At a time when some parts of the world are stalling on their position on diversity, equality and inclusion with some organisations seemingly pulling back their focus or programmes, or both, following the recent declarations in the US, it seems to me that it could be timely to consider what it is that we mean...
Latter day heroes conjure up very clear archetypes of dragon slaying, evil beating, world saving on a vast scale. Romantic, seemingly invincible and invariably male, these heroes were the very epitome of courage and strong values. The courage needed in leadership today is no less great, but my sense is that its nature is quite...
I’ve attended a few online sessions in the past couple of weeks. All of them promised learning (even in the fine print) yet turned out to be sales webinars aimed at getting people signed up for a range of support services or development programmes. Scanning the meeting Chat showed others were also feeling less than...
Skilful communication is one of the pre-requisites of leadership yet a few conversations in the past week have come as a reminder of how hard we can find it to get this right and how often neglected it is in race to deliver targets. Perhaps the problem is that we see it as a given....
We already knew this yet the past few weeks have reminded us, starkly, that there’s little normal about our world anymore, little that we can rely on. The status quo is being upended daily, more so even than in pandemic times. Cowering behind the metaphorical sofa, assuming this will blow over, is an option but...
One of the key factors that we promote and seek to develop in high performing teams here at azzur is the ability for senior execs to work in the collective space, in which they move beyond their functional specialism and into being a ‘board’ where every member is truly functioning across all disciplines. This isn’t...
Choosing to step up and take responsibility is a powerful thing and something which, when done consciously and from a pure heart, brings forth great inner power which can also be very magnetic. If we consider the word responsibility itself, it is describing the ability to respond. At its highest level, to have the ability...
The problems that pop up daily, often unexpectedly, in life and work can put us in perpetual reactive mode – perpetual whack-a-mole. Conversely, proactivity – the ability to take control rather than just responding, acting in advance of future situations, is a much admired and often required quality in the workplace. Yet is it possible...
Taking a proportional response to something could feel very boring – as though we are devoid of strong opinion or clarity of thinking. It could seem like holding a balanced perspective means that nothing clear emerges. Many people see navigating an ‘and/and’ approach as a compromise, as an inability to step up and be counted...
As human beings we tend to be drawn to, and favour, people like us – who share the same values, beliefs, outlook on life. Who think like we do. It’s comfortable and comforting. Yet we also know that embracing difference – extending our learning and understanding of the world – whilst confronting, may be helpful....