What does excavation, restoration, deployment and integration look like outside the diagram? Here I share some examples of my work, from grassroots work in Southern Italy to coaching and organisational change.
These are windows into how leadership actually shifts: in moments of doubt, in community revival, in rethinking what power looks like.
Whether you’re leading a company or a team of five, these case studies show what becomes possible when identity, integrity and responsibility align.
*All accounts involving clients are anonymised for confidentiality,
Grassroots work
Context
Location: Marcianise, Campania
Years Active: 2010–2014
Between 2010 and 2014, I co-led a grassroots initiative in the rural-urban region of Marcianise and Caserta to recover a cultural tradition that many believed extinct: a unique frame drum and dance practice held almost exclusively by elderly women.
The technique – rhythmic, complex, and rooted in local identity – had nearly vanished from public life. Passed quietly in kitchens, patios, and whispers, it was often seen as outdated or shameful. Generational transmission had broken. Visibility was fading.
Excavation, Reconstruction, Deployment and Integration
As part of the cultural association Radici Marcianise, I helped design and guide a multi-year project that documented, revitalised, and restored dignity to this living practice. My role involved:
Partnering with networks like ICHNet, Simbdea, and UNESCO-linked organisations to position the work in broader cultural preservation efforts
Building trusted relationships with elder women who had guarded the tradition in silence
Facilitating intergenerational workshops where these custodians could teach younger practitioners directly
Documenting rhythmic structures, dance vocabulary, and oral history before it was lost
Hosting performances and cultural events that reshaped public perception, from forgotten folklore to vital heritage
Impact & Legacy
This work unfolded just in time. When the association’s founder, the last full custodian of the tradition, passed away, a significant body of knowledge had already been recorded, taught, and embedded in the hands of a new generation. Currently his daughter leads the association.
In just a few years, the practice moved from obscurity to recognition. It re-entered the cultural landscape of Campania as an active thread, not a lost memory.
This experience remains a foundational part of how I understand identity, community care, and decolonial work, not as political concepts, but as embodied practice.
Leadership Coaching
Context
As part of their manager role, G. took over an existing program critical to performance operations. The team was already in place and the program ongoing. Th
It had become efficient, but narrow. The same types of profiles were selected. The same dynamics repeated.
What was unearthed
** coming soon **
Context
M. was promoted during a period of rapid growth. A sharp thinker with clear potential, but hesitant. They often pulled back just as they were stepping into influence. It wasn’t a lack of ability: it was a reluctance to stay visible when it mattered most or things got heated.
What was unearthed
“I never realised I thought I had to earn every inch, even after I’d arrived.”
Through regular check-ins and reflection, we surfaced a recurring belief: that visibility needed to be constantly re-earned. Success didn’t feel like arrival, but rather like exposure. And this insight shifted everything.
Reconstruction
They began to recognise and interrupt the pattern in real time:
- Reframed preparation as presence instead of protection
- Practised a pause before retreating or downplaying
- Claimed space in meetings without disclaimers or softeners
These weren’t dramatic gestures but M held them firmly and they held.
Deployment + Impact
- Presented a key initiative to senior leadership with confidence
- Team engagement rose, noted in mid-year feedback
- Their leadership became a constant, not something they stepped in and out of
- They eventually went on to get more promotions
They stopped retreating, and started holding ground.
Context
An experienced lead was aiming for a promotion, but wasn’t sure they looked the part. Their contributions were strong and consistent, but their self-image hadn’t caught up. Confidence lagged behind capability.
What was unearthed
We started by taking inventory, not just of tasks and outcomes, but of who they had become through leading. “I didn’t think that counted, I thought it was just how I work.”
We mapped their invisible leadership:
- Emotional labour
- Informal mentoring
- Creating psychological safety
All of it was shaping the team, invisibly, but unmistakably.
Reconstruction
They began naming their value out loud.
- Rewrote their self-pitch to reflect who they are, not just what they do
- Practiced speaking from ownership, not apology
- Stopped deferring or softening in moments of recognition
Deployment + Impact
- Received the promotion
- Colleagues noticed a more grounded confidence, and reflected it back
- They went on to model this reflection method with peers and new leads
- Reported feeling more aligned between internal identity and external position
They didn’t change themselves. They brought more of themselves to the role.
Context
A. was demotivated. Their department was in flux, and their role had lost clarity. While they weren’t planning to leave, they couldn’t tell if they were still leading with purpose, or simply holding on. They were still showing up. But the spark had dimmed.
