Leading the Shift

A few months ago, my kids’ cousins had just started at a new school. During their first week, I asked if they had made any friends. One of them, just 10 years old, said something that stayed with me: I have people I talk to but I wouldn’t call them friends. I paused. Hearing that from a 10-year-old stopped me in my tracks. There was so much awareness in that simple statement. I remember thinking, wow… kudos to the parents for raising a child with that kind of discernment. At

You don’t always notice when you’re shrinking. It’s subtle. Gradual. Easy to explain away. For a few years, I lived in a small town. At the time, it made complete sense. I was raising my kids as a single mum, working full-time, and completing my PhD. I needed a setup that allowed me to manage everything, and it worked. But after a while, something started to shift. From the outside, it looked like I was holding it all together, but quietly, something in me was changing. I los

A few days ago, I listened to a podcast by Oprah Winfrey, “Oprah & Tech Leaders on What AI Means for Your Job, Health, Family & Future.” She was in conversation with leading voices in artificial intelligence, exploring what this moment means for our work, lives, and future. It caught my attention because this is an area that has quietly shaped much of my work and thinking. For the past six years, I have been researching how emerging technologies reshape jobs, organisations,

Years ago, during marriage counselling, we were told: “ Don’t go into marriage with expectations. That’s where disappointment begins .” It sounded wise. Lower the bar. Avoid the hurt. I believed it at the time. And recently, when a friendship I thought was deeply mutual didn’t hold, I heard that familiar explanation again: “ Maybe you expected too much. ” But that didn’t sit right. Expectations weren’t absent; they existed on both sides, just unspoken and misaligned. Expectat

Resilience keeps us standing, but perseverance carries us forward. Inspired by Late Eric Dane’s Netflix interview, I explored the difference between surviving setbacks and intentionally moving toward your next chapter. Where in your life are you simply resilient and where are you choosing to persevere?

The older I get, the more I realise that most relationship breakdowns don’t start with bad intentions; they start with miscommunication. Not explosive arguments, betrayal, or dramatic endings, but small gaps. A message interpreted differently, a silence held for too long, an assumption made instead of a question asked. Over time, those small gaps create distance, and distance, if left unattended, quietly reshapes relationships. Here are 10 things life has taught me about comm

There’s a saying we all know. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade . But what no one tells you is that sometimes the lemons come by the truckload. My marriage ended, but that was never what I planned when I said, ‘I do.’ I then had to navigate the challenges of single motherhood, the emotional residue of a broken marriage, the guilt, the questions, and the loneliness that followed. At the same time, during my PhD, as an international student with no real support from my

Over the last two weeks, we’ve talked about what curiosity is and how it shows up in our lives. But the truth is, curiosity doesn’t always stay alive. Sometimes it gets shut down quietly; by fear, routine, or even the comfort of being “right.” This week, we are uncovering those barriers and choosing growth instead. What Quietly Shuts Down Curiosity? Several things can quietly shut down curiosity. Fear is often the biggest barrier; fear of looking uninformed, of being judged,

Curiosity exists on a spectrum. It can be as harmless as googling why it snows… or as unproductive as asking questions simply to snoop or gossip. That’s why the kind of curiosity we cultivate matters. Curiosity begins with openness; to the world, and to ourselves. The emphasis here is on positive curiosity , a state of intentional, respectful, open-minded exploration that seeks understanding rather than judgment or gossip, connection rather than intrusion. Recently, I started

Curiosity has been discouraged, misunderstood, and underestimated; yet it’s the skill we need most to keep learning, connecting, and evolving.

Every January, I’d promise myself big things: eat better, exercise more, be more patient, but by February, those promises start to fade. I realised it wasn’t lack of willpower, it was that I was confusing resolutions with goals. It was really about how I approached change. Most of what we call New Year’s resolutions are broad intentions or wishes. They capture what we want to be or do, like “ I want to get fit ” or “ I want to be more organised .” They are tied to the calenda

Have you ever stopped to wonder why you do the things you do; the small, almost invisible habits that shape your day-to-day life? I remember hearing a story a while back about a mother who always cut the two ends off a sausage before frying. She had done it all her life, never knowing why; it was just something her mum did. When her daughter got married, she did the same. It was only when her husband asked why, that she finally asked her mother. Her mum didn’t know either, so

After five years of researching how new technologies are transforming the workforce, I recently completed my PhD. Throughout this journey, I explored how tools like artificial intelligence (AI), automation, robotics, smart devices, and big data are reshaping the way we work, and what that means for all of us. This week, I’m sharing the key insights that matter most for individuals. Next week, I’ll break down simple, practical ways you can prepare and stay ahead. The “New Tech

The average human loves to plan. We plan our careers, relationships, finances, studies, vacation, and even the kind of life we hope to live. And planning is good; it gives us direction and something to work toward. … But life doesn’t always follow the script. Sometimes, despite doing “everything right,” things still fall apart. The relationship ends. The job disappears. The opportunity passes. The dream takes longer than expected or changes completely. And suddenly, we are st

You might think you need a title, a corner office, or all the authority to create change. The truth? Leadership starts right where you are, with the actions you take and the courage to speak up. Whether at home, at work, or in your community, your influence is already there, waiting for you to claim it. I used to tell myself that I couldn’t make change because of the level I held. I wasn’t a CEO, I wasn’t in the executive suite, and I didn’t wield all the power in the world.

A few days ago, I read something that really struck a chord with me: “ Let your light shine... Leave any place you find yourself better than you met it .” It reminded me of the quiet power we all carry; the ability to influence the spaces we live and work in, no matter how small. Feeling Stuck That idea made me reflect deeply on my own journey. Have you ever felt stuck, like you weren’t enough? I have. For a long time, I carried the weight of constant negativity. There was no

Many years ago, I came home from work and saw my baby boy reach out, not for me, but for our nanny. My heart sank. He had been with her since I returned to work when he was four months old. My first son had gone to childcare even earlier. It wasn’t new; but this time, it hurt more. I was juggling a full-time job I didn’t enjoy, commuting, pretending to be okay, and quietly questioning everything: my choices, my motherhood, my worth. We had moved across the country for my husb

This post is about one of the most transformative lessons I have learned lately; the power of networking and stepping outside your comfort zone. What I Thought Networking Was After submitting my PhD thesis and waiting for feedback from the examiners, I found myself wondering what to do next. I realized that over the past four years, I had mostly lived in isolation; long hours spent working alone, limited opportunities to connect with peers or mentors, and focusing so intensel