Executive Culture Coach at Blue Agile GmbH | Empowering leaders to foster a culture of excellence and innovation through coaching executives, enabling teams to surpass their potential and achieve remarkable results.

I’m Eva Gysling, a three-time Olympic swimmer and executive/team leader with 35+ years in complex organisations. I know real pressure - on the starting block and in the boardroom - and how much potential gets wasted when culture is left to chance, systems are poorly designed, and leadership behaviour goes unchallenged.

My work sits where Olympic mindset, executive leadership, culture and corporate mental health meet. Burnout isn’t an individual weakness, and “tough” leadership doesn’t justify daily micro-suffering - especially when it’s driven by bad behaviour. High performance without psychological safety is a contradiction. If people pay with health or dignity, it’s not performance, it’s system failure and a culture problem.

That’s why I created The Executive Edge - ASPIRE: a clear six-module framework for senior leaders who build healthy high-performance cultures on purpose. ASPIRE turns intent into standards, rituals and tools across:

• Pressure design
• Accountability
• Resilience
• Strategic agility
• Team confidence
• Culture anchoring

Purpose:
Design pressure, behaviour and collaboration so people can deliver ambitious results while staying healthy, respected and appreciated.

Who I work with (DACH)
• Senior leaders in tech, healthcare and other disruptive environments (and their leadership teams)
• People & Culture / HR leaders responsible for culture, mental health and leadership quality
• Interprofessional bridge leaders (Product, IT, Ops, Clinical/Service) living in the friction between silos
• Selected consultants, coaches and executive-education partners who want an Olympic-tested, tool-rich system to plug into their work

Together, we redesign how pressure, workload, behaviour, collaboration and culture are handled so leaders don’t have to choose between results and system health.

What I don’t do:
I don’t train people to “be more resilient” so they can tolerate the intolerable. No glossy wellbeing without accountability. No treating bad leadership as a private issue. Psychological safety is infrastructure, non-negotiable, measurable, and owned.

What working with me feels like:
Calm under pressure; direct, respectful and appreciative; Olympic-level standards with high respect for people. We install small, robust rituals/behaviors that hold when things get tough: clearer decisions, fairer load, healthier teams, and more honest collaboration. Proof, not slogans.

If this sounds like your world, let’s explore whether ASPIRE can help you build the healthy high-performance culture you actually want to own.

Eva Gysling, OLY

Most people remember one leader from their career.
Not the title → The feeling...

That feeling came from:
→ being trusted early.
→ before confidence felt solid.
→ before everything was figured out.

And also sometimes...

✅ A responsibility handed over sooner than expected.
✅ A decision made without someone stepping in.
✅ Support shown publicly when things got uncomfortable.

Those moments stay.

↳ They change how people think about themselves.
↳ They stop waiting for permission.
↳ They start taking responsibility.

This is where leadership actually shows up.

Power moves work forward in the moment.

Empowerment builds people who move work forward again and again.

That difference compounds over time.

- People think deeper.
- They own outcomes.
- They solve problems without being asked.

And eventually:

+ Teams become stronger.
+ Cultures become clearer.
+ Results stop depending on one person.

Leadership scales through the people around it.

The strongest leaders understand this.
Their focus shifts from control to capability.
From directing work to developing judgment.

The impact lasts longer than any role or title.

Leadership shows up in the people who grow under it.
That’s how leaders become great.

Repost now with others
Follow Eva Gysling, OLY for more

3x Olympian | Executive Sparring Partner for Senior Leaders in D-A-CH | The Executive Edge - ASPIRE: High performance that protects people’s health and dignity

You don’t need more time.

You need fewer decisions.

Most people exhaust themselves
deciding what to do next.

That’s not productivity.
That’s friction.

Here’s my personal blueprint for focus and flow - simple, practical, repeatable:

1️⃣ The Anchor Task
Forget the endless to-do list.

Pick one non-negotiable task each day.
Finish it and the day counts.

Everything else is extra.

2️⃣ Energy Mapping
Stop managing hours.

Start managing energy.

High energy → deep, creative work.
Low energy → admin, emails, chores.

Match the task to your state, not the clock.

3️⃣ The 2-Minute Rule
If it takes under 120 seconds, do it now.

Tiny tasks create invisible stress.
This clears it before it stacks.

4️⃣ Digital Fortressing
Focus is a finite resource.

Treat it like one.

Phone in another room.
Messages checked at set times.

Constant availability is not a performance metric.

5️⃣ The “Clear the Deck” Ritual
End the day on purpose.

Last 10 minutes:
– Tidy your space
– Close the tabs
– Write tomorrow’s Anchor Task

Future-you starts calm, not behind.

Time management isn’t about control.

It’s about design.

Repost now with others
Follow Eva Gysling, OLY for more.

