Bridges to the Future: Not Knowing
Imagine you are in 2023 and are able to look back at this time. What kind of leadership would you like to be remembered for?
Building Resilience Series: Part 3
We have never been fans of the ‘tough it out alone’ approach to dealing with life’s challenges. The environment we shape and the people we journey with has a huge bearing on how well we perform and overcome obstacles and challenges when they arrive.
Collaboration – a game of snakes and ladders?
One of the strangest pieces of research we have come across was published in the Harvard Business Review: ‘Adults behave better when Teddy bears are in the room’. The research suggests that the presence of Teddy bears (or other cuddly toys) in a meeting room heightens the likelihood for collaborative behaviour amongst participants of workshops held in those rooms.
Unleash your leader – A Book Review
Don’t be put off by the somewhat adolescent title of this gem of a book. Unleash your leader contains some essential truths every leader needs to know.
Being fearless
This is the headline statement of an excellent new book called The Fearless Organisation by Amy Edmondson a Professor at Harvard Business School.
How do you bring insight?
I often hear from organisational leaders that we need to move from providing information to discovering insights. It’s a seductive thought. We have information overload, but where are the rubies in the rubble of all this information? What insights are there that will help me to do my job better, grow the business, offer something special to our customers?
Secrets to success?
n a 3-minute TED talk, analyst Richard St John distils 500 interviews with successful people into what he calls ‘8 secrets of success’. Click here to listen.
The importance of asking “why?”
Simon Sinek encouraged us to Start With Why and, more recently is offering to help us Find Our Why. The subtext of each of these books is all about inspiring others to take action, discovering purpose at, and through, our work.
What is the most important skill for the future?
I recently attended a CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) event this autumn. CIM had surveyed over 500 leading professionals in the City and had asked them what is the most important skill organisations will need in the future?
Do you value your snowflakes?
No, this is not a pejorative use of ‘snowflake’ to take a poke at the perceived fragility of younger people. Take a look at this 80-second clip from David Attenborough’s ‘Frozen Planet’.
