In fact, you’ve solved harder problems than this. So why is this one different?

Capable leaders get stuck on certain decisions not because they lack information or discipline, but because the question that would free them is the one they can’t ask themselves.

A real example

Six months of trying to solve it alone

An executive director came to me after six months of being overwhelmed. She led a nonprofit with a $2 million budget — and she was drowning. HR, recruiting, scheduling, and onboarding across three programs in two counties. She’d tried podcasts and self-help books. Nothing moved. She was considering leaving a role she valued.

In our first conversation, we mapped out what she was actually doing. Four pages. She hadn’t stepped back to see the full scope because she was too busy trying to keep up.

“No wonder this is overwhelming. It’s too much for any human to do.”

The real problem wasn’t time management. She felt guilty about delegating any of it. Once she could see the situation objectively — with someone else in the room — she could act.

  • 3 months to identify what to delegate and research solutions
  • 6 months to full implementation
  • 20–25 hours reclaimed per month

She stayed in her role. Not because I solved her problem — but because together we found the question she hadn’t been able to ask herself.

The pattern

Why capable people get stuck

The question that would break the pattern lives exactly where you can’t look.
If you could ask it yourself, you already would have.

Over four decades of working with leaders, I’ve watched highly capable people circle the same challenge. They’re not lacking information. They’re not lacking discipline. They’ve built organizations and navigate complexity every day.

But on this particular decision — the one that matters most — something keeps them in place. The activity even feels productive. Underneath, there’s a pattern running that prevents the one action that would actually change things.

What’s needed isn’t more reflection. It’s a specific kind of relationship — with someone standing where you can’t stand, asking the question you haven’t been able to form. Often, I find it in the first or second conversation.

How I work

One-on-one, unhurried, honest

I create a time and place for leaders to slow down and think — not about frameworks or motivational concepts, but about what’s actually happening and what to do next.

01 — Surface what’s hidden. Through curious, unhurried questioning, I help you see the pattern keeping you stuck — including the question you couldn’t ask yourself.

02 — Understand what’s actually happening. Not the presenting problem, but the real one — the way it looks from outside your line of sight.

03 — Take the next step. Insight without action is just interesting. We work together until the transition you’ve been stuck on becomes the one you’re moving through.

I bring over 40 years of leadership experience and nearly a decade of coaching to this work, with ICF training and a particular focus on the moments that matter most: major career transitions, leadership role changes, and decisions that have been waiting too long.

Let’s talk

If you’ve been stuck on an important decision and you’re ready to move forward, let’s get acquainted.

I can’t promise that we’ll solve your challenge in one session. But I can help you see your next step more clearly — and often, that’s what starts to break the pattern.

Schedule a 30-Minute conversation

Mark Haines, Transition Navigator and Thinking Partner