Cultivating Consciousness in the Boardroom and Beyond We often overlook the beauty around us—until a visitor prompts us to rediscover it. Recently, hosting a friend from overseas led me to reconnect with the natural and human-made wonders nearby. Yet, the greatest gift wasn’t the scenery or the structures – it was the act of being...
Are you in a rut? Is the way you lead pretty much the same as it was five years ago, give or take a few minor adjustments? Spotting when we’re stuck can, at times, be tricky. Relentless focus on delivering the goods means modern leaders have little time to look up, out, and ahead. Or...
I’m wondering how different change might look and how well it might sustain if we started in a different place. Change often starts with the conviction that change is needed—generally because things aren’t going as well as desired. Missed or declining metrics (like profits) become the burning platform. And while everyone in the organisation can...
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...
In organisational life system is often taken to mean a process by which things get done – various steps, specialists, teams/departments involved in creating a product or delivering a service. When things go wrong we look for the break in the system. Conventional wisdom suggests looking for an individual responsible for the failure. Their competence...
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...