Most of us will feel we have little time for contemplation or at best it’s done on the run. The dictionary offers several layers of definition of ‘contemplation’ ranging from ‘deep reflective thought’ to ‘seeking to pass beyond mental images and concepts to a direct experience of the divine’. Whilst from a leadership perspective, in...
If we are honest with ourselves, each of us have aspects of our personality that we’d like to ‘soften’, aspects which we know can sometimes bring unhelpful impacts to ourselves and others. One of mine is impatience. This can take many forms from the mundane impatience with inefficiency and ineffectiveness, to the loftier and even...
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” How often do you stop and really express your gratitude? It is so easy to get caught up in the many things that may be creating challenges in your day, your week, your life that the wonderful...
It’s a little mind-blowing to think that in 2024 there are elections in 64 countries in the world, more so that 42 per cent of the world’s population are eligible to cast their vote…to choose the next leaders of their nations and, to an extent, the collective leadership of our world. So, many of us...
As 2023 drew to a close and a New Year dawned that thorny issue of standards in public life and leadership raised its head once more with the Baroness mired in the Covid/PPE scandal, the energy company boss stepping down for economy with the truth about relations with employees and, of course, the Post Office....
We are often reminded about the power of gratitude but there is scientific evidence to show that it has both physical and psychological benefits. Benefits that stabilise our heart rate, calm our emotions and generate more optimism. Gratitude and Its Impact on the Brain and Body | Psychology Today Creating a habit of gratitude, like...
When we look at the ever-growing list of capabilities leaders need to lead well and consider the rapidly changing, uncertain and often ambiguous context in which organisations must operate the temptation to give up may be strong. Yet we know that’s not really an option. Of course no one can claim all the capabilities on...
In a working world that is ‘always on’, how comfortable are we in allowing ourselves time out for self-reflection? Though it’s an invaluable investment aren’t we likely to put this on to the ‘get to later’ pile or on the ‘self-indulgent’ (and, therefore, never to be visited) pile. Yet here’s the thing, ‘booking a meeting...
As leaders we may all too familiar with the call for ‘more’. Often accompanied by ‘faster’. The relentlessness of today’s working environment may not always leave time to appreciate what is being achieved already and to count our blessings. This may feel like an old-fashioned notion and yet being able to see the beauty, the...
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...