Many leaders reach a point in their career where something feels slightly "off" — even when, on paper, everything looks successful. In this episode, Gerrit Pelzer shares his personal professional journey: from studying chemistry and earning a PhD, through senior leadership roles in the chemical industry (including several years as an expat in Thailand), to eventually becoming an executive coach.

Rather than telling a story for its own sake, this conversation uses Gerrit's journey as a case study for leadership reflection. Together, Martin and Gerrit explore what leaders can learn from moments of dissonance, gradual realization, and the courage to take inventory when a role no longer feels aligned.

Key themes explored in this episode include:

• Why career change is rarely driven by a single "aha moment," but by many small signals that form a bigger picture over time
• The difference between being competent at a job and feeling genuinely fulfilled by it
• How comfort, habit, and external success can quietly become a prison
• The importance of listening to recurring patterns: what people come to you for, what you're naturally good at, and where your energy goes
• Why reflection — not action — is often what senior leaders need most

The episode also revisits Daniel H. Pink’s concept of motivation, focusing on autonomy, mastery, and purpose, and how these factors played out very differently in Gerrit's corporate career versus his work as a coach. (For a deeper dive, listen to our earlier episode on motivation at work.)

If you sense that something in your professional life may need adjustment — without necessarily knowing what — the episode offers practical reflection questions and structured ways to explore next steps. One of these is the GAPS Grid, a tool frequently used in coaching to examine passion, abilities, and how others perceive your strengths. (We explore the GAPS Grid in detail in a dedicated earlier episode.)

This episode is especially relevant for senior leaders who:

• Feel successful but not fully engaged
• Are questioning long-held career assumptions
• Want to reflect more deeply on alignment, purpose, and direction
• Are considering change — but are unsure how to come to a clear and well-founded decision

Rather than offering quick answers, the conversation invites you to slow down, reflect honestly, and face questions head-on — trusting that clarity often emerges through exploration over time.

About Second Crack
More information about us and our work is available on our website: secondcrackleadership.com. Contact us now to explore how we can support your leadership development in a company-wide initiative or with individual executive coaching: hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer

In this episode, we return to the updated Inner Development Goals (IDG), and reflect on what has changed, why it matters and how IDG is now even more relevant for leaders that want to develop resilient leadership.

Why IDG matters

Today leaders are not primarily challenged by 'technical problems' where clear solutions exist. Instead they face adaptive challenges in an increasingly complex, interconnected, and fast-moving world.

IDG answers: What inner capacities do leaders need in order to lead resilient, human-centered organisations in this complex environment?

5 dimensions of IDG

BEING – Cultivating Our Inner Life

At the core is Being, highlighting that leadership starts with who we are. The revised wording emphasizes development as an ongoing practice. Skills such as inner compass, self-awareness, and presence may sound obvious, but require continuous reflection. Without them, leadership easily stays on the surface.

THINKING – Understanding Our Complex World

Thinking is no longer framed as cognitive skill alone, but as understanding complexity. The shift towards systems thinking reflects today’s reality: leaders face adaptive challenges. Leadership becomes less about control and more about sense-making and framing the right questions so collective intelligence can emerge.

RELATING – Caring for Others and the World

This dimension reflects a fundamentally different image of leadership: not dominance or certainty, but care, humanity, and relational maturity. Alongside empathy, humility, and compassion, forgiveness has been added as a key skill.

COLLABORATING – Building Trust and Working Together

The collaborating dimension has been reframed to place trust at its centre. Trust is no longer treated as a skill in itself, but as an outcome of behaviors such as relationship-building, inclusion, communication, and co-creation.

ACTING – Leading and Enabling Change

The final dimension focuses on enabling action, not driving it. Skills like courage, hope & optimism, and resilience point to leadership as creating conditions where people can act.

A living guide for leaders

The IDG is not a finished model, like leadership itself, it continues to evolve. Used as a self-assessment or reflection tool, it helps leaders identify strengths, development areas, and how leadership can be shared across an organization.

Working with Second Crack and IDG

We increasingly use IDG in our work. Its strength lies in its simplicity, shared language, and ability to quickly open deep, meaningful conversations about leadership behavior and culture. Please get in touch if you want to explore how we and IDG can support your organisation.

Previous episodes

• From 2022, a 6-part in-depth look at IDG. Link to part 1: https://podcast.secondcrackleadership.com/1659493/episodes/10816920
• Link to episode on Systems Thinking with Dr. Paul Lawrence: https://podcast.secondcrackleadership.com/1659493/episodes/12056252
• Find more information related to IDG at innerdevelopmentgoals.org

About Second Crack
More information about us and our work is available on our website: secondcrackleadership.com. Contact us now to explore how we can support your leadership development in a company-wide initiative or with individual executive coaching: hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer

In this episode, we explore forgiveness as an essential yet often overlooked capacity in leadership. Inspired by the updated Inner Development Goals 2.0, which now include forgiveness, we ask what it really means to forgive in a corporate context — and why it might be one of the strongest acts a leader can take.
We look at how resentment and hurts drain energy, how unresolved conflicts hold teams back, and how forgiveness can help rebuild trust and release energy for growth and collaboration. And we challenge the idea that forgiveness is a sign of weakness — and rather requires strength, self-awareness, and courage.

Key insights

• Forgiveness is not weakness.
  It takes strength and courage to face what happened, to let go of anger, and to move forward.
• Forgiveness and accountability can coexist.
  You can forgive someone and still hold them accountable — forgiveness doesn’t mean there are no consequences.
• Healing relationships frees up energy.
  Letting go of grudges restores focus and vitality — for individuals, teams, and the whole organization.
• Forgiveness can help make change successful.
  Acknowledging past disappointments, frustrations and hurts is essential before a team can truly move forward.

Reflection questions

• What makes you feel hurt, what makes you angry, and what creates negative feelings?
• If you are in the process of forgiving, reflect on what might this be teaching you? And even if you are still feeling hurt, how might you use this pain as a positive force for growth?
• Where might you still be holding a grudge — maybe over many years — and is it time to forgive? And who do you need to forgive?
• Is there anybody who you might have hurt? And isn't it time to actively approach that person and reach out?
• As a leader, how can you be more observant of your team’s emotions and the impact of your own behavior?
• How can forgiveness become a force for learning and growth in your team?

Introduction to The Inner Development Goals (IDG)

Our episode introducing the IDG: https://podcast.secondcrackleadership.com/1659493/episodes/10816920

More information related to the IDG at innerdevelopmentgoals.org

About Second Crack
More information about us and our work is available on our website: secondcrackleadership.com. Contact us now to explore how we can support your leadership development in a company-wide initiative or with individual executive coaching: hello@secondcrackleadership.com.

Connect with us on LinkedIn:
Martin Aldergård
Gerrit Pelzer