Workplace Multiplier by Tola Akinsulire

August 5, 2025

Welcome to the Workplace Multiplier newsletter. Published Monday to Friday, equipping you to achieve your professional goals faster and without burnout or overwhelm by leveraging The Triple Win Method.

The Higher You Climb, The More You Need This

Howdy ,

A while back, while having lunch with a group of friends, one of them remarked (I paraphrase her now), “You seem to have an intentional approach to having key support in your life.”

What happened?

I was telling the story about a season of life when I needed to make a major decision that had both work & personal life implications.

As part of my process, I spoke with my spiritual director, business coach, and executive mentor. All three were able to offer wisdom to help me navigate that season of life.

I have them in my world. Not because I am struggling. Not because I lack skills.

But because I understand something that many people miss: the higher you climb, the more valuable it becomes to have someone who can help you see your blind spots and think through complex challenges with clarity.

The paradox of success

Here's what I've observed from working with leaders across different industries and cultures: the more successful you become, the fewer people are willing to challenge your thinking. Everyone wants to agree with you, support your ideas, and tell you what they think you want to hear.

This creates dangerous isolation. You start making decisions in an echo chamber. You miss opportunities because no one is asking you the hard questions. You develop blind spots that everyone can see except you.

Getting coached breaks through this isolation. It gives you access to honest, thoughtful conversation focused entirely on helping you think more clearly and act more effectively.

What coaching actually does for you

Let me be clear about what I mean by coaching. I'm not talking about therapy (though that has its place) or consulting (where someone tells you what to do). I'm talking about partnering with someone who helps you unlock your own thinking and find solutions that work for your specific situation.

Here's what this looks like in practice:

Coaching helps you process complexity. When you're dealing with multiple competing priorities, difficult relationships, or ambiguous situations, a coach helps you sort through the noise and identify what really matters. They ask questions that help you see patterns you might miss when you're in the middle of everything.

Coaching accelerates your learning. Instead of figuring things out through trial and error, you get to think through scenarios, explore different approaches, and learn from your experiences more intentionally. A good coach helps you extract insights that might otherwise take months or years to discover.

Coaching provides perspective. When you're close to a situation, it's hard to see the full picture. A coach offers an outside perspective that can help you understand dynamics you're too embedded in to recognize. They help you step back and see the forest for the trees.

Coaching builds your confidence. Not through empty encouragement, but by helping you recognize your own capabilities and think through challenges systematically. When you work through complex problems with someone skilled at asking good questions, you develop confidence in your ability to handle whatever comes next.

The return on investment

I've seen people make career breakthroughs, improve their relationships, and find clarity on decisions that had been paralyzing them for months – all through a series of coaching conversations.

A client was stuck in a role that felt too small but couldn't articulate what she wanted next. Through our work together, she uncovered her bigger vision for what her work should create for her. More than that, she embraced the capacity of the bigger roles she should be going for. And that is what she did.

Another was struggling with a difficult team dynamic that had the possibility of derailing in her new job. Rather than just venting about the problems, we worked through strategies for understanding different perspectives and influencing without authority. The situation transformed, and she became known as someone who could bridge differences and deliver results in different situations.

These weren't magic solutions. They were the result of having space to think clearly about complex situations with someone who knew how to ask the right questions.

The investment in your thinking

Think about how much you invest in your technical skills, your industry knowledge, or your professional network. How much do you invest in improving the quality of your thinking?

Coaching is fundamentally an investment in your thinking. It's about developing your ability to see situations more clearly, make better decisions, and navigate complexity with greater confidence.

The business world is only getting more complex. The pace of change is accelerating. The challenges you'll face in the next five years will likely be different from anything you've dealt with before. In this environment, your ability to think clearly and adapt quickly isn't just nice to have – it's essential.

What to look for in coaching

Not all coaching is created equal. The best coaching relationships are built on trust, curiosity, and a genuine commitment to helping you achieve your goals.

Look for someone who listens more than they talk, asks questions that make you think differently, and challenges you in ways that feel supportive rather than confrontational. You want someone who can hold space for you to explore ideas without jumping to solutions, but who can also help you move from thinking to action.

The chemistry matters too. You need to feel comfortable being honest about your challenges and vulnerabilities. If you don't trust your coach, you won't get the full value of the relationship.

And it’s not an age thing. My spiritual director is closer to 70 years old. My business coach and executive mentor are within 5 years of my age. And they all mix well with me. Like yin and yang.

Your coaching opportunity

Here's what I know: you're already capable of more than you're currently expressing. You have insights that haven't been fully developed, solutions that haven't been explored, and potential that hasn't been unlocked.

The question isn't whether you need coaching. The question is: what becomes possible when you have the right person helping you think through your challenges and opportunities?

Maybe it's finally getting clarity on that career decision you've been wrestling with. Maybe it's developing the confidence to have conversations you've been avoiding. Maybe it's finding a way to balance competing demands without burning out.

Whatever it is for you, coaching can help you get there faster and with greater confidence than trying to figure it out alone.

The most successful people understand this. They don't see coaching as a sign of weakness – they see it as a competitive advantage. They recognize that investing in their ability to think clearly and act effectively is one of the highest-return investments they can make.

What would become possible if you had someone helping you think through your biggest challenges and opportunities?

Keep winning at work and in life.

Tola Akinsulire

Your Strategic Workplace Mentor

P.S.

If you're curious about my coaching, this month, I am opening 3 slots to The Workplace Multipliers Business School. This is where I work with a few committed professionals ready to level up their game at work.

Feel free to reach out by clicking reply to this email, and I’ll send you the details – no pressure, just an offer to explore what might be helpful.

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