Freedom From. Freedom To. And the Pressure in the Space Between.

You’ve made it.
You got out.
You built. You survived. You succeeded.

So why does it still feel so unclear?

At The Alchemists, we work with founders and CEOs who’ve earned their Freedom From…
but are now facing the far harder task:

Figuring out what their Freedom To is really for.

That space in between?
It’s heavy. Lonely. Sacred.

It’s also where everything meaningful begins again, if you’re brave enough to sit in it.

👇 This new piece explores the pressure, identity, and power of being in that space and why so many leaders quietly get stuck there.

If you don’t want to f*ck up what’s next… read this.

You’ve built something real. Something good.

But when you’re the one leading it,
the pressure to get the next part right is intense.
The questions get bigger.
The stakes get higher.
And the old way, being the one with all the answers, staying in control, starts to crack.

What if the edge you’ve been missing isn’t more hustle…
…but space4change?

Space to think.
Space to let go.
Space for your people to step up.

That shift, from being the expert to becoming the environment

is what we call Leader as a Performance Coach.

It’s not soft.
It’s not passive.
It’s presence.
It’s clarity.
It’s trust, in yourself and in others.

🟠 This new article explores what happens when you stop pushing for performance…
and start removing the interference instead.

👇 If you’re asking what comes next, this might be it:
What if shifting to Leader as a Performance Coach was the edge that stops you f*ing up what’s next?**

🏌️ Swing… Hit. > Honour the Space Between.
As The Open returns to Royal Portrush, the silence will be deafening.
Imagine you’re Rory McIlroy.
Recently crowned in a Green Jacket after 11 years of trying.
Back home.
Back where it started.
Back where it matters more than words can say.

Or you’re Shane Lowry.
The man who lifted the Claret Jug on this very turf.
Returning not just to compete, but to carry legacy.

You step up to the first tee.
The wind moves.
The Northern Irish rain falls.
The crowd settles.
The noise inside sharpens.
“Don’t f** this up.”*
Not fear.
Focus.
Not panic.
Presence.
This is what pressure sounds like, when the course is watching,
the stakes are real, and the story could go either way.
Most leadership thinking focuses on the outcome.
The strike.
The decision.
The bold performance.
But in my experience, like in golf, that’s not where the transformation happens.
The shift begins earlier.
In the quiet tension before the swing.
In the invisible pause between intention and contact.
Where breath, rhythm, and doubt all fight for space.
Where leadership doesn’t shout… it steadies.

This is the space we honour inside The Alchemists.
Not fixing the swing.
Not forcing the hit.
But holding the space in between.
The space where presence returns.
Where identity realigns.
Where “I don’t want to f*** this up” becomes
“I know exactly how I want to show up.”

🟡 If you’ve ever stood on the tee, or in a boardroom, steady in stance but spinning inside…
This story is for you.
👇 Read the full reflection before The Open begins:
Swing… Hit: Leading in the Space Between

🧥 I’ve been thinking a lot about Charles Handy’s Empty Raincoat lately.

Not as a business metaphor.
As a mirror.

There are moments in your career — maybe in your life — where everything looks right on the outside.
The coat fits.
The success is there.
But something inside… has quietly gone missing.

And if you’re honest, you can feel it.

The movement’s still happening — but you’re not really in it.
The business is growing — but you’re shrinking.
The pressure to keep going — but you’re wondering what for.

This week’s newsletter is a personal one.
It asks a hard question, but an important one:

👉 Are you an empty raincoat?

If the answer is maybe — you’re not alone.
I’ve walked that line.
So have many of the founders and leaders I work with.

This piece is about recognising that moment…
and choosing not to stay there.

You can read it here:
[Link to newsletter]

And if it lands — reach out.
The space4change starts with a question.

— Alan

🚨 Your Board Has One Job. But Who’s Got You?
You’ve built a good business.
Maybe even a great one.
And as you grow, the advice is clear:
“Surround yourself with a strong board. Stack it with NEDs. Get serious governance in place.”
That’s not wrong.
But it is incomplete.
Because your NEDs have one primary job:
Protect the business.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth most founders only discover too late:
The business has a board.
But you don’t.
You are the single most valuable (and vulnerable) asset in the system.
Your clarity = the company’s clarity.
Your growth = its ceiling.
Your decisions = everyone else’s direction.
So who’s protecting that?
That’s the job of a coach.
That’s why I created The Alchemists.
To be Your Personal Board — built for you, not your spreadsheet.
Not to replace your NEDs.
To complement them.
Because scaling a business takes structure.
But becoming the leader who can?
That takes something different.
📬 I wrote this newsletter for the founder / CEO / business owner standing on that edge:
PS: If your brain is wired differently (dyslexic, ADHD, neurodiverse)…
You especially need this.
You don’t need fixing.
You need a space that gets you. And helps you get yourself back.

