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

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:

-  The edge in "wow, you've changed"
-  The unsolicited advice to "be careful"
-  The subtle comments that diminish what you've built

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.

5 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 support you will celebrate your growth.

Don't shrink yourself to make others comfortable.

♻️ Repost to remind someone they don’t need permission to grow
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

Hard work doesn't burn people out.

Poor leadership does.

We used to have chair yoga sessions and 
stress management workshops at work.

The people who needed them most couldn't attend.
 
They were triple-booked in meetings.

That's not a wellness problem. 
That's a leadership problem.

A boss tells you to manage your stress.

A leader removes what's causing it.

Stop offering meditation apps while scheduling back-to-back meetings.

Stop promoting "work-life balance" while rewarding those who never log off.

Stop blaming people for burning out in systems designed to break them.

If your team is struggling, look for the real causes:

→ Unrealistic deadlines with no room to breathe
→ Back-to-back meetings with no time to think
→ Unclear priorities that change every week
→ Rewarding "always on" while preaching balance

If you're exhausted, you're not weak. 

You're stuck in a broken system.

And you deserve leaders who fix it - not blame you for it.

♻️ Repost to help someone who needs to hear this
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

Executive Advisor for Senior Leaders Navigating a New Role | ex-IBM | ex-PwC | CPCC

20+ years of experience means nothing
if people dread working with you.

We've all met them:

The senior leader who humiliates in meetings.

The expert who makes everyone feel small.

The exec who treats people like obstacles.

Experience teaches you process.
It doesn't teach you humanity.

The most skilled person in the room
can also be the most damaging.

Signs someone has experience but lacks humanity:

→ They interrupt constantly
→ They take credit but never give it
→ They dismiss ideas without listening
→ They remember every mistake you made
→ They make you feel stupid for asking questions

Meanwhile, leaders who treat people well:

→ Ask questions before judging
→ Celebrate wins that aren't theirs
→ Make space for others to speak
→ Create safety for honest conversations
→ Leave people feeling capable, not small

Your years of experience don't define your value.

How people feel after working with you does.

Be the leader people want to work with.

Not the one they have to survive.

♻️ Repost to remind someone that people first leadership matters
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

We've built hiring systems that strip away humanity.

Then we wonder why trust is broken from day one.

It’s because we have normalized 
the unacceptable:

❌ Posting ghost jobs to signal growth
→ while real people wait for an email that never comes

❌ Automated rejections
→ after someone spent hours filling out a complicated application form

❌ Six rounds of interviews
→ because no one trusts anyone else's judgement

❌ Ghosting people after the final rounds
→ because giving feedback is not a priority

❌ "Not enough experience"
→ when they could learn the job in a month

The hiring managers feel this too.

They're drowning in reqs.
Pressured by systems they didn't design.
Told to move fast while also de-risking every hire.

People are not numbers.

Every resume represents someone's hopes.
Their rent. Their kids' futures.
Their career turning point.

To the hiring managers doing their best within broken systems:

Thank you. It matters more than you know.

♻️ Repost if you believe hiring should be more human
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

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.

📌 Navigating your first year in a new role?
Get weekly insights in The First Year newsletter:

dora.coach

Image credit: Adam Grant

Betting on myself scared me more than staying stuck.

So I finally chose fear instead.

You might be there right now:

❌ Waiting to feel confident before starting
❌ Seeking perfection before launching
❌ Taking "one more certification" before applying

A year ago, I left my 25+ year corporate career.

And what made leaving possible  
was writing on LinkedIn.

Before that, I was stuck.

Overthinking. Doubting myself. 

Who am I to give career advice when my career isn't perfect?

One day, I just hit ‘post’.

Writing here opened doors I didn't know existed:

New people. New projects. New possibilities.

If you're stuck like I was - start anyway.

The hardest part was taking that first step.

If I'd had a tool like Stanley back then, I would've started sooner.

Stanley isn’t another AI.

It works as a true AI LinkedIn coach:

- shows you what your audience actually wants
- finds patterns you'd never notice yourself
- tells you which posts flopped and why
- gives feedback that stings a little (in a good way)

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

Try a free trial of Stanley today: https://lnkd.in/g9nvAJzJ

#stanleypartner

By 30, you should have it figured out.
By 40, you definitely should.
By 50, you shouldn't still be searching.

Society sells us a lie about what "on track" means.

That life should be a clean upward line.

That restarting means you failed.

That feeling lost means something is wrong with you.

When you believe those lies, you end up thinking:

This isn't where I thought I'd be.
I should have done more by now.
I should be further along.

I've felt that since walking away from 25 years in corporate.

