So, you have worked hard at developing your career – all your needed studies are complete, you have gained experience in your field and your expertise has set you up as a trusted practitioner. You are respected and your job is stable. You produce quality work and you are appreciated. Your colleagues rely on your…
I am surprised how few people understand the impact of their words, presence and emotional disposition on the lives of others. There seems to be a lack of awareness, particularly amongst managers, of how words, tone and body language can potentially negatively impact how another feels about his or her sense of worth and the…
Citizens in so many countries are angry. Sometimes and in reasonably good faith, these people have gone to election polls to vote on progressive policy and the said good intentions of party leaders, only to be disillusioned over and over again through selfish and inconsiderate leadership – government officials lining their pockets with the spoils…
I recall very clearly a team’s behaviour in a large manufacturing company, the team largely been made up of engineers and operational/production experts – whenever an idea was introduced to the larger gathering, individuals would attempt to pick holes in the idea unless the introducer of the idea was able to defend the principle and…
A supervisor who attended a workshop that I was facilitating for a plastics company, in an exercise which examined personal vision and passion, admitted that he had always wanted to become a fireman – to be in a position, if possible, to prevent fires from starting or, if not possible, to be able to save…
My son is married now, but when he was a teenager and in high school, he was challenged with respect to managing his dirty washing – somehow, used clothing never seemed to make it to the wash basket and ended up in a pile on his bedroom carpet! As parents, we used to “remind” him,…
I love laughing. I don’t laugh enough unfortunately, as I am often sitting alone in a hotel room or in an airport lounge – boring places. I do try, however, even if it is offering a faint chuckle on account of an unusual event or allowing the makings of a smile produced by an observable…
Some leaders just “have it” – the ability to resonate with how people are feeling and the skill to “work” that emotion in a trustworthy way towards a potential solution and indeed, the possibility of success in the future. Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Barak Obama are perhaps some of the “celebrity”…
I so enjoyed the “Connecting the Dots” or “Dot to Dot” game when I was a child. Seeing an image appear before me, as if by magic, when I connected the dots in the correct sequence gave me a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. It was fascinating to attempt to work out the shapes and…
Having coffee alone at home in the morning or at work when you are focusing on a project is fine, but when did you last have coffee with your boss? I have asked this question many times when in front of delegates at our numerous training interventions. I ask them how often they spend time actually…
What would you do if your 10 year old daughter or son came home from school one day and announced: “I’m not going to school anymore!”? You would be dumbfounded, of course, but then you may do what countless parents do worldwide – try to convince the child to think differently and perhaps decide that…
I have visited many people in hospital before – to encourage friends and family, pray for their speedy recovery and wish them well. I have also had my own personal moments of being a “guest” at a number of such institutions – being pampered, eating special meals and having a plethora of tests with sophisticated…