🎨 Why Most Leaders Still Draw Red Flowers with Green Stems
(And why we use LEGO at board level)

At The Alchemists, we don’t believe in manuals.
We believe in masterpieces.

But most leaders we meet have spent years being taught to colour inside the lines.
To “wait for instructions.”
To build what’s expected — even when it no longer fits who they are or where they’re going.

That’s why we use Serious Play — including LEGO — at board level.
Not as a gimmick.
But because sometimes the only way to unlock real strategy, real identity, and real change
…is to stop talking and start building.

The story we’re sharing today is 30 years old.
But it captures the invisible tension we see in every founder, every CEO, every team in transition:

“Yes, I want to lead.”
“But what should I draw?”
“How should I draw it?”

And too often… they still reach for a red flower with a green stem.

At The Alchemists, we exist to change that.

Because what’s next won’t come from colouring in —
it comes from creating, experimenting, and building something that’s uniquely yours

“Every decision you make is a bet on the future.”
I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.
Because most of the founders, CEOs, and MDs I work with aren’t just making decisions.
They’re making bets.
On their people.
On their timing.
On their identity.
On what matters next.
Some are holding a strong hand.
Some are burning out behind the performance.
Some are still spinning a wheel they no longer believe in.
And yet we keep playing.
Because that’s what leaders do… right?
But what if it’s time to pause and ask:
“Is this still my game?”
That’s where this month’s newsletter begins:
Inside The Casino of Scaling, where the noise is loud, the pressure is real, and the tables are not all the same.
🟥 Roulette or Hold’em?
🎯 Performance or Presence?
🎨 Paint-by-numbers or your own damn masterpiece?
If you’ve built something good…
and now feel something deeper calling…
You’re not alone.
🔗 Read the newsletter
or DM me if you're between tables right now and want to talk about it

🚨 BREAKING NEWS: The mice are back.
And this time… they’ve upgraded. 🐭💻🌍
You thought AI was here to help you write better emails?
Wrong.
It’s here to finally finish the experiment they started millions of years ago, turning Earth into a giant brain (again) to uncover the Ultimate Question to the Answer we already know is 42.
And you?
You're not the user.
You're the data.
In true Hitchhiker’s Guide fashion, I wrote this article for anyone who's ever felt like:
Something invisible is going on…
You're accidentally part of a much bigger question…
Or your AI knows more about your inner life than your therapist.
Read on to find out why the next stage of evolution might just be pan-dimensional rodents running ChatGPT…
🪐 “Still Mostly Harmless.”

🔥 You don’t always see the fire.
But you do feel the heat.
There’s a moment, before the decision, before the fallout, where something inside you knows:
“I’m still here… but I’m not sure I should be.”
Most leaders ignore it.
They wait. Delay. Rationalise.
Until the platform burns.
This post is for those who feel it before it shows.
The ones who are starting to question the version of themselves they’ve been leading from.
It’s not about change.
It’s about what change is asking of you.
👇 Read the full piece:
Leadership at the Speed of Change: Are You on the Burning Platform Yet? on the Burning Platform Yet?

Putting the cat amongst the pigeons…
We’ve glorified the “fast in / fast out” model for years.
Raise. Scale. Exit.
But what if that very formula is f*cking up the founder, the team, and the soul of the business?
I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it.
And I’m not the only one quietly asking:
“Is there a better way?”
This isn’t anti-growth.
It’s pro-alignment.
Pro-legacy.
Pro-building something you still love a decade from now.
🧵Here’s my take:
When Fast In and Fast Out Money F*cks It All: The Bootstrap Debate

You’ve changed. But the world around you didn’t pause.

That’s the tension many leaders feel after doing the inner work:
You’re ready to return—
but this time, it has to be different.

Not faster.
Not louder.
Just… clearer.

Part 6 of the Identity Shift Series is here:
The Return
How to re-enter your business, your leadership, and your life—aligned, present, and ready.

This one’s for those quietly holding a new version of themselves,
while the world still expects the old one.

