10 ways Leadership Development must change
A prominent business management journal put out a piece in the 1970s, outlining key leadership competencies for the modern age. In my own words, their research seemed to support that great leaders exert dominance; are often the loudest, most vocal person in the room; and are highly competitive. The article also noted that to succeed […]
Dear President Ramaphosa, please Speak to us!
Dear President Ramaphosa Those first three words of this heading were almost my last. It feels somewhat presumptuous that you will receive and read this, but I have decided to write it nonetheless. It’s just a compulsion I have, straight from the heart and thus free from rational limitation and caution. My head keeps telling […]
The Ninja-Monk of Team Leadership
Last week I received a mail from a friend and colleague. It was lovely to hear from her. She was responding to a message I had put to my network requesting senior management teams to participate in my doctoral dissertation. She has been very busy, but diligent as ever (and its what impresses me to […]
I choose courage, not fear!
To be honest, I am pretty tired of focusing on what keeps toppling over in society. Intolerance has crept into our beds like cold night air, and fear is throttling our hopes for the future. I have floundered as I wait for someone else to take a bold stand and ‘shut the noise the f%&k […]
Wounded leaders are our choice!
In my last post I pondered the state of leadership behaviour in the world, and how interesting it has been to see people tussling with what it all means. In most cases very little understanding emerges. We could pull at a hundred years of psychological theory and evidence, but in the end, there is a […]
Who is the Donald Trump in your life?
There was a time when at social functions, I dodged having to tell people what I did for a living. I had early experiences in my career when the hush, pause and gulp at the dinner table was too awkward to bare. However these days, I feel quite cavalier with it all – I am […]
How a Crisis Reveals your True Character
When I was a teenager, I moved from a small, community oriented school to a large, bullring of boys. It was a leap into the big, real and rough world. I was joined by a mixed crew of newcomers. There was the worldly expatriate, the Korean, the first black pupils and the religious seminary graduate. […]
The Leadership Blind Spot
The phrase of my week is ‘Impression Management’. Oh and I love it, for how aptly it describes much of the superficiality in our society. It immediately reminded me of a story shared by an accounting executive who was rebuked for nestling his second hand, seven year old car in the Partners dedicated parking. The […]
If the President were a Psychologist
‘Constructive Disruption!? Read the banner advert. What an odd idea, I heard a lot of people saying. It was the title of a recent Consulting Psychology Conference (and I may have had something to do with it). It was designed to challenge psychologists to assert their relevance and voice in the post-apartheid reality. It urged […]
The Science of Trust – Part 2
A client of mine; an esteemed, silver-haired hotelier; once told me the secret to his success. He didn’t quite put it that way, but his message suggested as much. He proudly claimed that mastering the black and white aspects of service enabled comfort in the grey and that service excellence to humans was all hidden […]