When the job gets bigger, working harder at what has always worked can only take you so far.
Executive coaching for capable senior leaders navigating greater responsibility, complexity or organisational change.
I work with senior leaders, and the organisations investing in them, when the demands of the role have changed and the way they operate needs to evolve with them.
Book a Leadership Transition ConversationFor senior leaders, CEOs and People/Talent leaders.
Credentials:
The role can change before anyone calls it a transition.
A senior leader takes on a bigger remit. Joins the executive team. Inherits a larger team. The business grows around them.
Often, they are still performing well. From the outside, there may be no obvious problem.
But the job starts to feel different.
More decisions come back to them. They spend too much time in the detail. Important strategic work gets pushed aside by delivery. Their team is capable, but still relies on them more than it should.
They find themselves checking more, solving more and staying closer to everything.
And despite putting more in, they can feel less on top of the job than they used to.
Nothing has necessarily gone wrong. The job may simply have changed before the way of working has changed with it.
The hidden cost of sustained pressure
Constantly "on", but never fully switched off?
Making decisions all day, but feeling mentally depleted?
Operating at a high level...but unsure how long it's sustainable?
Over time, sustained pressure can begin to affect:
- clarity
- energy
- decision-making
- communication
- consistency
- relationships
- long-term effectiveness
What got them here may still be working. That is what makes the transition difficult to see.
People tend to reach senior positions because they are good at what they do.
They solve difficult problems. They know the detail. They take responsibility. They maintain high standards. When something important needs sorting, people trust them to sort it.
Those behaviours are rewarded with greater responsibility.
So when the job gets bigger, it is entirely reasonable to rely on them even more.
For a while, that can work.
The problem is that the role may now require something different. More decisions need to happen without them. Other people need to take greater ownership. Their attention needs to move further ahead. Their contribution increasingly depends on what they enable across the organisation, not only what they personally deliver or solve.
This is why the transition can be easy to miss.
Performance may still look good.
The first warning sign can simply be how much more of the leader it now takes to produce it.
There are moments when this matters more.
A leader steps into a bigger role.
They have been promoted, joined the executive team or taken responsibility for a substantially larger part of the business. The expectations have changed, even if nobody has clearly defined how they need to operate differently.
The role gets bigger around them.
There may be no promotion at all. The organisation grows, the team expands, the stakes increase and decisions become more complex. The title stays the same, but the job does not.
They need to contribute differently.
They are expected to spend more time thinking strategically, influencing across the organisation or developing capability in others, but delivery and day-to-day decisions continue to consume their attention.
Too much still depends on them.
Their judgement, knowledge or involvement has become a reliable part of how the organisation gets things done. What once made them particularly valuable can start making it difficult for responsibility to move elsewhere.
The organisation wants to support the transition early.
This is someone the business believes in and wants to succeed. The aim is not to fix an underperforming leader. It is to help a capable one adapt before the transition becomes a performance problem.
The common thread is not underperformance. It is a meaningful change in what successful performance now requires.
My Role Has Changed
You've taken on greater responsibility, a bigger remit or a more senior role. Or the organisation has simply grown around you.
You're still delivering, but the job is asking something different of you now.
What does the role now need from you that it didn't need before?
[Book a Leadership Transition Conversation]
I'm Supporting a Senior Leader
You have a capable leader whose role has become materially bigger or more complex.
They're someone the organisation values and wants to succeed. The question isn't necessarily whether they can do the job.
What needs to change for them to perform well at the level of responsibility they now carry?
[Talk to Tom about a senior leader]"Working with Tom has helped me develop a much clearer strategy for my overall performance. I’m now working much more intelligently — adapting things based on my schedule, capacity and how I’m feeling, rather than just pushing through."
- Simon C
Partner & MD
FEATURED IN:
NICE TO MEET YOU
I'm Tom MacCormick
I help leaders and organisations sustain high-quality performance under pressure.
My background spans professional sport, executive coaching, physiology, behaviour change, and leadership development.
I work at the intersection of physiology, psychology, and organisational performance to help ambitious leaders sustain clarity, energy, decision-making, and leadership effectiveness over time.
Book a Strategy Call with TomHow it Works
Here is your three-step action plan:
1. Assess
Understand where pressure is constraining capacity and performance.
2. Identify
Pinpoint the behavioural, physiological, and organisational patterns shaping performance under pressure.
3. Extend
Build systems that support sustainable leadership capacity over time.
"Tom has had a significant impact on my energy, focus and overall performance. He simplifies complex challenges and turns them into clear, practical actions."
- Keith V
Managing Director
Executive Insight Tool
How Long Can You Stay at the Top?
The Performance Span Scorecard helps you:
-
Identify hidden constraints
-
Understand your current capacity
-
Find practical opportunities to improve performance sustainability
"I couldn't have asked for a better coach. I plan on working with Tom for as long as he will put up with me."
- Alex S
Founder & CEO
I help leaders sustain clear thinking, consistent performance, and good judgement under pressure — without sacrificing health, relationships, or long-term effectiveness.
My work combines physiology, psychology, behaviour change, and organisational systems to support sustainable leadership performance over time.
Most people don’t realise the pressure is affecting them until performance, clarity, or life outside work begins to suffer.
If you’d like to explore what might be shaping your current capacity and performance, leave your details below.
You're safe with me. I'll never spam you or sell your contact info.
Performance Span Scorecard
In under 5 minutes, you'll discover:
- Where your resilience is strongest
- Where hidden pressure may be eroding performance
- How to sustain clarity, energy, and effectiveness over time
You’ll receive a personalised insight report outlining key strengths, potential blind spots, and practical opportunities to improve performance sustainability.
No fluff. Just insight.
"Working with Tom has improved how I perform day-to-day."
- Phill L
Managing Director
"From day one I was seeing progress, achieving my goals in measurable ways."
- Robert P
CTO
Ready to perform at a high level without burning out?
Book a Strategy Call nowWhere My Clients Work
