Blog
Take a look at recent insights in leadership, strategy and more.
They think it’s someone else
We like the idea of blanket coverage - everyone treated the same. A programme for all employees seems like a great idea. That way no-one is singled out. The trouble is... In the area of people skills, really everyone needs input specific to them, including ourselves,...
You have to do what you do
To be influential takes consistency. You have to keep at it. Once you've said you stand for a particular thing, you really need to act congruently with that. This point could be understood as an aspect of branding, which suggests it's a corporate kind of issue....
Do you need attention?
I don't mean like your car... Do you need attention from other people? It's often nice to have a little bit of attention, but does it always help you get what you want? Perhaps not... Conventional wisdom says that before you can be heard you have to get people's...
A faster way to create a group…
It is considered a test of a group... Can it be together in silence? Can the people involved be in each other's company without anything being said, or is it so uncomfortable that someone needs to fill the space and say something? If, in fact, the group can be...
Is your business a hedgehog?
Have you ever tried getting a hedgehog to move? What happens if you frighten it? Sometimes out walking in the dark, I've come across a hedgehog on the road. It's dangerous for a hedgehog, being on the road—a bit like an organisation in a changing world. So we might...
You can’t evidence an inkling
That's the point. If you could evidence it, then it wouldn't be an inkling. It'd be a fact, or at least a strong hypothesis. Many organisations only want to act on facts. They ask their people to prove their inklings; to make a head-space thing out of an inner...
Have you ever tried to ride a bicycle with only one pedal?
Have you ever tried to use just one foot when you’re meant to use two? I imagined it wouldn’t be very easy, but I decided I’d better experiment before writing this post... So I tried it today. (We leave nothing to chance in the search for the best information for you...
Are you a story-teller?
If not, maybe it's time you were. As an engineer myself, this has been a difficult transition... You see, engineers don't really do stories. But I have learned (eventually) that if you want to stimulate change in others, the best way to engage them is by telling a...
Do we really see what’s in front of us?
...or hear what's said in our presence? Particularly when we're challenged by a situation, it seems we focus quite a bit on our thinking about the problem. That seems natural. And yet... It tends to mean we stop paying full attention to the information in front of us....
Be the boss or be the change?
It's a trap we might fall into... If we have management responsibility for someone, we probably feel we are expected to make their change and growth happen. But hang on... We know the way human psychology works, if any change is going to happen, it needs to start with...
Fear
Fear is an inhibitor, for the most part—an inhibitor of evolution and innovation. Sure, sometimes a bit of a fright helps us get moving, but if we're too scared to take risks, we can't develop. So... If fear is part of the climate you create, you might get higher...
The people are fine…
The people are fine, mostly. It’s the systems and processes that are the problem. Last week my faith was to a degree restored in a large financial institution. That’s after an unnecessarily bruising experience at the hands of its automated procedures. Strange how so...
Are you holding process or outcome?
It’s worth being clear... With a group of people engaged in change, is your commitment to a process or to a specific outcome? If you feel you need to achieve a certain outcome, then fair enough, go for it to the best of your ability: Make your best case; listen well;...
If you want to be in control…
If you want to be in control, you’ll need to be smart. The more you want to be in the driving seat of the relationship, the harder it’ll be for the other party to bring their thinking, their knowledge and their ideas to bear on the issue at hand. And that means… It’ll...
Do we make the same mistakes?
It starts like this... I’m not that happy with the way the meeting is going. Certain things about the way the other person talks or acts, I don’t really like. At least, I don’t feel that I want to work with them or do business with them, or certainly not yet. So, I...