top of page


Reaching Higher: Transformational Coaching, Creative Leadership & Vertical Development
There’s a moment many seasoned leaders quietly recognize: “I have all the tools. So why does this still feel so hard?” You’ve read the books, attended dozens of training programs, survived the 360s. You know how to run a team, an organization, a transition, a strategy session. And still, some problems don’t respond to what you already know. These are the moments when the challenge isn’t asking for another framework – it’s asking you to grow. Not horizontally (more skills, m
kawkapc
3 days ago5 min read


Holding the Opposites: When Harmony Meets Conflict
Some of us are wired for harmony. Wait, all of us are. From an evolutionary standpoint, our brains are wired for connection and for minimizing social threat. Harmony can be external, when the people and systems around us are in sync, or internal, when our thoughts, values, and actions feel aligned. Both create serenity and flow. But harmony left unchecked can slip into avoidance. Not because we’re weak, but because as humans we associate tension with danger. Our nervous sys
kawkapc
Oct 244 min read


The Problem with the Heroic Leader: Where Leadership Ends and Personal Responsibility Begins
For thousands of years, cultures around the globe have told a version of the same story: the hero leaves home, faces trials, slays the dragons, and returns with treasure that saves the community. Joseph Campbell called this the Hero’s Journey, and it has shaped our imagination of what leadership should look like. Even today, we unconsciously expect ourselves as leaders to embody this myth. We look up to that elusive notion of a heroic solver of all problems, the one who leave
kawkapc
Oct 136 min read


From Debate to Dialogue: How Leaders Can Reduce Defensiveness
A few days ago, driving my son home from basketball practice, I decided to share something I’d been reflecting on from Joseph Nguyen’s...
kawkapc
Sep 215 min read


Why Your Team’s Power Struggles Are Not About Power at All
It’s Friday afternoon. You’ve worked hard all week, but instead of feeling accomplished, you feel wrung out. It’s not the workload that...
kawkapc
Aug 295 min read


From Drama to Empowerment
Here is a deceptively simple question: What is the opposite of helplessness? But let’s take it one step at a time. We All Come to Work to...
kawkapc
Aug 244 min read


Tough Conversations: Leading From Your Adult Self
Today, the conversation in front of me felt particularly difficult because of the CliftonStrengths dynamics at play. It was, in essence,...
kawkapc
Aug 153 min read


Creative Leadership Is an Inside Job
“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.” — Georgia O’Keeffe When I say “leadership,” I couldn’t be further from political headlines, hierarchical ladders, or the alpha-performance model that often comes to mind. The kind of leadership I believe in, and coach clients into, is not about titles. It's not about charisma an it is not about control. It’s about creating the world we need , a world rooted in purpo
kawkapc
Aug 16 min read


Self-Empathy: Taking Your Power Back
“When you do not seek or need external approval, you are at your most powerful.” — Caroline Myss The Empathy Reflex, and Its Hidden Trap...
kawkapc
Jun 15 min read


Why Leaders Need Both Empathy and Perspective-Taking (and How to Do It)
Why slowing down, asking better questions, and being present still changes everything. In leadership, we often talk about communication,...
kawkapc
May 167 min read


Courageous Conversations: The Shift from Reflex to Reflection
You’ve felt it before, that moment where everything in you wants to speak up, but something holds you back. Maybe it’s fear of conflict,...
kawkapc
May 115 min read


The New Leadership Skills for a Thriving Non-Profit Sector
Thriving Non-Profit? Sounds like an oxymoron. If you're an Executive Director or CEO of one, you know exactly what I mean. In a sector...
kawkapc
Feb 238 min read


What is Creative Leadership?
The word "creativity" derives from the Latin creare , meaning "to make," and the Greek krínein , meaning "to fulfill." We can approach...
kawkapc
Feb 186 min read


You Are Not Your Thoughts
Pay close attention, what I’m about to share could free you from years of unnecessary stress, doubt, and emotional fatigue. In simple...
kawkapc
Jan 266 min read


How to Overcome Self-Doubt
When did you realize that no one else was to blame? That the voice of doubt, criticism, and sabotage wasn’t coming from the outside, but...
kawkapc
Jan 259 min read


Authenticity: Breaking Free from External Validation
In a world that thrives on likes, shares, and applause, the pull of external validation can feel inescapable. Yet, living for others'...
kawkapc
Jan 56 min read


What Does Self-Esteem Mean?
If I were to begin and end my blogging journey with just one article, it would be this one. Believing in ourselves is the most important...
kawkapc
Dec 17, 20245 min read


The Leadership Skill We Don’t Talk About Enough: Navigating Dichotomies, Nuance, and Paradox
Navigating today’s leadership landscape requires new leadership skills , it's not just about solving problems but about mastering the...
kawkapc
Dec 14, 20245 min read


Why Invest in Strengths?
Avoid trying to mimic someone else, be it a guru or a role model, as this approach rarely works. Success comes from being authentically you.
kawkapc
Dec 7, 20245 min read


Why Coaching Matters: Sanity Saving Island of Perspective
When was the last time someone truly listened to you, not to fix, judge, or offer an opinion, but simply to witness you, with openness and without expectation? Many of us go through life feeling unheard, constantly adapting to meet the expectations of others or to navigate the demands placed on us. A coach offers something rare, an opportunity to be fully seen and heard, with empathy and without judgment. In that space, you’re guided to safely explore your unique thought p
kawkapc
Dec 6, 20246 min read
© Copyright Monika Kawka
bottom of page