Whatever the weather: Finding your footing in imperfect conditions

I’m coaching a woman right now who is smart, capable, and deeply committed to her work. She’s at the top of her profession and sought out as a mentor and inspiration to others.

She’s also working for a manager who struggles with the basics—giving feedback, setting expectations, explaining decisions, unconditional respect. Promotions seem opaque. Recognition feels inconsistent. And when things go wrong, the burden quietly lands on her shoulders.

Many workplace systems are flawed. Feedback cultures are weak. Transparency is selective. People are promoted into leadership roles without being taught how to lead. And even when organizations bring in external partners to help—partners like us—real, structural change takes time. Sometimes years.

So we had to start somewhere else.

Not with fixing the system. But with one simple question: Given the environment you’re in right now, how do we help you thrive within it?

You Walk the Path That’s in Front of You

I’m a fast walker. People comment on it all the time.

But recently, while meeting with our U.S. team in New York, I had to slow down. The sidewalks were icy. Rushing would’ve meant slipping.

And at my home in Ireland, there hasn’t been a single day without rain this year. So when I’m out walking my dogs, wearing wellies on the muddy trails, speed isn’t an option there either. You don’t charge ahead. You place your foot deliberately. You pay attention to the ground beneath you.

Leadership works the same way.

You don’t get to pretend the terrain is different than it is.
You do get to decide how you move through it.

Individual Skill Building Isn’t a Surrender

When we focus on building individual skills inside imperfect systems, it can sound like we’re letting the organization off the hook.

But we’re not. We’re acknowledging reality.

The environment you’re in is the environment you’re in. Waiting for it to become ideal before you grow, stretch, or lead differently is a costly delay. That doesn’t work when your career, confidence, and well-being are on the line.

So we work on things that are within reach:

How to ask for clearer feedback, even when it isn’t freely offered
How to name your contributions without feeling self-promotional
How to lead with intention, even when leadership around you is inconsistent
How to get the most out of the different people we work with – even the tricky ones
And importantly, how to become the kind of leader you wish you had.

Because over time, that is how cultures shift.

What Are You Carrying In?

Years ago, I attended a retreat where each participant was given a small bag of pebbles. We were asked to write on them, with one pebble for each label people had ascribed to us over the years.

Some of those labels are kind. Some are limiting. Some follow us for years.

The exercise wasn’t about rejecting those words entirely. It was about choice: When you walk into a challenging situation, which ones are you bringing with you?

What do you need in this moment? Do you need to be courageous, empathetic, clear?

And which ones are better left outside the room? Impatience. Self-doubt. The need to be liked at all costs.

Leadership, especially in imperfect systems, is rarely about becoming someone new. It’s about being deliberate. About responding to the environment with awareness, not reflex.

You may not be able to change the system overnight. But you can change how you move through it.

And sometimes, that’s where the larger shift begins.