Not all values are created equal! This may sound counter-trend: aren’t we supposed to be values-led leaders? Yes and no. Each set of values has a limitation and downside that we need to be mindful of.
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Want a positive corporate culture? Nurture the influencers!
Hierarchies are old school! Command and control is fading. The organisation chart is dead! We need to meet the new complex world with a new approach. Enter crowdocracy and networks: the new tools of engagement.
Read MoreOn losing one of my leadership role models
All good things come to an end. What comfort can we find in transitions? How can we shift perspective to make meaning from difficult times?
Read MoreWhat does it mean to be inspiring in your leadership?
As leaders, one of our responsibilities is to uplift others. Many of us feel the pressure to be ‘inspiring’. To be the leader others want to follow. To be the leader everyone admires and respects. The impostor syndrome often kicks in at this point. Who am I to be inspiring? We don’t need to crawl up Mount Everest wearing a blindfold and carrying a camel to be inspiring. Here are three secrets to being inspiring.
Read MoreElevating leadership performance through flow
Would you like to be 500% more productive? Sounds crazy, right? Researchers into the neuroscience of peak performance have shown that when we get into peak performance states our creativity and our productivity soars. And we can do that every day, deliberately. This article explains the basics.
Read MoreFinding the sweet spot in your leadership approach
Are you a Hoarder or a Maverick? Do you need lots of reserves of time, money, energy in order to feel safe? Or do you prefer bootstrapping and winging it? Both have huge pitfalls. Building slack in the system is a smart move: just enough to keep us feeling safe, not too much that we get complacent.
Read MoreIs leadership a game you enjoy playing?
If you’re a football player, and your team is nowhere close to winning, how do you define success? It’s easy to get demoralised when all we’ve got is one end point. We need more than one measure of success. Here’s a couple of ways to redefine it in a useful way.
Read MoreHow to develop a motto for your corporate culture
Is your culture by default or by design? One of the ways you can guide culture to be successful and happy is to have a Culture Charter or Manifesto, complete with catchy mottos. It’s a powerful process to build buy-in as well as establish a blueprint for cultural norms.
Read MoreThis skill can help you master the people stuff of team development
What brand of leadership do you support? Tough and firm? Forceful and strong? Charismatic and inspiring? Silent and sure? There is one brand of leadership that trumps all, and this people skill is the competitive edge.
Read MoreBrave leadership - for the people
Leadership can be a real poke in the eye. We carry responsibility and accountability, sandwiched between expectations and reality. Confronting the brutal facts is not for the faint of heart! We need to learn to be brave - not just for ourselves, but for others. Discover how howling near naked in the rain can harness your inner Warrior!
Read MoreKnow thyself and other leadership strategies
Under pressure? It’s easy to crack. As leaders, we need to be able to respond with grace regardless of the emotional chaos around us. But how? Read on, Macduff.
Read MoreLeadership under pressure and facing up to fears
We’ve been pretty good lately at catastrophising. The media has us spellbound, doom scrolling through the news. We imagine the worst, and get stuck freaking out about it. The worst may indeed happen. Better to imagine it happening, rather than look on fear struck and paralysed. Welcome to ‘fear setting’.
Read MoreHow charisma can improve your leadership effectiveness
We are naturally drawn to leaders with confidence and charm. Many leaders feel they are deficient if they are not the life of the party. This is far from the truth! Simple little things can greatly enhance your charisma, while being completely authentic. Read on for these showstopping tips!
Read MoreWhat leadership principles do you need in a crisis?
Crisis can create panic. All of us are wired to avoid threat and when we see it, we jump into survival mode. Often this leads to rash decisions. We need to cultivate composure to handle the toughest stuff. ‘Stop the moving parts’ is one way to do this.
Read MoreTeam development strategies for when stress hits
Banging doors, swearing, and raised voices. Stressed out staff don’t always behave in the most professional way. As leaders, what can we do to prevent these outbursts?
Read MoreWhy listening is a leadership priority
Trust is a tricky thing. Hard earned, easily lost. As a leader, trust is our primary currency for culture. But if it’s gone, what can we do?
Read More50th Birthday Wisdom
Something about getting older and having a birthday with a zero in it makes you sit up and pay attention. Here’s some of my thought bubbles for you. May they inspire and titillate.
Read MoreThe #1 mistake in handling corporate culture problems
How many times have you heard, “It’s a personality clash”. That’s the default response when it comes to people stuff problems. And it is not always true! In fact it’s true much less often than you think. Here’s what the issues are really about.
Read MoreGet an elevated perspective on your leadership challenges
Racism, institutionalised injustices, political polarisation. These are not easy issues. It is all too easy to judge and dismiss. Leadership is never easy, particularly with complex and barbed issues. Where do you start? It starts with a point of view.
Read MoreCreate a leadership mindset that's ON for innovation
Now is the time to innovate, to get set up for the new normal, to be on the front foot as we tiptoe through the covid tulips. But let’s face it, who has the energy for innovation right now? Change is hard at the best of times, let alone when we are still juggling the uncertainty of a pandemic world. Ugh. Yet innovate we must, or face the oblivion of irrelevance. Here’s how to enthuse your team (and yourself) with innovation energy.
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