Independent Executive Advisory
Decision Clarity for asset-intensive organisations
Welcome
Sandra Diethelm
I am an independent advisor working with executives and boards in asset-intensive organisations.
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I support decisions that are high consequence, long term, and uncertain. These are decisions where the stakes are material, the path forward is not obvious, and the impact cuts across functions, assets, and people.
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In these situations, leaders are often faced with competing priorities, partial information, and differing views across the organisation. The challenge is rarely a lack of data. It is making sense of complexity, understanding the real trade offs, and being clear about what matters most.
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My role is to bring clarity to these moments. I help leaders think through difficult choices, surface uncertainty explicitly, and make decisions that are coherent, defensible, and grounded in the reality of their organisation.
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I focus on improving the quality of decisions before significant commitments are made and before avoidable risks are locked in.
Where I add value
I am typically brought in at specific decision points where clarity, judgement, and an independent perspective make a material difference.
When a major investment or transformation decisions need to be made.
This often occurs when an organisation is facing a significant investment or enterprise-wide change and there is no shared executive view on the way forward.
Common signals include competing priorities, unclear options, long term consequences that cannot easily be reversed, and material exposure to risk or uncertainty.
In this moment, I help turn fragmented thinking and competing perspectives into a clear, decision ready narrative. I work with leaders to clarify options, make trade offs explicit, and ensure uncertainty is properly understood so decisions can be made with confidence.
When decisions about enterprise transformation are not delivering the desired business benefits or progress has stalled
This situation arises when organisations have capable people, solid plans, and established frameworks, yet progress remains slow or repeatedly resets.
Common signals include persistent delivery issues despite “good” plans, governance forums focused on coordination and stakeholder updates rather than decision-making, blurred accountability across functions, and escalation processes that discuss issues and risks without resolving them.
In this context, I help leaders examine whether decision authority, sponsorship, and governance are aligned with the scale of transformation underway. The focus is on resetting how decisions are owned, reinforced, and acted upon across the organisation.
When organisations keep being surprised despite established risk processes
This situation arises when major change or transformation repeatedly encounters issues that the business believed were understood or under control, indicating that uncertainty is not being surfaced early enough.
Common signals include risks repeatedly escalating into issues and surprises during delivery, risk and assurance protocols exist but have little impact, and a culture where uncertainty is noted but does not interrupt momentum or prompt leadership attention.
In this context, I help leaders calibrate when, where, and how uncertainty is best surfaced. The focus is on ensuring risk is identified and explored early enough to drive timely leadership decisions, influence behaviour, and support the creation and protection of organisational value.
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