The Late-Night Google Search

There's a version of Google that only exists after hours.

It's the searches that happen at 10pm, after the laptop should be closed. "How to think more strategically." "What do I need to do differently at this level?" "How to lead without all the answers."

These aren't the questions people ask out loud. They're the ones typed quietly into a search bar, hoping for some internet magic that makes the next day's work feel more manageable. Oftentimes, great employees get promoted because they're great at the work they do. Then suddenly, they're responsible for making sure other people are great at the work, too. 

There's rarely a formal guide for what comes next: employee coaching, how to answer questions when the future isn’t clear, and balancing supportive management with accountability. This isn't covered in the promotion conversation. 

Managers carry the weight of decisions they've never been trained to make. Executives are navigating growth while their teams look to them for answers, while they're still figuring it out. Leaders who are good at the work but exhausted by the people side of it.

I wrote before about what happens when leaders try to "protect the team" by bottling things up instead of asking for help. It doesn't work. The frustration spills out sideways, the team notices anyway, and the problems compound. Countless companies don't have the infrastructure to support leaders through this, so they end up second-guessing everything and then asking an AI chatbot about it at midnight. 

It doesn't have to work this way.

Growth Catalyst:

Sometimes what's needed isn't a new system or a policy overhaul; it's a thinking partner. 

That's what Growth Catalyst is. Strategic support and accountability for managers and executives navigating growth and change. Personalized coaching, a flexible engagement with monthly sessions that’s built specifically around the top-of-mind challenges. Not an AI-generated framework, no generic advice. Someone who knows the context, challenges the thinking, not just validates it, and holds the thread from one conversation to the next.

Executive Strategy Partner:

Sometimes the company doesn’t need a coach. It needs someone to build. 

That's where Executive Strategy Partner comes in. Collaboration with leadership through planning, operations review, and ongoing strategic advice. A People Ops leader without the cost of a full-time hire. I've written about what fractional work looks like when it's done right: the relationship building, the rapid diagnosis, the strategic dance of delivering value precisely when and how it's needed. Advising on the hard calls, building what's missing, and keeping the people side from becoming the bottleneck.

The bottom line:

The late-night Google searches and AI “relationships” don't have to be the only lifeline.

If any of this sounds familiar, whether as an individual leader or as a company watching managers struggle, I’ve got a flexible schedule to fill with the work I love doing most. Let's talk.