The exhausting performance of "I'm fine."

The promise that tomorrow will be different 
- and then another day passes and nothing changes.

The shame of feeling behind, 
based on someone else's timeline.

You're not broken.

You're in process.

The most successful people I know restarted more times than they'll ever admit:

- New careers at 35
- New cities at 42
- New identities at 53

The only regret would be staying stuck 
because someone told you it's too late.

You are the greatest project you'll ever work on.

Don't give up on yourself.

♻️ Repost for someone who needs a restart
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

A year ago, I left my 25+ years tech consulting career.

To build something of my own.

My friends couldn't understand why I'd leave stability.

Others questioned if it was "too late" to start over.

A few called it a midlife crisis.

But then I found my new people.

Entrepreneurs who'd walked away from golden handcuffs.

Creators building empires from their expertise.

Leaders who measured success differently.

Their ambition didn't make me feel behind.

It showed me what was possible.

When you change your path, you need people who've already taken the leap.

5 ways to upgrade your circle:

1. Audit your conversations - are you talking about problems or possibilities?

2. Join spaces where your future self would hang out, not where you currently are.

3. Share your bold goals openly - ambitious people are drawn to other dreamers.

4. Ask "What are you building?" instead of "How's work?"

5. Give yourself permission to outgrow relationships that hold you to your old life.

Your old circle will keep you comfortable.

Your new circle will keep you growing.

Evolve your circle.
Choose growth.

♻️ Repost to remind someone to find their circle
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

You watched them get promoted.

The ones who laughed at the offensive joke.

The ones who stayed quiet when they should've spoken up.

The ones who took credit for your work.

And you wondered if YOU were the problem:

- Maybe I'm too naive
- Maybe I need to "play the game"
- Maybe integrity is just a fancy word for staying stuck

Those promotions came at a cost you can’t see at first.

The person who got ahead by compromising?
They have to keep compromising to stay there.

The person who sold out their values for a title?
They wake up every day performing a version of themselves they won’t recognize.

Adam Grant said it perfectly:

“The highest form of accomplishment is standing by your principles when they're tested.”

You didn't lose.

You refused to pay for a "win" that would have cost you everything.

Your integrity isn't holding you back.

It's the only thing that will matter when the titles fade.

📌 Navigating your first year in a new role?
Get weekly insights in The First Year newsletter:

dora.coach

♻️ Repost to remind someone integrity wins in the end

Image credit: Adam Grant

You know it's time to leave when you
can't recognize yourself anymore.

It's not the tasks that make you miserable.

It's not even the long hours.

It's having to wear a mask every single day:

- Apologizing for having boundaries
- Staying quiet when ethics get violated
- Laughing at your boss's offensive jokes
- Saying "great idea" when you know it'll fail

You tell yourself this is just how work is.

Everyone deals with it.

This is what being professional means.

But when you look in the mirror,
you don't recognize yourself.

People don't quit jobs.
They quit the person they had to become to survive there.

Start small:

- Stop apologizing for leaving on time
- Update your resume tonight
- Connect with one person in your field
- Remember: this isn't forever

There are workplaces where you can disagree without fear.

Where boundaries are respected, not mocked.

Where you don't have to pretend.

You deserve to feel whole again.

♻️ Repost to remind someone this isn't forever
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

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: 

It’s live practice, speaking games, and real-time feedback from other leaders and world-class coaches.

If communication is holding you back, I recommend joining their flagship course:

https://lnkd.in/gH9yVFE8

#ultraspeaking

26% of your promotion depends on executive presence.

But no one explains what those words really mean.

"She lacks executive presence" might be 
the most frustrating feedback ever.

Because it's rarely followed by what to actually do about it.

I've helped leaders work through this exact challenge.

Here are 8 ways to build executive presence:

1. Practise Strategic Silence
→ Leaders who listen first command more respect
→ Ask: "What are your thoughts?" - then pause

2. Name the Elephant
→ The person who calmly names the tension earns instant credibility
→ Say: "Can we talk about what's really going on?"

3. Make Others Look Brilliant
→ The most respected leaders give credit, not take it
→ Say: "That was Sarah's idea" before adding your own take

4. Simplify Complex Ideas
→ True expertise is ensuring others understand
→ Replace jargon with everyday language

5. Own Your Authority
→ Undermining phrases erase years of hard work
→ Drop "just," "kind of," "I think maybe." Say "I recommend."

6. Calibrate Your Reactions
→ Overreacting undermines credibility
→ Ask yourself: "Will this matter in 6 months?"

7. Bring Solutions, Not Problems
→ Great leaders are valued when they solve issues
→ Never raise an issue empty-handed

8. Learn to Disagree Without Drama
→ Executive presence lives in the middle: calm, direct, unafraid
→ Use: "I see it differently. Here's why."

