A little exercise I sometimes do with senior teams: I ask each person to write down what they see as the team’s top three priorities – and then we compare notes. It’s a great exercise because (a) it brings people into a reflective space and (b) it shows just how clear … Continued
One of the things we are good at in Ireland is funerals. Whether a death is ‘a blessed relief’ or desperately sad and unexpected, we bury people well. Funerals are held within a few days of death. The deceased will be ‘waked’, on view in their Sunday best, with visitors bringing food, washing … Continued
I love that silly old joke about the driver who is lost and stops to ask a local for directions. “If I was you,” says the local “I wouldn’t start from here”. Organisations ask a lot of their teams – “please work in this slightly unclear matrix structure while we initiate constant … Continued
Whenever I get the opportunity to talk to people whose leaders inspire them, one word constantly comes up: listening. And it’s always interesting to wait for the next word: mostly its ‘encouraging’. As in “he was a great listener: really encouraging”. The third word is generally prompted by me “And … Continued
I was lucky enough to be invited to facilitate a group of 60+ people on a 2-day strategy development workshop recently with the EMEA team of a pharma MNC. Given the brief: a recently restructured business, a new leader and a tough environment, my co-facilitator and I carefully designed a … Continued
When running management and leadership development workshops, I am often amazed at the amount of knowledge that participants already have. So many of them know the books, the gurus, the Ted talks, the theories… In any case, leadership development is not a matter of knowledge/learning – it’s much more about approach. … Continued