Do we take offence, or do we change things? Or do we do both? There’s a lovely parable in Buddhist tradition. To walk in a world of thorns, we could remove all the thorns or cover every inch with leather. Or we can wear leather sandals. Many of our current business practices are covering the […]
People and HR
The hype cycle on remote working
Headlines like to paint an extreme. So remote working is either our saviour, or the start of our demise. And the reporting has followed an accelerated form of Gartner’s hype cycle. The hype told us that working remotely was all good – less commuting, more family time, greener planet. And the valley of despair told […]
Your team’s question to you is often not a question at all
Something I’ve observed in many leaders is the feeling that they have to have an answer when asked a question. Not so. And not even for the reason a thousand coaches have told you, which is to be vulnerable. There’s a deeper reason. Which is that often it’s not really a question at all. Here […]
The dangers of advice
“I cannot judge what he did, because I did not have his information”. A particularly sage comment from the then 82-year-old Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore. Judgement is in many ways the same as advice. When we give advice, it is from our perspective, which is always different from the person receiving […]
Leading in crisis (5) – Communication
I was asked on Monday if I know a leader who over-communicates. Honestly? I’ve neither known nor often been one who’s communicated enough. It’s a top 3 concern in every leadership team I’ve worked with. Often number 1. (Though I have known many a leader who sometimes talked too much! Guilty as charged) How? First, frequently. […]