Large-scale structural change is a fact of organisational life. Mergers, acquisitions, shifts in markets, outsourcing of services, increasing automation in previously “safe” occupations – we could go on and on.
How OK is it to stay doing what we do, and just turn up and do a good job?
This question has come up in a number of guises this week. The coaching and self-development industry can be ardent in encouraging us to always change – is that always a good or necessary thing?
Recently, an overseas coaching client presented me with an interesting question relating to her own development as a leader and business partner. Would she do better, she wondered, to identify role models that she could learn from and emulate; or instead to invest in u...
For over a decade now, what is sometimes called the 'nine-box grid' or 'high-potential' model for mapping the performance and potential of corporate employees has been in vogue. It looks something like this:
The seductive idea is that the golden girls and boys in t...
I wrote this article in 2014, using the story of Mandela's "Long Walk to Freedom" in South Africa as an example of change theory in action. Having recently rediscovered it, the lessons seem to be just as relevant now. Let me know what you think.
This story starts and ends with an extraordinary organisation called OnPurpose, which develops future leaders for social enterprises and other organisations with a strong social and environmental purpose. I have been involved in their coaching programme for a few years...
Many of the organisations I am fortunate to work with are in the non-profit or social enterprise world. In these sectors, the governance model combines many of the legal responsibilities of being a Company Director or Professional Partner with the reality that Board Me...
Combining teams with different cultures, inside or across organisations, creates unique opportunities – access to different resources, disruptive thinking, cognitive diversity – and challenges. How to get it right?