COO at SisuSemi | New Ideas Into Results | Expert in R&D, Product dev and Program mngt | High Tech Leader | ex Chief Eng. @ SCHOTT | ex Dir @ MSFT | Empower Others and be Better | Look Out More for Leadership & Growth

𝐼'𝑚 𝑎 𝐸𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑦 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔. 
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑦 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑡. 
𝑃𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡.

That blend defines how I approach challenges: bringing clarity to ambiguity, guiding people toward shared direction, and turning complex ideas into progress.

Over 20 years across semiconductors, photonics, and AR/VR hardware, I have learned that great ideas only succeed when structure, discipline, and empowered teams bring them to life. 
Leadership, to me, is about balance - aligning vision with structure and innovation with execution.

I lead deep-tech innovation from draft to scale - turning complexity into clarity and ideas into impact.
I bridge structure with freedom, depth with progress, and people with purpose.

I build teams that move fast, think deeply, and deliver what others only plan.


𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫
• 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 – Built and led orgs of 36+, sustaining performance while prioritizing wellbeing.
• 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 – Developed roadmaps and multi-year investment strategies; embedded agile culture for long-term growth.
• 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – Brought AR display innovation from R&D to market at Microsoft and SCHOTT; achieved >35% cost reductions and 2.5x process capability improvements.
• 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧 – Managed $10M+ budgets; secured multimillion-dollar investments to scale innovation.
• 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 – Delivered results across startups and global programs through resilient teams, robust processes, and scalable manufacturing pipelines.

𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 & 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
• SisuSemi – Co-founder & Board Member; strategy, investors, agile growth leadership.
• Summa Semiconductor – Board Member; governance, finance, transition planning.
• Community & Housing Boards – Leadership roles in governance, strategy, and engagement.


Today, I share insights on 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝, 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑡ℎ - especially how to scale deep-tech innovation, build resilient teams, and drive lasting impact through leadership and board work.

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: 
Leadership • Strategic Planning • Program Management • Product Development • Operations • Semiconductors • Photonics • Technology Management • AR/VR Hardware • Manufacturing Scale-Up

------
Note; The views expressed in my post are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or thoughts, of my employer.

Pasi Pietilä

“𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝.”

I still remember one stretch goal from early in my career.

We were asked to 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜.
(For the tech-curious: increase max laser power from ~30 mW to 50 mW without drastically increasing drive current.)

It was hard. Really hard.
And as a team, we pulled it off. 🎯 At least I though so... 

When the results reached the market, something unexpected happened.
Yes... the max power was there.
But the 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭.
(In laser terms, we had 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠... and everyone in this field knows those should be avoided.)

 I still remember our CEO looking at the data, shaking his head, and saying:
 “𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑠?”

I gave the most engineer-like answer possible: “𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑠𝑘.”

Technically correct.
Practically wrong. (Soo wrong...)

Kinks where there as we didn’t optimize those away – 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 and would have 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒃𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆.

That moment still sticks with me because it was 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞.

Deep-tech is full of these situations:
Teams deliver exactly what’s specified... And still miss what actually matters

And here’s the key insight:
👉 You can’t fix this with more control.
👉 Better specifications alone won’t save you.
When you are doing something for the first time, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.

Yes - we need targets.
Yes - we need specifications.

But in deep-tech 
- Targets must evolve.
- Priorities must shift.
- Clarity must guide execution - not rigid control.
 
Engineers are trained to learn... but when execution starts, they’re often rewarded for 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐬, not 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦.
Solving the real problem is hard – It needs learning and adaptability. It forces us to shoot at a moving target.

That’s why I’m writing a book on this topic: Why clarity - not control -  leads to better results.
If this resonates, feel free to DM me.

And in the meanwhile, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments

COO & Co-Founder | Deep-Tech Scaling (Semiconductors, Photonics, AR/VR) | Strategy → Execution → Growth | MSc | eMBA Candidate ’27

𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 is one of those words that sounds reassuring.

You know...
We align in meetings.
We align on slides.
We align before moving forward.

Everyone nods.
Everyone agrees.
People are happy. 

And then… 
execution starts, 
and reality hits.

People are doing different things than expected.

Not because they ignored the decision.
That’s rarely the case.

When this happens, leaders often assume:
* People didn’t listen
* People weren’t committed
* People made the wrong call
...More often, none of that is true.
 
In reality the agreement was never the problem.
The challenge is the life - 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞.

And alignment built only around tasks doesn’t survive that moment.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 
 
As Mike Tyson put it:
 “𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ.”

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

I have seen it too many times.
Plans that looked solid on paper... but never turned into action.

I have seen it in plans created by others.
And yes...  I have seen it in my own plans and processes.

Here’s the key learning:
𝐀 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.

