The Restoration Journal

Richard sat down for his coaching session with a heavy heart. He had been avoiding a conversation he knew he could no longer put off. One of his right-hand men – someone who had walked with him for years and was foundational to the success of the company – was slipping. The signs were th...

Richard Blake sits at his kitchen table one evening, staring at the glow of his phone. A dozen messages flash across his business chat groups, but his mind is elsewhere. His thoughts are on Luke — his fifteen-year-old son. Richard loves his boy deeply. Yet if he is honest, their relationship i...

Richard Blake thought he needed a dramatic shift. When the restlessness crept in — the sleepless nights, the quiet resentment toward always being the provider, the distance in his marriage — he assumed he was on the brink of something big. Something had to change. He just didn’t kn...

Richard Blake lies wide awake.It’s 3:17am. He turns over carefully so he doesn’t wake Mariska. Her steady breathing is a kind of reassurance – but also a reminder. Of how far apart they’ve drifted. Of how alone he feels even when she’s lying beside him. He exhales.But t...

It’s been just over six months since I left corporate life behind. After more than two decades—26 years, in fact—inside large organisations, I took the leap into solopreneurship. I knew the move would be significant, but I hadn’t fully appreciated how deep the shift would run. Leaving corpor...

In today’s volatile business world, leadership is not just a role — it’s a pressure cooker. And for many male executives in midlife, the pressure is not only external. It’s internal. You’re carrying the weight of business responsibility, family obligations, ageing paren...

For years, I lived by "the rules": high-powered job, luxurious lifestyle, upmarket family neighbourhood. But as I hit midlife, I began to feel a nagging emptiness, like something was missing. For many men in leadership, midlife prompts unsettling questions. Renowned psychologist Erik Erikson identif...

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson 🥇 For many men in leadership, midlife comes with a reckoning. You’ve followed the script - built a successful career, raised a family...

As the year draws to a close, I’m reminded of the excitement I used to feel - leaving the pressures of work behind. Disconnecting from projects, budgets and deliverables, even for a few short weeks, felt like a rare gift 🎁 . It was a time to mend family relationships strained by life&#...

Some words have a way of sticking with us. Over the past two weeks, I’ve felt this passage echo through my own thoughts, and I’ve even had the privilege of sharing it with clients. Maybe this is exactly what needs to be heard right now? 💡 The Man in the Arena – Theodore Roo...

Richard Blake had built ThriveWorks from scratch — a business born from purpose.He wanted to help companies grow through technology that made people’s work simpler, more human, more connected. But somewhere along the way, that light dimmed. Deadlines replaced dreams.KPIs replaced convers...

Richard Blake had a nagging sense something was off.On paper, his company was steady — the team was busy, deadlines were met, and clients were served. But as he walked the corridors, he couldn’t shake the thought: “Everyone’s working hard… so why does it feel like the e...

Richard Blake found himself reflecting on the quiet pride he felt in his team.They weren’t lagging behind on AI like so many others.They had access to the tools. They had the budget. They had his full support — even active encouragement — to explore, test, implement. So when the in...

A 2023 study by IBM Institute for Business Value should stop every business leader in their tracks: Only 6% of leaders feel “very prepared” for the pace of change. Let that land. This isn't an opinion or a passing trend. It's data – hard, recent, and global. Which means 94% of exec...

Author’s NoteRichard Blake isn’t real — but his story is.He’s a composite of the founders, managing directors, and CEOs I’ve worked with over the years — including leaders of teams I’ve engaged with through team coaching. Some of his doubts are also drawn fr...

📌 The Good: Why Bureaucracy Matters Consistency & fairnessPolicies, roles and standards ensure equitable treatment—crucial in large or regulated organisations. A meta-analysis of 80 quantitative studies (648 effect sizes) concluded that representative bureaucracy generally improves...

🔑 “I used to think our team was peaceful, but now I realise we were just avoiding the hard conversations.” Fear of conflict within teams manifests as a culture of avoidance. Teams reluctant to engage in tough conversations fail to address critical challenges, leading to subpar de...

📢 "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion it has taken place." – George Bernard Shaw I often hear leaders lament how their teams don’t listen, fail to act as expected, or struggle to stay aligned. George Bernard Shaw’s words couldn’t ring more tru...

High-performing teams need more than talent, resources, & strategy. What separates truly effective teams is a secret ingredient - shared purpose - the unifying force aligning individuals beyond annual targets. Yet, many teams overlook the power of purpose, mistakenly focusing on business goals, ...

In rowing, success isn’t just about stamina or strength - it’s about clarity, respect, and alignment. No role is greater or lesser; without each person contributing effectively, the boat doesn’t move forward. Synchronisation and mutual respect ensure energy isn’t wasted, and ...