Executive presence isn't about changing who you are.

It’s about showing up as your real, confident self.

📌 Navigating your first year in a new role?
Get weekly insights in The First Year newsletter:

Dora.coach 

♻️ Repost to help your network
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

It starts with one small compromise.

"It's just this once."
"Everyone does it."
"This is how the game is played."

The system doesn't force you to compromise.

It just rewards the people who do with promotions, access, favour.

And makes you wonder what's 
wrong with you for hesitating.

But here's what nobody tells you:

The lies we tell ourselves are the most dangerous ones.

"I'll go back to my values when I make it."
→ You won't. The higher you climb this way, the more you have to protect.

"No one will notice."
→ You will. Every time you look in the mirror.

"I'm doing this for my family."
→ Your family needs your integrity intact - not a sacrifice they never asked you to make.

"I don't have a choice."
→ You do. It's just not the easy one.

The corporate world doesn't break people with one big ask.

It breaks them with a thousand small ones.

You're not naive for wanting to do the right thing.

You're not stuck because you have standards.

You'll sleep better than the ones who traded theirs for a title.

♻️ Repost to remind someone they're not the problem
➕ Follow Dora Vanourek for more

📈 Optimising Org Cultures, Leaders and Teams. 🌏 Global Consultant l Trainer l Executive Coach l Diverse Keynote Speaker. 🎤 Founder of the Ways to Change the Workplace Podcast and movement. 📩 DM to enquire!

Enough about me. DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU 👇🏽
✔ You're a high performing team and know there's always stuff to work on. 
✔ You value developing yourself and others.  
✔ You know that fresh thinking, honest conversations and connection comes from taking yourself out of your day to day. 

Or... 

✔ Your culture looks fine on paper... but things feel off.
✔ Your leaders say the right things... but struggle to live them.
✔ Your team’s stretched, stuck, or quietly disengaged.

If you’re nodding, we should talk.

I help leaders make culture change practical and lasting.

No fluff. No frameworks for the sake of it. 

Just real conversations, practical tools, and actions that actually make work better.

Through my consulting, workshops, and coaching, I help build:

✔ Leaders people trust and want to believe in
✔ Teams that work well together
✔ Cultures where people find meaning in what they do

When I’m not doing that, you’ll find me:

🎙 Hosting the Ways to Change the Workplace podcast

📘 Talking all things culture in my book Make Work Meaningful: How To Create A Culture That Leaves A Legacy ⚡

💬 Speaking with leaders who actually give a damn

If you care enough to make work better — let’s chat. ⚡

Prina Shah

In a small town, a CEO doesn’t clock off.

They are seen in daily life.
They’re recognised instantly.
They’re associated with almost every decision.

Visibility does not pause after hours.
And over time, something subtle happens.

Leadership stops being a role you step into.
(It becomes a presence you carry.)
Interactions are noticed. 
Signals are interpreted.
Choices are remembered.

Not because communities are hostile.

But because proximity changes how leadership is experienced.
There is little anonymity.
There is little separation between leader & person.
There is little distance from the consequences of decisions.

So scrutiny feels closer…
Expectations feel constant…
Judgment feels personal…

This is the reality many regional CEOs navigate quietly.

Leadership becomes a lifestyle, not a role.

If we want sustainable leadership in small communities, this context must be understood.

We explore this lived experience in Living in a Fishbowl with Simone Pickering: what it means to lead where the role never fully switches off.
🎧 Listen it via the link:
https://lnkd.in/gRQBAmtR

Follow Prina Shah for grounded conversations about leadership, culture, and work.

Prina Shah 

Making work better with people who give a damn ⚡ Author of Make Work Meaningful | Global Consultant | Facilitator l Speaker | Coach l Podcast Host

Leadership in small towns is often described as visible.
But visibility is only part of the story.

For CEOs in regional communities, leadership is lived in proximity.

They are not only organisational leaders.

They are known community figures.

- They are seen in daily life.
- They are recognised instantly.
- They are connected to the people.
(affected by their decisions)

There is little distance between role and community.

And that changes the experience of leadership.

Decisions do not remain organisational.
They carry social consequences.

Interactions do not remain contained.
They are observed and interpreted.

Boundaries do not remain clear.
They are tested in public space.

Over time, the role becomes difficult to switch off.

Not because leaders lack discipline.
But because anonymity does not exist.

This creates a hidden load.

- Constant visibility.
- Community proximity.
- Ongoing role awareness.

