Reading Time: 5 minutes The first time I heard the phrase “No is a complete sentence”, it blew my mind. All my life, I’d believed that if I said “No” to something, I had to provide a justification, and that my justification had to be absolutely water-tight. How wrong I was, and how much heartache that belief cost me! […]
The power of a clear “No” Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutes I love the distinction that Kim Scott makes in her book ‘Radical Candor‘ [non-affiliate link] between rockstars and superstars. And I think it has huge implications for how we lead, manage, and shape teams in our workplaces. Rockstars vs Superstars – the definitions 🌟 Rockstar: a solid, stable performer on a gradual growth trajectory, or
Is Your Team Made Up of Rockstars or Superstars? Read More »
Reading Time: 4 minutes Life tends to serve me up metaphors at every turn – and the last day of 2021 gave me a fantastic object lesson in my attitude towards mistakes. The Great Pizza Disaster of 2021 I was given a pizza stone for Christmas, and was excited to take it for a whirl. My wonderful friends K
What A Pizza Disaster Can Teach Us About Mistakes Read More »
Reading Time: 2 minutes I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the concept of “wicked problems”. More and more, we’re facing complex and challenging issues as individuals, partners, parents, work teams and as a society. So what should we do when we’re faced with a problem that doesn’t have a simple solution? Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as finding
How Can We Deal With “Wicked Problems”? Read More »
Reading Time: 5 minutes The old practice of business leadership is to use one approach no matter what the situation is or who is involved. It’s the “if all you’ve got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” style of leadership. A newer style of leadership is situational, where you pick from one of four approaches, based on
Why You Need To Practice Strategically Flexible Leadership Read More »
Reading Time: 3 minutes Since early 2020, all of the focus about flexible work seems to be on what arrangements need to be made for workers to get things done, and not on how they need to be led. That needs to change. Here I introduce an approach I have called Strategically Flexible Leadership, which I believe addresses the
Why Are We Ignoring The Need For Strategically Flexible Leadership? Read More »
Reading Time: 5 minutes Back in my early 20s, I was given a piece of advice, and told that it works in every situation that humans face. I initially couldn’t (or rather, wouldn’t!) accept the idea that it could apply in every context. And I tried really hard to imagine a situation in which it wouldn’t work… but even
The Best and Wisest Piece of Advice I Ever Received Read More »
Reading Time: 4 minutes Appreciative Inquiry is a method for solving problems and implementing change by focusing on the positive. It emerged from the work of David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva in the late 1980s, and has since been used by businesses, teams and organisations around the world. The Ai (1) approach is perfectly aligned with the strengths-led approach,
The Link Between Appreciative Inquiry and Strengths Read More »
Reading Time: 7 minutes Leading and managing change is one of the greatest challenges that leaders face. And it is also one of the greatest opportunities you have to transform the teams and organisations you work in, and the people you work with, for the better. Choosing to engage in change can be empowering and inspiring. But we don’t
Simple Strategies for Leading and Managing Change Read More »
Reading Time: 9 minutes Navigating change can be tricky – it brings up a lot of emotions, worries, and decisions, and we’re not always sure where we stand. One of our primary needs when facing change is to be able to understand what it will mean for us. It’s easy to get focused on negative aspects and neglect the
Navigating change: The Four Doors of Change Read More »
