You can change the rules
HIGH-STAKES LEADERSHIP STARTS WITH DISCIPLINED THINKING
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THE PREMISE
THE PREMISE
You didn’t get here by following the playbook and what got you here won’t necessarily get you through what’s next.
You’re expected to make clear decisions while everything around you is noisy, political, fast and uncertain. You carry responsibility, pressure and ambiguity and you’re expected to remain composed while doing it.
I work with leaders who are done with generic advice and surface-level coaching. Leaders who want their thinking sharpened, their judgement challenged and their leadership strengthened where it actually matters: how they decide, how they respond and how they lead when the stakes are high.
Under pressure, even very capable leaders default to shortcuts: bias, speed, familiar narratives. Not because they’re weak but because they’re human. The problem is that autopilot is exactly what fails as complexity increases.
I don’t coach from theory. I coach from experience. I’ve led teams through acquisitions, restructurings, board pressure and global scale. I’ve made costly mistakes and learned what holds when conditions stop being tidy. That experience shapes the work.
The conversations are direct. Sometimes uncomfortable. Always grounded in what’s actually happening in your role. We slow the thinking down just enough to expose blind spots, emotional reactivity and faulty assumptions and then rebuild from there. Not to make you “nicer” or more optimistic but more precise, more deliberate and harder to destabilise.
This is not about feeling better, it’s about operating better.
My approach is shaped by years in product management: defining problems clearly, working within constraints, testing assumptions and building decision systems that perform under real-world pressure.
My work is built on a simple, non-negotiable premise:
The quality of your leadership is defined by the quality of your thinking
The quality of your leadership is defined by the quality of your thinking
TRUSTED BY:
HOW THIS IS DIFFERENT
Differentiation isn’t a method,
Differentiation isn’t a method,
it’s a standard
it’s a standard
No templates. No generic models. Just rigour applied to reality.
I don’t offer worksheets, motivational scripts or recycled leadership models. Your reality isn’t generic, so the work can’t be either.
What I offer is disciplined thinking applied to your operational context: board dynamics, power relationships, time pressure, incomplete information and human behaviour under stress. I approach leadership challenges the way a product management approaches complex systems: clarifying inputs, stress-testing assumptions and designing decisions that scale beyond the individual.
This is why organisations bring me in when things matter: during growth, transition, restructuring or moments where leadership maturity becomes visible very quickly. The standard is rigour. The outcome is clarity that holds when it’s tested.
COACHING PROGRAMMES:
COACHING PROGRAMMES:
Radical Clarity for High-Performance Leaders™
Radical Clarity for High-Performance Leaders™
A 12-week executive coaching programme focused on improving decision quality and leadership effectiveness when stakes are high and information is incomplete.The work concentrates on how decisions are made under pressure: reducing cognitive noise, sharpening prioritisation, and installing a disciplined decision structure that leaders can rely on in complex situations. This directly reduces decision drag, rework and escalation.Outcomes
Organisations see faster, higher-quality decisions, clearer communication and steadier leadership during uncertainty.Leaders develop stronger executive presence, reduced overwhelm and reusable thinking frameworks for complex decisions.Format
1:1 Executive Coaching (ICF PCC) over 12 weeks
Optional AI-enabled reflection between sessions
Baseline and end-of-programme progress review
Organisations see faster, higher-quality decisions, clearer communication and steadier leadership during uncertainty.Leaders develop stronger executive presence, reduced overwhelm and reusable thinking frameworks for complex decisions.Format
1:1 Executive Coaching (ICF PCC) over 12 weeks
Optional AI-enabled reflection between sessions
Baseline and end-of-programme progress review
AI-Enabled Leadership Accelerator™
AI-Enabled Leadership Accelerator™
A blended coaching and AI-enabled programme that builds consistent leadership capability across teams, without the cost of fully bespoke delivery.The programme standardises core leadership behaviours (decision-making, prioritisation, communication and accountability) reinforced through AI-supported reflection and practical tools embedded in day-to-day work.Outcomes
Organisations gain more consistent leadership behaviour, faster execution and reduced friction across teams.Participants gain practical tools for clearer thinking, better delegation and effective use of AI for planning and problem-solving.Format
Cohort / group coaching
Custom AI-enabled coaching system aligned to organisational context
Leadership toolkit (decision frameworks, communication guides)
Optional assessments and progress tracking
Organisations gain more consistent leadership behaviour, faster execution and reduced friction across teams.Participants gain practical tools for clearer thinking, better delegation and effective use of AI for planning and problem-solving.Format
Cohort / group coaching
Custom AI-enabled coaching system aligned to organisational context
Leadership toolkit (decision frameworks, communication guides)
Optional assessments and progress tracking
Resilient Leadership & Emotional Regulation™
Resilient Leadership & Emotional Regulation™
A targeted coaching programme addressing how stress and emotional load affect judgement, behaviour and leadership effectiveness.The work focuses on recognising stress patterns, regulating emotional responses and maintaining clarity and composure in high-stakes interactions. This is not wellbeing coaching; it is performance-critical regulation under pressure.Outcomes
Organisations benefit from leaders who remain composed, constructive and stabilising during tension or conflict, reducing burnout risk and escalation.Leaders gain stronger emotional control, clearer presence and confidence navigating difficult conversations without avoidance or blow-ups.Format
6–12 targeted coaching sessions
Stress and trigger mapping
Practical regulation tools
Behavioural pattern analysis
Organisations benefit from leaders who remain composed, constructive and stabilising during tension or conflict, reducing burnout risk and escalation.Leaders gain stronger emotional control, clearer presence and confidence navigating difficult conversations without avoidance or blow-ups.Format
6–12 targeted coaching sessions
Stress and trigger mapping
Practical regulation tools
Behavioural pattern analysis
*All programmes share a common evidence-informed foundation grounded in cognitive psychology, decision science and stress regulation, with progress assessed through observable leadership behaviour and supported by validated psychometrics.
