executive-coaching - salomons.coach

05 Jul

The Authenticity Paradox and the Work of Becoming

By salomons.coach
In Blog, Self & Personal Growth, VUCA & Leadership

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"Just be yourself" is the worst advice a growing leader can follow. Herminia Ibarra's authenticity paradox explains why growth starts with behavior that feels unnatural, and what 35 years in management and 20 years of coaching confirm: discomfort is the entry fee, not a warning sign.

27 Jun

You Don’t Plan a Career Switch. You Explore One.

Blue gradient hero with a golden dotted path winding from left to right toward a compass on the right; headline reads 'You don’t plan a career switch. You explore one.'

Senior leaders are trained to remove uncertainty, yet a career switch resists exactly that. You can't analyse your way into a new identity; you have to explore your way in. Here's how the Pioneer Map and The Expedition guide the senior career pivot — and the theory beneath the method.

10 Jun

AI Can Coach Your Career. It Can’t Coach You.

By salomons.coach
In AI, Blog, Change & Transformation, Self & Personal Growth, Tools & Methods

Silhouetted heads in a line with one highlighted gold figure and a glowing vertical bar, against a dark gradient background; text mentions AI and coaching relationships.

Generative AI is a superb career thought partner — for CVs, interviews, search strategy, and rehearsal. But coaching isn't information. Drawing on systemic and provocative coaching and three decades in the leadership chair, Jan Salomons argues that the deeper work, seeing your system, facing your blind spot, growing past your own comfort, is precisely what an AI built to agree with you can never do.

29 Apr

The Five-Minute Reset: What One Stanford Study Changed About How I Coach

By salomons.coach
In Blog, Self & Personal Growth, Tools & Methods, Workshops & Events

Infographic-style hero showing a breathing cycle graph with two curved lines and markers, labeled ‘INHALE’ and ‘EXHALE,’ on a pale background; includes the page title nearby: ‘The 5-Minute Reset’ with a subtitle about cyclic sighing and breath patterns.

A 2023 randomized trial pitted four breathing techniques against each other. The winner takes five minutes a day. Here's what it taught me and how I built it into my coaching practice.

05 Jan

Three Questions I Return to in my Coaching Supervision – and have meaning for every leader

By salomons.coach
In Blog, Self & Personal Growth

In coaching supervision, I return to three questions that keep me sharp as a coach — and grounded as a leader. They are not about tools or techniques, but about self-awareness, restraint, and the courage to slow down when speed is expected. These reflections matter not only for coaches, but for every leader navigating complexity.

25 Nov

The 10 Executive questions that change everything

By salomons.coach
In Blog, VUCA & Leadership

Most executive teams don’t fail because of strategy — they fail because of what they avoid. These 10 provoking questions cut through noise, expose blind spots, and accelerate real transformation. They challenge leaders to face the hard truths about their behavior, decisions, and impact. If you want to grow as a leader, start by answering these questions honestly.

07 Nov

Client coaching tools

By salomons.coach
In Blog, Tools & Methods

The Salomons.Coach Toolbox™ gives every client a structured, evidence-based set of tools to reflect deeply, act intentionally, and build lasting leadership behavior that strengthens business results.

17 Jan

What Harvard Business Review has really taught us about coaching

By salomons.coach
In Blog, Books & Publications, Self & Personal Growth

Over the past decade, Harvard Business Review has shown that coaching is not about fixing people—it's about helping leaders rise. HBR highlights coaching as a collaborative partnership that strengthens self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the ability to navigate complexity. From executive development to performance and long-term growth, the research is clear: coaching improves leadership behavior, deepens team trust, and creates healthier, more resilient organizations. At its core, effective coaching is built on listening, reflective questioning, aligned goals, and honest accountability—exactly the foundations of modern leadership in a VUCA world.