Although I’ve spent more than 30 years in economics, and I’m also a somatic and leadership coach, I still sometimes get asked where I am “more”.
On one occasion, a well-known banker asked me: if I had to choose between those two roles, which one would I pick? My answer was: “Can you function without the upper or the lower part of your body?”
For me, it’s one. Inseparable.
Today’s text was inspired by Richard Attias’s talk at the Adria Future Summit in Tivat, and it prompted me to look at things from the two perspectives I live every day: economic and coaching.
While he was speaking about capital, investments, and emerging flows, I found myself thinking about something that often remains unspoken: In what state are leaders making decisions?
Today, it seems to me that a large part of European leadership operates from caution, from a need for everything to be clear, safe, and validated before taking action.
In practice, this looks like:
• slower decision-making
• postponing action
• avoiding risk
• taking on less responsibility in key moments
In somatic terms, we would call this a “freeze” response. And it’s important to say that this is not a weakness. It’s a pattern that has brought Europe stability for a long time. However, in today’s fast-changing environment, it can become a limitation.
Capital senses this very clearly. It doesn’t flow only to places with “good conditions,” but to places where there is:
• clarity
• direction
• a sense of confidence in decision-making
That’s why today we see more speed and decisiveness in some other regions, while the European Union often appears more cautious.
From my experience, both in banking and in working with people, this is where we get to the core: the economy often reflects the state of leadership. When leaders lack inner stability, decisions are delayed, opportunities pass by, and energy stagnates.
That’s exactly why I believe that today, more than ever, it’s essential to work on the inner capacity of leaders.
For Montenegro, and for our region more broadly, this represents a significant opportunity. Smaller systems can be faster but only if leadership has the inner stability to sustain that speed.
In the end, I come back to the beginning.
This is not about choosing between banking and coaching just as it’s not about choosing between the rational and the intuitive. It’s about integration. Because only when we connect knowledge with inner state can we lead in a way that brings both security and forward movement.
The ability to remain internally grounded while acting decisively externally may be the most important leadership skill of our time.
And perhaps the real question for each of us is: From what place are we leading today – fear or stability?
