Daniel Deaconu

TheSimplifier

Positioning and messaging consultant for early stage tech companies.

Founder

HiveKeepers

My role is to drive global awareness, scale adoption, define the go-to-market strategy, and turn that strategy into action.

Growth Advisor

TechBolide

Business Development Manager

Key achievements:
•	Developed a trading strategy that generates a 40% increase in profits on a yearly basis.

Key Responsibilities:
•	Operated various software applications and apply knowledge of the forex market in order to successfully trade throughout each session;
•	Managed the risk associated with forex trading – very strict money management rules.

Forex Trader 

Apiary Book

Key Achievements:
• Increased the company's turnover by 400% in the first 6 months

Key Responsibilities:
• Create the business development strategy;
• Open new business verticals;
• Find new clients and partners;
• Negotiate contracts;
• Pinpoint growth drivers that will help the business grow;
• Perform market research to identify new business opportunities, new strategic partnerships, and establish strategies for pursuing those new opportunities;
• Network with new potential clients, investors, and other business partners to generate new leads;
• Assemble all presentation materials and maintain all business development materials.

Key Achievements:
•	Over 300.000 Euro attracted for multiple startups in the middle of the pandemic;
•	Helped a startup win one of the most prestigious Tech Accelerators from SEE;
•	Helped a startup sign a POC with the biggest commercial bank in Romania.

Key Responsibilities:
•	Participating at online technology events and scouting for the most promising technology startups;
•	Approached startup founders via cold calling and cold emailing to sign the advisory contract;
•	Assessed the startup needs to be based on their growth objective, find the best match with investors; 
•	Built all the presentation materials (pitch deck, business plan, financial projections, etc.);
•	Approached investors via cold calling and cold emailing in order to attract the funds;
•	Lead generation – helping startups find clients for their products/services;
•	Monitored competition by gathering current marketplace information on pricing, products, new services, and delivery schedules;
•	Translated the most complex technologies and concepts into a form easily understood by the startup’s customers.

Startup Advisor | Sales Consultant

Key Achievements:
•	Trained 58 participants, divided into 9 MasterMind groups, on sales development skills, sales strategies, and sales campaigns implementation.

Key Responsibilities:
•	Lead generation – organized online and offline events to promote the MasterMind concept;
•	Assessed the participant’s needs and formed the MasterMind groups based on interests:
•	Facilitated meetings and ensured the optimal exchange of information between participants.

Co-Founder - MasterMind Club

Curatenie Profi

Key Achievements:
•	Presence in 7 major cities in Romania
•	Managed over 300 corporate clients
•	Led over 50 employees
•	Successful exit in 2019

Key Responsibilities:
•	Oversaw all operations and business activity to ensure the desired results and performances;
•	Developed high-quality business strategies, ensuring their alignment with the long term objectives;
•	Negotiated terms of business acquisitions to increase business base, solidify market presence;
•	Oversaw executive leadership, employee training, and relations with key customers;
•	Established and managed the annual budget with effective controls to prevent overages, minimizing burn rate, and support sustainability objectives.

Founder & CEO 

The Simplifier | Simplify your message — Amplify your impact | SaaS/B2B Founders: Get your Message Market Fit — Turn tech jargon into clients

Hi, I'm Daniel, The Simplifier :)

If your message is lost in translation, I'm the one who makes it understandable, relatable, and memorable. I rewrite confusing landing pages into understandable ones, with clear positioning and messaging that clicks with the right audience.

I work with founders who struggle to explain their products due to complex or confusing messaging. This is especially painful when a valuable product can't scale because the audience doesn't understand it.




𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦:
SaaS — fastn, vloxq, Wellnessentially, TED Data, Wellview Solutions, Apiary Book, TechBolide
B2B — Witanalytica, Meaningfy

Work with me - https://calendly.com/thesimplifier/30min

Marketing consultant and brand message strategist for SaaS and B2B companies across various industries, with revenues ranging between 100k Euro and 2M Euro.

A founder told me our services are too expensive. He decided to hire someone on Fiverr and pay them a lot less to write some texts for LinkedIn.

But then I went on his profile and saw his last post. It starts with:
"In today's world, integrating AI solutions seamlessly into your workflows is no longer optional—it's critical."