All with limited separation between leader and person.

Isolation and burnout risk can increase quietly in these contexts.

If communities want sustainable leadership, this reality must be understood -not assumed away.

This is what we explore in Living in a Fishbowl with Simone Pickering: the lived experience of being a CEO in a small town, and the human cost of leadership without anonymity.

🎧 Listen via the link here:
https://lnkd.in/gRQBAmtR

Follow Prina Shah for grounded conversations about leadership, culture, and work.

The Hidden Load of Small-Town CEOs

How do we build trust as a lead team? That’s the magic question, right?

Today I had the privilege of working with Kellie and her lead team in the Ecosystem Health Branch at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

So let’s go back to the question - how do you build trust in a lead team?

Here’s what I know.

⚡It’s not going to happen overnight.

⚡The leader needs to take their leader hat off and join the session as a participant, like Kellie did. That takes courage and vulnerability. 

⚡You need to learn what each other wants to leave as a legacy. This team humbled me. Different answers, yet deeply aligned. They spoke about the work they’re doing now lasting hundreds of years beyond their time here - for future generations.

⚡We used a work styles tool, but we didn’t hide behind it. We put it into our own words. Why? Because no tool can represent you like you can when YOU articulate yourself properly.

⚡We created a “User Manual of Me” for each person using these prompts: • MY STYLE IS - in your own words
• MY COMMUNICATION STYLE IS…
• WHEN PEOPLE COMMUNICATE WITH ME, I NEED THEM TO…
• MY LISTENING STYLE IS…
• I MAKE DECISIONS BY…
• THE KIND OF WORK I LIKE IS…
• I GET STRESSED BY…
• WHEN I AM STRESSED, I GET…

⚡We worked on the DNA of the team - who they want to be, and what they want to be known for.

This is how culture shifts - not with lip service, but with behaviour.

We agreed trust isn’t built overnight. But everyone is committed to doing their part, consistently.

I’m lucky to work with people like this - people who genuinely care about making work meaningful.

How does your lead team build trust?

If you want to take your lead team to the next level the way Kellie and her lead team are, DM me - Prina Shah.

⚡P.S. I only work with leaders who give a 💩 about making work meaningful.

Thank you Kellie and your amazing lead team for trusting in me. 🙏🏽 Thank you Mike Dyson for suggesting we work together.

Leadership doesn’t stop when the workday ends.
... for CEOs in small towns, it rarely even pauses.

In regional communities, CEOs aren’t just organisational leaders -
they’re public figures.

They’re seen at the supermarket.
At school events.
At community functions.
On social media.

Every decision carries social weight.
Every interaction is observed.

And anonymity simply doesn’t exist.

In my latest podcast episode, Living in a Fishbowl, Simone Pickering and I talk honestly about the emotional load of being a CEO in a small town — the isolation, the burnout risk, and the reality of being “always on”.

This isn’t about privilege or status.

It’s about responsibility.

And the human cost of carrying it without adequate support.

If we want better leadership in our communities, we also need more compassion - especially from boards, councils, and stakeholders.

Question:

Where do you see leadership expectations crossing into unrealistic - or unsustainable?

🎧 Listen to the episode here: https://lnkd.in/gRQBAmtR
♻️ Repost if this made you pause.
 ↳ Follow Prina Shah and Simone Pickering (MAHRI) for grounded conversations about leadership, culture, and work.

When we talk about CEO support, the conversation usually focuses upward.

- Strategy.
- Performance.
- Results.

But in small communities, there is another layer boards rarely see clearly.
↳ Proximity.

Regional CEOs do not lead at distance.
They lead amongst their people and communities.

They’re recognised in daily life.
They’re visible beyond the workplace.
They’re connected socially to stakeholders.

And they live inside the community affected by board decisions.

This changes the conditions of leadership.

1. Boundaries are harder to hold.
2. Confidentiality carries more weight.
3. Interactions travel further. 
4. Expectations extend beyond work hours.

Over time, the role becomes difficult to step out of.
Not because of poor leadership discipline.
But because anonymity does not exist.

This is why board conduct matters deeply in regional contexts.

- Tone travels.
- Signals amplify.
- Informal moments blur governance lines.

And CEO wellbeing becomes shaped not only by workload - but by visibility, access, and scrutiny.
Supporting a small-town CEO is not only relational. It is governance.

We explore this reality further in Living in a Fishbowl with Simone Pickering (the lived experience of being a CEO where leadership has no off switch.)
🎧 Listen it via the link:
https://lnkd.in/gRQBAmtR

Follow Prina Shah for grounded conversations about leadership, culture, and work.