What was unearthed
“Maybe I don’t need to lead for the role to make sense, maybe I lead for the people.”
That reframe shifted the story. This wasn’t toxic loyalty, it was agency, reclaimed through care. They didn’t need the system to validate their role to act with purpose. They chose to lead from where they stood.
Reconstruction
A. moved from quiet disengagement to intentional reconnection:
- Asked team members what made them stay
- Initiated informal 1:1s that went beyond performance
- Focused on micro-support, not grand gestures, but steady presence
They let go of leading from position, and started leading through relationship.
Deployment + Impact
- Team morale stabilised, even while broader uncertainty remained
- A. regained a sense of grounded purpose not tied to visibility or recognition
- They chose to stay, not out of inertia, but with clarity and commitment
The shift was subtle. But it was deeply felt, by the team and by A. themselves.
Teams & Orgs
Context
Two co-founders were co-leading a small, growing company. Operational responsibilities were clearly split, and delivery was consistent. But when it came to people support, everything quietly landed on the junior partner’s plate. They hadn’t agreed to it. They weren’t confident in it. And resentment had begun to simmer. The small team noticed, but nothing was named, and tensions grew.
What was unearthed
“I thought you preferred handling that. I thought you didn’t trust me to. ”
This wasn’t a skills gap. It was a pattern of silent assumptions. Leadership decisions around people had never been explicitly agreed. What looked like delegation was actually a pattern of deflection, and the silence between them wasn’t apathy, it was uncertainty and lack if trust.
Reconstruction
Instead of building new processes, they focused on how leadership was being shared:
- Clarified who handles what, especially when it comes to people
- Replaced assumptions with explicit asks: “Should we check in before I run with this?”
- Designed syncs that allowed for reflection, besides the logistic and operational ones
- Named and practised co-leadership, not just co-founding
Deployment + Impact
Communication between the partners became clearer. The junior partner grew into people leadership by design and with the right support. The team regained trust in leadership alignment, and tensions eased. A Stay Unearthed protocol was created to preserve the shift and keep it visible as the company grows.
Context
ABC, a mid-sized business, was scaling fast. Its structure hadn’t caught up and the founder still approved most big decisions, even as senior staff quietly waited for permission. Everyone was working hard, but accountability was fuzzy, decisions dragged, and ownership felt half-granted. There wasn’t chaos, just stagnation and some confusion.
What was unearthed
Power wasn’t being concentrated or abused, it was just blurred and unclear. The team was held back by unclear authority. Some staff had outgrown their titles, others were avoiding leadership because they hadn’t been given permission, or didn’t give it to themselves. Most delays came from one question never being asked out loud: “Whose call is this, really?”
Reconstruction
Instead of a top-down restructure, we started with trust and narrative:
- Mapped out decision bottlenecks across functions
- Ran role self-assessments to uncover unseen ownership gaps
- Introduced strength-based role cards that aligned with actual authority
- Piloted new decision ownership live, with coaching backup
The work stayed focused on making things real and relevant.
Deployment + Impact
Senior staff stepped upwith clarity, meetings shortened. Managers stopped overexplaining. The founder reclaimed time for creative visioning, instead of approvals. Role clarity didn’t just create speed, it brought relief. A Stay Unearthed protocol was designed to help them keep spotting when authority starts slipping back into silence or letting things just go.
Context
XYZ, an SME with 30+ employees, was stable and growing, with solid metrics and tight processes. But morale was dipping: people were delivering and even overdelivering, but the spark was missing. Managers felt more like babysitters than leaders. There was no apparent conflict, just disengagement in slow motion.
What was unearthed
The issue wasn’t productivity, it was recognition. Teams didn’t see how their work landed: wins weren’t visible, feedback loops were dry. Some long-standing employees were still spoken to like they’d just been onboarded. Initiative hadn’t drop because people stopped caring: it dropped because they felt invisible.
Reconstruction
We rebuilt meaning into the system, and that brought motivation:
- Repaired internal loops so teams could see the effect of their work
- Created weekly rituals to surface small wins across departments
- Updated onboarding tone and language to reflect actual culture
- Helped managers shift from performance tracking to potential spotting
This wasn’t about perks, it was about a regained dignity.
Deployment + Impact
People started offering ideas again, without being asked.
A junior staffer volunteered to lead a new pilot.
A seasoned employee redesigned a customer touchpoint, saving hours weekly. The business didn’t just get “engagement” back: it got momentum. A Stay Unearthed protocol was created to keep visibility and feedback flowing and to make sure leadership never defaults back to invisibility.