The Abilene Paradox. Why smart teams agree to decisions that ruin projects and how to stop it

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

Some leaders claim to want to make decisions based on data. But then they do what they 'feel' is right anyway. In this episode, I'll show you how to combine facts and intuition, numbers and conversations, and analysis and action. It's easy to say 'rely on data'. It's harder to recognise when we're doing it wrong. Despite having charts, reports and presentations full of numbers, the decision often has little to do with what the data really shows. In this episode, I talk through how to make better decisions. Not perfect ones. Better ones. The kind that you don't need to justify to yourself or your team afterwards. I talk about the mistakes I make myself. I discuss looking for data to support a preconceived idea, waiting for the 'full picture' that never arrives, and confusing one high-profile story with a trend. I also talk about the habits that help me avoid making these mistakes. Because data is not the answer. It's a tool that helps you ask better questions. #leadership #decisionmaking #datadriven #leader #management #intuition #data #decisions

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

In this episode, I will talk about something that may seem unpopular to you, especially when most people are talking about automation, efficiency, and artificial intelligence. I will discuss the millions of employees who hide their illnesses, disabilities, and struggles from their colleagues and bosses every day because revealing the truth about their challenges seems too risky for them. As many as 60% of employees with chronic illnesses never inform their employer about them, and the B-HERO-S study shows how dramatic the consequences can be—88% of people with hemophilia experienced negative reactions after disclosure. As a CEO who hid his own illness in business for years, I want to show how leaders can change this and create places where people are no longer afraid to be themselves. I will show you practical tools that don't cost a fortune and can save the careers and health (including mental health) of your team. You will learn what questions to ask and how to respond when someone finally opens up to you, and why flexibility at work is not a privilege but the basis of effective management. If you are an employee considering disclosing your illness, I will show you how to prepare for this conversation and what to look out for. Who it's for: Leaders, managers, HR professionals, anyone who wants to build more humane workplaces. Warning: This episode is not a substitute for medical or therapeutic advice.

Don't be a pillar of salt - 7 methods for overcoming negativity bias and the tendency to dwell on failures and the past

How do you stop looking back and move forward? In this episode, we unpack negativity bias — why the brain clings to negatives — and turn it into practical tools for leaders and beyond. From the “pillar of salt” metaphor and Adler vs. Freud, to simple CBT‑based techniques, you’ll learn how to turn hard moments into data and decisions. I also share a personal perspective of living with haemophilia and the everyday tactics that actually work. You’ll learn how to: * understand negativity bias and tame the brain’s “Velcro for negatives”, * use thought‑challenging and a thought journal (CBT), * set a daily “worry window” to end endless over‑analysis, * run a weekly Progress Inventory (The Gap and The Gain), * build your own “growth museum” to counter impostor syndrome, * change your relationship with thoughts — observe instead of fight, * apply quick reset tools: movement, 5‑4‑3‑2‑1 grounding, and a simple bedtime word game. This isn’t therapy — it’s a set of tried‑and‑tested practices and reflections to help you reclaim agency and calm. Great for: leaders and managers, founders, HR, and anyone who wants less rumination and more action. Topics in this episode: leadership, management, rumination, negativity bias, CBT, psychology at work, self‑awareness, mental resilience, productivity, stress, wellbeing, Alfred Adler, Sigmund Freud, Rick Hanson, retrospective, team trust, growth mindset, mental health, haemophilia, personal development, work‑life balance.

The Abilene Paradox. Why smart teams agree to decisions that ruin projects and how to stop it

Have you ever agreed to a solution knowing deep down that it was a bad idea? Have you watched your team unanimously adopt a strategy, only to have everyone admit later over coffee that they never supported it? In this episode, I'm going to show you one of the most destructive yet underrated organizational mechanisms: the Abilene Paradox. It's a phenomenon that causes intelligent teams to make decisions that contradict their members' knowledge and intuition, leading to spectacular failures of multimillion-dollar projects. Key takeaways: 1. The anatomy of false consensus - how 85% of employees fail to voice important concerns to their managers 2. The difference between destructive and constructive conflict - why avoiding conflict kills innovation 3. Psychological safety in IT teams - how to create a culture where truth is more important than apparent harmony 4. The Organizational Transformation Model - a five-step system for building authentic communication I share real-life examples from my twenty years of experience working with teams, research, and strategies that transform organizational silence into constructive debate. Thought-provoking statistics: 98% of managers do not use effective decision-making practices, and teams that are encouraged to debate produce significantly more creative solutions than those that avoid conflict. Who it is for: Team leaders, project managers, IT specialists, anyone who wants to understand why smart organizations sometimes make stupid decisions - and how to change that.

Suffering as a seed for change - how to turn limitations into strength

"Man can be deprived of everything but one thing, the last of human freedoms - the choice of one's own attitude in given circumstances, the choice of one's own path." - Viktor E. In moments of greatest adversity, questions arise about the meaning of suffering. Can suffering teach me something? Can the limitations imposed on me by life become the seed of positive change? Suffering makes us start looking for solutions, escape or even a change of position. When your leg hurts while bending, don't you automatically change position and straighten the painful limb? This is nothing more than the very beginning of transformation and change. It can be the same at the level of our psyche. As a leader on a daily basis with haemophilia (a serious genetic disease - a blood clotting disorder that causes me to experience prolonged bleeding), these questions have been with me for years in both my personal and professional life Everyday life with Haemophilia includes pain, sudden strokes, frustration, movement restrictions, arthropathy, joint stiffness (especially in winter), complications from concomitant diseases or intravenous drug administration a minimum of 104 times a year My first stroke occurred shortly after I turned one. When I was a child, my parents fought a constant battle for my health and our lives consisted of constant hospital visits. There were so many that, when I think about them now, they all merge into one. For a long time, I treated my condition exclusively as a burden, something that set me apart from others and could theoretically stop my development. Over time, however, I discovered the paradox in the fact that suffering can become a teacher and even a gift if we consciously choose our attitude towards it. Today I would like to tell you about my journey from seeing illness as a limitation to discovering in it a source of exceptional leadership competence. I will show how personal suffering can become a foundation for empathy and provide practical tips on how to turn your own challenges into a transformative force