We explore an unexpected but powerful source of leadership insight: the art of clowning. Together with our guest, Janolof Elander, we dive into how the presence, vulnerability, and connection practiced by clowns can help us become more human-centered and authentic leaders.

We invite you to step back and explore how being fully present — even in chaos or uncertainty — opens the door to trust, connection, and transformation.

🌟 The Main Principle of Clowning

“Don’t try to be funny.”

This might feel unintuitive, but clowning isn’t about jokes. It’s about presence, being real, tuned-in, and creating a connection in the moment. And that is a critical part of effective leadership too.

🖐️ Five Clowning Principles — and Their Link to Leadership

1. “Do one thing at a time.”

Focus on what's here now. This principle strengthens mindfulness and helps leaders stay grounded, attuned, and better equipped to respond to what’s actually happening — not what they planned or expected.

2. “All action in eye contact.”

True connection starts with presence. Eye contact signals sincerity and builds trust. Leaders who truly see their people create safer, more engaged spaces for dialogue and performance.

3. “Wait three seconds before each planned action.”

This pause adds space for reflection, alignment, and connection. It helps leaders avoid reactive behavior and instead respond with intention. It also signals calm, confidence, and gives others room to contribute.

4. “Look at sound (and movement) with your whole head.”

A metaphor for picking up subtle signals — sounds, gestures, shifts in energy. As leaders, this means being alert to the unsaid, the elephant in the room, or unexpected cues — and choosing to engage rather than ignore.

5. “If you make a mistake, repeat it three times.”

Mistakes are part of the show — and part of growth. Instead of covering up, owning mistakes and repeating them (metaphorically) brings playfulness and disarms fear, inviting learning and openness.

Reflection Questions

As always, we wrap up the conversation with a couple of self-reflection prompts:

• When could you try to apply one of these clowning principles in a real work situation — and how could you learn from it?
• When did you last step out of your comfort zone and show vulnerability in a challenging or uncertain situation? What did you learn from it?
• What is one thing you could do differently to build stronger connections with people at work?

About Janolof Elander

Connect with Janolof on LinkedIn.

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

Even the most seasoned leaders face moments when their work feels overwhelmingly difficult—when self-doubt creeps in, motivation fades, and the usual strategies to "push through" no longer seem to work. In this episode of Second Crack – The Leadership Podcast, we explore what to do when leading starts to feel truly hard.

Join us as we reflect on the emotional, mental, and physical toll that leadership challenges can take—especially in today's volatile and high-pressure corporate environments. We talk about how to recognize when it's time to take a break versus when persistence might carry you through. And we discuss why one-size-fits-all advice often falls short in these moments.

The conversation introduces the Healthy Mind Platter, a concept developed by Dr. Dan Siegel and Dr. David Rock. This simple but powerful framework outlines seven essential daily activities that support mental well-being: focus time, play time, connecting time, physical time, time in (for reflection), downtime, and sleep time. We share how leaders can use this model not only to sustain their energy and focus, but also to develop the clarity and resilience required to lead through tough times.

Beyond practical tools, this episode invites you to reflect more deeply on personal values, your "inner compass," and whether your current leadership path aligns with what truly matters to you. Sometimes the answer lies in small adjustments; other times, it may require bigger, more fundamental changes—for instance, changing jobs.

Reflection Questions for Leaders

• When you feel a lack of motivation or start doubting yourself, ask yourself: What is this telling me? What can I learn from it?
• And when a situation is feeling just too hard: Do I simply need a break and some rest—or is something fundamentally wrong? Are my daily actions still aligned with my inner compass? And do I even know clearly in which direction my compass is pointing?
  
  

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

Promoting the right people is one of the most critical decisions a leader can make—but all too often, internal promotions don’t work out as expected.

In this episode, we explore the most common mistakes in internal promotions—and, most importantly, how to avoid them. We discuss:

• The mistake of confusing past performance with future potential
• The lack of clarity and transparency about what’s truly needed for the next-level role—beyond the job description
• How the Performance-Potential Matrix can help you take a more structured a highly effective approach to succession planning
• Why waiting too long to address promotion mistakes can be costly—and how to course-correct effectively
• How leaders can make internal promotions a continuous, low-risk process instead of a high-stakes event

Reflection Questions

• As a leader, how important is talent development to me? Do I spend sufficient time, or does it always get the lowest priority and then I end up trying to fire fight in the very end because I need to make a quick decision?
• What have I done today in terms of talent development and succession planning? Were there opportunities where I could check on people, whether they demonstrated certain skills and competencies that would either qualify them for a different role, or have they shown certain behavior, which is a bit of an alarm bell saying this person might not be so suitable for a particular role? And if I do this regularly, can I see a bigger picture?

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