Falling Into Leadership

Companion Hub, Reflection, Learning and Next Steps

This page is a support companion to our book, Falling Into Leadership. Use it to revisit each session, reflect honestly, and translate insight into leadership practice. Supporting tools are included as optional resources at the end of each session.



How to use this companion hub

  • Read one session, then return here and answer the Reflect and Act questions while the chapter is still fresh.
  • Choose one question to go deeper on, then turn it into one conversation or one action this week.
  • Revisit the session context, it is there to reconnect you with the point of the chapter, not to teach a method.
  • If you want structure, use the supporting resources at the bottom of each session.

Where to go next for additional support

If you want to go beyond reflection and strengthen your leadership practice in a structured way, explore our master coaching and mentoring program: CoachStation Leadership Development Program

If you would like a clear view of all CoachStation offerings and pathways, start here: What We Do


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Session 1: Coaching the Coachee, the Gravity of Leadership
Feeling the pull of leadership and the weight that comes with it
1
Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. Jack Welch

The first coaching and mentoring meeting can feel overwhelming. The biggest challenge is often not capability, it is clarity. In this session, the focus is on noticing the gravity of leadership and deciding to lead by intent rather than default.

Reflect and Act
  1. What drew you into leadership, and are you leading by design or default?
  2. When you consider the gravity of leadership, what responsibilities feel heaviest for you?
  3. How clear are you on your purpose as a leader, and how does it show up in your daily actions?
  4. What aspects of leadership do you find most rewarding and most challenging?
  5. What do you want those you lead to experience because of your leadership?
Session 2: Quiet Authority, Power Without Position
Leadership without authority, effective leadership does not need a title or permission
2
Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge. Simon Sinek

One of the biggest challenges when people step into leadership for the first time is confusing competence with authority. This session is about building quiet authority through credibility, consistency, and the strength of your relationships.

Reflect and Act
  1. When have you had to lead without formal authority and how did you approach it?
  2. How do you currently influence across your organisation and where are you being underestimated?
  3. What informal leadership behaviours could you amplify to strengthen your presence?
  4. Who are the ‘unauthorised leaders’ around you, and what can you learn from them?
  5. How do you earn trust and followership when a title is not enough?
Session 3: Holding the Mirror, Owning the Reflection
What you see in yourself shapes what others experience in your leadership
3
Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to results. Bob Proctor

Many leadership challenges stem from a lack of clarity, unclear expectations, inconsistent follow through, and vague conversations about performance. This session brings the mirror closer, and focuses on owning your intent and your impact.

Reflect and Act
  1. What patterns or habits are showing up in your leadership that may be holding you back?
  2. When you look in the metaphorical mirror, what do you see and what would you like to see?
  3. How often do you reflect on your intent versus your impact?
  4. What are you pretending not to notice about your leadership?
  5. How could increased self honesty shift your next conversation, decision or action?
Session 4: The Shadow and the Spark, How Emotional Intelligence Lights the Way
How you lead yourself shapes how you lead others
4
Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. Aristotle

The message here is not that self awareness is the endgame. It is the beginning. Expecting others to adapt to your blind spots is not leadership. This session focuses on noticing triggers, patterns, and the behaviours that quietly shape culture.

Reflect and Act
  1. What emotions or triggers tend to influence your behaviour when under pressure?
  2. How well do you recognise emotional cues in others, and how do you respond?
  3. What parts of your ‘shadow’ that you hide, avoid or deny, are affecting how you lead?
  4. When have you applied effective emotional intelligence to navigate a complex situation well?
  5. What does it mean for you to lead with both heart and clarity?
Session 5: Speak Less, Lead More, When Questions Reveal More Than Answers
Great leaders influence through curiosity, not control
5
Most people do not listen with the intent to understand, they listen with the intent to reply. Stephen R. Covey

This session centres on how questions shift thinking, create ownership, and build trust. Asking better questions is not a technique, it is a leadership posture. It slows reaction, increases clarity, and improves decision quality.

Reflect and Act
  1. How often do you lead with questions instead of solutions?
  2. What types of questions have the biggest impact on your team’s thinking and ownership?
  3. When was the last time you allowed silence to do the work in a conversation?
  4. What role does curiosity play in your leadership?
  5. What is one question you could ask more often to increase trust, clarity or connection?
Session 6: The Power of Connections, Wired to Lead, Called to Influence
Effective leaders create trust and influence through relationships
6
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. African Proverb

Connection is not a soft extra. It is leadership infrastructure. This session reinforces how presence, consistency, and relational credibility shape culture and performance, especially when things are uncertain or difficult.

Reflect and Act
  1. Where are your strongest workplace relationships, and where is connection missing?
  2. What do you do consistently that builds connection and influence?
  3. How safe do people feel being honest with you, and what contributes to that safety?
  4. What kind of energy do you bring into a room, meeting or conversation?
  5. What one action could deepen trust within your team or peer group?
Session 7: The Edge of Certainty, Anchored Leadership in a Shifting World
Resilience is staying grounded while everything moves around you
7
You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. Jon Kabat Zinn

This session explores the tension between certainty and leadership. You rarely get full clarity, yet you still need to decide, communicate, and hold standards. The focus is on staying anchored, not rigid, and leading calmly through change.

Reflect and Act
  1. How do you respond when certainty is unavailable and ambiguity is high?
  2. What anchors you as a leader when everything around you feels unstable?
  3. When have you made a firm decision without full clarity and what did you learn?
  4. How do you communicate confidence while remaining transparent in uncertain times?
  5. What helps you stay grounded and calm when navigating change?
Session 8: The Outcome Is Not the End, The Legacy You Leave Behind
Leadership is about outcomes today and the legacy you leave behind
8
You don’t get results by focusing on results. You get results by focusing on the actions that produce them. Mike Hawkins

This session brings the focus to the pointy end of leadership. It connects internal development, awareness, and behaviour to the outcomes you deliver and the impact you leave behind. It is about becoming intentional with your leadership footprint.

Reflect and Act
  1. How do you define legacy and what would you like yours to be?
  2. What do you want your team to say about working with you, even after you move on?
  3. What are you doing today that supports long term impact rather than short term wins?
  4. Who are you developing, mentoring or influencing in ways that go beyond tasks and roles?
  5. How can you model the kind of leadership you hope to be remembered for?

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If Falling Into Leadership helped you, a short Amazon review genuinely matters

If you found the book useful, even one session or one insight, a short review helps other leaders choose wisely. It does not need to be long, a few lines is enough.

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If you would like to talk through your next steps, you can book directly here: CoachStation Bookings