When I ask executives “what’s your company’s greatest unmet challenge?” they most often go silent, contemplating whether to articulate what they know, or which one to articulate. What I’ve discovered is that the unmet challenge is most often the ‘elephant in the room’ and closely associated with a ‘sacred cow’ or two. The ‘elephant’ is […]
In Australia at the moment there is a hullabaloo about politicians of all persuasions abusing tax-payer funded expenses and entitlements. They are all crying ‘We are within the rules”. At first they were taking pot-shots at each other across the major parties. Then it was revealed that members of both major parties had been dipping […]
We’ve all experienced or heard of flawed leadership examples, resulting in the end of the leader’s reign and more often a long list of damages and even lost lives caused by those flaws. Here are the six most deadly sins I believe a leader can commit: 1. To place self-interest before the higher good. Example […]
We have all experienced ineffective leadership. Some have overused power and position, others have been weak and uncertain. Here are the central beliefs of ineffective leaders who overuse power and position: I am here to control people. People need control. I am better than they are or I wouldn’t be in this position. I deserve […]
The diversity of effective leadership styles and their personalities is immense, ranging from the visionary humble and beloved leader to the feared dynamic controlling leader who gets people through crisis after crisis. The latter styles tend to be short-lived and fit for purpose. Whilst they get us through as crisis, they are damaging otherwise. What […]
A recent UK report arguing for HR to add more value to M&A deals is extremely revealing. Not only does it show the lack of effectiveness of HR in M&A’s, it also reveals the secret ambition of HR – to be the leaders in their corporation. The article suggests the HR professional should coach senior […]
The causes of the continuing financial crisis are very simple aren’t they? Fear – greed; fear that people won’t voluntarily seek to be productive; fear of the illusion of loss; loss of the illusion of control of the masses – and so many other possibilities. Habits – the idea that we can keep printing money […]
I recently wrote about the sad situation of disconnected directors. Too many leaders, directors executives or supervisors, are disconnected from the current reality and their people. The reasons are straightforward: In the case of directors, they have become more focussed on compliance and governance and the fear associated with directors’ liability. Consequently they can overlook […]
There’s a severity about our overall culture that seems to be embedded in our workplace. It has to do with judgement, punishment, revenge and isolation. We are quick to demonise others’ transgressions, forgetting our own errors and lesser choices of behaviour. Once a person is judged, s/he is ‘branded’. We hold on to our judgements […]
Most people behave acceptably at work, despite too high a level of employee disengagement across the entire workforce. However there is a minority of people who behave unacceptably and are definitely disengaged. These people cause the greatest problems and weaken the enterprise culture dramatically. This is where I get most requests for help, when the […]
