Self-leadership

Nobody died (But it was close)

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Earlier this week, I kicked off a six-week leadership programme with a cohort of competent, intelligent, very busy senior leaders. 1:1 chats with every single one of them, despite their diaries? Check. Slides designed, updated and made bespoke to this group? Check. Screens set up, notes ready, dogs fed, walked and briefed on staying quiet for two hours? Check. Power cut? Also check. The power was already off when I woke up. And I’d love to tell you my first thought was about the training. It wasn’t. It was: no coffee. Then: no hot water for a shower. Then: no lights. No screens. No wifi. Ah. No wifi. It’s funny how a power cut sneaks up on you. You realise … Read more

What are you putting off?

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I was in the garage the other day when I spotted this hanging on the wall. It’s been in the family for years. In fact, I remember my mum giving it to my dad sometime in the 1980s. You can probably hazard a guess as to why. It always makes me smile, but this week it also made me think. Within the space of a few days, I had two coaching conversations that were almost mirror images of each other. The first was with a leader who was reflecting on their constant busy-ness and realising that they hadn’t been holding regular 1:1s with their team. Not because they didn’t care. They genuinely wanted to do them. But something always seemed … Read more

The skills that saves marriages (and teams)

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Humans are messy. Relationships don’t have to be. The quality of your relationships determines the quality of your life. At home. At work. Everywhere. Because the moment another human is involved, there will be differences. Different views. Different instincts. Different priorities. And if you can’t disagree well? Those differences become fractures. You can be brilliant at your job. You can operate a supermarket checkout with Olympic-level efficiency. You can build rockets. You can run a P&L, lead a team, write policy, close deals. But if you can’t disagree well? You will come unstuck. Not because you’re not smart. Not because you’re not capable. But because life isn’t a solo sport. And humans are messy, opinionated and gloriously different. My husband … Read more

Leadership shows up in unexpected places

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moving leadership

We’ve just moved house. Which means we’ve spent months in and out of conversations with estate agents. Lots of them. And here’s what surprised absolutely no one. Most of them struggled to be honest. I know, shocking, eh? 😉 I have a very effective inbuilt bullsh*t detector and tolerating being lied to really isn’t my forté. Not in leadership. Not in business. Not when you’re standing in my living room telling me that you can absolutely sell my house for the best price by this time tomorrow and yes, of course, you operate differently from all the other estate agents in this area… bla bla bla. Agent after agent came in selling themselves. Their services, their stats, their shiny promises, … Read more

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