As leaders these days we are rightly expected to be well versed in fairness. Ensuring that we make fair decisions, create fair opportunities (as well as equal access) for our colleagues and co-workers, and that we address any inequities that may come to our attention. But have you ever considered what fairness really means? The...
The world over we can see conflict from the macro – nations bearing arms against each other, with catastrophic human cost – to the micro – sharp words exchanged between those who know each other, as well as those who don’t. Though the disputed ‘territory’ will be different in each case and the damage substantially...
One of the side effects for many of the prolonged ‘lockdowns’ that I’ve heard mentioned, and indeed notice in myself, is a tendency toward becoming ‘settled’ or institutionalised in non-action. Whether it’s the simple things like getting on a train or plane, going to a restaurant or back to the physical workplace or something bigger...
So many of the attributes often associated with great leadership come from the masculine energy dimension – action, logic, boldness, physical strength, discipline, self-control and so on. These attributes have facilitated many great achievements in the hands of some leaders and wrought unhelpful destruction in the hands of others when taken to extremes. At this...
It’s so easy to become locked in our own worldview. In our defence we’ve probably cultivated it over years of experience and processing of ‘information’ that has served us well in navigating the various twists and turns of life. The challenge of course is the one of assumptions and mental models…both of which can create...
We know that physical balance is important in life – it enables us to move with confidence in the world without a sensation of dizziness, instability or indeed actually falling over. Some of us even consciously work on this physical stability by strengthening our core muscles and providing our bodies with a strong base. We...
Earlier this week we learned that The Oldie magazine wanted to name HM The Queen its ‘Oldie of the Year’, an honour she declined in quite brilliant fashion. The letter from her private secretary read: ‘Her Majesty believes you are as old as you feel, as such The Queen does not believe she meets the...
We all know what it feels like to work in a team or group where there is a tense undercurrent, where the communication isn’t open and smooth and where competition or fear, or both, infect the dynamics. Of course it’s the responsibility of the team leader to pay attention to these things although often they...
I sometimes wonder if it’s a past life as some sort of self-obsessed dictator that makes me so passionate about the responsibilities of leadership in this lifetime (needing to deal with past karma perhaps). Whatever the reason, leadership, a much-used word and often misunderstood practice is something that in different ways we all have within...
Leadership is a word we all use regularly – sometimes because we have a deep-felt sense of what it means and sometimes as an expression of power or authority or maybe responsibility and accountability. As anyone who has ever thought deeply about leadership will know it’s a concept and practice that has more definitions, dimensions...