What does Intel’s powerful microchip have in common with the Volkswagen Beetle?
Heavy fog found me sitting in a crowded lounge at Sydney Airport when Tony and Carlo asked if they could join me at my table. After we had introduced ourselves, our conversation surprisingly turned to the anxiety many young people experience in relation to career choices and the future of work. This quickly led to a discussion on the pace and pervasiveness of change.
Humility goes a long way for leaders, but it is not enough to get results
Unfortunately, when humility is absent, leaders lose the ability to listen and focus on what is important. Jim Collins describes the resulting behaviors as “arrogant neglect”, and that when this happens, organizations enter the first stage of organizational decline (Collins, 2009, pp. 29).
Learn the art of asking strategic questions, not convenient ones
You won’t agree with everything that Levitt and Dubner present in Freakonomics (2009), but it will make you wonder if you are asking the right questions.
Levitt and Dubner appeal to the person in the street who doesn’t have time to read all of the research available on an area of interest or something significant that appears in a headline.
What happens when our morals are detached from our business?
While working in the U.S during the Global Financial Crisis that occurred in 2008/09, I saw the collapse of the housing market, severe falls on Wall Street, companies letting go thousands of employees, and many major financial institutions filing for bankruptcy or being acquired by those in a stronger position.
Is it possible to lead when your values are in conflict with the organization?
Ninety-five percent of the eighty Board Chairs, CEOs, executives and senior leaders responding to the LCP Global 2018 Leadership Survey agreed there is a link between character and performance. We asked them how they responded when there was a conflict between their own personal values and those of the organization?
Making ‘reflection’ a core leadership practice
Returning from a global leadership intensive with participants from Africa, Asia and the U.S, I couldn’t help but notice how challenging it can be to invest adequate time reflecting on our current role, what has contributed to it the most, and what continues to shape the way we make decisions, set goals, and mobilize others.