Blogs & Articles

LATEST POSTSPODCAST
NewsPodcast

EP 64: How to Lead in an Age of Chaos and Disruption – Part 1: Chaos? Always!

We’re born without all the answers, we die without all the answers, yet we spend most of our lives looking for certainty. The problem lies not with the stars …but with ourselves. We spend this first episode of the Keynote series exploring why we crave certainty so much when the natural state is one of change, ambiguity, and Chaos. Therein lies our collective discomfort.  
FlowIrelandAdmin
15th April 2024
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 63: Resist Temptation – Minimise Distraction

“The most scarce resource in the world today is attention” – Yuval Noah Harari. The only 2 industries that refer to customers as “users” are Big Tech and drug cartels. We live in an increasingly technology-fuelled Garden of Eden – an attention economy where the most sophisticated dark forces are constantly, covertly intent at work to distract you. If time is your most precious asset as a leader, then saving and spending it wisely becomes paramount. In this episode, Ian discusses how our old biological defences are hardly sea-worthy any longer and in this age of fierce clandestine competition for your attention, you’re gonna need a bigger boat (or at least a better way to navigate!) to stay afloat.
FlowIrelandAdmin
18th April 2023
BlogNewsPodcast

Ep 62: “The Art of Leadership”

What has Art got to do with Leadership? Throughout nearly 30 years of working with leaders and leadership, the very best leaders Ian has encountered all have had one thing in common, irrespective of geography or industry: the sensibility of an artist. After all, leadership is all about creating something novel and new from just your imagination combined with the resources at your disposal whilst inspiring others to join in its creation. So just what is that artistic sensibility that separates the best from the rest?
FlowIrelandAdmin
28th February 2023
BlogNewsPodcast

61: From the Archives: EP 29: Deepening Connections in Chaos

Whilst not obligatory that you “love” your people at work - in the amorous sense! - people at least need to know you, as the leader, have got their best interests at heart. On this Valentine’s Day, it is worth remembering that your connection to those that matter makes an enormous contribution to your leadership impact and results. In this episode, Ian revisits his discussion on how to deepen connections in the workplace.
FlowIrelandAdmin
14th February 2023
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 59 : Leadership in Lay-offs – Twitter Vs Stripe

“It’s only when the tide goes out you see who’s been swimming in the nude” – Warren Buffett. As a leader the decision to let people go is never easy, but sometimes necessary. Nonetheless, it is often in these Moments that Matter where leaders show what stuff they are really made of. Ian discusses how the current high-profile Tech lay-offs provide a unique test for leaders in a sector that has enjoyed rock-star growth throughout the last 2 decades.
FlowIrelandAdmin
10th November 2022
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 58: “leadershipinchaos.gov.uk”

“Useless. Shambles. Incompetent. CHAOS” These were the dominant words of a GB News Peoples’ Poll Wordcloud last week as the Tory party unravelled amidst a sequence of bizarre and barely credible events. But what role did Leadership have to play in the absurdist drama and what was it Liz Truss did or didn’t do to contribute to her own ultimate downfall? This episode unpicks the very clear failures of the leader and the obvious cause-and-effect lessons in the whole sorry piece.
FlowIrelandAdmin
25th October 2022
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 57: Leadership Manifesto: Principle #18 – Keep Your Focus – Avoid Procrastination

To be human is to procrastinate. The Greeks even had a special word for it "akrasia". However, it’s not a great device for leadership effectiveness when keeping focus is critical. The tendency towards Procrastination, and it’s full-sister Distraction, is becoming increasingly a topic of conversation with leaders. Ian discusses why does it happen? why is it increasingly emerging now? and what can we do to combat its creep?
FlowIrelandAdmin
9th August 2022
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 56: Leadership Manifesto: Principle #19 – Stay Golden – Look after #1

Normal service is resumed as Ian returns to the Manifesto and explores how to preserve and protect the biggest asset any team has – you as the leader. Often ignoring their own needs and deprived in the service of others, the book title “Leaders Eat Last” promotes the idea of servant leadership (which I applaud by the way) ….however….Leaders Gotta Eat! How does a leader effectively balance doing the best for their people and their enterprise without doing the worst for themselves? Feast yourself!
FlowIrelandAdmin
1st June 2022
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 53: Leadership in the New World (Dis)Order – Part 1

Ian is interrupting normal service for a newsflash! Such has been the demand recently out there for a succinct summary of what it means to be a leader now we are starting The Great Reset for society, work and life, that Ian has composed a triple-decker episode that roughly mirrors a keynote he is delivering to address the question. Many of the previous themes are peppered throughout, along with a few new nuggets for the latest version of the New World (Dis)Order. 
FlowIrelandAdmin
5th May 2022
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 52: Leadership Manifesto: Principle #20 – Zoom Out Often

We often do our best thinking when we are not thinking. From Archimedes to Newton, great breakthrough discovery examples “away from the job” are rife in science, technology and the arts. It appears that it is often through a break that we really break through. Leadership is fundamentally about setting the right direction and making the right choices. Those choices, however, are only as good as the perspectives they are based on. In this episode, Ian explains how our “factory setting” as a species is an up-close perspective as it aids our survival in the moment. So how do you rise above your default programming to Zoom Out and gain enough valuable perspective to truly break through?
FlowIrelandAdmin
31st March 2022
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 50: Leadership Manifesto: Principle #21 – Choose Consciously and Wisely

“In every situation there is a space between the situation and how you respond”. Viktor Frankl. Think about this : The quality and situation of your life right now is the aggregate total of every decision you have ever made. Luck certainly plays a part - and there have been many “sliding doors” moments I’m sure, but ultimately, it is not what happened in those moments, but rather how you responded to what happened in those moments that made the difference.
FlowIrelandAdmin
3rd March 2022
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 49: Leadership Manifesto: Principle #25 Happiness in 3 Parts

“There is no way to Happiness. Happiness is the way.”Thich Nhat Hanh. In response to the reaction from the “Leadership Manifesto – 22 Principles for ‘22” episode, Ian has been persuaded to build out the Manifesto into a season, with each episode delving into the principles one by one, and in greater detail. Starting with #22 we will work backwards principle-by-principle until we arrive an #1. That way, instead of just chapter headings with some brief elaboration, by the end of the season you will literally “have the book” on how to Lead in Chaos.
FlowIrelandAdmin
15th February 2022
BlogNewsPodcast

EP 48: Leadership Manifesto: 25 Principles for Leading in Chaos in ’23

Building on the previous episode of Chaos as the new constant, Ian composed a Leadership Manifesto for the absurd times we live in titled Principles for Leading in Chaos of’22 Leadership Principles include:Hold your Assumptions lightly, not tightly. Use your imagination wisely, Beware your Comparative Mind, Communicate for your Audience, not Yourself. Iterate! And Re-Iterate.
FlowIrelandAdmin
13th January 2022