The Executive Trust Audit

I have at least one conversation I know I need to have — with a team member, co-founder, investor, or board member — that I have been postponing for more than 2 weeks.

Think of the first person who came to mind just now.

When a conversation feels high-stakes or emotionally charged, I find myself going quiet, finding a workaround, or delaying rather than addressing it directly.

Be honest — this is the pattern, not the intention.

I often replay difficult conversations in my head after they happen, wishing I had said something different — or said anything at all.

Rumination is a signal of unresolved tension.

There is at least one decision currently sitting unresolved in my business because it requires a conversation I have not yet had.

Delayed decisions are usually delayed conversations.

I have kept someone in a role, a relationship, or a project longer than I should have — because ending it or changing it required a confrontation I was not ready for.

Think about the last 6 months.

In high-pressure moments — a board challenge, a heated disagreement, a performance issue — I find my thinking narrows and I react rather than respond.

This is the amygdala hijack. Most leaders recognise it instantly.

People in my team bring me filtered information — they soften bad news, avoid direct feedback, or tell me what I want to hear rather than what I need to know.

This is a downstream effect of the leader's conversational climate.

There are people in my organisation who are aware of a problem — a conflict, a performance gap, a strategic misalignment — that has not been formally addressed because no one wants to be the one to say it.

Silence at the top becomes culture throughout.

When I imagine walking into the hardest conversation I am currently avoiding, I feel a genuine sense of dread, anxiety, or resistance — even though I know it needs to happen.

The feeling is data. It tells us where the work is.

If my team were asked to describe my leadership style honestly, I am not fully confident they would use the words: direct, clear, and decisive.

This is the identity gap the audit is designed to close.