Ideas & images shared

There are some valuable lessons at the moment when comparing the two major parties in the race for US President. But first, a question for you to consider. In your workplace, family, social circle, what appeals to you more. Negativity, anger and fear, or positivity, joy and a vision of a better future? Going back, or creating a better future? I have observed both types of leaders in…

Or so they say. After many years of coaching various sports teams, kids and adults, I have always held the belief that its “perfect practice that makes perfect.” After all, people can continue to repeat the same mistakes, or never achieve a necessary skill, through repetition. Even reinforce bad habits. The obvious critical element in the process is feedback and modification of performance…

This is attributed to Jimi Hendrix, possibly best remembered for his solo performance of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ as part of an hour long medley at the original Woodstock Festival. For those of you old enough (or who have done some research), he was a master of his craft, rarely play8ing with a second guitarist on stage. Enough reminiscing! This statement is a powerful reminder of the…

Passive-aggressive behaviour is a subtle yet powerful form of communication where someone expresses negative feelings indirectly rather than openly addressing them.  Being able to recognise passive-aggressive behaviour is the first step to responding constructively and maintaining appropriate boundaries. Some of the most common examples of passive-aggressive behaviour include: The silent…

How many times have you heard that statement, or perhaps the alternative, a ‘born salesperson’. It’s a garbage statement, and is dangerous as it assumes people are incapable of learning the skillsets, and developing the mindset associated with success in leadership and sales. Let’s look at the characteristics of effective leaders and salespeople (working in a B4B environment). Apart from the…

Of course there are not many clocks any more that ‘tick’ (I still have a thing for clockwork mechanisms), but the statement sums up what drives the lives of many people. As a teacher of senior high school biological sciences, and being part of a small group who planned the timetable each year (all manual of course), I managed to wangle a weekly block from start of the day to first recess, simply…

It could equally be something like: ‘Creativity – Teamwork – Accountability – Deliver results’ These are the typical bumper stickers that businesses use to supposedly provide their people with a clear roadmap describing who they are and what they are about. However, as in “just trust me” is a worthless statement, so are these, unless they are backed up with aligned actions. So you can imagine…

I was checking in recently with a friend and one time client who is in a crucial leadership role leading change in her business. Her comments left me with a couple of key revelations about her experiences since we last saw each other a few months back. The first was, in looking to establish partnerships with other players in the industry, how mediocre so many of them are in terms of business…

No, I’m not referring to the constant bleating of uber victim trump complaining that he is being treated unfairly. Instead, I want to talk about how the strongly held personal value of fairness can be compromised and so easily impact on levels of engagement and productivity. I know that when people are asked about their core values, fairness is very rarely mentioned. Yet when it is tested…

Like the word ‘team’, ‘collaboration’ is a term used with high levels of frequency, and equally mis-understood. The label is too often applied to situations where people are co-operating, not collaborating. Collaboration is defined as “two or more people working together to create the same thing”. (In my mind it is the innovative and creative aspect that separates collaboration from…

It is still relatively common, particularly in community and social group meetings, to include in the agenda a heading, ‘Any other business’, or ‘General business’. This practice is not productive as it can lead to individuals hijacking the meeting with their own personal peeves. Not only does this open the door for emotionally charged conversation (usually one-sided), but also leaves an…

Jake is a divisional manager in an overseas subsidiary of a corporate. Having come through the ranks, he is obviously highly competent in his field of expertise. He understands the business and how it works, knows products and customers. All of this is well and good, but when asked his people describe him in negative terms. You see, Jake is highly competent except for ‘people…

As far as I have been able to work out, this approach to achieving a higher state of well-being and avoiding burnout was first developed as a set of guidelines for clergy in the church. Fair call really as you can imagine how consuming that role of parish pastor/priest could become without a set of disciplines creating self-care. It was also picked up by the then CEO of General Electric, Jack…

There are number of actions businesses take with a view to increasing productivity, often without considering the unintended consequences. Such decisions are made as a result of a well meaning attempt to make improvements and equally a result of an individual manager’s personal insecurities and need for perfection and  control. Let’s explore some common approaches to productivity increases, and…

Not so much lately, but for the previous 35+ years flying was a regular part of my life, both domestically and internationally. That has meant many many hours in airports, hotel rooms and rental cars mostly on my own. Airports therefore have always been a fascination albeit as a necessity to get to where I was going and achieving my end goals. Naturally, people watching is a way to fill in the…

Have you ever watched puppies and kittens playing? (I should add that a recent meeting of biologists who specialise in the behaviour of Orca are suggesting that the spate of attacks on boats in the Mediterranean over the last 5 years is motivated by the need for play.  Discover more at https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230626-why-are-orcas-suddenly-ramming-boats) Why do they do that? The…

I am going to guess that every one of you at some point in life has been offered this advice, while at the same time likely holding some regrets at things you have said without thinking. For those in positions of leadership especially, this adage is critical. I am reminded of something a CEO said to me in front of his sales team. I was about to lead a 2 day sales course, and he came into the…