Hi Reader,

London, 2008.

Around the time the Lehman Brothers employees are photographed streaming out of Seventh Avenue in New York City with cardboard boxes.

The financial world is imploding.

My consulting team has just lost 40% of our clients. Overnight.

That knot in my stomach was about survival. Would we end up like Lehman brothers? Would I also be looking for a job?

Three names in my phone saved me.

Three conversations that changed everything:

Dennis (Microsoft): "Your team's expertise? We could use that right now."

Paul (TCS): "When you're ready, let's talk integration roles."

Caroline (Gartner): "Our advisory practice has a spot for you. Just say when."

​

I never took those jobs.

But those conversations shifted everything about how I navigated that crisis.

Why?

Because suddenly I wasn't solving it alone. I had options. Perspectives. A safety net of wisdom I could tap into.

Here's what over 30 years of leadership has taught me...

The difference between leaders who thrive through chaos and those who barely survive isn't:

❌ more experience (though it helps)

❌ better strategies (though we need them)

❌ stronger skills (though they matter)

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It's this:

✅ a trusted circle of peers who get it

✅ safe spaces to pressure-test thinking

✅ wisdom beyond your own experience

I shared something on LinkedIn that captures exactly why this matters: the hard conversations about your leadership.

They're happening after you leave the room. Your blindspots grow larger while your impact gets smaller.

[👉 See why this matters ]

Most leaders wait until crisis hits to build these connections.

(Guilty as charged. 2008 taught me that lesson hard.)

But what if you could build them now?

In two weeks, I'm pulling back the curtain on something I've been crafting - a space where senior leaders find their trusted circle before they need it.

Here's what I invite you to think about:

If you had a circle of senior leaders in your corner, what would you do differently?

What decisions would you make?

What risks would you take?

Hit reply. Share your truth. I read every response.

Your wing woman,

Catherine

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p.s. "I wish I'd built stronger connections before I needed them."

A client shared this last week. Don't let it be your story.