We are seeing a welcome focus on employee well-being in our organisations these days. Admittedly some may argue that it’s still not sufficiently embedded into the culture especially in the face of economic, operational and human challenges. However, well-being, mental and physical especially, is slowly making its way onto our radar. For well-being to truly...
The pandemic was possibly a once in a generation event (let’s hope so). And in that trial for the human family most businesses suffered. Many have survived and are now thriving once more. Others have gone to the wall. Why, we may ask. What sets some on the path to sustainability and the elevated path...
I came across a definition of love the other day that was offered by Burt Hellinger, the godfather of family constellation therapy. It is a definition that offers food for thought in a leadership and organisational context. LOVE = SEEING + DISTANCE – JUDGEMENT This definition of love offers much food for thought and some...
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...
In a McKinsey article about the book ‘Why Managers Matter: The Perils of the Bossless Company’, the authors, Nicolai J. Foss and Peter G. Klein argue that it’s inappropriate to assume that the call for more self-management, autonomous working and equality of agency is appropriate in improving the performance of an organisation. It caused me...
As babies, as young children, and young adults we (hopefully) are taught, eventually, to have and value our independence. Psychologically this is a vital part of our development as we learn to become our own person, find our own sense of self and identity. We separate from the parental guardrails and make our way in...
The legend of King Arthur and his round table is a powerful one and like all myths, legends and fairy tales, it contains many archetypes and principles that are both timeless and great sources of wisdom. One that feels most prescient for today’s world is the expression of cooperative leadership and for this the round...
If we look across our team or our organisation most people know what they’re doing – there’s a reassuring competence. The work gets done, results get delivered. What may be missing though is whether people know why they’re doing what they’re doing. What’s the higher purpose for their endeavours? We know that purpose, why the...
It isn’t too much of a stretch to assert that our world is going through incredible transformation (not all of it good). For example the breakdown of established institutions, destruction of our planet, developing the technology to save ourselves or destroy ourselves, increased human connection as we start to really see the impacts of our...
Freedom is a basic human right and one that should be protected. With freedom, of course, comes responsibility and consequences. Whether it’s in our own personal lives, in our communities or organisations we all expect (at least in the Western democracies) to live our lives with full freedom. But what does that really mean? We...