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...
As leaders we all hope to be visionary, don’t we? To aspire and inspire. We are fortunate in our interconnected world to have a window on the efforts of other visionary leaders, their impact and example. We can also discern, for ourselves, any gap between rhetoric and reality. A few days ago I was reminded...
Imagine all your previous learning and accumulated knowledge and skills being wiped out and then consider the words of American writer and futurist Alvin Toffler… ‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.’ Toffler’s words recognise the world we find...
If we are honest with ourselves, we know that most complex problems cannot be solved in isolation by one person. For sure the world is blessed with an occasional genius able to cut through and bring to our awareness a new way to see the world or the issues we are dealing with. However in...
‘It’s not only moving that creates new starting points. Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional pause and reset, or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities.’ Kristin Armstrong Life and work dictate that we’re always moving, on to the...
…can feel demoralising for those who only like forward motion, making progress. But let’s reconsider for a moment…what if the one step backwards is actually a point of learning, consolidation and insight? Maybe you recall those times when you went a little slower to go more quickly in the end. Or when you’ve rushed on...
If, as the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child then we might consider it takes a world to raise a leader. And, in embracing the need for a better world, consciousness must become a core quality of our leadership. Starting to tap into a deeper and higher wisdom comes through deepening...