But how do you really feel?
It has been a week of strongly held, fiercely expressed and often diametrically opposed emotions. Long repressed fury and grudges have kept pace with eulogies. Whatever your intellectual or political stance one thing has been clear. People have an enormous capacity...
Don’t step on my Blue Suede Shoes (but don’t mind if I step on yours…)
What do Wynonie Harris, Arthur Crudup and Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton have in common? – They all did the hard work but Elvis got the credit (and the royalties). In the 50s, black american rock and blues music was segregated to the R&B charts. These served as...
Choosing an executive coach for women
I believe all senior women should have executive coaches. They have complex lives and are still likely to be so in the minority at the highest levels that a trusted relationship is essential. Yet women take up developmental opportunities less than men – often because...
Loving in the workplace
As all the red roses droop, the hearts and balloons are put away for another year and the public displays of intimacy are past, we are thinking about what it takes for leaders to foster true relationships in the workplace. Do we set a calendar date to tell people how...
(De)-focused leadership?
In the moments before I took the call asking me to speak on BBC Radio about Focus, I had been: commenting on a family WhatsApp conversation, checking my phone messages, updating Facebook, reading e-mails, catching up on LinkedIn; and feeling guilty about not tweeting...
Leadership and Resilience: Sometimes we just need the proof
There are many ways to convince somebody that changing a behaviour might be a good idea. In most cases the simple rational argument is not enough; nor are appeals to emotions or shock tactics. Usually a combination of several factors lines up and we move from...
Influence can change the world: the role of social psychology in coaching
Last week I had the good fortune to meet a postgraduate class studying organisational and social psychology at the LSE to discuss the practical applications of various strands of psychology in coaching. This blog is the first in a series building on this conversation....
Go with the flow?
Sounds a bit too hippy and laid back for modern leadership? According to positive psychologists, achieving a state of flow is the real key to effectiveness, creativity and sheer joy in your work. In flow, you have total concentration, time flies and you know you are...
Compassionate Leaders
‘There is always pain in the room’ (Frost 2003) This week alone I have heard that someone’s frail elderly Mother is going through surgery, a city broker is dealing with a heart problem and has more tests to endure, a banker is despairing about yet more indecision...
The Art of the Apology in a Connected World
As we have seen in a recent post, the Truth is now a distant consideration in the public narrative; yet the demand for heartfelt apologies is constant, be it regarding poor product reviews on Twitter to the latest tube delays – Yes, we now have The Wrong Kind Of...