The Simplifier | 1-hour session = 1 month of LinkedIn content | Grateful father of 3 daughters 🙂 | 800+ consecutive days of running

"I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be speaking at the prestigious Tekpon AI Summit..." 
No, no, no!
Nobody talks like this in real life. But still, we see this type of content every day in our feeds.

So I'll simply say that, on November 27, I'm speaking at the Tekpon AI Summit in Bucharest. 

I'm not an AI expert, so why would I speak at an AI event?
Well, because people who built AI tools need to market and sell them.
And content plays an important role in any go-to-market effort. 

There are so many AI tools and solutions on the market that claim you can use them to create authentic content that sounds like you.

But this is a lie. That's simply not true. 

And I know this because over the past 2 years, I've written more than 1000 LinkedIn posts.. 

So far, I haven't found a tool to create content that actually sounds natural. (I won't claim to have tested them all, so if you find one that truly does it, please share it with me.)

BUT using AI in the process definitely helps. Just not in the way most people think.
AI is great for research, generating ideas, and brainstorming different angles. But it's terrible at capturing your voice.

More and more people have outsourced so much of their writing to an AI tool that their content has become unremarkable, unnatural, and robotic.

Therefore, at the summit, I'll show you how to use AI as a tool without letting it turn your content into something that inspires nothing and has no taste.

Grateful to share the stage with an incredible lineup of speakers like Charles Tenot, Angeley Mullins, Ionut Sas, Sara Maldon, Jeko Kolev, Valentin Radu, Frank Sondors 🥓, Bill Stathopoulos, Tom Hunt, Stefan Smulders, Alex Oprisan, Alex Baldovin, among many others. 

Thank you for the opportunity, Alexandru Stan, Cristian Dina, and Alina Maria Stan! And thank you to the entire Tekpon team for putting this together!

If you're in Bucharest next week, come say hi.

👉 Get your ticket here: https://lnkd.in/dj9SFdyt

"I'd rather not post on LinkedIn than post the same bull***t that everyone else does."
That's what a founder running a $4.5M ARR software company told me a few days ago.

Their product has more than 2 million users, and the company is growing very fast. But he stopped posting on LinkedIn because he didn't want to tell the clichéd "founder story" everyone tells in the same way.

He doesn't like to talk about the standard stuff or about how hard it was to build the company. And he has a definition for all of that:

He calls it startup porn.

Instead, he wants raw honesty. Super raw honesty that no one shares. And he wants to be relatable, authentic, and different.

After we talked for 30 minutes and asked a lot of questions, I told him:
"You just did it. You literally just told me your story. Raw, real, authentic, and zero bull***t. That would be the best content ever."

That's exactly what we do at The Simplifier, Personal Branding Agency.
We extract stories from founders and C-level executives through monthly 1-hour sessions and turn them into thought leadership content for LinkedIn.

We take your words and your thinking and turn them into LinkedIn posts. That's it.
Because your best content is already there, you just said it in a client call last week.

Most founders are too busy building the company to worry about content.

I hear this every week from B2B tech CEOs and executives.
They know they need a LinkedIn presence. They understand thought leadership matters. But between product development, fundraising, hiring, and actually running the business, content creation never makes it to the top of the list.

And when they finally sit down to write, the content feels forced and inauthentic. They get 80% done and never finish.

Meanwhile, their prospects are researching them on LinkedIn before meetings. People are checking their profiles, looking for proof they know what they're talking about.

But most often, they find... almost nothing.

If you find yourself in this position, we can help.

I work with B2B tech founders and executives to build thought leadership on LinkedIn. 
We have a low-friction process that fits your busy schedule:
- We record a monthly 1-hour with the founder or executive
- We ask strategic questions, and they answer naturally
- We use the interview to extract their insights and transform them into authentic and relevant LinkedIn content

We use no AI, and no generic templates. All the content is written in their voice 100%.

We work with tech companies across 9 countries.
Our clients achieve 500,000+ LinkedIn impressions within 60 days and start generating sales-qualified leads from the first month.

If you're a B2B tech founder or executive who:
- Knows you need a LinkedIn presence but has no time to create content
- Struggles to translate technical expertise into posts people actually read
- Hates social media but understands it's necessary for business
- Wants to establish authority without hours of writing

Let's talk.

The cost you pay for cheap content is way higher than the cost you'd pay to create high-quality content.

Most companies want to automate content because it takes time and money.
But something gets lost in all this automation.

