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 »
‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’ was one of my favourite fairy tales growing up. Salt is one of my favourite condiments. It seems weird to put those two sentences together. But today I realised how much they have taught me about the idea that we can have “too much” of a good thing. There’s nothing
Goldilocks and a Pile of Salt – Why You CAN Have Too Much of a Good Thing Read More »
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 »
Our change stories can make or break us as we navigate change. I’ve written previously about how we humans are sense-making machines. We always seek out a story that explains what we are experiencing. And if what is happening doesn’t come with a story that makes sense to us, we’ll make up one that does!
Leadership toolbox: how to use change stories to transform your reality Read More »
Leadership is a challenging endeavour at the best of times. You’re juggling multiple streams of information, competing goals, shifting targets, and the glorious messiness that comes from being a human working with other humans. Then throw a crisis situation into the mix – that’s a tough day at the office!
How-to: be a great leader during a crisis Read More »
Organisational culture has been a “buzzphrase” for longer than I can remember. It’s the topic of vast numbers of books, 15 TED talks (when I last checked), and innumerable blog-posts (to which I am adding another with this!). But what is it, exactly? And why is it so important? And how do we create a
My entire philosophy is based on two core beliefs: that change is possible, and that we can always be a little bit better today than we were yesterday. These beliefs underpin the concept of continuous improvement. In this article, I explain why continuous improvement is so important, and how we can apply it to our
Continuous improvement Read More »
Certainty is highly prized by our brains. So much of what we do and say is aimed at creating certainty for ourselves, or projecting an aura of certainty for others to see. We often avoid uncertainty, because it can activate the threat-avoidance part of our brains. The problem is usually not the uncertainty itself, but
Why we need to ditch certainty and embrace uncertainty Read More »
There are many factors that go into creating success, from talent to resources to committed action. One-off successes can be achieved relatively effortlessly – but ongoing, sustained success takes thoughtful leadership and careful management. And recognition is a golden opportunity to turbo-charge success and make it sustainable over the long-term. The sad thing is that
Recognition – how to turbo-charge success Read More »
So much has been written about work-life balance, but there are a number of problems with the concept. Work-life harmony offers a framework that acknowledges there is no one-size-fits-all approach for people and situations. Definitions Before we go any further, let’s look at some definitions: Balance Balance requires us to know the relative “weight” or
Work-life balance or work-life harmony? Read More »
