by Florin Lungu | Apr 16, 2026 | The Flabby Middle
My first week at Volvo, nobody told me what to do. I don’t mean they forgot. I mean the onboarding was: “Just follow this guy, Lars, and do what he does.” That was it. No brief. No structure. No explanation of what the role actually required. Lars...
by Florin Lungu | Mar 30, 2026 | The Flabby Middle
I’ve been coaching leaders in Sweden and Denmark for over a decade. In that time I’ve sat in hundreds of rooms where executives described what was broken in their organization. And then I’ve sat with the middle managers who were expected to fix it....
by Florin Lungu | Nov 27, 2025 | The Flabby Middle
A few weeks ago, I joined the People People Meetup in Copenhagen. The topic on the agenda was ownership. A simple word, but one that carries a lot of weight in leadership. As I listened to the conversation, a quiet thought kept forming in my mind. We keep asking...
by Florin Lungu | Jun 30, 2025 | Employee Engagement, Team Dynamics & Culture, The Flabby Middle
Imagine this. You walk into the office. Everyone is at their desks. The KPIs are green. Nobody complains. But something feels… flat. There’s no spark. No urgency. No hunger. People aren’t checked out. They’re just not fully checked in. Welcome to what I call “the...
by Florin Lungu | May 25, 2025 | Employee Engagement, Leadership, The Flabby Middle, Trust
He didn’t want praise. He wanted to know it mattered. That’s what stuck with me after a conversation with a frustrated project lead. He’d led a cross-functional team through a brutal sprint. Late nights. High stakes. Solid delivery. The recognition? A generic “thanks...
by Florin Lungu | May 5, 2025 | Leadership, Team Dynamics & Culture, The Flabby Middle, Trust
Imagine this. You walk into the meeting with a solid plan. Clear structure. Aligned with strategy. You present it. The team nods politely. A few ask clarifying questions. No objections. But then… nothing. No next steps. No energy. The conversation fizzles out. What...
