Kapable Review

“I stopped letting my thoughts spiral and started creating the pause I needed to respond with clarity, confidence and intention.”

Stepping into a leadership role in branding and marketing made me realise that doing my job well was only one part of what I needed to grow. My role involves managing a team of content producers, building narratives for the brand, and working with multiple stakeholders across leadership and different functions. I wanted to be able to bring all of these moving parts together, communicate my thoughts clearly, and navigate people and situations with greater confidence. That is what brought me to Kapable.
One of the biggest areas I wanted to work on was how I handled myself in stressful situations. Earlier, when emotions ran high, they could take precedence over my thinking. I would sometimes struggle to clearly communicate what I actually wanted to say in the moment. I also had a tendency to compare myself with others and constantly question whether I was doing enough as a leader or managing my team effectively. I could be much harsher with myself than I would ever be with someone else.
The biggest shift for me started with becoming more aware of what was happening internally. I began recognising when my thoughts were spiralling and questioning whether what I was thinking was actually a fact or simply an assumption I had created. That awareness gave me something I did not have before, a pause. Instead of immediately reacting, I could step back, look at the situation more objectively and then decide how I wanted to respond. I have also started talking to myself the way I would talk to my best friend, with much more compassion and understanding.
That shift has started showing up in my leadership as well. One example happened during one of our weekly project meetings. The meeting was supposed to last half an hour but would often stretch to an hour because different conversations and topics kept coming up. This time, I had a clear goal of finishing within the planned time. I came in with an agenda and, whenever the conversation started moving away from it, I was able to bring everyone back and suggest that we take the other discussion separately. Earlier, I would have allowed everyone to continue because I wanted everyone to have their say. This time, I realised that being inclusive also meant taking responsibility for the outcome of the meeting and creating the structure needed to get there.
My understanding of leadership has changed through this experience. Before stepping into the role, I imagined myself as a collaborative leader who would take everyone’s inputs and take on a lot of responsibility myself. I am still collaborative, but I am learning that leadership also requires me to guide people towards an outcome, delegate effectively and show up with greater authority and credibility.
Another change I noticed was in how quickly I could think and respond. Earlier, I often needed more time to process a question and structure my thoughts. During my final session, I was asked unexpected questions with only a few seconds to respond, and I was able to process the question, hold multiple parts of it in my mind and answer without losing my train of thought. That gave me a very tangible sense of how much I had changed.
I am leaving Kapable feeling more empowered and much more aware of myself. I know there is still a lot to learn, but I now have a better understanding of how I want to show up as a leader. I want to continue practising, recording myself, reflecting on my conversations and revisiting what I have learned. For me, the real value of this experience is that the learning has given me something I can continue building on long after the sessions are over.