Thought Leadership

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

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

How to discover how other people view the world

I recently had the privilege of speaking to a group of six- and seven-year old’s in my granddaughter’s grade 1 class. The topic was what it was like when I was growing up. One bit of trivia I relayed to them was that doonas had not been invented when I was a kid. I asked them how they thought we kept warm? Their answers were surprising. “Did you light a fire?” one student asked. “Did you use animal skins?” said another.… Read more

Are you setting the tone?

Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash

As a leader you set the tone for the way people around you behave. They are modelling your cues far more than you think. Leaders exemplify the culture they want to create; the way we do things around here.

Dianne set the tone of valuing her team members. She took an interest in everyone on her team, not just her leadership group. She held regular skip-level meetings where she found out what was important to people, heard their concerns and took on board their suggestions and feedback.… Read more

Are you turning obstacles into opportunities to recommit?

Photo by Nicolas Solerieu on Unsplash

If you’re up to big things, it is not always going to go your way. It is rare that people immediately rally around a vision for the future, wanting to make it happen after they have heard it for the first time. Otherwise, they would have already taken action to achieve it.

In fact, leadership is often about dealing with the obstacles that people throw up whenever you have a change agenda. But how do you deal with the obstacles and turn them into opportunities to fulfil your vision?… Read more

Are you creating free time?

Photo by Andy Hutchinson on Unsplash

Graeme was spending all his time on other people’s agendas. His diary was packed with back to back meetings, his emails were out of control, budget forecasts and project reports were relentless and of course staff issues were constantly distracting him. He had no time to think about tomorrow’s agenda, to ponder the strategic issues they faced, reflect on his own leadership or schedule conversations with key influencers in the business. He was ready for a breakthrough in his personal time availability and control of his day.… Read more