My client, an officer in the emergency management sector, was recovering from PTSD. He had seen too many fatal incidents, had too many terrible experiences. They had affected him personally. He felt guilt and anger. He felt helpless. My purpose was to help him recover through coaching. Separately, he was receiving valuable help from a […]
Andy (not his real name), was a good team member, but had been distracted from his work by family matters – his wife had been diagnosed with cancer and his daughter’s partner had mental health issues. Andy’s performance had fallen and his supervisor, my client, spoke with him and designed a plan to support Andy […]
Adam and Eve are very different to their biblical namesakes. They had followed similar paths earlier, as university graduates and then fast tracking to executive roles. Whilst they haven’t met each other, they know of each other, because they are both my clients. I met Adam first, when he was the chief operating officer of […]
For the last nearly half-century I’ve been on the learning path to success, (in this instance business – but it can be success in anything) and I’m still on it. My behavioural traits and thinking style enable me to move fast, be decisive and remain curious about everything. Whilst all that is very useful, it […]
Recently, after more than 20 years as a leadership consultant, I have elected to never tender or submit a competitive RFQ (request for quote) again. OK, I’m a slow learner! I realise that it will diminish the number of clients I work with, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Over the last ten years, […]
I was coaching a line manager, helping her to better deal with conflict within her team. I raised the issue of under or poor performance and how she dealt with that. She said, “Oh, we don’t deal with that, it has to go to HR, they deal with those issues.” I said, “Really, how does […]
With social justice activists becoming weaponised via the ubiquity of social media, with judgements and assumptions made before all facts are known, I wonder what’s true and what’s not, or skewed. I had an interesting conversation with a very senior fire officer the other day. We were discussing issues around the lack of career females […]
Many people who become leaders do so with self-doubt. I know, because I did too. What we think about ourselves becomes a story, one we tell ourselves. In my case, as a 20-year-old newly commissioned officer in the army, I had concerns about many things: Would I make a mistake? What if they think I’m […]
I’ve spent three decades helping people become better leaders. Here’s my take of whether we can change others. We can’t. All we can do is model, inspire, persuade, or coach, and the result we’ll achieve is in direct proportion to their desire and effort to succeed. Also, whether our message or training is effectively delivered. […]
Once upon a time there was true freedom of speech, a tenet of democracy, where people could express what they felt, whether with passion, humility, or humour. In those times listeners would simply choose whether the words applied to them or not, and disregard what they didn’t agree with. In those times people had more […]
