work you're actually here to do.

I felt this myself this week. Sitting across from people I genuinely wanted to help, knowing I could — and knowing I shouldn't be the one to do it.

That tension doesn't get easier.

But I've learned to pay attention to it.

Because the discipline isn't protecting yourself from bad opportunities.

It's protecting your best work from good ones that belong to someone else.

Where is your competence pulling you right now — and should you follow it?

HR is usually the first to spot it.

Not the leaders who are struggling.

The leaders who look… fine.

Still delivering.
Still respected.
Still doing what’s asked of them.

But they’re in the middle of a shift they haven’t fully caught up to yet.

Their role has expanded.
Decisions carry more weight.
Consequences travel farther.

And they’re still leading the way they did at the previous level.

Nothing breaks right away.

Instead, a few predictable signals start to appear.

The team gets frustrated.
Workarounds start forming.
And the leader starts pulling decisions closer—just to stay on top of it.

It’s not a performance issue.
Not yet, anyway.

It’s what happens when accountability increases faster than how someone leads.

Left alone, that gap doesn’t resolve itself.

It turns into friction.
Then drag.
Then the first miss everyone suddenly acts surprised by.

HR leaders know this pattern.

It’s a predictable part of moving from doing great work…
to leading work through other people…
to owning outcomes that travel across the business.

If you treat it like a performance problem, you’ll be late.

If you treat it like a transition, you can intervene early—
before the small misses add up.

HR leaders: what’s the first sign you trust most that a role has outgrown someone’s old habits?

Engagement doesn’t break when things get hard.
It breaks when hard things go unsaid.

That’s one of the patterns I talked about recently in a conversation with Benson Executive Search.

In uncertain conditions, people don’t disengage from challenge.

They disengage from waiting — from sensing that decisions are being made somewhere else, without them.

When leaders hold back what they see because they’re trying to maintain calm, the opposite happens.

Employees start scanning for risk.
They fill in the gaps themselves.
They pull back — not dramatically, but quietly.

We also talked about two other patterns that show up again and again at the senior level:

– why performance ceilings are rarely about skill and more often about identity
– and how the way leaders leave organizations shapes trust long after the role ends

The throughline is simple.

Engagement, performance, and credibility aren’t driven by programs.
They’re shaped by how leaders show up when conditions aren’t stable —
what they’re willing to name,
and what they leave unsaid.

If you’re in a People or HR role right now, this may feel familiar.

Where do you notice it surfacing first?

What really drives employee engagement in today’s uncertain world? In our latest conversation, we sat down with executive coach and former biopharma CPO Angela Justice, PhD, who shared why transparency matters more than certainty, how leaders break through performance ceilings by shifting identity — not skills — and why leaving an organization well may be one of the most underutilized leadership strategies. A thoughtful, practical conversation for People and HR leaders navigating what comes next. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eJKzvshm

Open article: C-Suite Conversation: Angela Justice - Executive Coach, Biopharma Industry | Executive Search For HR Talent | Benson Executive Search by bensonsearch.com

C-Suite Conversation: Angela Justice - Executive Coach, Biopharma Industry | Executive Search For HR Talent | Benson Executive Search

Something shifted about two years in.

I felt heavy in a way I couldn't explain.

Not overworked. Not unclear on priorities. My team was solid. Nothing was on fire.

So I ran every diagnostic I knew.

None of them fit.

It took me longer than I'd like to admit to figure out what was actually happening. And when I did, it reframed everything — not just how I was leading, but what I thought leadership was.

This happens to a lot of leaders. HR leaders especially.

If you're exhausted in ways your calendar doesn't explain, the issue probably isn't capacity.

This month's Practical Perspectives is about what it actually is — and what starts to shift when you see it.

Subscribe:

Open article: Practical Perspectives by pages.justicegroupadvisors.com

A new VP I work with kept saying she trusted her team.

And she did.

But her team didn't feel it.

Because every decision still ran past her. 
Every message needed her review. 
Everything needed her approval.

She'd say things like, "Send it over if you want another set of eyes," or "I'm happy to review before it goes out."

She meant optional.
They heard expected.

So they started sending everything.

First out of caution. Then out of habit.

And that's how she became the bottleneck.

Nothing moved without her.

By the time she started coaching, she was working nights and weekends just to keep up with review work — and still not doing the work she was actually hired to do.

Her breakthrough wasn't "I need to let go."

It was: "Good" is trapped in my head.

So we made "good" visible — and got specific about what truly needed her eyes and what didn't.

Once that line was clear, the team could move without waiting — and she could stop being the process.

Where have you accidentally become the bottleneck?

“I thought I should just sit back and listen for the first few meetings.
I wasn’t sure what I could add.”

A board member said this to me recently, describing her early days in the role.

She assumed others were more informed.
More experienced.
Better positioned to weigh in.

So she listened.
She observed.
She waited.