People buy from people they trust. And trust comes from seeing how you actually think, not from reading what ChatGPT thinks you should say.

Every post you publish is an ad for the way you think. It either builds your credibility or destroys it.

So yes, cheap content is faster, easier, and it costs less upfront.
But in the long run, it costs you credibility and real business opportunities.
And that's way more expensive than the time it takes to create something valuable.

Prospect: I'm not interested. Thanks.

Me: Thanks for letting me know. I'm curious, though, you're not interested in the service, or it's just that our offer doesn't match your expectations?

Prospect: Yeah, the examples didn't really stand out as anything I could just write myself and the responses to them didn't seem to suggest there was much impact.

Me: If you take the posts one by one, yes, the impact is not huge. But when you post this type of content weekly, the impact compounds.
Yes, you can absolutely write this content yourself, and it would work great. The question is whether you have the time to do it.
Because writing one quality post takes 1-2 hours when you factor in structure, thinking, and writing. Multiply that by 8-10 posts per month, and you're looking at 15-20 hours of focused work.
And yes, you can use ChatGPT or other AI tools to speed up the process, but a founder in your position can't afford to publish generic content that sounds like 99% of what's published on LinkedIn.

As for the "didn't really stand out as anything" part, I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Those posts have hundreds of likes and tens of thousands of views from the right audience. There you have the founders sharing their knowledge. It's not flashy. It's simple and straight to the point. That's exactly what people are resonating with on LinkedIn.

If you change your mind, feel free to reach out.


---

This is a real email conversation I had with a prospect.
This is the day-to-day reality of running an agency. Not everyone we discuss with becomes our client. 

We know we're not the right fit for everyone. But we want to make sure that after you discuss with us, you have a clear view of what it actually takes to write good content.

It takes time. A lot of time and mental space.

Helping execs in new roles accelerate impact, build credibility fast and avoid costly transition mistakes | xIBM Consulting | xPwC | Certified Executive Coach

You’ve just landed your next big executive role - congratulations!

Now comes the part no one prepares you for: making it successful.

The hard truth is, 40% of executive transitions fail within 18 months.

And the cost is staggering:

2.5x to 30x the executive’s salary in lost productivity, turnover, and disruption.

Career damage for the executive that can take years to recover from.

Maybe it's your first time at the senior leadership table. 
Maybe you've done this before, but this time, the stakes feel higher. 
Different company, industry, department or role.

Either way, you know this first year will define your reputation and your results.

Tell me if this sounds familiar:

You've inherited a team that doesn't fully trust you yet. 
You're navigating company politics, shifting priorities, and sky-high expectations. 
Everyone's watching, but no one's guiding. 
You're smart, experienced, and capable. 
But the pressure to prove yourself is relentless.

This is exactly where I come in.

I help new executives thrive where 40% fail by guiding them through the high-stakes first year.

My coaching is confidential, personalized, and focused on helping you:

✔ Earn trust quickly and secure early credibility
✔ Navigate politics and hidden organizational dynamics
✔ Build and align your leadership team for quick wins
✔ Make high-impact decisions without costly missteps
✔ Lay the foundation for long-term success and legacy

 Why Trust Me?
• 25+ years in Fortune 500 consulting, partnering with senior executives 
• Led $30M+ transformation portfolios and 250+ person practices at IBM 
• Led risk strategy for $100M+ proposals and complex transformations 
• Built and delivered IBM's top global executive coaching programs 
• Certified executive coach with 300+ leaders coached

If you’re ready to accelerate your impact and avoid costly missteps,

let’s make your first year your strongest. 

📩 DM me “Executive Transition” and let’s talk.

Dora Vanourek

"I found a better opportunity."

Translation: I found a leader who values me.

I've coached hundreds through resignations.

The real reason they leave: 
it's rarely what they say at first.

Behind "better opportunity" or "career growth" is something deeper:

They don't feel valued.

Nobody says thank you.

Their ideas get ignored. 
Their skills go unused. 
They've stopped learning.

If you want to keep your best people:

- Truly listen
- Say thank you
- Seek their ideas
- Appreciate them
- Provide flexibility
- Make time for them
- Ask for their opinions
- Share timely feedback
- Ask how they really are
- Involve them in decisions
- Provide growth opportunities
- Communicate with transparency
- Trust them to make the right decisions

You don't need a budget for any of these.

Just intention, and genuinely caring for your people.

