The Leadership Kompass

Unpopular opinion: your to-do list is making you less productive. I love a good to-do list. There’s something deeply satisfying about writing down 17 things and dramatically crossing off “reply to email” by 9:07 a.m. The problem? You can get to 5 p.m. with plenty of ticks and very little meaningful progress.  Because a to-do list answers: “What could I do?” It doesn't necessarily answer: “What matters most?” And those are very different questions. Think about the typical list: Reply to James. Prepare presentation. Book appointment. Review strategy. WhatsApp supplier. Develop proposal. Order stationery. Work on next-quarter priorities.   Everything sits there looking equally important. So, what do we naturally gravitate towards? Often, the things that are easiest to finish. And there is another problem: unfinished work follows us mentally. Research by Masicampo and Baumeister found that unfulfilled goals can remain cognitively active and in...

  Elevate by Robert Glazer How to Raise Your Capacity and Stop Living Below Your Potential To elevate means “to raise or lift something up to a higher position or more important level.” That definition alone captures the essence of Robert Glazer’s Elevate . This isn’t a motivational book about “dream big.” It’s a practical blueprint for building the capacity required to actually sustain big dreams. One quote sets the tone: “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.” — Mahatma Gandhi That gap between current output and true potential is where most people live. And Glazer argues that the solution is capacity building .   What Is Capacity Building? Glazer defines capacity building as: “The method by which individuals seek, acquire, and develop the skills and abilities to consistently perform at a higher level in pursuit of their innate potential.” In simpler terms: You don’...

You Can’t Get It Done By Doing What You Shouldn’t Do .  {chapters1-4} You Can’t Get It Done By Doing What You Shouldn’t Do is a blunt, practical mirror. Debbie Morehead’s central argument is simple and slightly uncomfortable: we often work hardest at the very behaviors that sabotage the results we want. That’s why you can be busy, disciplined, even “doing your best”… and still end up with the opposite outcome financial stress, health decline, relationship tension, career dissatisfaction. The book doesn’t treat “bad habits” like a character flaw. It treats them like a system problem rooted in patterns, unmet needs, learned behavior, triggers, and emotional reactivity. In other words: there is a reason you do what you regret doing. One of the most freeing lines is: “The truth is, you don’t have to work hard to get what you actually want.” Her focus is not “try harder.” It’s “stop doing what’s not working.” And she keeps bringing the reader back to a powerful pivot questi...

  How I Changed Careers — Wisdom Wednesday In another life, I was supposed to be a medical doctor. At least that’s what everyone thought… including me. Growing up, I had an unshakeable bond with my grandfather, a medical doctor whose home felt like a small community clinic. People would walk into his compound for “consultations” before trekking 15km to the nearest hospital. And whenever my cousins and I got hurt, he was there with his first-aid box, steady hands, and a calm confidence that made everything feel fixable. I admired him deeply. His passion. His service. His impact. My mother fueled that dream even more, arranging hospital visits and volunteer opportunities whenever she could. I still remember being 10 years old at Kenyatta and Aga Khan Hospital, standing in the ENT department watching doctors diagnose hearing problems in children. I was captivated. Fast forward… life took a different turn. I didn’t become a doctor. I landed in Human Resources, mostly b...

  The Toughest HR Job I’ve Had? Parenting. If you work in HR, you know that managing a high-performing team is an art. But honestly, nothing prepared me for the emotional, logistical, and highly demanding "HR department" I run at home. It’s where my professional skills go to get stress-tested daily, and the stakes are much higher than Q4 targets. Here’s my Family Boardroom  guide: Performance Reviews (KPIs vs. KPFs):  Forget Key Performance Indicators; we run on Key Parental Feelings. Did they eat the broccoli? Did they share the toy? The feedback is instant, often loud, and the compensation (a late-night hug) is always non-monetary but invaluable. Conflict Resolution & Mediation:  In the office, we have formal procedures. At home, it’s a high-stakes, real-time negotiation over the last cookie, where "I saw it first" is the most common grievance. My best practice? Active listening, a strong pivot, and a fair distributi...