Author: David Ohnstad

Harvard’s ‘power skills’ argument sounds compelling until you examine what’s actually breaking in organizations. Gartner data reveals 68% of mid-level managers report direct reports lack critical tech competencies. The real leadership challenge isn’t soft skills—it’s the gap between what organizations teach and what they actually need.

Your best people ask for communication coaching, so you say yes. But what if their real problem isn’t soft skills at all? David Ohnstad explores the paradox of well-intentioned mentorship that misses the actual bottleneck holding leaders back.

A one-line directive to ‘make coaching a priority’ won’t transform your organization. Without clear strategy, budget, training, and shared definition, coaching culture initiatives collapse. Discover what actually works.

When leadership demands a coaching culture by quarter-end with zero budget and overstretched teams, failure is guaranteed. David Ohnstad explains why aspirational directives fail without resources, training, and realistic timelines—and what actually works instead.

A Fortune 500 director’s team velocity dropped 22% after mastering coaching techniques. Sometimes managers need to give clear direction, not ask more questions. David Ohnstad explains when coaching backfires and what actually works.

A product manager spent three hours asking coaching questions only to hear: ‘Just tell me what you want.’ The truth? Great managers don’t always need to be great coaches. Sometimes directive leadership is exactly what your team needs.