Think better. Lead better.

Dear Reader

I recently told a very senior client to “jiggle the system.”

He’s in a different time zone.

So that means coaching him requires me to be up at an hour that normally belongs to bakers and overachievers.

Words were not flowing like they usually do. Sentences were… um... negotiable.

So when he shared a challenge that was interfering with his plans to finish a ground-breaking business book, start a PhD, and create more value in his business in just three days a week instead of the usual five, I told him straight: “You might just need to jiggle the system.”

We both laughed.

And then I stopped laughing. Because I meant it.

Sometimes if you want a different result, you don't need to white knuckle your way through the current circumstances.

And you also don't need to berate yourself for a "lack of discipline" if a system or routine isn't working for you.

You probably just need a jiggle.

Here's what I see a lot:

Senior leaders are brilliant at adding effort.

→ More thinking.

→ More hours.

→ More optimisation.

→ More “let’s push through.”

What we’re less good at is experimenting with small structural shifts or "changing the circumstances".

We try to out-discipline a design problem.

And very often performance problems are actually design, system or circumstance problems.

Your brain, your energy, your habits, your team rhythms, your calendar architecture.

They are ALL systems.

And systems respond better to adjustments than to self-criticism.

Crazy, I know!

Neuroscience backs this up. The brain runs on prediction and pattern. It automates what is repeated.

If your current routine produces a certain cognitive and emotional state, repeating it harder will simply produce that same state more efficiently.

But... If you want a different state or outcome, you need to change the pattern.

You jiggle it.

The breakfast rebellion

Here’s my mildly rebellious example.

I noticed something predictable with my afternoon eating patterns.

Around mid-afternoon, I wanted something sweet. Not desperately. Just… suggestively.

A little whisper of “perhaps a box of Lindt chocolate balls would solve this strategic issue.”

Now, I could have interpreted that as a "lack-of-willpower" issue.

And I could have run a full-blown internal TED Talk about how embarrassing it is that I apparently can’t resist the siren call of something sweet.

Instead, I jiggled the system.

I swapped my meals.

Lunch for breakfast. Breakfast for lunch.

So now my first meal is high protein, high fibre, properly savoury. It keeps me steady through early calls, including the time-zone-hopping ones where my vocabulary is still buffering.

Then at lunch, I have what used to be breakfast. Slightly sweeter, lighter, still balanced.

The result?

• More stable energy in the mornings
• Less sugar-hunting in the afternoons
• Insufferably smug Terez all day long

I didn’t “try harder.” I just jiggled the system.

Tiny jiggle. Big return.

Where this matters in leadership

Most executives attempt to solve output problems at the output level.

• Low team ownership? → Push accountability harder. (and nothing builds ownership like quiet resentment*)
• Decision fatigue? → Add more data and process. (because your brain wasn’t tired enough*)
• Lack of strategic thinking time? → Work longer. (and then wonder why you can't think strategically*)

*yes, sarcasm

But what if the smarter move is to jiggle the system?

Jiggling the system is a form of radical adaptability.

It says:

“I am not broken. The design might be.”

This protects your confidence. It also increases agency.

Psychologically, this shifts you from self-blame to experimentation. And experimentation is powerful because it lowers the emotional stakes.

You are not making a life decision. You are running a test.

Leaders who treat their routines, communication patterns, and decision processes as adjustable systems outperform those who treat them as fixed traits.

Not because they work harder. Because they adapt faster.

And in uncertain environments, adaptability beats intensity. Always.

A simple challenge

Pick one result you are not happy with this week.

Not your whole life. Just one friction point.

Then ask:

• What is the current system producing this?
• Where could I shift timing, order, environment, or input?
• What is the smallest possible jiggle I could test for 7 days?

You might be surprised how often the breakthrough was hiding in the architecture, not your effort.

Leadership is not always about bold reinvention.

Sometimes it is about eating your lunch for breakfast and watching your brain thank you quietly at 4pm.

And yes, occasionally using deeply technical terminology like “jiggle the system” in a board-level conversation.

It works.

Your executive coach,

Terez

P.S. If you are currently trying to solve a structural problem with sheer willpower, I regret to inform you that willpower is a limited resource. It sits somewhere between printer ink and hotel shampoo. The system, however, is endlessly adjustable. Try the jiggle before you try the self-lecture.

P.P.S. If you’re thinking, “Surely executive coaching is more serious than this?” Executive coaching with me tends to feel energising rather than heavy. We move quickly, we test ideas, we jiggle, we laugh. Then six months later you realise you’re operating at a completely different level. Email me or if you're ready. Or book a call if you want to hear more.

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