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Italiano What does leadership growth really look like from the inside?
Maja Lovrenčić is a Coach and Leader at Avery Dennison.
She and Giuseppe have been working together across multiple mentoring programs over several years, spanning topics from company culture to leadership development and organisational coaching
In this candid interview, Maja Lovrenčić reflects on the last months of mentoring and coaching work with Giuseppe.
Watch the conversation to explore:
- How a scaling organisation creates invisible leadership traps and what it takes to recognise them
- The shift from firefighting to designing and why understanding your current situation is the first step toward any meaningful change
- What a coach or mentor actually does, and why it is not about giving answers but building the conditions for better ones
Key Points of the Interview
1. The Scaling Wall: When Organic Communication Breaks Down
The biggest challenge Maja identified was the transition from a small, connected team to a larger organisation where informal communication channels stop working. Leaders in this position often respond by taking on more themselves, absorbing ambiguity, solving problems, shielding the team. It feels like leadership. But it is actually a bottleneck in disguise.
2. From Firefighting to Designing
The most meaningful shift Maja experienced was learning to pause before acting. Rather than rushing to solutions, she started prioritising a clear understanding of the current situation first, mapping where the team actually was before deciding where it needed to go. This reframing moved her from a reactive firefighter to a proactive designer of processes and environments.
3. What a Coach or Mentor Really Does
When asked what she would tell a leader on the fence about hiring a coach, Maja was clear: a coach is not someone who always gives you answers. They are a thought partner and a passionate designer of sustainable environments, helping you understand why things work or don’t work, how the environment shapes your team’s behaviour, and how to build collaboration and ownership into the way you work, rather than bolting them on as afterthoughts.
Why This Matters Today
Many leaders today are facing exactly what Maja described: organisations growing faster than the systems designed to support them, teams that need more than good intentions to collaborate effectively, and a creeping sense that working harder is not the same as working better.
The shift from individual problem-solver to systemic designer is one of the most important (and most difficult) transitions a leader can make. It requires stepping back, asking better questions, and building the conditions for others to thrive. That is precisely the kind of work that a good coaching or mentoring relationship makes possible.
If you recognise yourself in Maja’s story, it might be time to have a conversation.
Ready to Have Your Own Conversation?
Every leader’s situation is different. But if something in this interview resonated with you (like you are navigating a growing organisation, trying to build a more collaborative culture, or simply feeling like you are solving too many problems yourself), it might be worth exploring what coaching or mentoring could look like for you.
Book a free 45-minute discovery call (no strings attached).
Use the code BC-FORWARD when booking.
It is a chance to talk about where you are, where you want to go, and whether working together makes sense.
About the Participants
Maja Lovrenčić is a Coach and Leader at Avery Dennison, working at the intersection of people development, leadership, and organisational culture. She has been engaged in mentoring and coaching programs with Giuseppe for several years.
Giuseppe De Simone is a consultant, trainer, and coach with 20+ years of experience working with leaders, managers, and organisations across Europe. He supports leaders in building more human, resilient, and high-performing workplaces through coaching, mentoring, and training programs.
