“When we look upon this earth, the opportunities take shape within the problems” (Nelson A Rockefeller) Adversity is a part of all our lives. At times, adversity seems to break the spirit of some. More often, however, adversity brings out the true spirit and character within people and leads them to make the noblest of…
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…
“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it” (William Feather) The term ‘balance’ does not imply that we spend equal time with family, equal time with work, equal time with friends, and so on. It means rather that we find in…
The ability of the leader to connect emotionally with employees and drive performance does not just stem from the leader’s mood or ability to say the right thing, but also from a number of coordinated activities that comprise particular leadership styles. Daniel Goleman (Primal Leadership) notes: “The best, most effective leaders act according to one…
In our current turbulent business environment, organisations worldwide are finding it necessary to adapt to ever-changing financial circumstances, revisit product offerings for more nuanced customer needs and strive for innovation and creative solutions to stay ahead of the game. The quest for sustainable growth requires the adoption of new technologies, process re-engineering, restructuring, culture change…
“I have immortal longings in me” (William Shakespeare) Trying to find meaning in our crazy and confused world seems to be a never-ending quest – the current chaos globally working its way into our lives. Decision-making brings new levels of uncertainty. Setting goals or fulfilling dreams seems far-fetched or at least so distant that you…
“The fundamental response to change is not logical, but emotional” (Tom DeMarco) The current world socio-political and economic contexts are dismal, to say the least – financial analysts and the World Bank continue to predict slow growth, volatile markets, and the possibility of a longer or deeper recession than was first suggested. Governments are attempting…
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, an eminent Russian novelist, historian and tireless critic of Communist Totalitarianism, Nobel Prize in Literature (1970), when delivering a Harvard Commencement Address in June 1978, referred to the calamity of a de-spiritualised and irreligious humanistic consciousness and noted: “To such consciousness, man is the touchstone in judging and evaluating everything on earth –…
In previous and perhaps more stable eras, transformation in business was not that important, or seemingly so. The name of the game was securing a strong market position and retaining it. As John P Kotter notes in “The Heart of Change”, this philosophy underpinning business security was “build a big moat around a castle, keep…
“Education is what people do to you. Learning is what you do to yourself. Focus on being connected, always learning, fully aware, and super present” (Joichi Ito) While 66% of employers currently are looking for critical thinking skills in the leaders that they hire (Hays plc, 2023), there are many more abilities that are required…
“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end” (Robin Sharma) Change initiatives and their accompanying strategies need to be communicated effectively so as to create both understanding and gut-level buy-in. In successful change efforts, the “big picture” and strategy are not locked in a room with the leadership team….
Some teams feel uncomfortable making important decisions. The team members rely on the wisdom of the manager to direct them, their goals, and their targets. They wait to be told what to do and don’t plan their approach to tasks that need to be accomplished. The resultant dysfunctionality leads to necessary micro-management from the leader…
“Almost all conflict is a result of violated expectations” (Blaine Lee, The Power Principle) To avoid relational frustrations and mistrust, expectations between people need to be clarified. This is true at home as well as in business or dealings within other organisations. “Clean up your room and the bathroom before going out” sounds pretty straightforward…
“A good boss makes his men realise they have more ability than they think they have so that they consistently do better work than they thought they could” (Charles Erwin Wilson) I am surprised at how many people hate work. Wherever I go, I come across hundreds of people who prefer the duvet rather than…
“I believe that every right implies a responsibility, every opportunity, an obligation, every possession, a duty” (Nelson Rockefeller) I am sure that you have heard the words ‘that’s not my responsibility’ from people on countless occasions. Other forms of the same expression include “that is not my role”, “that’s not in my employment contract” or…
“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it” (Helen Keller) Many of life’s difficulties are short-term and swiftly come to an end as we get re-employed, or sort out an issue with a friend, or resolve an argument or recover from some illness. Other forms of adversity,…
“There are more things to do than we ever shall get done; there are more books to read than we can ever look at; there are more avenues to enjoyment than we ever shall find time to travel. Life appeals to us from innumerable directions, crying, ‘Attend to me here!’ In consequence, we litter up…
“If you are a good leader, people will respect and admire you. If you are a great leader, people will respect and admire themselves” (Unknown) Leaders that resonate with their subordinates with respect to the very essence of being human matters more than anything else along the journey into the future. The old model of…
“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received — hatred. The great creators — the thinkers, the…
“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did” (Newt Gingrich) Failure and fatigue are characteristic of the lives of everyone. Life is not “plain sailing” – yes, there are successes and great moments of joy, satisfaction, and happiness, but these are often fleeting, temporary,…
“One of the problems is that I internalise everything. I can’t express anger; I grow a tumour instead” (Woody Allen) The greatest test of any relationship is what happens when someone lets you down – broken promises, missed deadlines, poor behaviour, less than average performance, negligence, bad attitudes, etc. These disappointments initially may engender surprise,…
