Elfried's Recent LinkedIn Posts

Toxic bosses love hiring people pleasers. Why? Because they don’t push back. They don’t set boundaries. They overwork, over-deliver, and stay quiet while being undervalued. That’s not coincidence. That’s control. Weak leaders don’t want challenge. They want compliance. They want people who say “yes” to everything… even when it costs them their energy, confidence and self-worth. And if you’re not careful, you’ll call it “opportunity” when it’s actually exploitation. Here’s the truth: Being liked isn’t power. Being respected is. And respect doesn’t come from pleasing everyone. It comes from standards, boundaries, and knowing when to say no. If you’re a people pleaser, toxic leaders will see you as easy labour. And if you’re a leader hiring people who won’t challenge you… you’re not building a team. You’re building control. Real leaders want thinkers. People who question. People who speak up. People with backbone. Because growth doesn’t come from agreement. It comes from truth. So remember: Protect your voice. Protect your time. Protect your value. The moment you stop trying to please everyone is the moment you stop being easy to exploit. Credit: Stefanie Costi

Read that quote again. Most people kill their biggest dreams before they even start. Not because the dream is impossible. Because saying it out loud sounds crazy. I’ve been there. On paper? I was winning. In reality? I was suffocating. Walking away sounded completely irrational to everyone around me. To me, staying was the real insanity. That gap right there? That’s exactly where every real entrepreneur lives. But most people never cross it. They wait for the idea to feel safer. They wait for permission. They wait for the "perfect time." Spoiler alert: The perfect time is a myth. Here is what I know for sure: 1/ Chase the embarrassment. If your dream makes you sweat a little when you say it in a crowded room? That’s the one worth chasing. 2/ Redefine "crazy." Crazy is just what conviction looks like before the world sees the proof. 3/ Pick your hard. The ones who make it didn’t wait for certainty. They just realized the pain of staying stuck was way worse than the risk of jumping. 4/ Ignore the gallery. Your vision doesn’t need to make sense to the crowd. It only needs to make sense to you. Like the quote says: The entire point of life is to take chances on dreams that seem crazy to most, but feel like destiny to you. So, look at your LinkedIn profile right now. Does it reflect the person you used to be or the visionary you’re becoming? Time to fix that.

"We’re a family." 🚩 It’s one of the most dangerous phrases in business. Families are for life; businesses are for a season. When leaders use "family" language, they often inadvertently weaponise loyalty to bypass boundaries. The Reality Check: For Employees: Your company is a platform, not an identity. A business can value you today and replace you tomorrow. Protect your mental health and your long-term goals. No one else will. For Leaders: Stop using "loyalty" as a tool to squeeze more out of your team. Kindness isn’t a "family" vibe; kindness is clarity. The New Contract: Give value. Get value. Maintain the line. Healthy workplaces aren't built on fantasies; they are built on transparent exchanges and mutual respect. Don’t hand your entire identity to an organisation. Build your future while you build their business. (Credit: John Castro)

Running a company teaches you this very quickly: Alignment isn’t a meeting. It’s a system. You can have: the best sales team the smartest marketers the cleanest strategy …but if everyone is working from a slightly different version of reality, it breaks. I’ve seen it happen over and over. Sales thinks an account is “active.” Marketing thinks it’s “net new.” RevOps is somewhere in between trying to piece it together. And ZoomInfo is where it all comes together. The fix isn’t another sync call. It’s shared context. That’s what I like about tools like GTM Studio. It creates one place where: CRM data account intelligence real-time signals all come together. So instead of debating what’s happening… Teams can focus on what to do next. Because the fastest growing companies aren’t the ones with the most data. They’re the ones where everyone is moving in the same direction, at the same time, with the same understanding. That’s where things compound. Try it here: https://lnkd.in/eAUNyAxA

Adobe Creator Live absolutely smashed it 🔥 They came to London and took over. The room was full of the best creators in the country. Energy high. Ideas flowing. Real community. Big respect to Jordan Schwarzenberger , Sophie Miller, Ama Hill and everyone else who pulled up and made a bang. I’ve had the chance to collaborate with Adobe both as a creator and through Butterfly Effect and what’s clear is this: they’re taking community seriously. A real force. And this is just the beginning. Community first. Always.

The latest episode of Bottleneck Podcast with June Sarpong OBE was a masterclass. Rory Sutherland and I spoke with June about the power of visibility, the art of reinvention, and why "culture add" beats "culture fit" every single time. From her start at 16 to becoming a global voice in leadership, June knows exactly what it takes to stay curious and move the needle. Don’t miss it!

We are quick to criticise and slow to praise. Most of us are walking around with a massive backlog of unspoken appreciation. We think the compliment. We feel the gratitude. But we gatekeep the words. The friction? We fear the 0.01% chance of "awkwardness" more than we value the 99.9% chance of impact. We let a split second of social hesitation kill a potential moment of massive value. The "Tell Them" Protocol: Think they did a great job? Tell them. Inspired by their work? Tell them. Appreciate their energy? Tell them. In an attention economy, your appreciation is a high-value currency. Don't hoard it. Feedback isn't just for fixing what's broken. It's for fueling what's working. Clear the backlog. Say the words. It’s not just "nice" it’s effective. Credit💡Colby Kultgen

Solitude is the ultimate filter for your standards.

Someone built a LinkedIn Translate tool. I’m DEAD 😂😅

The business world isn’t sunshine and rainbows. There are brilliant, generous people.
And there are wolves in sheep’s clothing. People who will take credit for your work.
Break promises. 
Smile in meetings and undermine you in private. When you experience enough of that, something dangerous starts to happen. You begin to change. You start thinking:
Why should I help anyone?
Why should I share opportunities?
Why should I be generous when no one was generous to me? This is the moment most people don’t talk about. Because this is where the line between hero and villain is drawn. Both are born from the same pain. One says:
“No one else should have to go through what I went through.” The other says:
“If I suffered, everyone else should too.” Same origin.
Different choice. The easiest thing in the world is to let bad people lower your standards.
 To become colder. Harder. More cynical. But the real discipline is refusing to let them change who you are. Not being naïve.
Not being weak.
But choosing to stay principled anyway. You can be kind and sharp.
Generous and strategic.
Trusting and observant. Protect your boundaries.
Learn from betrayal. 
But never let someone else's darkness become your operating system. Because the moment you do, they win twice. First when they wronged you. 
Second when they turned you into them. So don’t be evil. Be better. 
And keep building in a way that makes the world slightly less brutal for the people coming after you. Credit: Dr. Brigette Hyacinth