In many psychometric surveys designed to consider aspects of leadership, there are often questions that reveal the degree to which a person naturally gravitates toward the front of any group. Not because of ego but because of an inbuilt or developed sense of responsibility, accountability and, what we eventually come to call leadership. Even when...
What is our accountability and responsibility to step fully into our leadership capability in service of a better world? Some might argue that there are different responses to accountability and responsibility and that’s true if we consider leadership in a formal, positional sense. But what if we deeply acknowledge our fundamental identity as leaders, regardless...
In any healthy relationship boundaries are really important not because we are seeking to hide or be secretive, quite the opposite in fact because unless we are honest with ourselves about our own needs and capabilities, we cannot be in a healthy relationship with anything or anybody. And that’s the hard part – being willing...
We live in a complex world, navigating complex issues seemingly at every turn. So, we must take care not to add to that complication. It’s an easy trap to fall into…to over engineer what we do and how. Whether that’s stacking the messages in our communication, seeking a more complex solution when the obvious will...
After its upending by the pandemic the world of work has begun to settle in a different place with hybrid working a common feature of many workplaces. But is everything rosy in this brave new world? There are inherent challenges emerging in the hybrid model. Many employees have become used to the freedom to handle...
Time for thinking, for reflection, for ordering our thoughts, reprioritising the ‘to do’ list, is often a casualty of the busy-ness of organisational life and its always-on, back-to-back nature. Yet time for reflection is essential to the quality of our leadership decisions and ensuing action. And it’s essential to ensure that pressure remains a useful...
My Facebook feed is full of reminders that we are all connected. That what shapes as a thought in my mind will be transmitted even if I don’t speak it out loud. That what sits in my heart…love, anger, irritation, compassion…is radiating out and I have a responsibility to be aware and constructively transform anything...
We are seeing a welcome focus on employee well-being in our organisations these days. Admittedly some may argue that it’s still not sufficiently embedded into the culture especially in the face of economic, operational and human challenges. However, well-being, mental and physical especially, is slowly making its way onto our radar. For well-being to truly...
Power is a central theme in our lives yet it has something of a bad rap. With some regularity we see abuses of power – it being wielded in a self-serving and destructive way. Individually we can feel powerless in the face of external factors in the system whether that’s the State, the economy or...
Emotional intelligence is increasingly seen as a cornerstone of modern and successful leadership. Whilst some leaders excel instinctively in this area, most must embark on a conscious and lifelong journey to steadily increase their awareness, understanding and practise as they embrace not only emotional intelligence but convert that to emotional maturity. Any study or research...