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 […]
Learning in the Time of Coronavirus
At some stage during your career you may have been involved in learning programs that feature scenarios or role plays. Most often, the pre-prepared scenarios feature difficult situations – a relationship with a customer has become strained, one of your team members is under performing or an important deadline has been missed. Participants work their […]
Want to Be a Better Leader? Stop Doing These 18 Things
There are plenty of things that can hold high potential leaders back from achieving the level of impact they are capable of. Based on my experience observing leaders, working for leaders, coaching leaders and also being a leader myself I’ve identified a number of frequent blocks to progress. If you want to be a better […]
7 Questions to Help Leaders Find Clarity
One of the main differences between the very best leaders and the others is their level of clarity. Effective leaders are clear about a lot of things, including who they are and what they represent. This helps them spend their time and energy in beneficial ways, and they come across as compelling and congruent to […]
2 Golden Rules for Influencing Behaviour
Influencing people to take positive actions is an important aspect of leadership and it’s an important aspect of life. We use this skill in all sorts of instances: Maybe you’ve had to influence an employee in your team to change a behavior. Maybe you’ve needed to influence a customer to take some action or […]
Followership – Leadership’s Less Famous Sibling
There’s an enormous amount of focus on leadership, and this is understandable. Good leaders make a huge difference as they improve organisations and the wider world, while bad leaders can leave an ugly mark of bad results and damaged people. There’s much, much less focus on followership, about 1000 times less it would seem! My […]
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 […]
How to Knock Self-Doubt Down to Size
Self-doubt. All of us have it. For some of us it’s an occasional visitor, while for others it’s ever-present. Sometimes it’s useful. For example, the self-doubt that stops me from swimming outside the flags in rough surf conditions has probably served me well. Other times self-doubt is much less useful, such as: The kind that stops […]
What I’ve Learnt From My Dog
It’s fair to say that my dog, a black miniature schnauzer named Bessie (pictured), is no rocket scientist. She has no understanding of algebra, she’s terrible at measurement and conversion, and her proficiency with statistics is downright poor. She is, however, the source of endless amusement and joy for our family. More unexpectedly, she’s […]
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 […]
