10 Nov

When teams work hard but not together

Most teams don’t fail because they don’t work hard — they fail because they work too fast, too isolated, and without reflection. When every team focuses on solving its own problems, sub-optimization becomes inevitable. Each quick fix triggers side effects elsewhere, creating a vicious cycle of ad-hoc problem-solving that drains energy and weakens performance. Research on High-Performing Teams shows that real...
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05 Sep

When the lights went out: leading through chaos in a VUCA world

When TNT’s global network went dark during the NotPetya cyberattack, every system failed — but people didn’t. In this story, Jan Salomons shares how leadership, trust, and adaptability kept Europe’s largest logistics network running manually for days. It’s a story of crisis leadership in a VUCA world — where volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity tested every level of society,...
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29 Aug

Find your true purpose

Purpose isn’t a slogan or a statement — it’s a force that moves you. In this post, Jan Salomons explores the difference between intellectual purpose and deep purpose: the kind that calls you into action even when it’s uncomfortable. Drawing on insights from Frederic Laloux, his coaching practice, and his experience in VUCA leadership, he explains how purpose guides...
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22 Aug

A new formula for change

Change doesn’t fail because of poor plans — it fails because people haven’t made the psychological transition. In this article, Jan Salomons explores his formula for successful change, combining shared vision, urgency, leadership, learning, and capacity. Drawing on his decades of experience and his VUCA leadership approach, he explains how leaders can guide teams through endings, transitions, and new...
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01 Aug

When fear rules….. silence takes over: rebuilding trust and connection at work

Fear can quietly take over organizations — through silence, control, and pressure — until trust disappears and performance collapses. In this article, Jan Salomons explores how fear-based leadership emerges and what leaders can do to reverse it. He shares five practical ways to rebuild trust, including how to reframe control, invite openness, and restore team rhythm. In a VUCA...
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25 Jul

Make strong emotions work in your advantage

trong emotions aren’t the enemy — they’re leadership data. In today’s volatile and uncertain world, emotions like frustration or fear often mask deeper values and unmet needs. Reframing helps leaders decode those emotions, turning tension into insight and pressure into performance. In this post, Jan Salomons explores how emotional intelligence and reframing allow leaders to stay grounded in a...
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14 Mar

Why people abandon their principles (sometimes)

Why do visionary leaders sometimes abandon their principles when the pressure mounts? Decisions like Meta ceasing fact-checking or Elon Musk supporting divisive figures highlight the complex interplay of fear, short-term thinking, and herd mentality in leadership. This blog explores the psychological and organizational dynamics behind these behaviors and offers actionable strategies to help leaders stay authentic, aligned with their...
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01 Nov

Cooping with VUCA at Work – Web-event Recording

It’s become a trendy managerial acronym: VUCA, short for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, and a catchall for “Hey, it’s crazy out there!” (HBR). It’s also misleading: VUCA conflates four distinct types of challenges that demand four distinct types of responses. That makes it difficult to know how to approach a challenging situation and easy to use VUCA as...
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