We can learn much about self-leadership and team work from the sporting jamboree happening now in Paris. Central to the Olympics are two ideals – that of Corinthian Spirit which is the embodiment of sportsmanship; and the Olympic motto…’Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.’ For Corinthian Spirit in leading in organisations we can read ‘doing the...
Euro 2024 recently threw up a moment of hen’s teeth rarity when Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, a player known for his single-mindedness and ruthless goalscoring, passed to a colleague in a slightly better position to take the shot. His actions shifted the outcome from likely to certain as the goal was duly scored. In football...
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...
The current news agenda is awash with stories of deficit in ethical behaviour among leaders – the Vietnamese businesswoman convicted this week of siphoning £billions from a bank she owns 90% of, multiple fraud cases against an ex and wannabe again US president, and the Post Office scandal rumbles loudly on. Ethics and morals can...
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...
Often our most important work gets left until last – until it’s to late to do our best work. Until the issue has mushroomed or the time to realise the opportunity has evaporated. We only have to look at the world’s Government’s rowing back on climate change commitments to see this in action. Whether the...
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...
Competence can be a blessing and, if not exactly a curse, a hole we, as leaders, can easily fall into. How lucky we may count ourselves if all our team are highly competent. People who need little guidance to do their thing with excellence. We may feel it frees us to contribute at a higher...