One of my posts on LinkedIn went viral'ish. It wasn’t exactly groundbreaking or full of deep insights.

But it’s certainly a topic that has two completely opposite camps and no one in between.

I’ve written better and more helpful content (at least in my opinion), but LinkedIn’s algorithm doesn’t promote it because it doesn’t drive engagement.

That’s why I don’t like algorithms. Instead of promoting good content, they push controversial or clickbaity posts that spark engagement.

Thoughtful and insightful content stays invisible.

Empowering Without Overdirecting

This afternoon I spoke with the team about the challenges for any leader and their team in finding the balance between telling them what/how to do (Directive Leadership) and letting the team figure it out themselves, make some mistakes and learn (Empowering Leadership).

The balance is hard.

You definitely wouldn't want to over-index on either side. So you’ve got to find a sweet spot.

But it also could be multidimensional, and the balance might shift depending on the area.

For example, you might want to give more direction in terms of the problem the team is solving compared to how the problem is solved. Or you might want to give less direction in the team's communication style but more direction in terms of the standards of produced work.

Regardless, it might be helpful to be open about that balance and have a regular conversation about it.

Because that balance isn't static either. As the team gets better and better, it requires you to adjust the balance.

Hack Constraints

When your team isn’t experimenting enough, it's most likely due to experiments taking too long to build, track and measure.

But every missed experiment is a missed opportunity. Insights go untapped. Ideas remain untested. Innovation stalls.

If the bottleneck is tech, hack it. Find workarounds even at the cost of degrading user experience but push forward.

Constraints spark the best solutions.

I took a leg rest day yesterday and today I felt so much better. My legs were much fresher than they were on Tuesday and felt pretty good, especially considering it was hills training today.

Ran 9km with a total of 300m elevation. I couldn’t run all the hills and had to walk about half of them, but I’ll keep pushing!

No Plan, No Progress

Fixing something messy is hard. Starting over is easier but starting from scratch doesn't always work.

If want to make real progress, get a plan done. Make sure you know the problem you’re solving, what you want to change and how long you’ll give yourself. When you’re clear about the why, tough choices are easier. A decent plan keeps you on track, even when shit hits the fan.

No plan. No focus.

Let It Marinate

When I'm trying to solve a problem and my brain starts running around in circles like a headless chicken, I like to hit the "I'm going to bed to let it marinate" button.

At that point, there's no way to push my stubborn brain to explore other ideas. The brain is tired and moody.

Stepping away is progress because you trust your brain to do its thing while you sleep. Don't do this during the day, though; your colleagues won't appreciate it.

I know when I wake up, I'll have a dozen (okay, maybe a couple) fresh angles and new ways to tackle the problem. Magic!

Tough run today. I planned for 7km plus sprints but ended up with just 5km. Everything was sore - feet, calves, hammies, glutes. My energy was low too. It was hot. It was a slog. It wasn’t pretty.

But that’s alright. The main thing is showing up and doing the best I can on the day.

I’ll give my legs a rest tomorrow, then on Thursday, I’ll do some easy hill running/walking. I won’t push it too hard—just easing into the hills.

123 days until UTA50 in the Blue Mountains.

Tough Love, Strong Teams

Currently refreshing my memory on Radical Candor by Kim Scott. These quotes are amazing:

The best way to keep superstars happy is to challenge them and make sure they are constantly learning.

As you probably know, for every piece of subpar work you accept, for every missed deadline you let slip, you begin to feel resentment and then anger. You no longer just think the work is bad: you think the person is bad. This makes it harder to have an even-keeled conversation. You start to avoid talking to the person at all.

Trust Over Control

Most people think leadership is about control.They assume great leaders are the ones who tell people what to do, make all the calls and keep everyone in line.

That’s outdated thinking.

The best leaders don’t control. They share context & intent, inspire, empower and trust their teams to make mistakes.

Control stifles. Trust unleashes potential.

Leg day this morning:

• Started with a 1km easy run to warm up
• The leg extensions and leg curls on the machines.
• Lunges, with 2x12kg kettlebells, 40mx2
• Burpee broad jumps, 60m
• Wall balls, 10kg x 30

Impact Over Firefighting

Bad leaders like convenience over value.

They push those who make their lives easier - small tasks, fire drills and ego bosts. Problem solvers, whose work eliminates chaos, go unnoticed because their success erases the memory of the problem itself.

Leaders fear losing their “firefighters” more than those who ensure a fire never starts. The latter rarely gets rewarded.

The title "Product Owner" shouldn't exist

Product Managers own the full lifecycle - strategy, discovery and delivery. Product Owners focus narrowly on Agile delivery. Splitting these roles fragments accountability and muddies product development.

True impact comes from roles with full ownership.

A short, hilly run near Avalon Beach. Hot, tough but absolutely beautiful.

Clarity Over Complexity

A strategy isn’t about looking smart. It’s about making sure everyone understands it.

Clarity beats complexity in any organisation. A strategy packed with jargon or overblown ideas creates confusion, not action. The goal is alignment - getting everyone moving in the same direction with confidence.

Simple, clear strategies win because they get executed.

You join a team meeting and just listen. The team is in control - they cover the options, ask thoughtful questions and share feedback. You watch them gelling, getting in the flow. They are considering the right angles: customer, business and tech. The conversation moves naturally, calm and focused. They don’t even need you there.

It feels amazing!

I'm going to miss out on the Sydney Marathon in August as I didn't get an invite 😭. I'll have to find an alternative place to run a marathon. It's a pretty cool experience and wanted to do it again.

Anyway, I just came back from another run. I did the same routine as on Tuesday (6km easy run plus sprints) and somehow got PBs in 400m (1m 19s) and 100m (17.6s). I didn't expect that at all as my legs felt a bit heavy. But here we go. Making progress. Really enjoying the sprints at the moment.

The Tech Debt Spiral

Did another body scan, the first since July, just before Hyrox.
As expected, I gained a bit of fat during my trip to Japan. The percentage was probably higher right after the trip but I’ve likely dropped some in the last few weeks of training.

My goal is to get under 15%. It’s been almost a week without snacks or sugar. I stick to breakfast, lunch and dinner. The only thing I allow myself to eat in between is carrots 🥕

Customers Aren’t Always Right - Their Problems Are

Prioritising customer requests purely by volume is a flawed strategy. Popularity doesn't guarantee the best solution. It often blinds teams to the underlying problems driving those requests.

Customer feedback is invaluable for spotting patterns and surfacing needs but raw demands rarely point to the optimal answer. Building features based solely on who shouts loudest often results in bloated products or patchwork fixes that don't scale. A significant client might demand Feature X but their request likely reflects a deeper pain point solvable in a more elegant, widely beneficial way.

Strong product decisions require distilling customer insights into strategic solutions. Instead of asking: "What do customers want?" ask: "What problem are they trying to solve?".

Solving that unlocks loyalty far more than feature lists ever will.

I created another illustration. This time, it's the famous Vienn Diagram!