Be the leader you wish you had.

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Changing jobs doesn't mean you're unstable.

It means you're brave enough to admit you want more.

Too often, career moves are seen as betrayals.

But the real betrayal to yourself is staying
somewhere that no longer serves your growth.

5 signs it's time to make your move:

1. Your work has lost its meaning
→ You go through the motions, but the spark is gone

2. You've outgrown your role
→ What once challenged you now feels like autopilot

3. You know you're wasting your potential
→ That nagging voice keeps saying "you're capable of so much more."

4. Sunday night dread has become your reality
→ The anxiety starts earlier each weekend

5. You don't feel seen or valued
→ Another quarter, another "great job" that leads nowhere

Loyalty isn't about staying in one place.
It's about staying true to your potential.

Choose growth over comfort.

You'll never regret betting on yourself.

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If you're not growing in your job, you're shrinking.

But shrinking feels like stability.

Like patience.
Commitment.
Paying your dues.

So you start telling yourself:

'The market's tough right now.' 
'I'm lucky to have a job.' 
'Maybe next year will be different.'

And while you're being 'patient':

Someone with half your experience gets promoted.

Someone who started after you becomes your boss.

The job-hopper is making 40% more.

If your company isn't investing in your growth, 
you're not building a career -
you're maintaining theirs.

They get your best years. 
You get a review that says 'meets expectations.'

Growth isn't just about moving up.

It's about expanding your skills.
Taking on challenges that scare you.
Working with people who believe in you.

Ask yourself:

- When did you last learn something that changed how you work?

- Who's invested in your development this quarter?

- What skills are you building for your next role?

If it's tough to answer these, you're not stable.

You're stuck.

And stuck is just shrinking in slow motion.

The riskiest career move isn't leaving too soon.

It's staying too long.

How will you feel next year if nothing changes?

Your growth doesn't need permission.

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The most painful part of growth:

The people closest to you will try to stop it.

And the faster you grow, the more uncomfortable others become.

It's not personal - it's human nature:

- People prefer the version of you they're used to
- Some feel threatened by your progress
- Others try to keep you "safe" in your comfort zone

Here are 5 powerful ways to protect your growth:

1. Audit Your Circle 👥 
↳ Who celebrates your wins vs. who diminishes them?
↳ Distance isn't betrayal, it's boundaries

2. Stop Explaining Yourself 🤐 
↳ You don't owe anyone a justification for growth
↳ Let your results do the talking

3. Track Your Progress 📈
↳ Screenshot encouraging feedback and messages
↳ Celebrate small victories, they compound into big changes

4. Find Your Growth Squad 🔗
↳ Seek people 2-3 steps ahead of you 
↳ Invest in mentors who've walked your path

5. Trust Yourself 💪
↳ Your intuition knows before your mind does
↳ Bet on yourself when no one else will

The people who truly belong in your life will celebrate your growth. 

Don't shrink yourself to make others comfortable.

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Your title doesn't make you a leader.

How you treat your team when no one's watching does.

After 25+ years helping leaders retain talent, 
I've seen the same pattern:

Great employees will tolerate bad systems and broken processes.

But there's one thing they won't forgive:

A manager who stopped caring.

5 ways leaders lose their best people:

❌ Taking people for granted
↳ Not feeling valued is a top reason people disengage and leave

❌ Rewarding high-performers with more work
↳ Watch them burn out and leave for other companies

❌ Tolerating low performance from others
↳ High performers feel like their efforts don't matter

❌ Not matching salaries for loyal employees with those of new hires
↳ This disrespects your loyal employees and damages trust

❌ Ignoring employee feedback
↳ Dismissing insights signals that their voices don't matter

How to keep your best people:

✅ Recognize impact and contributions
↳ Build a habit of consistent, genuine appreciation

✅ Provide growth opportunities
↳ Before hiring externally, see if you can promote from within

✅ Help them connect the dots
↳ Discuss how they can grow and advance to the next level

✅ Ask for their input when making decisions
↳ Listening to their opinions and feedback lets them know they matter

✅ Ensure fair compensation
↳ Regularly review and adjust compensation and benefits

Be the leader you wish you had.

Because loyal employees don't leave companies.

They leave managers who stopped caring.

♻️ Repost to promote healthier workplaces
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Fear-driven leadership works fast.

But the damage works faster.

Too many leaders obsess over hitting this quarter's numbers.

