brian donovan

Are you sold on the value of your superpowers?

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Photo by Shreyas Malavalli on Unsplash

Heather decided it was time to stop mucking around. She had been passed over for professional development and promotion and felt that people did not appreciate her work. She looked into why that was happening; that led to her clarifying her key strength for herself. She had a great ability to connect with people, listen to their concerns and build understanding. It came so easy to her that she underrated her value. Like most of us, if it is second nature to us, we are inclined to think, what’s the big deal.… Read more

Are you translating your vision and strategy into a leadership challenge?

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Photo by Lindsay Henwood on Unsplash

The business was going backwards. Linda knew that they needed a new vision and strategy or they would not survive. She initially spent time listening to teams at all levels in the company, understanding their appetite for change. She outlined her view of the future if nothing changed. People began to see the case for a new vision and strategy. Linda and the leadership team created a bold new future for their organisation.

However, that was not the end of it.… Read more

Gentle leaders are not to be messed with

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Photo by Leslie Jones on Unsplash

Michael confronted the gossip mongers. He tried negotiating with them, to blunt their campaign of undermining and disinformation. He had warned them of the consequences if they continued and could not work out their differences. When they persisted, he invited them to a meeting with the CEO, where he challenged them to substantiate the comments that they had made behind his back.

At first, they denied that they had been behaving in a way that was inconsistent with the company values of honesty and integrity, which they had all pledged to uphold.… Read more

Are you focused on integrity?

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Photo by valor kopeny on Unsplash

Sean told people what they wanted to hear. Sure he could provide the report by the end of the week. No problem to deliver the project by the end of the month. But very often he did not meet his promised deadlines.

He had good reasons; emergencies, shifting priorities, balancing demands from other clients. But much to his dismay, his reputation began to suffer because his clients did not trust him. He was committed to providing value for them and the business.… Read more

Are you investing in leadership development for yourself and your team?

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Photo by Snowy Vin on Unsplash

Are you part of a learning organisation? If so, you are in good company with businesses like Microsoft and Amazon. But when companies commit to creating a learning culture, an often-forgotten piece of the puzzle is the development of managers. New evidence from job market analytics company Burning Glass Technologies, found that management skills “represent one of the biggest skills gaps in the job market” and that managers have larger skills gaps than the people they manage.… Read more