Taking a proportional response to something could feel very boring – as though we are devoid of strong opinion or clarity of thinking. It could seem like holding a balanced perspective means that nothing clear emerges. Many people see navigating an ‘and/and’ approach as a compromise, as an inability to step up and be counted...
When things go wrong it is, perhaps, human nature to seek the source of the fault, to lay blame, to want to know why it happened and who or what was responsible. It’s an all too easy road in organisational life, especially with the pressure to deliver results. Yet, it’s a road that can make...
When things go wrong we can often get caught up in ‘panic mode’ For example, losing a credit card. Clearly a big issue if indeed it has been lost because of all the subsequent implications and risks. The question though is how does panicking help the situation. It clouds clear thinking. It creates stress which,...
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...
Growth and performance are staples of the business lexicon – goals to be pursued. Yet how thoughtful are we when we talk about growth, how considered are the thoughtforms that drive our actions? Often it can be about squeezing more from the existing structure in its current state. And that path may be costly –...
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...
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” How often do you stop and really express your gratitude? It is so easy to get caught up in the many things that may be creating challenges in your day, your week, your life that the wonderful...
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...
When we think about the work of leaders, we rightly have an expectation that they will have a wider, bigger, higher perspective. We imagine that they are so well connected and ‘read in’ to the major factors that may affect the well-being of the organisation that they are able to see new pathways that we...
In a working world that is ‘always on’, how comfortable are we in allowing ourselves time out for self-reflection? Though it’s an invaluable investment aren’t we likely to put this on to the ‘get to later’ pile or on the ‘self-indulgent’ (and, therefore, never to be visited) pile. Yet here’s the thing, ‘booking a meeting...