Meanwhile, their best people are quietly updating their resumes.

When people are afraid, they choose:

- safety over success
- silence over solutions
- survival over growth

What to avoid as a leader:

❌ Threatening job security
↳ "Many people would love to have your role."

❌ Using subtle threats
↳ "We need to talk about your career here."

❌ Manufacturing fake urgency
↳ "This needs to be done by EOD" (when it doesn't)

❌ Keeping people guessing
↳ Unclear expectations, moving goalposts

❌ Weaponizing performance reviews
↳ Don't treat reviews as threats

What to do as a leader:

✅ Recognize and appreciate often
↳ Ensure your employees feel valued

✅ Invest in their growth
↳ Create clear paths for career advancement

✅ Share the bigger picture
↳ Help them see how their work creates meaningful impact

✅ Give your team ownership
↳ Trust them to make decisions and take risks

✅ Stand behind your team
↳ Protect them from politics and have their backs

Fear might get you compliance today.

But trust gets you people who care.

♻️ Repost to inspire people-first leadership
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I'm turning 50 this week 🎂
Grew up in communist Czechoslovakia
where entrepreneurship was illegal.

Success meant getting a job at a prestigious company.

And staying there until retirement.

So that's what I did.

At 48, I looked at my life and realized:

I'd followed every rule.
Done everything "right."
And I still felt trapped.

So I built my escape route.

One LinkedIn post at a time.

A year later, at 49, I left.

Now I have freedom and flexibility I didn't know was possible.

But when I started writing,
my biggest challenge was coming up with ideas.

Staring at a blank screen every day:

- What do I even talk about?
- Will anyone care?
- How do I stay consistent without burning out?

This is why Stanley (Your Content Coach) matters so much to me.

It's the tool I wish I'd had earlier.

It helps me: 

- Give me honest feedback when I need it
- Flag when my audience is tired of a topic
- Turn one coaching session into 4 different posts

My posts created with Stanley outperform my others by 35-40%.

No matter how stuck you feel.

No matter your age.

No matter what you were taught about "safety" and "success."

You can move forward.

It’s never too late.

If you're building your escape route,
try Stanley for free today: https://lnkd.in/g9nvAJzJ

#stanleypartner

Most resignations start the same way.

With a manager who never notices.

People check out long before they officially leave.

Their disengagement builds slowly - one overlooked issue at a time.

High performers notice everything.

They see who contributes and who coasts.

When you tolerate mediocrity, you're telling your best people their standards don't matter.

They deserve better.

And so do you as a leader.

Great leaders do these 5 things differently:

1. Set the bar clearly
→ Define what success looks like - no guessing
→ Write the rules so no one's confused

2. Address issues early
→ Small problems turn big when ignored
→ Have tough conversations before things escalate

3. Be present, not just available
→ Prioritize 1:1s so people know they matter
→ Truly listen, and catch problems early

4. Do what you say, every time
→ Keep every promise. No exceptions
→ Show visible progress to build trust

5. Celebrate what matters
→ Recognize the behaviours you want more of
→ Skip "good job" - say exactly what worked

What you tolerate becomes your culture.

Make sure it's one your top performers want to stay in.

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People won't remember your job title.

They'll remember how you made them feel.

Because true happiness at work isn't about being employed.

It's about feeling valued.

The best leaders live by this.

They don't just manage tasks.
They empower people to grow.
They appreciate them genuinely.

Be that leader:

- Listen without judgement
- Provide stretch assignments
- Genuinely ask, "How are you?"
- Be kind, even on the tough days
- Open doors to new opportunities
- Acknowledge their unique strengths
- Empower others to explore and learn
- Share feedback that helps others thrive
- Invite input in decisions that impact others
- Show appreciation - it means more than you know
- Believe in someone before they believe in themselves

Leadership isn't just about budgets or targets.

It's about kindness, respect, and leaving people better than when you met them.

Have you had a great leader?
Tag them to thank them ⬇️ 

♻️ Repost to inspire your network
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Leadership isn’t earned with a title.

It’s built when people feel safe.

Safe to speak up.
Safe to fail.
Safe to rest.

Build a culture where taking time off doesn’t come with guilt.

