096: "The Power Behind Zigging When Others Zag" (lessons from Monique Lecomte)
🧠Erik’s Take
In this reflection episode, Erik revisits his powerful conversation with therapist, designer, and leadership coach Monique Lecomte, spotlighting three resonant themes: adaptive leadership, the art of zigging when others zag, and the radical courage to own your origin story.
Monique’s journey—from rural Alabama to the boardrooms of design and organizational leadership—offers more than inspiration. It models a way of seeing leadership not as performance, but as personal evolution. Her ability to turn hardship into artistry, and pattern into purpose, leaves Erik asking himself—and all of us—what buried story we might need to feature instead of hide.
🎯 Top Insights from the Interview
- Adaptive leadership starts with unlearning. Monique’s work centers on resisting the “one-size-fits-all” playbook and staying present with the humanity in the room.
- Zig when others zag. Whether in design, career choices, or facilitation, Monique consistently chooses the less obvious path—and creates leverage by doing so.
- Origin stories hold power. The parts we want to skip are often the parts others most need to hear.
- Her book is a metaphor. The Expert General Generalist doesn’t just tell a story—it is the story: nonlinear, beautiful, layered, and unconventional.
- Leadership is design. And Monique sees space, systems, and power dynamics like a designer—revealing what's usually hidden in plain sight.
🧩 The Personal Layer
Monique’s honesty around her upbringing made Erik reflect on how much of our work, curiosity, and style comes from early experiences we may not even realize are driving us. He doesn’t have a book about his story—but this episode helped him consider what it might include. It’s an invitation to all listeners: if you traced your leadership back to its roots, what would you find? And more importantly—what would you do with it?
🧰 From Insight to Action
- Identify where you're applying a "one-size-fits-all" approach—and pause. Could you be more curious?
- Revisit your own career “zags.” What made you different—and how has that paid off?
- Spend 10 minutes journaling about a formative experience from childhood. What skill or sensitivity did it give you?
- Flip through The Expert General Generalist (if you have it)—not for answers, but for structure. How could you tell your story in a nonlinear way?
- Consider how you’re designing your leadership—not just practicing it. What patterns are you reinforcing without realizing it?
🗣️ Notable Quotes from Erik
“She doesn’t just tell her story—she features it. And that’s leadership.”
“Monique’s book is her strategy: beautiful, nonlinear, and completely outside the box.”
“The willingness to turn a hard story into a usable asset? That’s courage in action.”
“Adaptive leadership isn’t a theory. It’s a decision made over and over, in real time.”
“Her whole life has been a masterclass in zigging when others zag.”
đź”— Links & Resources
