18 Mar

The Leader Who Stopped Learning

Most senior leaders don't derail because they lack intelligence or drive. They derail because they stopped learning — and didn't notice until the damage was done. In this article, executive coach Jan Salomons explores the neuroscience behind why behavioral change is so hard, the five warning signs that a leader's learning agility is eroding, and what the research really says about what separates leaders who keep growing from those who quietly plateau. Drawing on decades of evidence from Korn...
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08 Feb

From Firefighting to Learning: The Leadership Shift Operations Need

Firefighting is rational, but it traps organizations. Under pressure, leaders act on what is visible and urgent, fixing problems to keep operations moving. Yet this behavior prevents learning, reinforces firefighting, and consumes leadership capacity. Sustainable performance requires shifting from solving today’s issues to redesigning the system that creates them.
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17 Jan

Why your soft skills are now the premium skills in the AI era

Generative AI has not eliminated the need for expertise. It has eliminated the need for unexamined expertise. In organizations, the most damaging failures no longer come from a lack of technical capability, but from poor problem framing, misplaced optimization, and leaders who mistake speed for judgment. As AI takes over more of the executional “middle,” human value shifts to the boundaries: defining what truly matters and taking responsibility for real-world consequences. This is why so-called soft skills—critical thinking, systems...
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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, organization, and individual behavior. As old hierarchies crumbled, new leaders emerged, purpose became crystal clear, and collaboration turned chaos into...
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30 May

RESET TO RISE: A Proven Team Coaching Approach

High-performing teams don’t emerge by accident — they are built through a deliberate sequence of reflection, reset, alignment, and growth. My Reset → Align → Rise framework guides leaders and teams through this journey. We begin by exploring energy, values, and alignment, before surfacing truths and rebuilding the foundations of trust, safety, and purpose. From there, we clarify priorities, roles, collaboration rhythms, and decision-making norms. Finally, the team rises into sustained high performance, powered by clarity, courage, and shared...
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07 Mar

Use a Train-the-Trainer to secure your organization’s future

Empowering experts to transfer their invaluable technical and tacit knowledge ensures organizational resilience and growth. A Train-the-Trainer program equips seasoned professionals to mentor successors, preserving expertise, accelerating skill development, and fostering a culture of learning. Future-proof your workforce by transforming knowledge into a living asset that drives innovation and long-term success.
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28 Feb

What’s in Your Leadership “Shopping Cart”? Shaping Your Narrative for Growth

What’s in your leadership “shopping cart”? The narratives we tell ourselves shape our identity, decisions, and effectiveness as leaders. This post explores the "Shopping Cart Theory" as a metaphor for self-reflection, highlighting how minor actions reveal deeper leadership qualities. By examining what you carry—accomplishments, fears, or values—you can reshape your story to unlock growth, authenticity, and resilience. Discover how small, conscious choices and a guided coaching process can transform your leadership journey.
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