“Our ultimate freedom is the right and the power to decide how anybody or anything outside ourselves will affect us” (Dr Steven R Covey) When confronted by significant differences of opinion with others, aggressive communication, or manipulative forms of behaviour, particularly from those in more senior positions, many employees are overwhelmed and overcome – they…
“You could foster happiness and add to our joy – or sow hurt and discord. It’s a choice that you make each day, each hour, and with each thought” (Cathy Marie Hake) When employees feel that they can contribute meaningfully, when they feel valued and thus feel good about themselves, they work at their best….
“When we look upon this earth, the opportunities take shape within the problems” (Nelson A Rockefeller) Adversity is a part of all our lives. At times, adversity seems to break the spirit of some. More often, however, adversity brings out the true spirit and character within people and leads them to make the noblest of…
Organisations are not naturally fertile seedbeds for new learning, growth and doing things in better ways. Leaders who want to instil wide-spread change and improve their respective companies, in fact, need to recognise that they are attempting to change a seemingly unchangeable paradox: organisations thrive on routine and the status quo. Daniel Goleman, in his…
“Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it” (William Feather) The term ‘balance’ does not imply that we spend equal time with family, equal time with work, equal time with friends, and so on. It means rather that we find in…
The ability of the leader to connect emotionally with employees and drive performance does not just stem from the leader’s mood or ability to say the right thing, but also from a number of coordinated activities that comprise particular leadership styles. Daniel Goleman (Primal Leadership) notes: “The best, most effective leaders act according to one…
In our current turbulent business environment, organisations worldwide are finding it necessary to adapt to ever-changing financial circumstances, revisit product offerings for more nuanced customer needs and strive for innovation and creative solutions to stay ahead of the game. The quest for sustainable growth requires the adoption of new technologies, process re-engineering, restructuring, culture change…
“I have immortal longings in me” (William Shakespeare) Trying to find meaning in our crazy and confused world seems to be a never-ending quest – the current chaos globally working its way into our lives. Decision-making brings new levels of uncertainty. Setting goals or fulfilling dreams seems far-fetched or at least so distant that you…
“The fundamental response to change is not logical, but emotional” (Tom DeMarco) The current world socio-political and economic contexts are dismal, to say the least – financial analysts and the World Bank continue to predict slow growth, volatile markets, and the possibility of a longer or deeper recession than was first suggested. Governments are attempting…
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, an eminent Russian novelist, historian and tireless critic of Communist Totalitarianism, Nobel Prize in Literature (1970), when delivering a Harvard Commencement Address in June 1978, referred to the calamity of a de-spiritualised and irreligious humanistic consciousness and noted: “To such consciousness, man is the touchstone in judging and evaluating everything on earth –…
In previous and perhaps more stable eras, transformation in business was not that important, or seemingly so. The name of the game was securing a strong market position and retaining it. As John P Kotter notes in “The Heart of Change”, this philosophy underpinning business security was “build a big moat around a castle, keep…
“Education is what people do to you. Learning is what you do to yourself. Focus on being connected, always learning, fully aware, and super present” (Joichi Ito) While 66% of employers currently are looking for critical thinking skills in the leaders that they hire (Hays plc, 2023), there are many more abilities that are required…
