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Written on . Posted in Blog, Leadership.

Hindsight and Foresight

In Nick Triggle’s article of 26 November 23 for the BBC {https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67514356} he captures the very essence of the challenges of dealing with something complicated, unprecedented and omnipotent.  Add into the mix the number of ‘cooks’ involved in the decision making process and you have leadership paralysis waiting to happen.  The great cry of “follow the science” seemed appropriate at the time, but with the hindsight being applied by those interviewed thus far, it would appear that the science was not the best leader.  Of course letting the science lead gave the Whitehall decision making machine something to hide behind when things didn’t go its way.  However, these were unprecedented times; scientists and decision makers had little to fall back on.

    

culture, influencing, leadership, management, planning, resilience, team development

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Written on . Posted in Blog, Leadership.

leading by example

good or bad, the example you set will be followed…

hoach-le-dinh-96823

 

even the most sophisticated studies and investigations have yet to make leadership, and its development, more science than art. The four ‘Cs’ – competence, character, creativity, and charisma remain difficult qualities to quantify, let alone cultivate. Growing effective leaders is challenging work.

change, example, influencing, leadership, management

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Written on . Posted in Blog, Leadership, Uncategorized.

Stockpiling? Who’s stockpiling?!

“Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest”

Napoleon Bonaparte

Mutual interest or self interest?

Human nature has been laid bare in the UK over the past few weeks.  This, of course, may be the case for the rest of the world gripped by the Covid-19 pandemic, but I’ll confine my thoughts to the UK, after all it’s where I live.

change, cognitive, coronavirus, influencing, leadership, management

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Written on . Posted in Blog, Leadership. No Comments on Delegate until you’re uncomfortable, then delegate a little more

Delegate until you’re uncomfortable, then delegate a little more

Trust and Empowerment

“Tell people what you want doing, not how to achieve it, you will be amazed by their creativity”

Dwight D Eisenhower.

Having spent a long time in the Public Sector (the British Army), I have often thought that it is easier to let go, to let your team ‘crack on’ when the bottom line is not measured in financial terms. After all, if there are no share holders screaming for more profit and no board looking down from the ivory tower expecting you to deliver more £s, $s etc then letting other people make the decisions has to be straight forward, doesn’t it?

influencing, leadership, management, planning

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Written on . Posted in Blog, Leadership. No Comments on Pay attention 007

Pay attention 007

The James Bond Effect

                                     An interesting phenomenon.

                                     According to urbandictionary.com:

The James Bond Effect (also called 007 Effect) is a theory in propaganda and political circles, whereby the first detailed opinion/summary that someone hears or reads on a particular topic, is the one they are most likely to adopt.

influencing, leadership, management

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Written on . Posted in Blog, Leadership.

leading with clarity

Leading with Clarity

Clarity is the single greatest asset a leader can bring to their organisation. Clarity aligns action, it acts as a conduit for analysis, catalysing the latent potential of individuals and teams throughout the organisation.  Usefully, it also inspires the trust and confidence of external stakeholders. Humans willingly follow a leader whom they trust. Therefore leaders who are able to proffer simple, straightforward plans, strategies and solutions, are likely to be followed willingly and to be produce outstanding results

foresight, influencing, leadership, team development

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Written on . Posted in Blog, Leadership.

Heroes (and Villains)


As the title of the song by The Stranglers puts it, “Everybody loves You When You’re Dead”.  I think there’s something in that.  Certainly artists of all types and their work, gather momentum post mortem; we frequently hear anecdotes about playwrights and painters who were penniless during their lifetimes, yet their works sell for millions one they’ve gone.  Interestingly, the next line of the song goes..“you’ll finally be appreciated”.  Strange, but somehow true.

culture, example, influencing, leadership, team development

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Diversity and Inclusivity

“Differences challenge assumptions”  Mohandas Gandhi

Striving to increase workplace diversity is a very good business decision.  In a global analysis of over 2,000 companies, those with at least one female board member outperformed  those that did not have any women on the board.  In recent years a body of research has revealed another, more nuanced benefit of workplace diversity: non-homogenous teams are simply more effective.  Working with people who are different from you will challenge you (your brain) to overcome its stale ways of thinking and sharpen its performance.

cognitive, culture, diversity, influencing, leadership, resilience

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Written on . Posted in Blog, Leadership.

Foresight in Leadership

“Foresight is not about predicting the future, it’s about minimising surprise”

Karl Schroeder

For years, we’ve talked about great leaders having a clear, positive, compelling vision of their team or organisation’s future. A good analogy for a vision is building a Lego model. Before you even begin to organise and assemble the small plastic pieces that are inside the box, you’ll see, very clearly, the final outcome displayed on the external part of the packaging, indeed the more complex models come with a fully illustrated assembly booklet. That’s your vision; the outcome that you’re striving to create.

culture, influencing, leadership, listening, team development

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