In my last post I introduced the concept of the ‘silent question’ that each of us holds at the back of our minds when confronted with change. ‘The way we perceive the answer to that question will determine our response to the change, and this becomes a subconscious test of our readiness to cope.’ In [...]
Navigating change and overcoming resistance to change are two of the most popular topics that come up in leadership discussions. Humans, like most living beings, tend to like stability and can have a deep-seated distrust of change. Change is nearly always accompanied by a level of uncertainty, and uncertainty often feels uncomfortable. Each of us [...]
This month, Malcolm and I have been contributors to Small Giants’ ‘Governing for Purpose: Foundations for Directors’ program. It was a great opportunity to reflect on the numerous lessons we have learnt over years of working with company boards, municipal councils, committees of management and other governing bodies that oversee the governance and leadership of organisations [...]
When thinking about this month’s blog post, I took some time to look over the posts of the last few months. Two themes that run through many of them are change and transformation. Whenever we talk about improving ourselves as individuals and/or leaders, about building a more purposeful team or about using our organisations to [...]
Our experience in working with teams, both locally and across the world, tells us that the most effective and successful teams are those in which members understand their reason for being. They have no difficulty explaining why they are working together and can identify their joint measures of success. And they know what the outcome [...]
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” This is a line often attributed to Martin Luther-King, though its origins stretch back to the early 19th century. Regardless, the quote expresses a sentiment that I have been thinking a lot about lately. Our world, I think many of us would agree, is [...]
This month we want to welcome and introduce our newest Fellow, Vicky Lee. Based in Shanghai, China, Vicky’s work focuses on organisational and leadership development and professional coaching. Vicky Lee used to be what she describes as a ‘corporate high flyer’. Her first degree, with which she graduated in 1997, was in marketing. She initially [...]
This month we welcome a guest post from our friend and colleague Dayle O’Brien. Dayle is an organisational ecologist whose specific interest is in working with organisations to help create living systems in which both people and the overall business get to thrive. Dayle’s contribution here is timely in B Corp Month 2024 as she [...]
In their ground-breaking book The Extraordinary Leader*, John Zenger and Joe Folkman demonstrate the enormous difference in effectiveness between extraordinary leaders and their ‘average’ counterparts. Translated into our language of emotional health, they show that emotionally healthy leaders at level 3 or higher – those making up the top 20 per cent of leaders – [...]
Our world is full of things that could be better. On that I think we are generally in agreement. Unfortunately, there is also a tendency for some people to sit and wait for others to ‘fix’ it, coming up with many reasons to justify why they can’t do it themselves. In our world of emotionally [...]