What to do as a leader:

✅ Be a role model for taking time off:
↳ Take time off - and talk about it. Normalize rest

✅ Recognize efforts: 
↳ Acknowledge achievements that promote well-being rather than appreciating health sacrifices

✅ Encourage flexibility: 
↳ Trust your team to deliver in ways that work for them

✅ Prevent post-vacation overload: 
↳ Plan ahead to make returning from time off manageable

✅ Conduct meaningful check-ins: 
↳ Make 1:1s safe spaces to talk about well-being and workload

What to avoid as a leader:

❌ Praising work while sick:
↳ "Thank you for working even though you don't feel well" 
↳ This sends the wrong message about your company's values

❌ Neglecting feedback: 
↳ Ignoring employee feedback about workload and stress

❌ Discouraging time off:
↳ Making employees feel guilty for taking breaks

❌ Setting unrealistic goals: 
↳ Targets that require overwork are unsustainable

❌ Promoting an "Always On" culture: 
↳ Expecting 24/7 availability, even on weekends or vacations

Be the leader you wish you had.

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Image credit: Adam Grant

Most leaders obsess over the wrong things.

They chase better processes.

Refine strategies.

Restructure teams.

And when results don't improve:

They apply pressure.
Tighten timelines.
Use fear as a tactic.

Meanwhile, the people who care the most, stop caring.

The best leaders do the opposite:

✅ Know their names and their stories
↳ "How's your daughter's soccer season?"

✅ Treat everyone with equal respect
↳ The intern's time matters as much as the VP's. Act like it

✅ Follow through on their feedback
↳ Actually listen and act. Or explain why not. Silence kills trust faster than "no"

✅ Share your own mistakes first
↳ "Here's where I messed up" opens doors to honesty

✅ Replace "Who did this?" with "What can we learn?"
↳ One question assigns blame. The other builds resilience

✅ Address toxic behaviour quickly
↳ Every day you wait, good people update their resumes

You don't need another framework.

You need to look up from your spreadsheet and see the humans in front of you.

Before the best ones stop caring completely.

♻️ Repost to inspire people-first leadership
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The healthiest teams argue the most.

Because they trust each other enough to disagree.

Most leaders get this backwards.

They think psychological safety means:

→ No disagreements
→ Everyone is comfortable all the time
→ Keeping things polite

But that's not safety.
That's silence.

Real psychological safety looks different:

- Disagreeing doesn't end careers
- Failed experiments = learning
- "What went wrong?" not "Whose fault is it?"
- Leaders admit mistakes first
- Bad news doesn't get hidden
- People bring their real selves

How to start building it:

1. Model it first
→ Next meeting: admit something you got wrong or don't know

2. Reward the messy truth
→ When someone brings bad news early, thank them

3. Change one question
→ Replace "Who screwed this up?" with "What can we learn from this?"

Conflict isn't the enemy of safety.

Silence is.

What does psychological safety look like on your team?

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McKinsey: 89% of leaders miss critical warning signs

76% learn too late; 34% never learn at all.

Incredible carousel from my friend Malay Matalia 🔥
Check him out for more insights like this.

Harvard found:
- Great leaders catch these signs early
- The average ones learn from exits
- The poor ones never learn at all

11 wake-up calls leaders need to hear today:

1. When bad news stops flowing:
→ You haven't built trust
→ You've built fear

2. When the calendar is full but the impact is minimal:
→ You're managing time
→ Not driving results

3. When you blame the team but claim wins as yours:
→ You're not leading
→ You're just taking credit

4. When you're the smartest in meetings:
→ You're hiring for comfort
→ Not for growth

5. When decisions only flow down:
→ You've created soldiers
→ Not future leaders

6. When resumes are getting updated:
→ Your open-door policy
→ Was just empty words

7. When challenges stop coming:
→ Your team has already given up
→ You don't listen anyway

8. When celebrations are louder without you:
→ You're limiting your team
→ Not the catalyst

9. When you speak more than listen:
→ You're leading by power
→ Not valuing your team's insights

10. When no one outgrows their role:
→ You're creating ceilings
→ Not empowering your team

11. When being right matters most:
→ You've stopped leading
→ You've stopped growing

Remember:
Listen to what your team is saying.
And what they aren't saying.
Their silence speaks volumes.

What other wake-up calls would you add?

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11 Wake-Up Calls All Leaders Need to Hear

If you're not willing to fight for your team,
you don't belong in management.

I'll never forget watching my manager 
in a senior leadership meeting:

"You're asking my team to do 3 top priorities. 
Pick one.
Or give me more people."

