Grounded and Aligned™

Stepping into a bigger role can be exciting - but it can also create blind spots that slow your momentum.

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned, Karen shares four leadership patterns she repeatedly sees among senior leaders who have recently taken on more responsibility through promotion, growth, acquisition, reorganization, or expanded scope.

Drawing from real client experiences, Karen explores why high-performing leaders often struggle to let go of operational work, underestimate the importance of relationships, over-explain their decisions, and overlook the human impact of change.

If you're navigating a new leadership role—or preparing for one—this episode will help you avoid common mistakes and accelerate your impact.

• Stop doing and start enabling. Bigger roles require more strategic thinking, delegation, and long-term planning—not more execution.

• Relationships become a leadership priority. As your scope grows, your ability to influence through others becomes more important than your individual contribution.

• Explaining is different from justifying. Provide context and visibility, but avoid slipping into defensive explanations that undermine your authority.

• Don't underestimate the human side of leadership. Change affects people emotionally, even when it makes sense on paper.

• Leadership transitions require intentional adaptation. The habits that made you successful in your previous role may not be the habits that will make you successful in your next one.

Register for the Momentum Sprint starting June 18: https://karen-gombault-coaching-ffzda0.subscribepage.io

Stakeholder Strategy: Reduce the Learning Curve of Your New Role. We start beginning of July: https://karengombault-stakeholderstrategy.subscribepage.io

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karengombault/

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen Gombault speaks with Leah Goldman, founder of an advisory firm focused on integrating intuition into leadership and strategy.

The discussion focuses on how leaders make decisions in environments where there is no clear cause and effect. If you’re working with incomplete or conflicting information, this episode looks at how intuition can be used alongside data to support clearer and faster decision-making.

Karen and Leah look at:

• The limits of relying only on data in complex and uncertain situations
• How misunderstanding control leads to ineffective decision-making
• Intuition as experience-based input, not guesswork
• The impact of information overload on clarity and judgment
• The use of simple structures to support better decisions

When data is not enough, decision quality depends on how well leaders use both analysis and experience to move forward with clarity.

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Leah Goldman is the founder of The Intuition Strategist, an advisory firm helping ambitious leaders and organizations integrate intuition and strategy to achieve aligned success.

She is the creator of Intuition Strategy®, teaching leaders to trust their gut to make faster, more confident decisions that lead to transformative results.

A globally recognized authority on integrating invisible data – unspoken signals that algorithms can’t measure, like experience, conflict, trust, and interpersonal dynamics – into leadership and strategy, Leah helps visionary executives use innovative tools like Corporate Tarot Cards® to turn their Human AI — Actionable Intuition™ — into a competitive advantage.

Her work reframes intuition as the most powerful form of intelligence for navigating a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.

Links: https://intuitionstrategist.com/

https://clarityblueprintwithleah.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahgoldman/

Connect with Karen: Karen Gombault | LinkedIn

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen Gombault speaks with Kirsten Schmidtke, founder of a revenue leadership consulting firm focused on B2B technology companies.

The discussion examines why revenue issues are often treated as sales problems when they come from how leadership is operating.

If your growth targets are not converting into consistent results, this episode looks at how leadership structure, priorities, and decisions affect revenue, especially in the context of AI, remote work, and shifting buyer expectations.

Karen and Kirsten look at:

• The gap between individual sales performance and the ability to generate revenue through a team
• How low trust in forecasting leads to inefficient inspection processes and slower deal cycles
• The effect of multiple or unclear priorities on execution quality and consistency across teams
• Leadership-created bottlenecks that restrict deal progression and reduce responsiveness in the sales cycle
• The shift from managing activity to coaching for judgment and decision-making in complex sales environments

Revenue variability is usually driven by how leadership operates, not the market. Clear standards, consistent execution, and fewer internal obstacles determine how reliable results are.

Kirsten Schmidtke is the founder of Kirsten Schmidtke Coaching & Consulting, a revenue leadership consulting firm serving B2B technology companies. With 15+ years in enterprise tech, including AWS, she has generated over $100M in revenue and carried multimillion-dollar quotas.

She works with CEOs and CROs to close the leadership execution gap that stalls pipeline, burns out sellers, and keeps revenue unpredictable — helping them find the one problem that, when solved, unlocks revenue growth.

www.linkedin.com/in/kirstenschmidtke/

www.instagram.com/kirstenschmidtke/

Connect with Karen: Karen Gombault | LinkedIn

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen looks at a common tension in senior roles: you are expected to be visible and well-connected, but much of the advice on how to do this feels unnatural.

As expectations increase, visibility is no longer optional. It affects how often you are brought into discussions, how your work is recognized, and how decisions move along.

The episode focuses on how to approach visibility and relationships in a way that is consistent with your innate personality, rather than adopting behaviours that feel forced.

