“Assume good intent.” By and large, most people want to do and say the right thing. While that might be true, it’s far easier to follow this advice when you’re thinking about others and much harder when you have to turn it on yourself - especially during a merger or acquisition. The instinct to protect and defend your people, your department, and your way of doing things kicks in fast. That's territorialism rearing its head. And it gets the best of even the strongest leaders.

The little things matter. The question is whether you notice the long-term impact. Leaders tend to manage the big moments well. The initial announcement, the messaging, and the rationale behind the strategy. What gets missed, though, is almost always smaller than that but equally important.

A PBS show called Breaking the Deadlock does something surprisingly rare in both politics and business. Watching it recently, it is hard not to think about what business leaders, at every level or organization, could take from its premise.

Over the course of a career spanning multiple mergers and acquisitions — some from the acquiring side, others from the side being acquired — and now through the work of supporting leaders through their own transitions, one consistent pattern has emerged.

Early in my career, our head of sales, Pete, was quick to challenge the team when he heard a comment that felt non-committal. His advice was always straightforward: “Never say maybe. Never say might. Either you will or you won’t.”

The Enneagram helps explain how you think, feel, and act. It impacts how we show up. It describes core patterns in how we operate, make decisions, and react under pressure. 

That gap between intention and impact is where executive coaching does its most meaningful work. The Leadership Portrait℠ is designed to surface those realities early in the coaching process and aligns with the planning.

Perspective has a way of changing how we experience the same moment in business and life. Here’s one of my favorite parables to make the point.