In 2026, one of the biggest leadership mistakes entrepreneurs are making isn’t a lack of AI adoption — it’s adopting AI before they’ve built clarity in their business foundations.
“You have to have the basics in order,” says Felix Brabander, leadership consultant and founder of ResonanceEngine. “Because if you start with AI and your basics are not in order, then AI will only worsen your problem.”
It’s a perspective that reflects a growing tension in the entrepreneurship and coaching ecosystem: the race toward automation without alignment.
At Humans of Fuzia (HOF) — a global thought-leadership platform at the intersection of leadership, entrepreneurship, coaching, women empowerment, and socially conscious business — conversations like these are becoming increasingly critical. With a deep understanding of how coaches and small business entrepreneurs grow and scale, HOF continues to spotlight industry experts whose work bridges human-centered leadership with scalable growth systems.
From Coaching Individuals to Scaling Business Leadership Systems
Felix didn’t begin with enterprise consulting.
“I had already a long tradition of people telling me that if they ever had any problem, they would come to me,” he shares. “Somehow I exuded some capacity to quickly see and discover what was nagging other people.”
For nearly two decades, his work focused on highly sensitive individuals — offering short, high-impact coaching sessions rather than prolonged engagements.
“I was so quickly able to discern the real essence and the real problem that if I would keep people for weeks or months in my coaching, it would feel like I was scamming them.”
But over time, a shift occurred.
“I found out that I was over and over doing the same thing. So I started to shift a bit more from coaching to consultancy, to businesses and business owners.”
This transition marks a familiar growth challenge for many coaching professionals in 2026: evolving from service provider to systems-oriented leader capable of supporting scalable business execution.
Leadership Challenges in 2026: Growth Complexity, Client Acquisition & Messaging Clarity
Today’s small business leaders — particularly women entrepreneurs — aren’t just battling visibility. They’re navigating:
- Team accountability gaps
- Messaging dilution
- Ideal Client Profile (ICP) confusion
- Client acquisition bottlenecks
- Delegation resistance
- Scaling without sustainable systems
Felix believes leadership development starts with self-awareness and mission clarity.
“If you want to build a business, or you have a business and you want to scale it… then you have to communicate to your family that you’re still there, but maybe not as available as they are used to.”
Especially in socially traditional contexts, women in leadership must renegotiate availability to reclaim authority over their entrepreneurial vision.
“The clearer you are about your own mission… the more respect you will get from people around you.”
Women in Leadership: Why Intuition Is a Strategic Growth Asset
Felix challenges the hustle-centric growth model still dominating entrepreneurial culture.
“The greatest pitfall that you can step into is to start to do and act as men do.”
Instead, he advocates leveraging intuition as a business advantage:
“If you want to be more successful, you should take time to retreat… and really sense what’s going on.”
This presence-led leadership approach can improve:
- Sales funnel clarity
- Speaking authority
- Brand messaging
- Strategic partnerships
- Delegation decisions
- Growth system design
Execution Tip
Schedule a quarterly “Legacy vs. Potential” audit.
Ask yourself:
- Is my current business model aligned with who I am now?
- Which offers or systems feel outdated?
- What am I maintaining out of loyalty rather than strategy?
“Your legacy becomes a heavy thing on your leg,” Felix notes. “You have to check regularly if there is not just a legacy, but also a potential.”
Connect with Felix Brabander
Website: https://resonanceengine.io
LinkedIn:Felix Brabander | LinkedIn
As leadership coaching and entrepreneurship continue to evolve alongside technology, the future of socially conscious business will depend less on tools — and more on alignment, clarity, and human-centered growth systems.
Through expert-led conversations, Humans of Fuzia remains committed to equipping emerging women leaders and coaching professionals with the insights required to scale sustainably in an increasingly complex business landscape.
