“I used to think the worst thing in life is to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone” (Robin Williams, 1951-2014) A UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) study by Naomi Eisenberger and Matthew Lieberman discovered that the part…
“We tend to think that what matters is having outstanding leadership at the senior level. Great leadership at the top doesn’t amount to much if you don’t have exceptional leadership at the unit level. That’s where great things get done” (The re-education of Jim Collins, Inc) There are always positives and negatives to everything. Sometimes…
“Average managers play checkers; great managers play chess” (Harvard Business Review) I understand the intent behind the saying, “treat everyone the same”, a slogan which is often aimed at managers – meaning “don’t discriminate and don’t have favourites”. The saying, however, doesn’t seem to take into account people’s uniqueness and giftedness. While I strongly believe…
“Move out of your comfort zone. You only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new” (Brian Tracey) In an accelerating, disrupted and challenged world, change visions are becoming more stretched of necessity. More and more executives, in their ongoing quest to become industry leaders or having a…
2020 has been a year like no other – some are even saying: “It’s the end of the world as we know it”. People have endured hardships everywhere. The COVID-19 pandemic has been pervasive with virtually no-one left untouched. Lives and livelihoods have been lost. Economies are under huge strain. The prospects for any quick…
Most “Chief Operating Officers” would love them – employees on the shop floor with biologically-enhanced capabilities. Much in the same way that Hollywood created films of super soldiers, like Bloodshot, Captain America and Universal Soldier, and then of course all the super-hero movies, company executives would love to create super-hero employees with the abilities to…
So much is being written about team collaboration and cohesiveness currently – perhaps more specifically, the electronic and digital tools associated with keeping team members in touch with each other and working towards the same goals. So Deloitte, The Digital Workplace, even notes this by means of a definition: “…to solve business problems and operate…
I was fascinated watching my seven year old grandson paint a picture using watercolours that had been bought for the holidays. He had decided to paint a yacht – a majestic vessel that was cutting through the choppy sea. He chose colours for every part of the boat, maybe colours that I wouldn’t have chosen…
For companies, effective communication is essential to effect change and create and sustain a culture of collaboration and engagement. Companies are not always successful in terms of designing communication in such a way that it accomplishes the desired outcome. In fact, many businesses fail dismally with their communication efforts – the same communication being fragmented,…
Taking team time-outs is a common practice in a variety of sports – a time-out being a halt in play which allows a moment for the coach to communicate with the team. Teams/coaches usually call time-outs at strategically important points in the match in order to halt the momentum of the game if it is…
The conversation was robust. We had been going through the issues for the past three hours – some had dug their heels in and simply said: “This is not going to work”; others complained: “You have not even given us a chance to prove that this could end up positively for all of us”. Emotions…
Many politicians do it and some managers do it – they mess with your mind. It’s a wicked game, sometimes called manipulation, coercion or exploitation. “Manipulation”, as a word used in physiotherapy treatment, speaks to kneading, flexing and massage. It has an absolutely positive intent in mind – removal of pain and ultimate healing as…
