Insights & Inspirations - Inspired at Work

Uncategorized

What a Coaching Psychologist Brings to Executive Development

Executive Challenges Are More Than Tactical At senior levels, leadership isn’t just about delivery or technical skill. It’s about navigating complexity, ambiguity and human dynamics, often under significant pressure, scrutiny, and visibility, in environments that shift faster than meaning can be made. Leaders may come to coaching seeking clarity, confidence or improved results. But very quickly, the conversation moves beyond tactics. It becomes about identity, meaning-making, role, presence, and how to lead with intention amidst

Jo van Osch November 3, 2025

Burnout

Inner Blocks to Thriving: Why Insight Alone Isn’t Always Enough

You can have all the insight in the world and still feel stuck. You can understand your patterns, set better boundaries, practise self-care and yet something inside resists. A familiar emotional loop plays out again and again. This isn’t failure. It’s human. And it often points to something deeper: what I call inner blocks to thriving emotional or identity-level patterns that quietly shape how we think, feel, and respond. What We Mean by Thriving In

Jo van Osch October 13, 2025

Leadership

What’s Really Going On Here? How Surfacing Leadership Team Dynamics Unlocks Trust, Focus and Progress

The Quiet Signals That Your Leadership Team Could Go Further Some leadership teams are performing well, but feel like they’re not quite firing on all cylinders. Others are navigating high-stakes change, a shift in leadership, a merger, or growing pressure from stakeholders while privately grappling with friction, blurred roles, or decisions that don’t quite land. Whatever the context, one thing holds true: how the team functions together matters as much as what it’s tasked with

Jo van Osch September 1, 2025

Leadership

The System Is the Solution: Creating the Conditions for Sustainable Systemic Leadership and Thriving Teams

Introduction: We Don’t Rise Above Systems. We Reflect Them. When leaders talk about increasing engagement, improving performance, or reducing stress, the instinct is often to look at the individual and what tools they need, how they can manage their time better, or how to build personal resilience. But resilience alone is not enough when the environment itself is draining. Even the most motivated individuals cannot thrive inside systems that consistently produce friction, overload, or disconnection.

Jo van Osch August 3, 2025

Leadership

From Managing Complexity to Thriving in It: Why Vertical Leadership Development Matters Now More Than Ever

There is a quiet revolution happening in leadership. While many organisations continue to invest in traditional leadership training, equipping leaders with new tools and updated knowledge, others are beginning to realise this is no longer enough. In a world defined by complexity, uncertainty, and continuous change, the real question is not just what leaders know, but how they think and make sense of what they know. This is where vertical leadership development comes in. Beyond

Jo van Osch July 3, 2025

Burnout

The Hidden Cost of Leadership: Why CEO Burnout Is a Systemic Problem and How Redefining Success Could Save It

Introduction: The Silent Crisis at the Top Burnout is not just creeping into the C-suite, it is setting up camp. Recent data shows that 71% of CEOs at small to mid-sized firms report feeling burned out occasionally, and over a third say they experience it frequently. It is no longer rare to hear of CEOs stepping down, or top leaders reconsidering whether the role is worth the toll. This is not a sign that leaders

Jo van Osch June 4, 2025

Leadership

The Hidden Dynamics That Make or Break Leadership Teams

Your leadership team has talent, strategy, and experience—so why does it still feel hard to get things done? Why do the same issues keep resurfacing? Why does alignment feel just out of reach? Many leadership teams focus on what they need to achieve but overlook how they function together. Burnout, misalignment, and underperformance often stem from what’s happening below the surface: the hidden dynamics that shape every conversation, decision, and relationship. Understanding and addressing these

Jo van Osch May 4, 2025

Burnout

Neurodiversity and Burnout: Why ADHD & Autistic Employees Are at Higher Risk (And What Organisations Can Do About It)

Introduction Burnout affects people differently. For neurodivergent employees, particularly those with ADHD or autism, the risk of burnout is not only higher—it often presents differently and goes unrecognised. Despite growing awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace, few organisations have strategies in place to address the specific burnout challenges faced by neurodivergent staff. This gap creates an environment where talented, innovative individuals are more likely to burn out and disengage. In this blog, we’ll explore the

Jo van Osch April 14, 2025

Burnout

Burnout Myths Debunked: What Research Says vs. What Leaders Believe

Introduction Burnout is on everyone’s radar—but unfortunately, so is misinformation. In many organisations, well-meaning leaders are trying to support employee wellbeing, yet are operating on outdated or inaccurate beliefs about what burnout actually is. There is one thing that surprises people every time when I say ‘burnout is not just a mental health issue’. In fact, the root of burnout is not a mental health issue at all. The result? Short-term fixes, ineffective interventions, and

Jo van Osch April 1, 2025

Burnout

Why Burnout is a Systemic Problem (Not Just an Individual Issue) – The Case for Organisational Responsibility

Introduction Burnout is often framed as a personal issue—something to be fixed with better self-care, more resilience, or a week off. But this narrative is not only misleading, it’s damaging. It suggests that if employees are burning out, they simply need to try harder, manage stress better, or be more resilient. The truth? Burnout is a systemic problem, deeply rooted in organisational culture, leadership behaviours, team dynamics, and structural pressures. Until we start addressing burnout

Jo van Osch April 1, 2025