During the uncertainty and struggles of 2020, as our lives have become more constrained, there has been a return to simpler pleasures. People I know are finding more time for the hobbies they enjoy – painting, music, games, puzzles and more. For me, 2020 has helped me rediscover my love of literature. In recent years […]
Leadership in the Time of Coronavirus
When I was 8 years old the world was gravely concerned about the prospect of a nuclear war, as global superpowers the USA and USSR were locked in a Cold War staredown. Then, when I was 28, approaching the year 2000, there were serious worries about the Y2K computer bug, which some experts said would […]
Want to Enjoy Your Work More? Remember that All Organisations Are Imperfect.
During my very first economics lecture at the University of Queensland in the late 1980’s, my lecturer Dr Gunton made an observation that I have never forgotten. “All organisations are imperfect”, he pronounced with gusto from his academic pulpit in front of the crowded night time lecture theatre. I wrote this down, underlined it and filed […]
Yes it is Lonely At the Top (But it Doesn’t Have to Be)
When we commence our careers we usually work in the fat bit of the organisational structure triangle, somewhere near the bottom, where it’s anything but lonely. Everywhere we look there are people we can talk to, people to ask questions of, people to have a whinge with and people to share a laugh with. Very […]
Humility for Leaders (with Lessons From Donald Trump)
Donald Trump’s approach to leadership saddens me, never more so than when he shoved past the Montenegro president at a NATO meeting recently. If you missed this you might like to check out the short video below. This behaviour would be inappropriate in a schoolyard, it would be inappropriate in a workplace and it is […]
Giving Before Getting
A few days ago I dropped in to a bakery and asked for half a dozen breadrolls. I was a little embarrassed to find myself a couple of dollars short of the $3.60 I needed. The lady who was serving (and who didn’t know me) said to just give her what I had and give her the […]
How to Really Enjoy Mondays
Ever noticed how musicians give Mondays a bad wrap? The Boomtown Rats sing that they hate Mondays so much they want to “shoot the whole day down”. Not quite as extreme, but hardly positive, the Bangles describe Mondays as “manic” and lament that Sunday is over. The Easybeats are more forward thinking but admit […]
Small Gestures of Appreciation
Last week I facilitated a workshop to help a management team examine its functioning and consider some ways to improve. It was a real pleasure to work with this team. The conversation was rich, all participants contributed actively, and the session set a useful platform for the team to grow together. The next day, […]
A Less Obvious Form of Diversity
Over the past few months I’ve been having a slow binge watch of “Mad Men” on Netflix. With the show’s clever scripts, enigmatic lead characters and fastidiously detailed depiction of the 1960’s I’m really enjoying it. There’s one thing that makes “Mad Men” hard to watch though, and that’s the way the male advertising executives […]
Starting Team Meetings with a Human Moment
Here’ a question for you if you’re a manager or a team leader. How do you spend the first 5 minutes of your your weekly/ fortnightly team meetings? We get straight down to serious business (e.g. we share project status updates) We talk about something work related but fairly light (e.g. we share good […]