The room went silent.

Then they picked one.

That's when I learned:

Real leaders don't just manage work - they protect people.

10 ways great leaders protect their teams:

1. Block Burnout Triggers
↳ Kill the root causes before exhaustion turns into resignation letters

2. Stop the Fake Urgencies
↳ Everything can't be urgent. Push back on manufactured crises

3. Eliminate Useless Work
↳ Cut low-value tasks such as creating reports that nobody reads

4. Push Back on Deadlines
↳ Negotiate realistic timelines. Say no to deadlines that require overtime

5. Require Priority Trade-offs
↳ Ask stakeholders to remove something else before adding new work

6. Cut Through Bureaucracy
↳ Push back on unnecessary approvals and processes that slow down your team

7. Protect Deep Work
↳ Create distraction-free times and keep "quick requests" from destroying focus time

8. Defend Their Reputation
↳ CC their wins to skip-levels. Stand up for them when they're not in the room

9. Shield from Office Politics
↳ Handle the organizational drama so your team can focus on real work

10. Limit Meeting Madness
↳ Prevent endless meetings that destroy productivity and focus

Your team doesn't need another manager.

They need a leader who truly has their back.

Be that leader.

PS: What's one thing you wish more leaders did for their teams?

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75% of people fear public speaking more than death.

Yet it's the no. 1 skill that accelerates careers.

Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking, held me back for years.

I avoided roles where I'd need to speak a lot. 

Declined podcast invitations.

Fear was costing me too much.

Then I found Ultraspeaking

Here are the 8 techniques that transformed how I speak:

📌 Save these for later.

1. The Accordion Method 
→ Compress your talk to 60s, then 30s, then 15s 
→ Expand back, keeping only what matters 
→ Forces you to find your actual point

2. The Bow & Arrow 
→ Your Arrow = the ONE thing to remember 
→ Your Bow = supporting evidence

3. The Power Pause 
→ Stop for 3-5 seconds after key points 
→ Gives your audience time to absorb 
→ Silence is powerful, not awkward

4. The 2-3 Word Bookmark 
→ Create 2-3 word triggers, don't memorize scripts 
→ "Customer save" → your problem-solving story

5. Never Break Character 
→ Don't apologize for nervousness or mistakes
→ Your anxiety is invisible until you reveal it 

6. The Pushback Pivot 
→ Pause and acknowledge: "That's an important point" 
→ Reframe: "Here's how I see it..." 
→ Use challenges to strengthen your message

7. Use Clarity Prompts when Stuck
→ "The most important thing is..."
→ "If you remember one thing..."

8. The Opening Rule 
→ Rehearse your opening 3x more than the rest 
→ Early confidence will carry you through

These 8 techniques are just the beginning.

Ultraspeaking is different: 
live practice, speaking games, and real-time feedback from world-class coaches.

If communication is holding you back, 
join this FREE executive workshop (only 9 spots):
https://lnkd.in/gVibVu3G

#Ultraspeaking

Being smart isn't always an advantage.

It'll keep you stuck if you fall into these traps.

You work twice as hard.

You know you're capable of more.

But others still seem to get ahead.

It's not a lack of talent.

It's these traps holding you back:

1. The Overthinking Trap 🌀
↳ You spend months researching instead of taking action
↳ Avoid analysis paralysis with the 24-hour decision rule

2. The Comfort Zone Trap 🏝️
↳ Being the top performer in a small pond limits your growth
↳ Commit to one project that scares you every quarter

3. The Knowledge Hoarding Trap 📚
↳ Your bookshelf grows while your results stay the same
↳ Match every hour of learning with action

4. The Solo Player Trap 🧑‍🚀
↳ You avoid asking for help, seeing it as a weakness
↳ Find mentors who've already achieved what you want

5. The Intelligent Excuses Trap 🦊
↳ You use smart logic to justify staying average
↳ The real danger isn't failing - it's staying the same

6. The Multi-Potential Trap 🎭
↳ You have many talents but never commit to any
↳ Choose 1 focus for 90 days and say no to everything else

7. The Perfectionism Trap 🎯
↳ Your high standards become an excuse to never start
↳ Lower the bar and avoid endless revisions

Don't let these patterns keep you stuck.

You already have what it takes.

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The Battle

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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);}Daniel Deaconu's LinkedIn Performance

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