<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[stepBYstef Coaching]]></title><description><![CDATA[Professional online leadership coaching for managers and professionals seeking clarity, balance, and sustainable success.
]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.net/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:58:29 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.stepbystef.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Fake till you make it at work is only half right - Who should you be at work?]]></title><description><![CDATA[You've heard it a thousand times: fake it till you make it. Turns out that's not quite a myth and not quite true either, it's two different things wearing the same five words, and only one of them actually delivers. Here's the research on which half to trust, and which half is quietly draining you.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/fake-till-you-make-it-is-only-half-right-who-should-you-be-at-work</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3bf84f99dee7fba57ab408</guid><category><![CDATA[First-Time Managers]]></category><category><![CDATA[Facets of Leadership]]></category><pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 16:23:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/582331_3439204d45e34796b41fd6e5f4d8a26d~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to say No to Your Boss Professionally And Just Do the Job You Signed Up For]]></title><description><![CDATA[Here's how to say no to your boss when "extra mile" quietly turned into the job — task creep, after-hours pings, and managers who vanish the moment things get hard - stepBYstef]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/how-to-say-no-to-your-boss-professionally</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a3946ac72415ea9e53a7ebc</guid><category><![CDATA[How to say NO to your boss]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2026 15:05:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/582331_9fe1e1adc0bf4a1e9f6681b666d33b26~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[How to say No to Your Boss When You're Still Chasing the Promotion]]></title><description><![CDATA[Somewhere along the way, "going the extra mile" stopped being about the job. Here's how to say no to your boss without torching the promotion you actually earned.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/how-to-say-no-to-your-boss-when-you-re-still-chasing-the-promotion</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a39383087c293c189bcbe06</guid><category><![CDATA[How to say NO to your boss]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2026 14:10:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/582331_2b6113e9db144995a0a668a06e460bfb~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I Don't Want to Be the Bad Guy]]></title><description><![CDATA[Nobody wants to be the bad guy. But being liked is not the only thing that matters. And the people around you notice before you do.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/i-dont-want-to-be-the-bad-guy</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a25b8091f44c606b37c4875</guid><category><![CDATA[Facets of Leadership]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 07 Jun 2026 19:40:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_a24e4b90a7e841fc953f72b81cd3fc67~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Workplace Conflict Doesn't Start With People. It Starts With Assumptions.]]></title><description><![CDATA[After hundreds of mediations, I found a pattern. One question, asked the right way, deflated more conflicts than any intervention I ever tried. Most of them didn't start with bad people or bad intentions. They started with an assumption nobody had thought to check.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/workplace-conflict</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a255b29a4c7f212bae7cc97</guid><category><![CDATA[Facets of Leadership]]></category><pubDate>Sun, 07 Jun 2026 15:25:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_add41d056f974341a232dae6f010b2f7~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What Are Tough Cookies Made Of And Why They Belong in the Recipe Book for Leaders]]></title><description><![CDATA[You know that one person on the team nobody messes with — but everybody trusts completely? and they are rarely the boss? Turns out they are a key ingredient. And there is a recipe for them - the tough cookie.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/recipe-book-for-leaders-tough-cookies</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a23e072861147e38396e274</guid><pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2026 10:11:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/582331_5ca6d2e371b04b1abe79421894390a86~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Affinity Bias in Leadership and Life - A Simple Mind Trick Disguised as Safe Gut Feeling]]></title><description><![CDATA[You trust your gut. Your gut says this person is excellent. But what if your gut is actually remembering someone else entirely? Affinity bias is the mind trick nobody warns you about — and it is running in all of us, all of the time.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/affinity-bias-in-leadership</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a22ac4389165fe3fa8ca787</guid><pubDate>Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:29:38 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/582331_abc412539526481c903e876c3a113ad1~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Walk the Talk Leadership— Behavioral Integrity and the Words-Actions Gap]]></title><description><![CDATA[Words tell you what someone wants you to believe. Actions tell you what they actually believe. The gap between the two is where almost everything important is hiding.