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 […]
Donald Trump may be your neighbour
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 […]
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 Coach and her Porsche
She arrived in a Porsche and wore her status with comfort and celebrity swag. That was how he described the moment he first noticed her as his small, matchbox-like rental pulled up next to her. To his surprise, he next saw her striding across the conference stage to own the podium. ‘She was a coach!’ […]
Do we really know enough about People to develop them?
I froze. My cardboard coffee cup hung, mid-sip from my lips. The electric black and red slide projected across the whiteboard, drew all my attention. It was slick, the font slammed the desk with authority and the silky smooth tones of the presenters lured me in. Then panic. I was presenting next, and my attempt […]
Shooting ourselves in the foot?
There I was sitting, with eleven esteemed HR consultants, all sporting Masters Degrees in Psychology and we tackled the definition of ‘Leadership.’ The result? It was much like discovering that the Zulu language has literally hundreds of names for a cow; the inputs were inconclusive and subjective. No truth or fact emerged. Let’s be frank, […]
Addicted to the science of people?
Psychometrics is essentially about predicting the future, especially when it comes to people and their organisational fit. Some might say, it’s all pretty much a best, bet guess about how people will behave going forward. Every psychometric test falls within the scientific paradigm which sounds pretty harmless, and even impressive, until I understood what that […]
Are you absolutely certain that you believe everything you think?
In the past, rocking up at university had pretty much been about slip slops, board shorts and lateness. So heading back to the towers of learning in smart-casual business wear rattled the 20-something student of decades ago (scary use of the word ‘decades’). It didn’t take long though for the weight of WISDOM, and the […]