I recently came across Canva’s Be a Good Human policy. At first glance, it felt almost too simple; something you’d expect on a school poster, not in the culture code of a multi-billion-dollar company. But the more I read, the clearer it became: this isn’t sentiment. It’s strategy. Empathy, when embedded in culture, isn’t just …
I was just entering my middle management years when I was handed my first real opportunity to lead something from scratch. A large-scale project that didn’t exist yet in form, but was full of potential. It was all heart and all grit. Long days, high stakes, but the joy of creating something meaningful made it …
I wasn’t meant to lead that day. Definitely didn’t plan on leading that meeting. It was my first year on the job, nerves were pretty high and what was meant to be a routine catch-up on the project, suddenly turned silent. The manager I was depending on was stuck in traffic. The client had arrived, …
A few months ago, a close friend of mine walked out of a face-to-face meeting feeling pretty good. The meeting had gone well, tight agenda, decisions made, and a sense that everyone was on the same page. For someone who thrives on clarity and structure, it felt like a professional win. Naturally, right after the …
At 8:00 AM, the boardroom is calm. By 8:15, the CFO is pushing back on headcount. By 8:27, your inbox pings with a client crisis. And by 9:00, you’re already on your third coffee, wondering how you’re supposed to think strategically when you barely have time to think at all. Sound familiar? For most senior …
Lessons in Leadership (From the ones who taught us how to cross the street) I was recently doom-scrolling through Instagram when I came across a Simon Sinek video I’d seen before but hadn’t really heard until then. In it, he draws a parallel between parenting and leadership not in the way of coddling or caretaking, …
This is back in the day when we only had landlines. My father was a General Manager of this large pharmaceutical company. He used to keep so busy that I rarely saw him much on weekdays. However, almost every day after school, I’d dial the landline number of his office (I didn’t know the extension). …
Why AI Anxiety in Creative Work Is Real — and What to Do About It By someone who once spent three days choosing the right shade of teal for a pitch deck — and still thinks it mattered. I started my career in advertising, back when vector logos were guarded like family secrets and nobody …
The financial year reset is upon us, and with it comes the sacred ritual of budget planning. Across boardrooms, spreadsheets glow with freshly projected figures, and leaders make the annual pilgrimage to debate costs, investments, and—somewhere in the mix—employee wellbeing. Traditionally, this conversation culminates in a well-intentioned yet predictable line item: the grand annual offsite. …
“…Because I’m happy Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof Because I’m happy Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth..” I’ve been humming Happy by Pharrell Williams for the last couple of days. You know how a song gets stuck in your head, and suddenly, everything seems to …
