Quiet cracking. Hidden burnout among leaders and managers

On the covers of business magazines, leaders look like they have everything under control. In interviews, they talk about vision and the courage to make difficult decisions. Except that this narrative does not include the seventy-one per cent of leaders who experience significantly higher stress since taking office. Nor does it include the fifty-five per cent of CEOs who have had mental health problems in the last year. Behind closed doors, something is happening that is not officially discussed. Researchers call it quiet cracking.

Data-driven leadership. 7 ways to make better decisions.

The gap between companies that can use data to make meaningful decisions and those that are stuck in a mess of spreadsheets and managers’ hunches is growing faster than anyone expected. The greater the pressure to perform, the easier it is for someone to come up with the idea of simply monitoring people more closely instead of using data more wisely. This article is about how to avoid that.

Let’s stop pretending we are all healthy – as many as 60% of workers with a disability or chronic condition hide their illness.

In many companies, illnesses are present but invisible. We hide them because we are afraid of labels, lost opportunities, and awkward reactions from team members or superiors. This strategy costs people their energy and dignity, and organisations their mistakes, presenteeism, and resignations. However, you do not have to accept this. With little effort, you can create an environment where we talk about needs without revealing full diagnoses, and work is designed for real people. This text shows how to do it and why it pays off for everyone.

Effective leadership. Developing leadership skills through new AI research

Have you ever wondered why some people are able to solve complex problems while others, with similar abilities, remain stagnant? Scientists studying artificial intelligence are shedding new light on this question. Another conclusion from their research is that effective leadership and leadership development do not require innate genius. Their insights can help you not only develop your own potential, but also show you how to effectively improve AI systems.

7 ways to build trust in a team – a guide to strategies and my own experiences

Trust is the invisible glue that binds people together and allows them to achieve more together than they could individually. Building it is a process that doesn’t happen overnight. It is a long-term effort that requires patience, consistency, and commitment. Trust is a very important, but rarely addressed and underestimated aspect of teamwork. So I decided to give it the attention it deserves. I have combed through dozens of studies, reports, lectures, and materials and compiled them into this book. You won’t find a better condensed dose of knowledge dedicated to the broadly understood trust in your team. In this book, I’d like to share with you my experiences and insights into building trust. Together, we’ll explore not only the benefits, but also the strategies that any leader can implement with his or her team. Using research, data, and real-life examples, we will try to understand why trust is so important and how to build it effectively. You will also learn how authentic communication, respecting others’ time, showing vulnerability, and sharing personal experiences in a balanced way can affect your credibility.

Building an organizational culture. Lessons from the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster. Recent data (2024) on leadership versus tragic events (2003).

I gathered the most recent data (2024) on leadership and organizational culture and juxtaposed it with the tragic events (2003) of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. I wanted to see how today’s leaders and modern organizational culture compare to what NASA faced more than 20 years ago. As you delve into the details of this tragedy and juxtapose them with the latest data, you will see that the Columbia disaster is not just a story about technical failures, but more importantly about human decisions, communication and organizational culture. These elements were critical to the course of events, and their absence or erosion can lead to similar situations in any organization.

Recession and crisis in the IT industry. 7 months of interviews with 50 managers from Europe and the USA.

Over the course of seven months, I conducted more than 50 interviews with top-level managers, mainly CEO (chief executive officer), CTO (chief technology officer), CFO (chief financial officer), COO (chief operating officer) and CIO (chief innovation/IT officer), from countries such as Poland, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and Sweden. These meetings gave me the opportunity to hear a variety of perspectives on the onset of the crisis in the markets, especially in the IT and high-tech industry, and to learn about the current situation in companies. The following transcripts are based on these reflections and the data collected.

People who really know us and who care about us can speak the hard and raw truth – the thing about constructive feedback

In relationships with other people, especially those closest to us, we often encounter situations where their words seem hurtful. Honesty that is perceived as unfair and harsh can be difficult to accept and is therefore automatically rejected. However, only people who know the other person well and care about his or her wellbeing are able to make comments that are difficult to hear but necessary for his or her development. Provided, of course, that they do so with empathy, respect, reverence and sincerity.