When a new boss arrives and starts changing everything, it rarely feels personal, but it lands that way. This post looks at what happens when the ground shifts beneath a senior leader, the boundary a coach has to hold when a client's story mirrors his own, and what new leaders get wrong about proving themselves too soon.

Five articles into a series about AI and leadership, and this week it's about cycling.

The research on movement, nature and creative thinking points in one direction - and it has significant implications for how senior leaders perform at their best.

There's a moment on every group ride when the pack divides. The same thing happens in careers. If you're chasing a pace that's leaving you worn out rather than energised, it might be time to ask whether the group you've been following is heading somewhere you actually want to go.

Watching Gorky's 1904 Summerfolk at the National Theatre, Mark Taggart found himself recognising something uncomfortably familiar — the gap between a successful life and a fulfilling one. If you're carrying that weight right now, this one's for you.

A slightly deflating gig and a very strange lyric led to an unexpectedly relevant moment. If you're a senior leader with that nagging sense that something feels off - this one's for you.

Feeling ready for change but not sure where to start?

In this post I share the three questions I explore with every client who finds themselves stuck at this crossroads - on purpose, energy, and the shape of what comes next.

What if your best thinking didn't happen in a meeting room? Breakaway is professional coaching delivered on a bike – for senior leaders who ride and are navigating something significant.

Some days leadership is about survival, not sprinting. Mark Cavendish knew this - even the greatest sprinter spent most Tour days just getting through.

The question is: are you in the right team, or do you need to reframe how you're riding?

"What do you want?"

No one had asked my client that before. He was stuck playing peacekeeper when he should have been leading.

Here's why that question unlocked everything – and what it means for senior leaders trying to navigate competing demands.

Even the best teams fall apart when unexpected hits.

Drawing from a personal redundancy experience and the cycling concept of echelons, this post explores how leaders can navigate organisational crosswinds by building the right formation rather than trying to muscle through change alone.

"Stop the noise. I need space to think."

This came up in a client session last week. He arrived overwhelmed with ideas, concerns, problems, opportunities. When that happens, it's my job to create a Think Tank - the space where leaders can untangle what's really going on beneath the urgent.

As senior leaders, we're used to being the go-to person when things go wrong. But sometimes that weight on your chest isn't caused by anything you've done wrong.

Here's what I learned about when to stop blaming yourself for outcomes beyond your control.

I'm in a good place right now. I know that won't last - life has a way of taking over. But here's what I do know: I've built something.

Over the last year, I've made decisions that leave me genuinely privileged to be where I am. The question is: if you're carrying the weight right now, who's in your camp?

A coaching conversation reveals why servant leaders struggle to identify their own needs - and what it takes to lead with both heart and clarity.