Tell your planning friends! This talk has no pink washed elements. All welcome. 

Register here: https://lnkd.in/gNbad7kb

Women in Planning Network (WPN) WA + Dean Webster

Don’t freak out with your culture survey results. Do something about them.

Every year I see the same pattern.

1. Leaders commission an expensive culture survey.
2. The results land.
3. There is a sharp intake of breath.

Engagement is down.
Trust feels shaky.
The comments are hard to read.

And then?

• A staff forum to “talk through the results”
• A few well-meaning conversations
• A promise that “we’re taking this seriously”
• Six months later - not much has shifted

Here is the truth.

Your survey results are not the problem.
- Your inaction is.

A culture survey is a mirror. It reflects what your people are already experiencing. The real leadership begins after the data lands.

If your people have taken the time to be honest, you owe them more than acknowledgement. You owe them movement.

That means:

• Identifying the 2–3 culture gaps that are creating the most friction
• Turning broad themes into clear behavioural expectations
• Expecting leaders to model the change - not just endorse it
• Embedding practical actions into team routines, not random initiatives
• Updating your people on progress regularly - not just at the next survey

Culture does not shift because you measured it.
- It shifts because you lead it.

If you are sitting with survey results and quietly hoping the noise will settle, this is the moment that defines you as a leader.

I work with executive teams and HR leaders to turn survey data into a sharp, practical culture action plan - one your people can see and feel. 

Culture change takes time and effort. 

If you are ready to move from insight to action, reach out. Happy to arrange a time that suits you.

♻️ Repost this to your network if it was insightful! And follow, moi, Prina Shah for no nonsense talk. 

⚡ P.S, I only work with those who give a 💩 about making work meaningful. 

Help yourself to my book: Make Work Meaningful - How To Create A Culture That Leaves A Legacy. https://lnkd.in/ghknAfHU

Boards and councillors - this one’s for you. If you oversee a CEO in a regional or small-town context, there are two questions you must be asking...

1. What does it feel like to work here?
2. How does our conduct as a board or council impact the culture?

In small communities, CEOs don’t just lead organisations.

They live inside the consequences of every decision — socially, personally, and emotionally.

In Living in a Fishbowl, Simone Pickering and I unpack what happens when leaders are expected to be everywhere, everything, and available to everyone - without boundaries or support.

Psychosocial safety doesn’t stop at the executive level.

And leadership wellbeing is not a “nice to have”.

If boards don’t understand the lived experience of the workplace, they are part of the problem - not separate from it.

Question: How often does your board genuinely reflect on its impact, not just its governance?

🎧 Episode link: https://lnkd.in/gRQBAmtR
♻️ Share this with a board member who needs to hear it.
 ↳ Follow Prina Shah and Simone Pickering (MAHRI) for conversations that challenge how we think about leadership.

You are not a different person at work.
Your culture is shaping you more than you think.

We like to believe our personality is fixed.

But what actually shows up at work? That depends on the environment around you.

Culture shapes behaviour quietly, daily, psychologically.

Through what gets rewarded.
Through who gets promoted.
Through what’s tolerated.
Through what’s ignored.

If your culture rewards bravado, empathy goes underground.
If speed is valued over reflection, thoughtful people withdraw.
If hierarchy dominates, creativity shrinks.

Personality is a range, not a box.

Which traits surface depends on how safe or stressed you feel.
And here’s the part most leaders underestimate:
Culture doesn’t just influence performance.
It influences identity.

Over time, people adapt. They armour up. They shrink. They perform.

Not because they are inconsistent – but because they are responding to psychological cues around safety, power and belonging.

Culture is not soft.
It is psychological architecture for your workplace, team and leaders.

If you’re not intentionally designing your culture, it is designing your people.
And that design has consequences.

If you want to build a culture where your best people don’t have to split themselves in two just to succeed, we should talk.

I Prina work with executive and leadership teams to define, embed and optimise cultures that actually align with their ambition – not undermine it.

If you’re ready to elevate your work culture from reactive to intentional, message me and let’s explore what’s possible for your team.

Prina Shah - Helping leaders and teams create cultures that leave a legacy.
Author of Make Work Meaningful: How To Create A Culture That Leaves a Legacy https://lnkd.in/g2Bjj3V5

Tell your lawyer friends! This talk is going to be practical and you cannot miss it Legalwise Seminars. 

Register here: https://lnkd.in/gecUDdpS

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The Battle

Dora Vanourek

Prina Shah

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Performance ScoreDora Vanourek's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Dora Vanourek

Prina Shah

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);}Dora Vanourek's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScorePrina Shah's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreDora Vanourek's LinkedIn Performance