Andre Abi Awad

Today, 17 mentors joined our workshop.

They came from 5 organizations covering every region in Lebanon.

By the end of the first half-day, one of them said:
“I now have the understanding to empower youth with clarity and a structured process, and that makes me feel confident.”

That’s the moment.

Not the UNICEF brief.
Not the framework I delivered.
Not the methodology.

The moment a mentor, someone who works daily with vulnerable, underprivileged youth across this country, felt ready.

Because here’s what most people miss about impact at scale:

You don’t reach the youth directly.

You reach the person who reaches them.

17 mentors.
5 organizations.
All of Lebanon.

Each one of them will now accompany young people on their employability and entrepreneurship journey, with structure, with clarity, and with confidence.

That’s how change multiplies.

Lebanon has been through enough to make anyone lose faith.

But in that room today, I saw exactly the opposite.

I’m grateful to be the expert trusts to build this bridge. 🇱🇧

After 2 advisory sessions, Mohamad Aboudraa shared this reflection with me.

I value it because it captures something I believe deeply.

Most business owners do not need more information.
They need sharper thinking.
They need someone who can challenge their assumptions, identify what is draining the business, and help them build more structure, accountability, and clarity.

In a short time, we focused on what matters:
• where time is leaking
• what the owner is still carrying unnecessarily
• where accountability must increase
• what must change so the company stops depending on one person

That is the real work.
Not generic advice.
Not motivation.
Not theory.

Real progress begins when the owner starts seeing the business differently, then leading it differently.

Grateful for the trust.
Even more committed to helping founders build companies with more freedom, stronger teams, and less chaos at the center.

Two weeks into regional turmoil, I am standing today in a room with .me top management, delivering a training on delegation.

And that feels important.

Because in times of crisis, many leaders make the same mistake:

They tighten their grip.
They centralize more.
They trust less.
They carry more than they should.

It feels responsible.
But often, it is fear disguised as leadership.

The truth is this:

In times of uncertainty, investing in your people is not optional. It is strategic.

You do not build resilience in the middle of a crisis by controlling everything yourself.
You build it by strengthening the people around you before the pressure breaks the system.

That is where delegation becomes more than a management skill.

It becomes a leadership decision.

Real delegation says:
• I trust people with responsibility, not just tasks.
• I build capability, not dependency.
• I create clarity so decisions do not die at the top.
• I make the organization stronger than one person’s bandwidth.

In unstable times, this matters even more.

Because crises expose weak structures.
They reveal where leadership has become bottleneck.
They show whether a company was built on systems and trust, or on one exhausted person trying to hold everything together.

So if you are leading a company right now, ask yourself:

Am I trying to protect the business by holding on tighter, or by building stronger people around me?

This is why, even in the middle of regional tension, leadership development still matters.
Training still matters.
Delegation still matters.

Because when the pressure rises, the companies that endure are not the ones with the busiest leaders.

They are the ones with the strongest teams.

In unstable times, many business owners slip fully into management mode.

They handle emergencies.
They solve daily problems.
They react fast.
They carry everyone.

But pressure has a way of exposing an important question:

Are you only managing the business right now, or are you still leading it?

Management keeps things moving.
Leadership keeps people steady.

And when uncertainty rises, your team does not only need instructions.
They need direction.
They need calm.
They need clarity they can trust.

This is why I keep coming back to reflection time.

Not because reflection is soft.
Because it is strategic.

When the ground is unstable, the leader who pauses to think clearly gains an advantage over the one who only reacts.

So here is one reflection question worth sitting with today:

What are you doing, deliberately, to inspire and lead your team in this season, not just manage their tasks?

A useful place to think starts with 5 points of clarity:

1- Outcomes: What must be achieved now?
2- Expectations: What do people need to understand clearly?
3- Metrics: What are you measuring so there is no confusion?
4- Corrections and coaching: Where do you need to guide, train, or address misalignment?
5- Consequences: What happens when standards are met, ignored, or broken?

This kind of reflection does not take long.
Even 30 minutes can change the way you lead this week.

Because in difficult moments, people do not only remember the pressure.
They remember who gave them clarity inside the pressure.

Take the time.
Step back.
Think.

Leadership is being tested in real time.

Doha, our 2nd gathering, after Dubai last week.

No speeches.
No hype.
Just senior executives and business owners who don’t trade business cards.
They trade leverage.
Value exchanged first.
Then doors open through trust.

This is how we’re building a 5-country network in 2026.
Same standard every time. High signal only.

Next tables: Paris, London, Riyadh, and Lebanon.

If you want a seat at the table, DM me privately.

Back to Oman 🇴🇲 after 11 years

Great meeting amazing Omani Entrepreneurs and training and mentoring them to deliver investable pitches

See you soon at