Dario D’Aprile is an ICF PCC executive coach, psychometric practitioner and former global product management executive with over 20 years of senior leadership experience across technology, media and finance.
He has led large, cross-functional teams through growth, transformation and acquisition in complex, high-pressure environments.
He previously served as Vice President of Online Platforms at National Geographic / Fox (Disney), leading digital strategy across 52 countries. He scaled the global platform 20× and launched, for Epic Games, the first kid's safety AI compliance system.
As a coach, Dario has delivered 3,000+ hours of executive coaching and leadership development, working with leaders at organisations including Google, Amazon and NatWest. His practice focuses on decision quality, emotional regulation and leadership effectiveness under complexity.
He developed blended, evidence-based coaching methodology integrating executive coaching with AI-enabled decision-clarity tools, CliftonStrengths® and validated psychometric assessments. He is the founder of Human & Machine Ltd, a founding partner of StarSeed investment and the co-founder of Utelly (acquired by Synamedia).
Dario holds an MSc from Politecnico di Milano, and is a TEDx speaker and recipient of 20+ international awards.
TESTIMONIALS:
“Dario has brought something genuinely new to the vast and often homogenous field of leadership development.”
R. Mollina, HR Director - Milan
“The best coaching programme I’ve ever been on.”
S. Ronald, MD – London
“Dario is an extremely creative coach and a strategic thinker. He got me into a clearer vision of my role and the larger picture. He's a very nice person to work with.”
R. Ketchum, Head of Transformation - Bristol
“Dario is a really insightful coach. He has the ability to listen to what you are saying and bring you to the best version of yourself.”
K. Pifarlzer, Head of Learning and Development - London
"Dario helped me reconnecting with the company culture and improving team motivation."
M. Sullivan, VP Product Management - San Francisco
"Dario is so impactful because he takes the time to deeply understand you"
J. Phuong, Founder and CEO - Sydney
"If you're looking for someone to articulate your business strategy from that dark corner of your mind, look no further."
D. Abasolo, Group CPO - London
"With Dario's help, I was able to take my experience, ideas and learnings and distil them down into a set of clear actions."
R. Gustav, Company Owner - England
METHODOLOGY & SCIENCE
Evidence based coaching, measured through behaviour, not sentiment
Evidence based coaching, measured through behaviour, not sentiment
The work is grounded in behavioural psychology, cognitive science and decision research; not as academic theory but as practical tools to understand how thinking actually operates under pressure.
We define upfront what must improve: decision quality, alignment, executive presence, emotional regulation and leadership impact. The work is tied to real constraints: time, people, politics and P&L.
Progress is assessed through observable behavioural change: how decisions are made, how conversations are led, how tension is held and how others respond.
To accelerate insight, I use CliftonStrengths® and other validated psychometric tools. These are not personality labels. They provide a precise language for strengths, stress responses and default patterns, allowing development to be targeted and practical rather than generic.
This is informed coaching. Evidence-based. Pragmatic. Designed for leaders who can’t afford to operate on instinct alone.
AVAILABLE TO YOU FOR FREE:
ICF PCC exam preparation
ICF PCC exam preparation
Prepare for your ICF PCC credential with an interactive trainer built on the official Core Competencies and PCC Markers.
Practice real exam scenarios, choose best and worst responses and receive detailed rationales grounded in ICF standards. Self-paced preparation method for serious coaches.
AI Coach for Radical Clarity
AI Coach for Radical Clarity
An always-available thinking partner for leaders and managers who seek sharper awareness.
Guided by transformational coaching principles, it helps you slow down, reflect deeply and see through complexity; until the next step becomes unmistakably clear.
Human & Machine
Human & Machine
A publication exploring how technology, coaching and ethics intersect to create a more human future.
Through essays, interviews and tools, it helps leaders and makers “see straight when everything around them is blurred.”
All programmes are designed using a product mindset: clear problem definition, explicit success criteria, short feedback loops and observable outcomes
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