Grace Under Pressure

Grace Under Pressure

Clarity and Care as a Leadership Strength When Stakes Are High

September 2026
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ABSTRACT

Appreciative Inquiry is often mistaken for a feel-good approach that avoids difficulty. In practice the opposite is true. An appreciative stance is most powerful precisely when tensions run high. This article explores grace under pressure as a learnable leadership practice that holds clarity and care together and offers small, repeatable habits for staying present when stakes are high.

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Author: Heike Aiello

Heike Aiello, MBA, PCC, helps leaders to lead with clarity and care. An ICF PCC coach and Appreciative Inquiry practitioner for over twenty years, she founded Coreconnect, and is president elect of ICF Germany. She works in English, German, and Dutch and is author of the university textbook Werken in organisaties. She is based in Stuttgart, Germany.

Contact: info@coreconnect.today

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