GEORGE BRAGADIREANU, MCC

George Bragadireanu, MCC ICF

I am a Master Certified Coach (MCC, ICF), accompanying transitioning executive leaders.

My work is for CxOs transitioning at the executive level and ready to do the real, deep work of identity adaptation.

Master Certified Coach (MCC) || 5,000+ coaching hours || 650+ executives coached || Cornell University Alumni || Pursuing an MSc in Existential Coaching and a Diploma in Logophilosophy (Viktor Frankl) Former Regional Leadership

5,000+

25+

Years of experience

Coaching Hours

The 6 Transition Killers

THE COMPETENCE TRAP

"Proving Your Worth Through Your Old Expertise"

The new CFO can't stop diving into spreadsheets. The promoted COO still fixes problems on the floor. They're terrified that letting go of what they're best at will expose them as having no value. So they cling to their old competence: working 70-hour weeks doing work two levels below them. Their team sees a micromanager. Their boss sees someone who "isn't strategic." The brutal truth: your old expertise got you the role, but holding onto it will destroy you in it.

THE PRETENDER'S EXHAUSTION

"Faking Confidence Instead of Building It"

Everyone says "fake it till you make it." So they put on the mask: decisive in every meeting, confident in every email. But inside, they're drowning. By month 3, they're burned out from the performance. Their team senses the inauthenticity. Their stakeholders describe them as "stiff" or "not quite right." The irony: executives who succeed aren't the ones who fake confidence; they're the ones who authentically acknowledge what they don't know yet while demonstrating they're learning fast.

THE MEANING VOID

"Losing Your 'Why' When You Lose Your Work"

For 15 years, they loved the craft. The CFO loved building models. The COO loved fixing operations. Now they can't do any of it. Their days are meetings about meetings, politics, symbolic gestures. They wake up at 3 AM asking: "What's the point?" Viktor Frankl's insight applies: meaning doesn't come from what you do, but from how you relate to your circumstances. Until they discover their new "why," no amount of tactical success feels satisfying.

THE AMBIGUITY PANIC

"Demanding Clarity in a Role Defined by Uncertainty"

They spent their career mastering clear problems with clear solutions. Now 80% of their decisions involve incomplete information and no obvious "right answer." Instead of learning to navigate ambiguity, they try to eliminate it, demanding more analysis, more data, more input. But C-suite leadership IS ambiguity. Executives who fail keep searching for clarity that doesn't exist. Those who succeed learn to decide with 60% of the information, knowing that's all they'll ever have.

THE RELATIONSHIP RUPTURE

"Your Former Peers Are Now Your Biggest Threat"

Your colleagues last month are now subordinates—or C-suite peers who see you as "not truly strategic." The VP who wanted your role is sabotaging you with subtle non-compliance. You make one of two mistakes: trying too hard to prove you belong (insecure) or overcompensating with authority (resentment). Neither works. Executives who succeed do something counterintuitive: they name the weirdness. "This is awkward: I know we were peers. I need your partnership, and I have to earn credibility."

THE IDENTITY ABANDONMENT

"Believing You Have to Become Someone You're Not"

The introverted CFO thinks she must become charismatic like the CEO. The detail-oriented COO believes he must become a "big picture visionary." They look at other C-suite leaders and think: "I have to be like them." So they perform a version of leadership that isn't theirs. It's exhausting and ineffective because authenticity creates trust, and you can't fake it long. The breakthrough: you don't have to become someone else. You have to become the C-suite version of yourself.

Executive Transition Coaching

NEWLY APPOINTED CFO, COO, CHRO, CTO?

Here's what the first 90 days really look like:

Week 1-3: Confidence.

You earned this. You know what needs to happen.

Week 4-6: Confusion.

The old playbook doesn't work. Your boss wants "strategic thinking," but you're not sure what that means at this altitude.

Week 7-9: Crisis.

You realize:

→ You can't be the best analyst anymore - you have to trust others' analysis

→ You can't fix every operational problem - you have to let your team struggle

→ You can't have all the answers - you have to ask better questions.

This isn't imposter syndrome. This is identity reconstruction. You're shifting from:

- Functional expert → Cross-functional orchestrator

- Execution excellence → Strategic influence

- Being right → Making others successful

Most coaching gives you tactics: stakeholder maps, 90-day plans, and communication frameworks.

I help you with what's underneath: rebuilding your identity so those tactics actually work. That's why my clients don't just survive their first C-suite role - they accelerate impact by 6+ months.

The 4 Situations When Transition Coaching Is Non-Negotable

SITUATION 2: External C-Suite Hire (New to Company)

Your new CFO has the experience, but not your culture. She'll step on invisible landmines for 3 months unless someone maps the terrain first. Protect your €120k search investment.

SITUATION 1: First-Time C-Suite (Internal Promotion)

Your VP just became COO. They're brilliant at execution but don't know how to orchestrate yet. Without support, they'll micromanage for the next years. With executive transition coaching, they shift in 90 days.

SITUATION 3: New CEO Appointment

SITUATION 4: Post-Merger Integration

Your COO must integrate two operations in 6 months. Two cultures, inherited politics, massive ambiguity. One wrong move creates permanent resistance. They need to navigate complexity, not clarity.

The board just named your CEO. They spent 20 years becoming an expert—now that doesn't matter. They need to reconstruct their identity in 90 days, not 12 months, while everyone watches.

Merck, EY, PayPal, Deloitte, Renault, CRH, OMV, Holcim, Avril, Maersk, Auchan