The classic mistake many leaders make is this:
They create a plan and expect others to execute it.
When execution stalls, they respond by adding more details... calling that “clarity.”

But that’s not clarity. That’s control. That’s a micromanaging. 

The real issue isn’t the quality of the plan.
It’s that the plan was created in a silo... focused on tasks and details instead of the bigger picture and shared understanding.

Clarity lives at the level 𝑜𝑓 𝑤ℎ𝑦, 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑑𝑔𝑒𝑑 - not in the fifth revision of a project plan.

And here’s a clear signal that something is off...
When conversations gravitate toward reviewing details instead of discussing priorities, alignment, or intent.... 
Then you can feel it - Something’s wrong.

That’s the moment to stop tightening control and start working on clarity.

How to create that clarity?
It depends. The right approach is always situational, shaped by the real friction on the ground.
That’s why I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all answers - and why I’m currently condensing these learnings into a book.
If this resonates, feel free to DM me.

And I’m curious... Have you seen plans that looked good on paper but led nowhere in practice?

Clarity rarely fails at the slides.
 
Sure... sometimes our message is not enough clear. 
Sometimes we just try to be too cleaver and fail to deliver the message. 
 
But mor often, clarity breaks in much smaller moments... Moments like:
* When we think others are heard... but never check.
* When we assume others think like we do.
* When people hesitate to ask questions.
* When we are not ready to slow down to ensure that we all understand things in the same way.
  
Then there is the other group where the failure often happens.
* When we don’t share our thinking...  because we are afraid that it won’t land.
* When decisions feel risky... because we might be wrong.
* When accountability is implied, but never clearly owned.
 
None of these are major issues on their own.
That’s why they are easy to ignore.

But when a few of these are stacked together - day to day, month to month - they create an illusion. 
An illusion of alignment...
 
Until reality forces decisions - and the gaps surface.
 
Now depending how things stack up, it might show up just as friction...
Often it shows up as frustration...
Sometimes as conflicts. 
 

Where does clarity most often break in your day-to-day work?
Comment below...

What’s the right answer when you don’t know the answer?

In deep-tech development, this is not a hypothetical question.
You are asked for answers you genuinely don’t have yet.

At the same time, you are expected to:
* build confidence with stakeholders 
* keep you managers happy with confidence and clarity
* give direction to teams
... And keep things moving forward

Honesty matters... but on its own, it rarely helps you achieve progress.
Saying “we don’t know yet” might be true, but it doesn’t help others navigate what comes next.

This is where leadership shifts from having answers to creating clarity.

Your role is not to remove uncertainty... it’s to help people move through it.

What many (especially the ones who haven’t lived this in practice) leaders do instead is add control:
* more reviews
* more detailed plans
* more checkpoints
* less flexibility
--> It feels responsible.... It feels safe.

But in uncertain environments, it usually does the opposite.
Progress slows.
Frustration grows.... 
... in the team, in stakeholders, and often in yourself.

Control doesn’t solve the unknown... It just makes it heavier.

A better approach is to use clarity as the navigation tool.
At this point, you might (rightfully) ask: 
“Yes, clarity is important... but what does that actually mean when no one knows the answers?”

That’s a fair question.
And it’s far more nuanced than it sounds.

Not because it’s complicated - but because there is no single answer.

Everything depends on the ground-level frictions you are dealing with.

I’m currently working on a book around this exact topic... how (deep-tech) leaders create progress in uncertainty by choosing clarity over control.

If this resonates, feel free to DM me.

In the meanwhile, share you thoughts in comments below...

We often say: “Less is more.”

But does that also apply to clarity?

In practice - yes...
But only if we are clear about what actually matters.

Saying everything that’s on our minds doesn’t create clarity.
More often, it creates confusion.

Over time, I have come to see clarity as something that (should) exists on three levels:
1. Clarity in our own minds: Do I truly understand what matters most... and what doesn’t?
2. Shared clarity: Does the team understand the priorities, intent, and success criteria in the same way?
3. Clarity of reality: Do our plans and assumptions still match what’s actually happening on the ground?

This third level is the one we talk about the least... and we end up to pay for the most when we ignore it.
 
At end of the day “less is more” works for clarity only when we remove noise, not meaning.
When we surface what’s essential instead of saying everything we know.
 
I’m currently working on a book exploring how deep-tech leaders can use clarity, rather than control, to drive real impact.
If this resonates, feel free to DM me.
 
And I’m curious -  Do you believe less is more when it comes to clarity?

taplio

The Battle

Eva Gysling, OLY

Pasi Pietilä

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreEva Gysling, OLY's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScorePasi Pietilä's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Eva Gysling, OLY

Pasi Pietilä

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);}Eva Gysling, OLY's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScorePasi Pietilä's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreEva Gysling, OLY's LinkedIn Performance