Posts by Karyn Brinkley
What about MY priorities?
February 27, 2026 Hi Karyn I have a really bad habit of taking on other people’s goals and needs as if they’re my own and then never having time or energy to fulfil my own objectives. I’m always hyper-focused on my team, the department, the outcomes then somewhere along the way my own KPIs and…
Read MoreCOULD YOUR PERFECTIONISM BE HOLDING OTHERS BACK?
Are you micromanaging? As a leadership coach for executive women, I often see this pattern emerge from a place of excellence and high standards. You’ve built your career on attention to detail and consistent delivery. Now, as a leader, those same qualities might be holding both you and your team back. Signs you might be…
Read MoreWHAT’S BENEATH THAT NAGGING NEED TO APOLOGISE?
‘Oh, it was really the team who pulled that off…’‘I should have xxxed better…’‘It was my fault it didn’t meet expectations…’ Recognise these responses to praise or setbacks? Have you heard yourself saying one or more of these? In coaching executive women, I’ve noticed how often we deflect praise while absorbing blame — diminishing our…
Read MoreSTILL TREATING BUSY AS A BADGE OF HONOUR?
When I was burning out, “Busy!” was my go-to response when people asked me (casually or not) how I was. There were whole conversations that revolved around how ‘busy’ we were, because invariably my ‘busy’ response evoked a “yeah, me too!” in reply. Now, I’m not saying we WEREN’T busy. Indeed, ‘busy’ was code for…
Read MoreWHOSE ANXIETY CAN YOU EASE TODAY?
How are you doing at the moment? How are you REALLY doing? How do you think your team members are doing? For many executive women — and I include myself in this — things feel uncertain and heavy in the world right now. And when it feels that way for us, you can be damned…
Read MoreCURIOUS?
How can you bring curiosity to any challenges you encounter today, instead of judgement? Why would you want to? For all sorts of reasons that mean better outcomes for you and your work. Bringing curiosity instead of judgement helps you manage any anxiety attached to a challenge. It helps you stay grounded and optimistic about…
Read More30 WAYS YOU’RE NOT ENOUGH (OR ELSE YOU’RE TOO MUCH BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE WOMAN THING)
“There is always an excuse masquerading as a reason given for a woman about why she’s not quite right for any role,” says Leanne Dzubinski PhD, talking about the updated research she’s undertaken with Amy Diehl, PhD and Amber Stephenson and published in the peer-reviewed Human Resource Development Quarterly. The research indicates 30 types of…
Read MoreChoose the discomfort
It’s funny how we so often think boundaries are for other people. Boundaries are for us. When somebody’s overstepped our boundary, it’s so often because we’ve opened the gate and beckoned them in. Or at least stood at the front door and allowed them to walk on through. When you’re feeling the onset of burnout,…
Read MoreI don’t think I can do this again
16 January 2026 Hi Karyn. You won’t remember me but we had a brief exchange on LinkedIn this time last year and you gave me some great advice. I didn’t ignore it exactly but I didn’t follow it very well either 🙁 And here I am back again in exactly the same place. I have…
Read MoreTHE ICKY, GUILT-LADEN, UNCOMFORTABLE NO
Here’s a little schadenfreude for my executive women clients. I am the Queen of Boundaries, at least when I’m coaching others. I have some simple, elegant and thoroughly useful scripts for saying “no”, and I know through experience — my own and my clients’ — that they work. Well, most of the time they work.…
Read More