Until she realized something important.

She hadn’t been invited into the room to observe.
She had been chosen to bring her judgment.

So she stopped holding back.

And the response wasn’t surprise or resistance.
It was relief.

As if the room had been waiting for her to use the seat she’d already earned.

I see this all the time with senior leaders.

They work hard to get into the room —
and then hesitate once they’re there.

A subtle shift happens once you finally earn a seat at the table.

The job stops being about earning credibility
and starts being about using it.

That’s uncomfortable for a lot of capable leaders.

They’ve spent years being rewarded for getting it right.
For proving their thinking before offering it.
For having the answer.

But senior roles don’t require certainty.

They require judgment.

And judgment withheld out of caution
has the same effect as judgment never offered at all.

You know what I watch for before anything breaks?



Workarounds.

When a team starts building little side paths to get things done—
that's not creativity. That's compensation.

It usually means one of two things:

There's a bottleneck no one wants to confront.
Or there's a decision no one feels safe making out loud.

So the work keeps moving...
but around the real issue. 

A workaround can look like: shadow teams, meetings about meetings, or three systems patched together to get one answer.

If you’re seeing workarounds, don’t ask, “How do we streamline this?”

Ask: What decision is this workaround helping us avoid?

Because workarounds don’t just slow execution.
They create quiet misalignment.

Workarounds are usually a sign that __________.

If you didn’t stop anything, you didn’t set priorities.

You just increased the load.

In biopharma goal meetings, everyone can name what we should advance:
   •   the new indication
   •   the accelerated timeline
   •   commercial prep
   •   platform expansion

What no one wants to say out loud is what dies.

Because “What are we stopping?” doesn’t land on a spreadsheet.
It lands on someone’s program.
Someone’s headcount plan.
Someone’s credibility.

So nothing stops.

The pipeline stays.
The initiatives stay.
The reporting stays.

And six months later, milestones slip and no one can point to the moment it happened.

If you’re in that room, don’t leave with
“Let’s circle back.”

Ask:

“What are we stopping so this can be true?”

That answer tells you whether you have strategy —
or just permission to keep everything alive.

Think back on this past week.

There was probably at least one meeting where you came in prepared.
You understood the issues.
You had a point of view.

And yet—somewhere in the conversation—you felt it:

Not sure if this was the moment to push.
Not sure if the real decision had already been made.
Not sure if your job was to shape it… or just carry it.

So you did what a lot of capable leaders do.

You said the safe thing.
Not the real thing.
And you walked out feeling like you missed your shot. 

That feeling is more common than people admit.

You don’t want to come off as difficult.
You don’t want to seem “not aligned.”
And you certainly don’t want to say anything that would make you a target. 

Not every leadership team makes it easy.
Some rooms reward straight talk.
Some punish it.

If you’re the leader, you start editing yourself in real time.
If you lead leaders, you start noticing how much good thinking never makes it into the room.

So here’s the question I keep coming back to:

What has to be true for leaders to say the hard thing out loud—trust, permission, proof, or sponsorship?

A lot of engagement advice breaks down when conditions stay uncertain.

This conversation, featured in the Benson Executive Search newsletter, looks at what tends to hold instead — including transparency, leadership identity, and how leaders exit organizations.

Retained Executive Search focused on Human Resources

Our latest newsletter includes compelling conversations with Angela Justice, PhD and Siisi Adu-Gyamfi... each of whom share perspectives on leadership, engagement and the value of HR to an organization.

A lot of “yes” at work is reflex.

You want to be reliable.
Easy to work with.
The person who “just handles it.”

So you say yes.

Not because you should—
because you don’t pause long enough to ask what that yes is costing you.

And then your week gets chosen for you.

Your calendar fills up.
Your time gets spoken for.
And the work you actually care about gets pushed to “later.”

Before you say yes this week, pause long enough to ask:

What would this yes cost me?

In the goals meeting, the most important question is usually the one no one answers.

“What are we stopping?”

Not because people don't know what should stop.

Because saying it out loud means telling someone their thing doesn't matter as much as they thought.

So nothing stops.
The goals stay.
The work stays.

And execution slows while everyone stays busy.

When nothing stops, priorities aren’t real.
They’re just a list.

If you’re in that meeting:
Don’t leave with “we’ll figure it out.”

Ask: “What are we stopping so this can be true?”

That’s when you find out whether you have priorities… or just permission to keep everything.

I wrote more about what it costs (and what to do about it) in BioSpace::

Open article: Subtraction Before Addition: A Smarter Way To Set and Execute Goals by biospace.com

Subtraction Before Addition: A Smarter Way To Set and Execute Goals

taplio

The Battle

Damien Foglio

Angela Justice

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreDamien Foglio's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAngela Justice's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Damien Foglio

Angela Justice

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);}Damien Foglio's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAngela Justice's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDamien Foglio's LinkedIn Performance