Hard Work Isn’t the Problem. Power Blindness Is.
Most professionals aren’t underperforming — they’re working hard inside systems where the rules are unwritten, informal, and never explained.
If you don’t see the power plays and quiet politics at work, your influence leaks away even while you’re doing everything “right”.
I help experienced professionals and first-time managers decode the real dynamics shaping their work:
- The Players- who really holds influence
- The Politics- how decisions are steered behind the scenes
- The Power Plays- the unspoken rules that makes or breaks careers
Once you see the patterns everything shifts.
You see more, outmanoeuvre the plays.
You stop asking ‘why me?’ — and start steering what’s next.
Your first step is The Power Play Field Guide and the weekly Power Plays Briefing – they give you the missing manual for how to succeed at work.
What I Mean By “Power Plays”
When I say power plays, I mean the subtle moves people use to get what they want at your expense:
✅ The phrases that sound harmless but leave you doubting yourself.
✅ The “friendly” moves that quietly shift blame, block ideas, or put you back in your box.
✅ The face‑saving stories that make you feel unreasonable for noticing something is off.
🔗 This site is for professionals who are good at their jobs, know something isn’t right, but haven’t been given a clear way to see or handle this side of work.
I built the Power Play Field Guide, the weekly Briefing, and the Power Plays Lab to give you what most workplaces never do: a calm, honest manual for recognising the games and protecting yourself without playing dirty.
What You Get When You Start
When you join, you’re not getting motivational quotes or generic career tips. You’re getting practical tools to see and handle power plays differently
The Power Play Field Guide gives you:
- A clear, step‑by‑step path from “What just happened?” to “I know what this is and how I’ll handle it next time.”
- Simple explanations of common power plays that derail decent people, and what they’re really trying to do to you.
- A way to start building your own “Power Plays OS” – patterns, early‑warning signs, and quiet responses that fit you, not canned scripts.
The Weekly Power Plays Briefing adds:
- One real‑world power play each week, decoded in plain language.
- A calmer way to see your own situations (“this is a play, not a personal failure”).
- One or two small shifts in what you notice and how much access other people have to you.
Together, they give you the missing manual for the side of work nobody taught you, so you can stop being blindsided and start moving on purpose
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What Others Say About Me
Doreen Horsely A Case Study
Matt Love
“Working with Elaine has been very eye opening for me. I was very surprised how effective one session could be- really brought a lot of awareness of how there was a root cause of many different things that was happening in my life. And that awareness enabled me to identify where I was still judging myself…. I learnt that it was a very old belief coming up and it’s not true in anyway, helped me really move forward….Since that day I’ve made better decisions…”
Lola Bailey
“So there was a problem that I had before the mastermind. ….. It was like this fear of me not getting things done. And it wasn’t a fear that I was procrastinating. It was just like, I’m never going to get it done. It was this really kind of weird mindset, not really understanding how I could get myself out of that hole... What was absolutely fascinating about the laser coaching you did (MRM) …. was that the problem that I had literally disappeared. It literally just evaporated. It was like magic. It was like magic. It just disappeared. I have not once thought about it since.. Not once. Not once….it was almost like a miracle.” (Taken from an interview I did with Lola)
Nicole Wyrwa
“I approached Elaine because I found myself stuck in my thinking and could not focus correctly on a future project I wanted to develop.
With her great listening skills, her unique way of asking me questions she was able to make me see the reason for being stuck and disoriented.
I could resonate a lot with her coaching style, she is straight forward, honest and direct but always combined with an amazing sense of empathy, humour and wariness. Not only that we found the root for my struggle, but she also prised my sense of determination out and now I am able to follow again my vision and new project. I can highly recommend working with Elaine if you want to get a clear understanding why you struggle and how you could move forward.”
📡 When You’re In The Middle Of A Play
Sometimes it’s not enough to understand power plays in theory. You’re in the middle of one, it stings, and you need a clear, calm way through it.
That’s what the Power Plays Lab is for – a focused 1‑to‑1 AND group program where we:
- Map the power plays in one real situation you’re facing.
- Use a structured reframe method to clear the emotional fallout so you stop replaying it in your head.
- Decide how you’ll quietly change your stance – how much access that person has to your time, your headspace, and your emotional
You leave with:
- A clear map of what really happened and what it cost you.
- A practical defence plan that protects your credibility without a big confrontation.
- Personal rules of thumb you can use next time a similar play starts.
I’m Not Here to Motivate You. I’m Here to Help You Outsmart The System.
For years I was the capable, reliable one — convinced that hard work alone would be enough.
It wasn’t.
What changed was not my work ethic, but how I saw power. I stopped chasing approval and started studying the quiet moves, unwritten rules, and power plays that shape what really happens at work.
Now I use that lens to help professionals decode what’s going on around them, steady their emotional response, and choose moves that protect their position without playing dirty. I’m not just a coach; I’m a strategist — and I’ll show you how to think and move like one, even in systems designed to keep you reactive.
You’ll leave with:
✅ clarity on the real dynamics shaping your work,
✅ A map of where you’ve been giving away power,
✅ And a way forward that feels calm, clean, and under your control.
Ready to Stop Guessing — and Start Moving Smarter?
The next step isn’t about doing more. It’s about seeing more — and using that clarity to shift how you work, speak, and respond when power plays show up
🎯 Start with The Power Play Field Guide and the Weekly Power Plays Briefing so you can stop being blindsided and start building your own, calm way of handling politics at work.
🧭 When you’re ready to go deeper with a real situation, the Power Plays Lab is where we map your specific play, clear the emotional sting, and design how you’ll handle it next — on your terms.
