Tag: High Performing Teams

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

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

February 14, 2023

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,

EP 51: 2 year anniversary & 50 Episodes later….Reflections of an accidental podcaster.

It’s almost 2 years to the day since Ian began this podcast and 50 episodes later, he wanted to pause and momentarily to Zoom Out and reflect.

EP 50: Leadership Manifesto: Principle #24 – 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

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

February 15, 2022

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.

January 13, 2022

EP 47: Chaos is the New Normal

The popularised phrase “New Normal” is at best lazy, and at worst destructively misleading for leadership in every dimension – language, expectation and mindset. Yet people continue to strive for and promote it. For 30 years, the most popular remark Ian consistently hears from leaders going through change is “I can’t wait until this is over and we can return

December 17, 2021

EP 46: Lessons from COP26

In Episode 46, Ian explores the lessons and parallels we can extract from the 2 week COP26 summit and how they map across to your world as a leader. This episode builds perfectly onto our previous mini-season on Leading Teams in Chaos (episodes 39-42).

November 24, 2021

EP 45: Finding Flow in Chaos

Last month saw the passing of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow – the seminal work that describes the human state of happiness, optimal experience and high performance. The book (and his research) has subsequently influenced everything from office design, to how to train soldiers, website and video game design amongst everything else. In this episode, Ian commemorates the author by

November 3, 2021

We take our business seriously

Ourselves? Not so much