Anyone got a plan b?
The General Election results have for the second time in recent history demonstrated the importance of having a Plan B. What I am referring to is the Brexit vote – for most people there was little thought to the fact that Britain would vote “out” seen through comments such as “If I had known we […]
Enthusiasm – a leadership characteristic
“I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.” Queen Elizabeth II One of my clients some […]
Challenge or stress – it’s a fine line!
The dictionary defines stress as “a pressure or tension exerted on another object; a demand on physical or mental energy; or forcibly exerted influence usually causing distress or strain.” In short stress is any factor, positive or negative that requires a response or change. In medical research it is widely recognized that chronic ongoing stress […]
Learning from mistakes – the “oscar faux pas”
What will the impact of no risk taking be on individual’s and how we learn, on organisations and levels of competitiveness, and on whole countries and nations? Are we really advocating that we must stay within a known comfort zone? It’s one thing messing things up in private, where mistakes can be rectified and nobody […]
Trust Takes a Lifetime to Build and a Moment to Lose
Successful leadership and trust go hand in hand. Unless the leader has the trust of his or her team, leadership is likely to be ineffective and will probably fail on most levels. Earning trust takes time, losing it is quick. As leaders it is easy to find ourselves in situations that cast doubt over our […]
Do Financial Bonuses Enhance Performance?
I read with interest the article in a recent Sunday Times (Business section) “Bosses: Is the Party Over?” by Ben Laurance. The article was about Neil Woodford of The Woodford Patient Capital Trust, who after many years of paying bonuses to his fund managers has decided to scrap them altogether. Woodford is compensating his team […]
What happens to information gained from the obsession with feedback questionnaires and surveys?
Can someone tell me what happens to the feedback that customers provide companies via electronic surveys, brief telephone surveys at the end of a call as well as the odd hard copy feedback questionnaire? I have completed many in the last three years, both positive and not so positive and to date have not received […]
Emergence of female leadership
How interesting that the world is opening up to female leaders. It is irrelevant what you think about them, but the fact is we see more female leaders stepping forward to run countries in what can only be termed a very troubled and challenging period. Hilary Clinton in the USA – will she become the […]
Dancing on the Same Spot?
“There is more to life than just increasing its speed.” Gandhi Have you ever felt so overwhelmed with your workload and issues in your personal life, that you don’t know where to start? Consequently, you find yourself dancing on the same spot, further increasing your heartbeat, cortisol and stress levels? That’s exactly where I have […]
What does death, dying and change have in common?
I have just finished reading “On Death and Dying” by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. Sadly this lady is no longer with us, however the work she did whilst on this planet is so very special in many ways. Through her medical work she not only created a model for working with the death and dying to help […]