It now seems a lifetime ago, but it’s less than 5 months since Larraine Solomon and I held our first World Cafe Event with the Change Management Institute. On a cold January evening, the ‘paradoxes of change’ were discussed and debated in an insightful and high-energy conversation. We considered why people choose to change in their personal lives but often resist [...]
Our world is rapidly changing and often we are swept along by many different priorities and demands coming from all angles. Sometimes we are immobilized because we are overwhelmed by many waves of change. Sometimes we are reluctant to change because we recognise that upcoming changes might mean that whatever we do today might not be relevant in tomorrow’s world. [...]
As a leader we want our plans to be implemented, but sometimes it just doesn't happen in the way we would like. Why is that? Could one of the reasons be our role as a sponsor of the change? Sometimes it's hard to resolve the paradoxes of change that we encounter as leaders in driving for success. For example, as [...]
As many organisations enter the final quarter of the year there is increased activity as the end of the year gets closer. The goals that were set at the beginning of the year with Quarter 4 completion dates are now becoming very real. The tendency is to rush to complete these activities as annual performance is reviewed. This additional layer [...]
A question of perspective It’s something we’ve all been involved with, either as a leader who has to talk to their team or department, or as a recipient hearing news that will impact us. In any change scenario there can be a mixture of positive and negative consequences depending on individuals’ situations. What you think is good news may be [...]
What does it really mean to be strategic? Early in my career I heard that “In order to succeed you have to be strategic”. Think strategically and that's how you will advance. And then I had a performance appraisal. “Doing really well in all areas – projects are great, you deliver on everything that's expected.” But, (you know that “but” in performance [...]
As a parent I have learnt that children grow up to be independent and creative when there is an environment that enables them to explore and find their own way. Telling them what to do becomes less effective as they grow up and they develop a mind of their own! This analogy can be extended to organizations as the old [...]
After the recent post on think not do, the work of a leader. I was challenged to describe the internal and external business factors that will prompt a leader to take some time out to reflect with their team. My quick answer was that it’s always a good time (!), but on reflection (!!), there are some key triggers when [...]
As a facilitator how do you collect all the great ideas that the group you are working with have? One of my favourite tools is the ubiquitous post it note. Simply by posing a question and asking people to respond can generate many ideas. Then grouping these ideas and asking people to vote creates clear priorities before creating an action [...]
My early days learning about leadership seemed to be focused on the fact that a great leader creates inspirational visions that makes others want to follow their lead. I always struggled with this, maybe I could never be a good leader, as I just didn't have what it took to inspire others to follow me in the way that Shakespeare’s Henry [...]
