We already knew this yet the past few weeks have reminded us, starkly, that there’s little normal about our world anymore, little that we can rely on. The status quo is being upended daily, more so even than in pandemic times. Cowering behind the metaphorical sofa, assuming this will blow over, is an option but...
The problems that pop up daily, often unexpectedly, in life and work can put us in perpetual reactive mode – perpetual whack-a-mole. Conversely, proactivity – the ability to take control rather than just responding, acting in advance of future situations, is a much admired and often required quality in the workplace. Yet is it possible...
Elections create change. Organisations are in constant change. Family life with its ups and downs can be destabilising. If you are a lover of change you may take all this in your stride though this tends not to be the case for most of us even if we don’t always admit it to ourselves or...
Transforming an organisation is a familiar concept…at least intellectually and one often on the agenda of Boards and Exec Teams. There are any number of areas that arise as candidates…culture, governance, technology, processes, efficiency, profitability. The list goes on. For the most part, the focus will be on the symptoms and the approach will tend...
Resilience is surely one of the most important qualities for navigating the challenges of our chaotic and unpredictable world. We can see this in nature as the natural world recovers from the battering of climatic events. We can see it in human life as communities repair and rise again after natural or human-made disasters. We...
Back in the day when Tesco was sweeping all before it its then CEO Sir Terry Leahy talked about setting audacious goals – many of which the business delivered. I was reminded of this idea in a recent conversation with @GuillermoRogel who talked about asking people to consider for themselves what a ‘10 X bolder’...
It’s a strange term isn’t it – ‘edgewalking’ and yet a very powerful concept for the role many leaders need to be undertaking in organisations in these times. If we consider the boundary line between the old and the new, the current reality and new changed state we find the line often occupied by edgewalkers....
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...
When asked to describe the qualities and practices of leadership ‘leading by example’ is a phrase that will be often repeated. But does that cut it? We are in a time of election, not just here in the UK but across the world. European elections are taking place. India has recently completed its polls and...
We are taught to build and create not destroy. We learn about continuous improvement, as step by step we refine an idea, a project, a programme, an offering. Our focus is on making things better and at one level that makes perfect sense. However sometimes, we need to destroy something in order to build the...