The three key questions in leadership are the shortest: what, why and how? Leaders are expected to answer these questions and communicate their answers to their organisations. What are we going to do? Why have we decided that? And how is it to be done? When Tony Tyler became the Director General of IATA, the [...]
It has almost become a cliché to describe the current economic and cultural environment using the acronym VUCA which had its origins in the 1980s American military. This suggests that many of the most difficult circumstances facing organisations and their leaders stem from Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. Yet it is challenging also to ask [...]
In a world that is crying out for great leadership, the social media and airport bookshops are full of apparent insight and help. I searched on Google for ‘Become a better leader’ and on the first page I was recommended 20 ways… 10 ways… 7 steps… 4 simple things… and the like. The implication that [...]
I am frequently asked to address the subject of leadership under new and current circumstances. Leadership in the financial crisis? Leadership under Brexit? Leadership of change? And my answer is typically the same: leadership is leadership whatever the circumstances. It does not change in its purpose simply because the context changes, though its methods may [...]
In the quad of the Bodleian library in Oxford is a series of old lecture rooms, each door labelled above with the name of the subjects taught there. Titles such as Moral Philosophy and Divinity are unsurprising, but not so the juxtaposition of Astronomy and Rhetoric. What have they to do with each other and [...]
As an occupational psychologist I find it fascinating to notice how the reactions to the Referendum Brexit vote – admittedly from a Remain-ian’s perspective - are a perfect example of the commonly observed stages of bereavement originally described by psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in her classic book “On Death and Dying”. In some quarters, we [...]
As an occupational psychologist recently undergoing full Executive Coaching accreditation (thanks to the excellent Ashridge Coaching for Consultants programme) – I have experienced the interesting challenge of coaching without the use of my beloved psychometric tests. The closest description to how that feels is that it is like having one hand tied behind my back. [...]
I used to believe that the only "real" way to coach was to meet face to face. I thought there was no substitute for being in the room, with all the verbal and non-verbal clues and cues clearly visible. I believed that any other medium would make it impossible to relate fully to the coachee [...]
I was recently struck by some observations by Simon Cavicchia (in De Haan and Sills, 2012) on the experience of shame in the coaching relationship. It prompted me to think more broadly about the impact of shame in relation particularly, to individuals who are referred for remedial coaching, and to teams who become labelled as [...]
“Empathy is the critical 21st Century skill” – reports Geoff Colvin in his recent article “Humans are Underrated” in Fortune magazine (Aug 1 2015) As more and more work is taken over by machines including computers and robots, social interaction and relationships assume even more importance, Colvin’s article reminds us that “we are social [...]