Karen looks at

• Why visibility is required if you want your work to be seen, supported, and acted on
• Two practical ways visibility shows up: being consistently present and top of mind, or being more selective but clear when something matters
• The downside of forcing visibility tactics that don’t match how you naturally interact, and how quickly that becomes noticeable

You do not need to change your personality to be visible, but you do need to be intentional. The key is to make sure people know you are there, understand your contribution, and hear from you when it matters.

Next steps

🤝 Connect on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karengombault/

Most senior leaders who avoid the informal conversations — the individual check-ins, the quiet conversations before a decision needs to be made— aren't doing it because they're lazy or disorganised.

They're doing it because it doesn't feel right.

It feels like politics. Like pre-managing the outcome. Like their work should be strong enough to stand on its own.

And that instinct, as understandable as it is, is quietly costing them.

In this episode, Karen looks at what happens when strong work meets an audience that wasn't brought along and why the leaders who build the most genuine influence are also the most deliberate about their relationships.

In this episode:

• Why a concern raised in private stays manageable — and the same concern raised in public becomes a position
• How your peers are forming a read on you, whether you're actively shaping it or not
• The difference between being politically aware and compromising your integrity
• One reframe and two practical things to do before your next significant ask

If you've ever walked out of a meeting wondering what happened — this episode is worth your time.

Next steps:

Follow Karen on Substack where she writes about power, politics and influence: https://karengombault.substack.com/

Connect with Karen on Linkedin: Karen Gombault | LinkedIn

Organizations often respond to performance challenges by adding more accountability: additional metrics, more reporting, and closer monitoring. Yet in many cases, these efforts do not solve the underlying problem.

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen speaks with leadership researcher and author Patrick Veroneau about the difference between accountability and ownership in high-performing teams. Drawing on two decades of work with leaders and teams across industries, Patrick explains why many organizations struggle with engagement even while emphasizing accountability.

The conversation explores a structural pattern Patrick has observed repeatedly. Teams that struggle, teams that perform at an average level, and teams that consistently excel all engage in three behaviors: they support each other, celebrate each other, and challenge each other. The difference lies in the sequence.

Great teams begin with support. When people trust that others have their backs, challenge becomes constructive rather than defensive, and accountability shifts from external pressure to internal ownership.

For leaders, the implication is significant. Engagement, ownership, and performance are not created through tighter oversight. They emerge when leaders create the conditions where people choose to take responsibility for the shared mission.

• Why organizations that focus primarily on accountability often miss the deeper issue of ownership
• The three behaviors all teams demonstrate — support, celebrate, challenge — and why the sequence matters
• How the CABLES model builds trust and credibility through consistent leadership behaviors
• The five levels of the Accountability Staircase and how language signals where a team is operating
• Why compliance creates average teams, while commitment creates high-performing ones
• How small improvements and declines compound over time through the “1% principle”

High-performing teams rarely emerge from pressure alone. They form when individuals feel supported, valued, and connected to the mission. At that point accountability no longer needs to be imposed from the outside. People begin to take ownership for the success of the team itself.

• Patrick Veroneau website: www.emeryleadershipgroup.com
• Free leadership resources and downloads (CABLES model, team assessments, etc.): Resources - Emery Leadership Group - Portland, ME
• CABLES model: CABLES Leadership Model
• Book: The Missing Piece: What Great Teams Do That Others Overlook
• Book: The Leadership Bridge
• Linkedin: Patrick Veroneau, MS | LinkedIn

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen examines something most senior leaders do but rarely admit: assuming the people around them already know what they need.

Not because they're conflict-averse.

Not because they're passive.

But because at senior levels, asking can feel like a signal that something has gone wrong.

The result is a pattern that quietly damages relationships in both directions — with the boss who doesn't know what support you need, and with the team working hard on the wrong version of what you wanted.

Karen looks at:

1. Why senior leaders avoid being direct about what they need and the specific belief driving it
2. What the silence actually costs, with your boss, with your team, and in the relationships that matter most
3. The difference between being direct and being blunt and why that distinction matters at this level
4. What it actually sounds like to ask clearly: the language, the framing, and the two things that make it work
5. Why most relationship friction at senior levels isn't conflict — it's accumulated assumption

At senior levels, the people around you are busy, under pressure, and managing their own complexity. They are not going to guess correctly. Clarity is not a sign of weakness. Ambiguity is.

Next steps:

If you are postponing a conversation — with your boss, with a key stakeholder, or with someone on your team — and you want to think it through before you have it, book a Focus-15.

1. In 15 minutes, you will clarify what you actually need to say, how to frame it, and what outcome you're working toward. You will leave with a clear direction and the confidence to move forward.

https://www.karengombault.com/schedule

Follow Karen's writing on Substack, where she examines the structural importance of relationships and alignment at senior levels. https://karengombault.substack.com

🤝 Connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/karengombault/

Leadership conversations often focus on strategy, growth, and organizational change. Yet the daily reality of leadership still comes down to something more fundamental: how effectively leaders manage people and themselves.

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen speaks with leadership coach Kris Plachy about what has — and has not — changed in leadership as we move into 2026. Drawing on three decades of work with female founders and CEOs, Kris argues that the fundamentals remain the same: leaders set direction, clarify expectations, and hold people accountable for results.

