I have been driving vehicles for many years now and enjoy the experience. One of the big problems faced by any driver of all vehicles is the inherent blind spots – areas outside the vehicle that the normal rear-facing mirrors can’t pick up. To overcome this problem, most vehicles have split rear-facing mirrors to reflect…
“Thinking collaboratively is not new. What is new is the increasing complexity of information flow in organisations that calls for high levels of engagement, innovation and collective problem-solving” (Bruce Wellman) The business intelligence context for almost every type of business has changed dramatically in the past couple of decades – the transformation of roles which…
I have a huge appreciation for the photographer that manages to capture the “perfect” shot. Not happy with just taking pictures of subjects, these great photographers manage to find a worthwhile perspective of even a mundane subject and transform the subject into a glorious representation of its potential. The potential was always there, but the…
The expression ‘in the same boat’ is typically construed as a negative idiom – “you say that you have run out of money – well, I am in the same boat”, meaning that I have run out of money too. It implies that you find yourself in a similar situation or in the same position…
“Be with those who celebrate you, not with those who tolerate you” (Keith McEvoy) We are different in many ways, but one thing that we have in common as people is that we all have a variety of likes or dislikes, in varying degrees. Some are harmless – “I love rollercoaster rides” or “I hate…
Executives and their governing boards, within the current financial turbulence that most companies are experiencing, are being forced to re-evaluate strategies, cut costs and re-deploy employees and other resources to provide some return for shareholders. These leaders seem to be seriously challenged with growing revenue organically and are finding it hard to demonstrate value and…
Organisations are not naturally fertile seedbeds for new learning, growth and doing things in better ways. Leaders who want to instil wide-spread change and improve their respective companies, in fact, need to recognise that they are attempting to change a seemingly unchangeable paradox: organisations thrive on routine and the status quo. Daniel Goleman, in his…
The human being is required to change through all stages of life – these changes are sometimes subtle in nature, but at other times, almost forced. The changes include adjustments in approach, refinement to character, panel-beating one’s attitude and reversing bad habits. As expectations rise and more responsibilities are conferred on one by people in…
It is true that if you are a successful leader and respected as such by colleagues and other employees alike, many will not only aspire to be like you, but may also indeed crave your position or at least your role. Managing healthy admiration by members of your team is one thing; managing obsessive craving…
Pain is part of everyone’s experience of life – sometimes caused by external factors (retrenchment, death of a loved one, frustrating circumstances, etc.) or occasionally caused by internal factors (bad decisions, inability to make changes, feelings of disempowerment, unhealthy self-image, etc.). Many people find themselves “stuck” – in bad relationships, in a work context that…
Emotional expression is part of being human – emotions need to be communicated, shared and debriefed whether they are positive or negative in their origin. All emotions need resolution – joyous news needs to be celebrated together with others; sadness needs empathy and closeness within meaningful relationships. The work environment is no exception as it,…
‘Force-multiplication’ is a term used in military science and warfare and refers to an attribute or a combination of attributes that dramatically increases (hence multiplies) the effectiveness of an item or group, giving the troops the ability to accomplish greater things than without it. The expected size increase required to have the same effectiveness without…
I am surprised at how many people hate work. Wherever I go, I come across hundreds of people who prefer the duvet rather than the desk, the coffee station rather than the computer and “five to four” rather than “five to eight”. Work is an ordeal for them – a necessity to be endured, but…
Living a meaningful and fulfilled life is not so easy. The challenges of life hit like the waves of the ocean as one difficulty after another rolls in. Amidst such ongoing bombardment, it seems to be ever more challenging to pause long enough to reflect on daily choices and what we want to do with…
“The tragic truth is that the language of ‘victimisation’ is the true victimiser – a great crippler of young minds and spirits. To teach young people that their lives are governed – not by their own actions, but by socioeconomic forces or government budgets or other mysterious and fiendish forces beyond their control – is…
Periodically, as managers, we are faced with employee non-conformance operationally (for example: not observing safety rules, missing deadlines, negligence, inaccuracies, etc.) or in terms of behaviour (for example: arriving late repetitively, not behaving according to the company values, gossiping, treating a client with indifference, etc.). These performance issues need to be addressed, even if difficult…
I love art – sketching, drawing or painting. I don’t spend enough time practising, but when I get a moment to relax, I retrieve the pad, eraser, pencil and the watercolours. I find a quiet spot, shake off the accumulated stress from the week’s events and begin planning the next piece. On a particular Sunday…
I have a whistle that has four notes, obtained in Chattanooga in the United States of America. There is nothing particularly special about these four different notes and they are almost weak sounding, even when you blow on them individually with some force. When you blow them together, however, they produce the sound of the…
David Thomas was born in 1932 to an unmarried mother that he never got to know – he was given up for adoption at 6 weeks old to Rex and Auleva Thomas. Auleva died when Dave was just 5 years old, and he moved with his father (a distant man) around the United States of…
“Real communication happens when we feel safe” (Ken Blanchard – The Heart of a Leader) Not making time to listen with your heart is a huge barrier to effective communication. To achieve understanding and ultimately oneness, time needs to be invested in any relationship to enable empathic listening. Empathic people learn to see things through…
Leaders won’t get better results organisationally by focusing on the faults or poor behaviour of their employees. Leaders would be more effective by focusing their efforts internally, that is, working on their own self-awareness, self-deception, self-betrayal, blind spots and inadequate care. Blaming others for a lack of results suggests that the problem is “out there”…
