We might interpret gaps as negatives, a lack of, a hole to be filled, a deficit. Gaps in a usually busy diary might cause anxiety. Am I needed? Working hard enough? Is there a problem? We can obsess when others have knowledge or skills we feel we don’t. A gap. I am learning to think...
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the call of surrender and how it brings the opportunity, indeed the requirement, to let go and accept what is. In the past few weeks, I have learnt even more. It cannot be half hearted, intellectually driven or conceptual. True surrender requires everything of us. It wants us...
For various reasons I’m being called on to surrender in my life. Not easy when you are used to taking responsibility, figuring things out, having an insight that guides. Surrender, at least for me can feel like giving up, giving in, being weak. And yet as I have sat with it more, I realise in...
As leaders we know it’s our job to help people develop and release their potential. When it comes to skills and tasks, we generally do okay at helping them to ‘do better’. But what about truly releasing our collective inner power by building a culture of openness, transparency and confidence by sharing more behavioural feedback...
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...
We are surrounded by crises big and small and the inclination to see them as something to be afraid of is strong – after all we have inbuilt fight and flight mechanisms for a reason and when we see the danger posed by many of the crises why wouldn’t we allow ourselves to feel fearful....
Latter day heroes conjure up very clear archetypes of dragon slaying, evil beating, world saving on a vast scale. Romantic, seemingly invincible and invariably male, these heroes were the very epitome of courage and strong values. The courage needed in leadership today is no less great, but my sense is that its nature is quite...
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...
Wherever we look we’re surrounded by examples of service – the purely transactional of a service provided for which we pay (smile optional) through to the more noble and life impacting work of health and emergency services and the armed forces. In our own lives, when we really think about it, everything we do is...
When we speak about teamwork and building a high performing team, it can be easy to be lulled into a false sense that it’s a walk in the park. That by undertaking a few team building exercises the group will achieve optimum performance. For sure, team building activities are useful and have their place in...