Blogs
Disrupting the Status Quo
I have read several articles over the last few months that combine ideas and ultimately call for a new set of capabilities to create success in organisations today. These are capabilities beyond current leadership skills within organisations that enable digital...
Nailing Jelly
"Dealing with bureaucracy is like trying to nail jelly to the wall." ~ John F. Kennedy Well JFK certainly had a way with words and I love this quote from him. I feel confident there are many emerging leaders in organisations who have experienced trying to "nail jelly...
Being Humble
"If we were humble, nothing would change us - neither praise nor discouragement."~ Mother Teresa The wise words of an amazing woman can certainly challenge you - if you dig deep. This espouses the very essence of self actualisation. If we are truly self actualised...
Attitude is something you can control
"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude"- Dr Maya Angelou Such powerful words and advice yet far too many people I meet sit back and blame and wait for others and things to change - not them! I find working with existing...
The Essence of Integrity
"You always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." - Norman Schwarzkopf In my mind this is the very essence of integrity; holding yourself to account to do the right thing even when others don't know what choices you had available. If we are honest...
An update on saying it as it is
I am pleased to report back that the universe has provided me with a few situations recently that "tested" my mettle to say it as it is. In a particular recent situation it would've been far easier for me to do the "polite" thing and just move on in a conversation....
Agility
Organisations need it, relationships need it and individuals need it. The world is a different place - moving with great speed. So what you did last year may not work this year and certainly not into the future years. Relationships are under increasing pressure as...
Capture the Positive
Interesting to appreciate that most people debrief only when things have gone wrong so they can learn from the event debriefing on the good, the bad and the uglyand choices and determine what to do differently next time. And yes this is very important and I don't in...
Say it as it is
Too often we beat around the bush or at worst make assumptions. I appreciate the importance of "saying it as it is" if you want your message to be received the way you want it to be received (in other words - your intention - before you delivered the message). I have...
Immediate Compulsion to Blame
As humans our hard wiring directs us to protect ourselves - the research of Jane Goodall demonstrates this is why we have evolved so successfully as a species. For example - we are bush walking, hear something rustle and we judge it is a snake or something dangerous...
Wings to Fly
I have spoken many times about the correlation between leading in business and leading in your family. We recently experienced our eldest daughter using her "wings" to fly off to New York to live and work for a year, aged 21. As parents (existing leaders) you reflect...
Innovation is created from conflict
The leadership teams of many organisations determine they seek innovation and include it as one of their values or enablers for achieving their vision. However do these same leaders actively encourage the divergent thinking required to produce innovation? In my...
How important are rules?
Reading the wise words of Doug Dickerson sparked interesting thoughts – for leaders of organisations how important are rules in leadership he asks?
Why is it so hard to engage existing leaders to change behaviours?
Emerging leaders embrace leadership development with an intense desire to learn and develop and happily change the way they do things because they are prepared and open to exploring the impacts of such changes.
Personal transition is vital to operationalising change with speed
Most organisations seek innovation and yet in my experience most need to get better at operationalising the change that results from the innovation they actively encourage.
People don’t like the word conflict
I find it fascinating how many leaders dislike the word "conflict" - to the extent they refuse to use it. We have such horrible images of conflict and perceive that when people engage in a conversation where there is conflict there will necessarily be aggressive...
Be in the here and now or pace to the future
I read my horoscope on the weekend and this is what I was informed: "Be in the here and now and you are alive, you are living your life to the fullest. Living your life to the fullest isn't about going out looking for the big shiny bright lights. Living your life to...
Confidentiality – Reality or Excuse?
Recently speaking to a group of business leaders about being a courageous leader and the topic of confidentiality was raised again as an "excuse" for the lack of open and honest conversations between Existing and Emerging Leaders. My challenge back to these leaders...
Game changers have a deep care for people
Game changers have a deep care for people or they wouldn’t take the risks they do if they didn’t. Another way of looking at Game Changers is to view what they do as Paying It Forward – they want to create a better future for the next generations that follow....