Michael (not his real name) was the CEO of a family owned company, with about 100 employees, that has a niche market serving custom marine, aero and road vehicles, including motorcycles. (I’ve also altered enough description to ensure confidentiality) The company is sixty years old and Michael is the grandson of the founder. He’s young […]
Last week Mark Zuckerberg made an adjustment to the News section of Facebook, vowing to have personal interaction reclaim the lead in Facebook activity. He said that he realised as a father he wanted his children to remember him for doing something that was good for humanity. The share price of Facebook dropped that day. […]
There are two ways to read that headline, and both are correct. The leader’s behaviour creates, or tolerates or influences the culture. The leader has a primary responsibility for setting or adjusting the culture. You can walk into a business and spend about an hour working and conversing with the people and be able to […]
As 2018 kicked in, I gave brief thanks for missing all the negative Twitter & Facebook memes I heard about. I rejoiced when I noticed positive and uplifting memes. I gave thanks for my choice to pay attention to only those validated facts that contribute to my understanding of our world. I gave thanks for […]
Collaboration is a peak performance goal in business. There is a reasonable belief that through collaboration we can harness the best of ourselves to achieve something great. Diversity in business is seen as a much lesser priority. The value of diversity is rooted in two principles: Equality (gender, race, age, disability, religion etc.). Richness and […]
During the last few workshops I’ve been running for my clients, I’ve asked this question “Do people come to work saying ‘Today I’m going to be an a-hole?’” The overwhelming response has been “No”, then some said with a laugh “Except for…” Those that said “Except for…” never meant themselves. The point is that no-one […]
Everything about leadership has already been written, argued, demonstrated and preached continuously for at least 5000 years. The evidence proving the importance of leadership is overwhelming and unarguable. Every respected learning institution has a school devoted to leadership. Despite this, we see operating organisations of all types, with the possible exception of defence establishments, minimising […]
There is a ubiquitous crisis of leadership in the workplace. Gallup says 82% of managers are the wrong fit. Executives are both leaders and managers. They lead people and manage processes and things. We can’t manage people, we can only either lead them or not. Sadly, most executives are chosen, not for pre-existing leadership or […]
Not all Australian leaders are incompetent or morally bankrupt. Just too many in too many crucial positions. Such as in politics (all sides), where they’ve forsaken the good of the country for their own good. Such as the big banks where they’ve forsaken their employees, customers and shareholders for their own disgustingly generous and totally […]
One of the situations most avoided by leaders is dealing with unacceptable behaviour and performance. The main reasons are: Fear of failure. Causing more conflict or escalation. Losing or breaking relations. Not knowing how to do it effectively. Concern about the process being onerous. Yet, those leaders who have invested the time to learn how […]