What has changed is the environment in which those fundamentals now operate. Leaders are managing teams with shorter attention spans, greater emotional volatility, and increasing distraction. At the same time, many leaders struggle with the very conversations required to maintain accountability.

The discussion explores why emotional regulation is not a “soft skill,” but a core leadership requirement. When leaders cannot manage their own emotional responses, they lose authority in difficult conversations and allow behavior patterns that ultimately undermine results.

For senior leaders, the implication is direct: leadership effectiveness is less about new frameworks and more about mastering the internal mechanics that determine how you respond in pressure moments.

1. Why the fundamentals of leadership have not changed, even as the external environment has become more complex
2. The growing challenge leaders face managing teams in a culture of distraction and shortened attention
3. Why many leaders avoid accountability conversations, even when performance expectations are clear
4. How emotional regulation determines whether leaders maintain authority in difficult moments
5. The connection between self-leadership, organizational performance, and business outcomes
6. How changing the way leaders interpret situations can transform both business results and personal freedom

Leadership ultimately reveals how well someone can lead themselves. When leaders learn to regulate their emotional responses, they regain the ability to address problems directly, set clear expectations, and make decisions that serve the organization rather than their discomfort. That shift often changes both the trajectory of the business and the life of the leader.

1. Kris Plachy website: https://thevisionary.ceo
2. Book, The One Hour Leader: https://thevisionary.ceo/onehourleader

Kris Plachy books :

1. How to Coach a Difficult Person in Six Steps
2. Five Truths for Thinking About Difficult People

LinkedIn: Kris Plachy | LinkedIn

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen examines a recurring situation at senior levels: leaders who consistently deliver, operate at the next level, and still do not get promoted.

The issue is not capability or performance. It is how promotion decisions are actually formed inside large organizations.

If you are operating at Director, VP, or SVP level and relying on execution to carry you forward, this episode focuses on what sits outside your direct output: how decisions are shaped, who influences them, and how your positioning is interpreted when you are not in the room.

1. The structural gap between strong execution and weak positioning in promotion discussions
2. How promotion decisions are formed collectively, and why individual performance is insufficient at senior levels

1. The difference between being known and being relevant to decision-makers’ priorities

1. The role of advocacy, sponsorship, and silence in shaping promotion outcomes

1. How early relationship-building influences credibility long before opportunities are formally discussed

1. What happens when leaders opt out of political dynamics and how that affects their visibility in decision processes

At senior levels, progression is determined less by what you deliver and more by how your work is carried into decision-making forums by others. If your scope is already expanding but your positioning is not, the gap will become visible when promotion decisions are made.

Next steps:

If your scope has recently expanded and you are operating with greater visibility and stakeholder complexity, a short, structured reset can materially improve how you deploy your time and authority. Book a Focus-15.

1. In 15 minutes, you will clarify what requires your attention now, what no longer does, where to focus to reinforce authority, and one concrete adjustment to implement immediately. You will leave with a clear direction for the next 30 days.

https://www.karengombault.com/schedule

Follow Karen’s writing on Substack, where she examines the structural importance of relationships and alignment at senior levels.

https://karengombault.substack.com

🤝 Connect on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karengombault/

The operating environment for CEOs and senior leaders has shifted materially over the past five years. Artificial intelligence is accelerating, funding cycles are volatile, remote work is embedded, and expectations around leadership have changed.

In this episode of Grounded and Aligned™, Karen speaks with Nick Herinckx, founder and CEO of Oxygen, about what is structurally different for CEOs in 2026. Drawing on his work coaching more than 100 CEOs, Nick outlines two persistent tensions: staying focused on strategy while technology evolves rapidly, and building toward a future that current tools cannot yet fully support.

The discussion also addresses a dynamic many senior leaders are now experiencing directly: AI adoption moving bottom-up, with employees experimenting faster than executives. For VPs and SVPs operating between executive decision-making and frontline execution, this creates both risk and opportunity.

Beyond AI, the conversation examines management capability, remote leadership strain, and the cumulative impact of social media and constant comparison on executive mental health.

1. Why CEOs are repeatedly revisiting strategy in response to AI pressure, and how this can stall execution
2. The shift from top-down change to bottom-up AI adoption, with employees often outpacing senior leaders
3. Where silo breakdown is occurring as cross-functional teams collaborate around new tools
4. Why first-time manager development remains a structural weakness in many organizations
5. How remote environments increase the difficulty of culture transmission and emotional reinforcement for senior leaders
6. The underestimated impact of social media and constant comparison on executive mental health and decision-making

Senior leaders hold disproportionate influence over how uncertainty is interpreted inside their organizations. In periods of acceleration, your framing of technology, strategy, and risk directly affects focus, morale, and retention. Clarity and steadiness are no longer secondary qualities. They are operational requirements.

Connect with Nick here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickherinckx/ https://www.leadwithoxygen.com/