For 25 years or more I personally have sought to better understand this wake-up call. Can you hear it? Or are you hitting the snooze button? Anyone who considers themselves to be a leader is being asked, called, prompted, cajoled, maybe even forced into living up to that function from a higher vantage point. Who...
We speak of communities of practice, and some organisations will have a group or communities dedicated to people related themes such as diversity, LBGTQ+ or faith and yet we rarely think about community as the backbone of the organism. Yes, there will potentially be share of mind dedicated to the culture and yet even that...
I’m deeply committed to the ‘science’ of how groups work; how a diverse collection of people can collaborate, cooperate and manifest outcomes that are truly superior and more far-reaching because they are mastering this ‘science’. And let’s face it to help change our world for the better we need some truly powerful cooperation amongst groups....
I heard about a local school the other day whose mission is about pupils becoming DHBs (Decent Human Beings) through their education at the school. Not a new idea but an inspiring one. It got me thinking about this in the context of organisational life where values are often mentioned though not always with the...
Generosity. It may seem a little old fashioned, out of kilter with the pace of our world, the attention needed to get things done. Yet it is a quality and an energy that is transformative. Being generous with our time and attention elevates not only the quality and openness of our conversations but also the...
Driving in Sicily recently I was struck by the seemingly infinite tolerance that was present on the, to me, deeply chaotic roads and how the drivers didn’t seem to flinch when someone pulled out in front of them unexpectedly and without warning. They certainly rarely used the car horn or rude gestures at the other...
Usually in the workplace the conversations that don’t happen, or tend to be put off for too long, are the difficult/more challenging ones…giving constructive feedback, calling out poor behaviour, introducing a change that’s unlikely to be popular. Each of these, and other personal examples you’ll undoubtedly have, are important. Leaving them to drift can cause...
Most of us are familiar with the change curve and the stages we go through when facing a change – whether one we have chosen or something imposed on us. These days we are most likely experiencing wave after wave of change curve scenarios and finding ourselves at different places on each wave. This can...
Our very literal interpretation of the word ‘hierarchy’, and within that the function of leadership, that we see deployed in most organisations misses the true essence of hierarchical responsibility which is much more profound than status, authority over, personal power or control. One of these more profound aspects is the responsibility a leader has to...
‘If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same’ (from Rudyard Kipling’s If) When one of the world’s leading female tennis players lost a major championship recently, she very publicly attributed the loss to her poor play rather than the winner’s skill. Only on reflection did she realise...