It is the human condition to try make sense of something, it is also something of a human trait to resist change. The pandemic and now a new variant are testing some of the most exacting scientists and virologists on the planet and for those of us that like a bit of order and rational, […]
Category: Journal
The Leadership of curiosity and intrigue
‘It’s like we’re on a movie set!’ said my daughter as we hurtled along on the tube between Oxford Circus and Waterloo in London on the way to a medical appointment. There were two other passengers, she wasn’t wrong! Leadership, not to mention just life itself, has seemed for some time to be a little […]
Locus of Control
Some-one who I greatly admire once said to me ‘whatever happens in life, walk towards rather than walk away’. At the time I had just handed in my notice to a job I loved (a promotion with a new boss, a glamorous woman, who was not only vile, callous and unfair but also completely inebriated after […]
Moonshots, empathy and stardust
That rather beautiful but overused expression ’Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars,’ seems to be a mantra for today. Some days to read the papers and talk with colleagues it seems the only way is up. It is perhaps dawning that we’re in this for the long haul. Last night […]
Creative Life Forces
In a discussion with my teenage daughter this morning about now, the future, education and work, she looked at me, paused and said, ‘I know everyone keeps talking about the new ‘normal’ but isn’t there just the present moment? This is it, today, where we’re at, what we have adjusted to and will continue to do, […]
How we treat each other changes everything
‘Nothing exposes our true self more than how we treat each other’, and as a client reinforced this morning, ‘and of course how we treat each other changes everything.’ As with so many things that follow a cycle in life, crises are no different and this crisis has a life cycle of its own with stages to […]
Unprecedented leadership for unprecedented times
In a recent leadership programme, an unexpected conversation cropped up about the definition of the yin and yang symbol in light of COVID-19. The complementary (rather than opposing) forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts. As many of you will be aware, the white […]
They aren’t little
I was told a story last week by a friend and colleague who regularly rubs shoulders with extraordinary people from all walks of life. He is something of a star himself and the tale may be folklore, but it stuck in my mind. In the showbiz world, actors, musicians, comedians and performers have what’s known as a rider […]
Light in the hearts of strangers
I was on a train in the Netherlands last week completely absorbed in reading Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. I became aware of a voice from a fellow passenger, ‘fascinating but not what it might appear, that book’ said the man, he had dark brown eyes which twinkled with curiosity. ‘I agree,’ I said, mindful of […]
Quirks and all
Last week I felt very honoured to be in an aircraft hangar with not one but three private jets, I hasten to add that I wasn’t about to fly off anywhere, I was just a happy visitor during a Leadership Workshop. The edges of the wings were silver and looked like something that was more […]
Bold and courageous
Uncertainty is usually caused by unexpected events, but look at headlines over recent days and there are plenty of reasons to validate a decision to ‘batten down the hatches’, play it safe and avoid all risk (despite avoidance and doing nothing being a risk in itself). The ‘expected ‘ event amidst political turmoil here in the UK is causing […]
Let go the distractions to be smarter.
Whilst clearing away decorations, I was half way up a ladder with an armful of fairy lights and a friend looked at me slightly suspiciously, he had just asked what my New Year’s resolutions were, to which I had responded that I had none. His face was one of astonishment and what looked a little […]
Bubbles or in a bubble?
As the old Chinese curse has it: may you live in interesting times. Like it or not we are certainly living in interesting times at the moment. With the extraordinary political uncertainty, poverty and homelessness, the damage that humanity is inflicting upon the planet and natural systems that we live with, as well as personal difficulty […]
When the answer had to be unequivocally yes.
‘Do you trust me? Are you ready?’ Whispered a beautifully French-accented voice in my ear. To set the scene, at this point I was sitting at the open door of a Cessna Caravan at 3000m strapped to a parachute instructor ready for my first sky dive. Upon reflection, I don’t think he can have been […]
If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.
Sitting in my office as I look out at a snowy scene, we’re variously trudging, finding a way through or grinding to a halt as we cope with the ‘Beast from the East’ as it has been dubbed. Resilient as the UK is, we’re not so good in extremes of weather. The joy of snow […]
Becoming more and more you…
I believe it was David Lynch that said ‘ the thing about meditation is; you become more and more you.’ Many of the world’s most influential people and accomplished global leaders such as Oprah Winfrey, Larry Brilliant and Lady Gaga, cite meditation as a key factor in their success. There are several compelling Forbes studies […]