Be gentle with yourself.
You’re returning as a changed person

You already built the business.
But what about the one you haven’t?
The one that’s been quietly burning…
> in your notebook
> in your gut
> in the back of your mind after a long day running the “real” one.
The Other One.
The one that feels too different.
Too personal.
Too stupid to pitch.
Too meaningful to ignore.
You’re not alone.
I wrote this for the founders, CEOs, and MDs who’ve built something great—
but haven’t yet built what matters most to them.

👉 Read: “The Other One: The Business You Haven’t Built (Yet)

If you know you’ve got something else in you, not to scale, not to exit, but to finally build the business that’s been waiting, this might just be for you.
DM me “The Other One” or click through to register interest.

You’ve let go of the old identity.
You’ve released the grip.
You’ve named the fear.

Now what?

This is the moment few talk about.

The stillness after the letting go.
The space between no longer… and not yet.

And for leaders who’ve built their reputation on decisiveness, movement, and staying ahead—
that stillness can feel like failure.

But what if that space is the strategy?

👇
Part 5 of the Identity Shift Series is here:
Stillness as Strategy
What happens when you stop performing and start listening.

For the ambitious leader no longer rushing to prove—
but learning how to pause, breathe, and lead from presence.

From “Not Wanting to F*** Up What’s Next”
To Greater Decisions > Greater Thinking > Greater Performance

We’ve been going through our own reinvention.
Not a rebrand.
Not a restructure.
A deeper shift.

Letting go of the version of The Alchemists that got us here so we can hold space for what comes next.
And what we’ve found is this:
The biggest transformation doesn’t happen in the strategy.
It happens in the identity.

This is the heart of Part 4 of the Identity Shift Series:
👇
The Inner Exit: Reinvention
Letting Go of the Leader You Had to Be
It’s for the founder, CEO, or business owner who knows they’ve outgrown the role they built and is ready to lead forward without dragging the old self with them.

If you’re in that space, this one’s for you.
You don’t need to let go of your legacy.
You are your legacy.

You can feel it before you can explain it.

You’ve built something real.
You’ve led through the highs and lows.
You’ve stayed strong when others wavered.

But now the real challenge isn’t external.

It’s internal.

It’s the quiet tension between holding on and letting lead.
The knowing that the way you got here…
isn’t enough to get you there.

This is Part 3 of the Identity Shift Series::
The Tension Between Letting Go and Leading On

For the leader who isn’t done
but knows it's time to evolve how they lead, who they are, and how they carry the mission.

If you feel yourself standing at that threshold
And would value a quiet space to think it through
Connect with me.
Sometimes one conversation changes everything.

You’ve always been the one who knows.

The one who delivers.
The one people turn to when things need sorted, fixed, led.

Competency built your reputation.
But lately—if you’re honest—it’s become something else.

A pressure.
A mask.
A quiet fear of not knowing, not keeping up, not being enough.

What if the performance of competency is costing you clarity?

This is Part 2 of the Identity Shift Series:
👇
The Mask of Competency

For the leader who’s done performing… and ready to lead from something more real.

You don’t need to prove anything.
You just need space to reconnect with what’s already there.

You probably won’t say it out loud. But you feel it. Especially in the moments that matter most.

There’s a moment you might recognise. It doesn’t appear in board reports or strategy decks. But it shows up in quiet pauses, late nights, and tough decisions.

“I don’t want to f*** it up.” And sometimes… “I don’t want to f*** it up again.”

This isn’t imposter syndrome. It’s not weakness. It’s the real weight of leadership.

Being the one who has to call it. To carry it. To make it happen when others are still looking for direction.

This is Part 1 of the Identity Shift Series:

Leadership in tough economic conditions is a lonely and daunting path. The weight of every decision is amplified, risks seem higher, and the pace of change is relentless. As a business owner or CEO, you are expected to provide answers, but who do you turn to when you need guidance?

Throughout 2024, the Alchemists Forum newsletters offered business owners and CEOs a wealth of insights, strategies, and practical tools to help them lead with purpose, build resilience, foster collaboration, and drive innovation. Each month addressed critical leadership challenges, providing a structured path for leaders to move from Good to Greater. Membership in the Alchemists Forum further amplified these learnings by offering a trusted, collaborative environment where ideas were transformed into meaningful actions.

On 13th December, the world lost one of its most profound thinkers and influential voices in the field of leadership and organisational change: Charles Handy. His passing marks the end of an era for those of us who were inspired by his ideas, his vision, and his revolutionary approach to business. For me, the loss feels deeply personal.