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...
As human beings we tend to be drawn to, and favour, people like us – who share the same values, beliefs, outlook on life. Who think like we do. It’s comfortable and comforting. Yet we also know that embracing difference – extending our learning and understanding of the world – whilst confronting, may be helpful....
You may not believe in miracles. You may find yourself constantly amazed and in awe of the incredible wonder in our world. Maybe the night sky evokes wonder in you. Maybe seeing the light shining and sparkling through your child’s eyes activates that deep sense of awe and wonder… As adults, it can be hard...
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...
Taking things for granted is a very human thing. It happens for many reasons including feeling comfortable in our current place/mind-set, being too busy to stop and notice things around us or maybe because we are too self-absorbed or arrogant to open to something different. There can be opportunities to get the wake-up call, shift...
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...
On the whole, most leaders either love the generally fast pace of corporate life or, if they don’t, have learnt how to work within it without being mown down by it. It can be exhilarating and full of passion and true creativity but more often than not it tends to result in an almost robotic...
We may bemoan the lack of talent when we’re looking to recruit. All the sages (and indicators) tell us there’s a shortage. Meanwhile we may express a need to bring fresh thinking into the team or organisation and commit to doing so. Then there’s the likelihood that we get caught in the urgency trap. Needing...
Have you ever really focused on what happens when people come together in a group? Imagine there’s a complex, knotty issue under discussion. How much of the energy is given to wrestling with the facts and solving the issue in a linear efficient mode, how much to the less visible knots and how much to...
Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify recently became the latest organisation to take an axe to meetings. All recurring meetings with more than two people have been banned, Wednesdays are meeting free and big meetings – of 50+ people – have to fit a six-hour window on Thursdays and are limited to one a week. You may...