More than four decades of leadership, management and organisational experience.

I'm Michael A. Cassar.

For more than four decades, I have worked with leaders, boards, executives, organisations and individuals through periods of growth, change, uncertainty and adversity.

My career has included senior management and CEO responsibilities, working directly with boards and leading organisations where decisions had real consequences for people, services and communities.

That experience has taught me something important.

Good leadership is rarely about having all the answers.

It is about understanding what is really happening, asking the right questions, exercising sound judgement and having the courage to act.

​

Experience from both sides of the boardroom.

I have experienced leadership from different perspectives.

I have been the executive accountable to a board.

I have worked with boards responsible for governance and organisational direction.

I have managed people, budgets, services and organisational change.

I have dealt with financial and operational pressure.

And I have worked through situations where there was no simple or obvious answer.

My experience has crossed business, community organisations, health, disability, mental health, suicide prevention, sport and the public sector.

Different organisations face different challenges.

But many of the leadership questions are remarkably similar.

What is really happening?

What matters most?

What are we not seeing?

What are our options?

What happens if we do nothing?

And what should we do next?

Those are often the questions that make the difference.

​

Experience changes how you see a problem. 

After more than four decades in leadership and management, I have learned that the issue first presented is not always the real issue.

A performance problem may actually be a leadership problem.

A financial problem may expose a strategic problem.

A board disagreement may be about roles, relationships or trust.

A difficult decision may become clearer once we step back from the pressure surrounding it.

And sometimes professional, organisational and personal considerations become so intertwined that separating them neatly is impossible.

Experience does not mean having seen every situation before.

It means having developed the judgement to recognise patterns, ask better questions and look beyond the obvious explanation.

That is the perspective I now bring to my advisory work.

​

Why Executive Advisory? 

At this stage of my career, I am less interested in building another large consulting practice.

I am much more interested in using what I have learned to help people facing important decisions and difficult situations.

Sometimes that requires one experienced outside perspective.

That is the purpose of Advisor Desk™.

Sometimes the issue is more significant and requires sustained attention over a period of time.

That is the purpose of Executive Advisory.

In both cases, my role is not to take over the decision.

It is to help the person responsible for making it see the situation more clearly.

​

My Approach

I believe good advisory work should be practical.

It should help you understand the problem, not make it sound more complicated.

It should challenge your thinking when necessary.

It should lead towards action.

And ultimately it should make you less dependent on the adviser, not more.

My philosophy is straightforward:

​

Solve the problem. Develop the person. Move forward.

The relationship continues only while it is useful and adding value.

​

It’s Achievable®

I founded It’s Achievable® around a simple belief:

People and organisations are often capable of more than they initially believe possible when they have clarity about where they are, where they want to go and what needs to happen next.

Over time, It’s Achievable® has brought together my advisory work, writing, books, leadership thinking and practical resources. The subjects vary. The underlying purpose does not:

Helping people think more clearly, make better decisions and move forward with greater confidence.

 

Writing and Executive Perspective

Writing has become another way of sharing what I have learned.

Through Executive Perspective, I write about leadership, governance, business, organisational change, decision-making and the realities of managing people and organisations.

It now includes Monday Briefing, my weekly look at a small number of business and nonprofit developments that I believe deserve the attention of experienced leaders, managers, boards and advisers.

I am also the author of books and practical resources on leadership, organisational change and navigating adversity.

The objective is the same as my advisory work:

Not theory for its own sake.

Useful thinking that can be applied in the real world.

​

A final thought.

After more than four decades, I don't believe leadership becomes easier simply because you become more experienced.

The decisions become different.

The consequences can become greater.

And sometimes the people around you are less willing to tell you what they really think.

That is when an independent perspective can be particularly valuable.

Sometimes you don't need another answer.

You need someone experienced enough to help you see the question differently.

​

Michael A. Cassar

Founder, It’s Achievable®

​