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/walk-the-talk-leadership</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a1ae5d5517617e390adde15</guid><category><![CDATA[Facets of Leadership]]></category><pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2026 13:40:44 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/582331_1cb6e5673c4b4f4ba5969f4e4ff648ab~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_320,h_260,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Does Keeping Busy Actually Help Take Your Mind Off Things? Dealing with the Morning Ambush]]></title><description><![CDATA[Keeping busy helps. Until the morning comes. A coach explains the neuroscience behind the morning ambush and what genuinely moves the process forward.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/does-keeping-busy-actually-help-take-your-mind-off-things-dealing-with-the-morning-ambush</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a195cca2cf7d1d449f18583</guid><pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 10:55:18 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_d63783e2d9e643eb80d0a1e5a5be6563~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[One Person, Two Selves: Leadership Identity and the Gap Between Your Professional and Personal Self]]></title><description><![CDATA[Your leadership identity is built deliberately. Your personal self is left to chance. That gap decides more than you think.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/leadership-identity</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a15d246c51194f8f20bcb2d</guid><category><![CDATA[Facets of Leadership]]></category><pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 17:44:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/582331_e7fb22ff7444435ebffd7e274ce9964e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_683,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Leader's First Aid Kit — Quick Support for Leaders Who Haven't Figured It Out Yet]]></title><description><![CDATA[You just got promoted and nobody handed you a manual. Or something that used to work has stopped working. Either way, you need support — and you need it to be practical, not theoretical.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/the-leader-s-first-aid-kit-quick-support-for-leaders-who-haven-t-figured-it-out-yet</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a01ceb512afbdb2d9763043</guid><pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 12:51:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_a51f82e0782b4042a97012e9977f422b~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Managing People Is Its Own Job — and Nobody Warned You]]></title><description><![CDATA[You were good at your job. That's why you got promoted. But managing people is a completely different job — and the hardest part isn't them. It's learning to manage yourself first.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/managing-people</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a01c5900d21360dca452213</guid><category><![CDATA[First-Time Managers]]></category><pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 12:21:41 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/207e6f6e5d69464d9d76ae9cc447248f.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[First and ALWAYS Human — Why Honoring Human Limits Makes You a Better Leader]]></title><description><![CDATA[Modern culture celebrates endless productivity. But every human system — biological, emotional, cognitive — has limits. Respecting those limits is what makes leadership sustainable, clear-thinking, and real.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/better-leader</link><guid isPermaLink="false">685309b905d47c18c468e5c8</guid><pubDate>Sat, 05 Jul 2025 00:25:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/fc3d00cc412b4baf98d14c0c7c9382f7.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What IS...]]></title><description><![CDATA[Listening Beyond the Noise

So you can hear yourself  — not just your responsibilities, your role, or the noise around you, what isn't yet, and what might not be?]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/what-is</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6853138891fef63801b1f6b9</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Jul 2025 00:26:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_9330cf3b7db84a22b3b48bf4ca7048cd~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Rome Wasn't Built in a Day — step by step to becoming a good leader]]></title><description><![CDATA[Rome wasn’t built in a day — and neither are real change and personal growth. A reflection on patience, practice, and the time it takes to transform beliefs, habits, and mindset.]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/becoming-a-good-leader</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68531cb30daa1dfa62003282</guid><pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2025 20:23:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/c06c53d350fc4ee8ae983c17fdc851ae.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Midwifery, the Socratic Method and the Origins of Coaching]]></title><description><![CDATA[Around 2,500 years ago, in Ancient Greece, humans were doing so much more than just surviving.    It was a culture of extraordinary cohesion — a world where philosophy, religion, politics, art, science, and civic life were woven into a single, elegant worldview that stood on its own. The gods and myths explained the world and taught morality.    And for the first time in history, democracy gave citizens a voice in their own governance. It was a society that believed it had figured out how the...]]></description><link>https://www.stepbystef.com/post/midwifery-the-socratic-method-origins-of-coaching</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6859bacb91bd73bf185215ef</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:24:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11062b_9e9b53d1ff91418fbe32cd372a05293e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>stepBYstef</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>