Dear Reader,

Don't tell me what to do! Otherwise, you might encounter the worst version of me (and many friends, colleagues, even clients have experienced this side that I am rarely proud of). And there is one exception...

If you are my sports coach, tell me to sprint, lift, push, jump, run and I am in. No resistance, no rebellion. Pur excitement. I’ll even obey my virtual running app without questioning its authority 😅 I love the structure, the clarity, the push.

This week, I brought my partner along who is as sporty as I am. I was excited to share the experience, the buzz, the sweat, the rhythm, the drill, my favourite trainer.

She hated it.

Too fast. Too much. No loud. No warmth. No space. While I felt challenged and supported in all the right ways, she felt left behind. The same treatment, opposite experiences. What felt like support to me felt like pressure to her. What made me push through another 20 reps made her want to leave.

What happened in the gym happens daily in offices and workshop spaces. It’s not necessarily about the quality of leadership or facilitation but about the needs of the people in the room. Just because they share a goal, or even a personality type, doesn’t mean they’ll thrive under the same conditions.

The same words can land as a boost or a blow. The same structure can feel like safety or suffocation. Experience design and psychological safety aren’t templates. They’re acts of attunement, again and again. We don’t need to get it right for everyone. But we do need to stay close enough to notice when we don’t.

🎙 Meanwhile, on the podcast…

The conversations we dread, the ones we avoid, and the ones that hold so much emotional weight – are often the ones we wish we’d had sooner. So why do we fear them so much?

As a recovering people-pleaser, I know the drill all too well: the bubbling resentment, the unmet needs, and the stories we fabricate in our minds. But rather than run from the difficult conversations in my life, I’ve learnt how to build the bridges that will carry me to a better outcome.

This solo episode is for my fellow people-pleasers, facilitators, leaders, and anyone with a hard conversation on the horizon. So join me, myself and I, as I share my tried-and-tested approach to mastering them with confidence and care!

Find out about:

• The cost of avoiding challenging conversations – and the reward in embracing them
• Tuning into our bodily signals to understand what’s happening beneath the emotion
• Getting clear on the assumptions vs. the facts before a challenging conversation
• Why we must acknowledge that challenging conversations starts with us first
• Finding a common way forward without mutual agreement or violent language
• Why sharing boundaries transparently can foster respect

🎧 Click here to listen to the interview

📥 Check out my 1-page summary

​WW_Episode_330-summary.pdf​

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👀 Watch the unedited interview on Youtube​

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That’s it from my side! I hope you enjoy the content and find inspiration in the stories and podcast. Wishing you a week filled with just the right kind of push—see you next week!

Myriam

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