Vive La Difference

Great leaders aren’t afraid to embrace peoples differences – and my grandma has a genius way of remembering why!

My Grandmother, may she rest in peace, had a saying: “If everybody liked the same thing, everybody would have fancied your Grandad!”

I mention this only because I’m struck by the continuing belief that in order to be a great leader you must treat all your people the same – and a fear that if you don’t you’ll be castigated in the name of equality.

This was brought sharply into focus for me recently whilst watching a training session where the group was asked if it was ever acceptable to discriminate in the workplace. After a slightly awkward silence the group responded dutifully that it was not – only to be told by (the fantastic) Chrissi McCarthy, of Constructing Equality, who was leading the session that, not only is it okay, but that they’re already doing it…

The shock was palpable…clearly this was some kind of mistake. This was a group of seasoned professionals with many years’ experience and a great deal of success under their belts. We wouldn’t – we couldn’t – possibly discriminate…except that we do. As professionals we are paid to make discernements and differentiations all the time.

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Change is in the Air

As you lead your organisation through turbulent times; reorganising, repositioning and reframing, how willing are people to follow your lead?

Having spent a fair amount of time over the last couple of weeks in the air I’d like to ask you a question: how many times when you fly on a plane do you ask yourself, “might this be my last flight?” I know for me it’s at least four. Not including turbulence. Now I’d like you ask yourself how many times you ask the same question when you get behind the wheel of your car, or for those of you who don’t drive, when you sit alongside someone who is? Virtually never?

I drive a car far more than I fly, and while I know the statistics say that I’m far more likely to die in the car than the plane, logic and rational thought make no difference. No matter how many times I fly I still have the thought, this might be it. It’s illogical, it’s pointless and yet I can’t help it.

What is going on?

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Life is Now

Our moment in life is now and we must take full responsibility of our decisions and the learning that comes from them.

I am a firm believer that we come into this world with an empty toolbox. As we walk along our path, we find tools along the way.  Sometimes the tools that we find are not useful immediately but one will always find a use for it down the road.  I always like to relate this to a TV series that I used to watch during my childhood called “McGyver”. It was about this very smart agent that collected several items during the episode and at the end he would save the day with a clever “gadget solution” made out of all the items he had collected.

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Small Gearings of a Big Engine!

What can a leader do to improve their gearing as part of the bigger organisational engine?

Today I would like to share some thoughts related to teamwork, cross-functional collaboration and accountability. Being in a small or big organization, all of us have at some point faced situations in which it was difficult to see the impact of the team or individuals to the overall business results. And that can give rise to frustrations or disappointment – especially when the team is manned by talented and high qualified people. Continue reading “Small Gearings of a Big Engine!”

How Can I Help?

Wouldn’t it be great if we lived on a planet where we ask every morning with a big smile on our face: how can I help?

A couple of years ago, I was struggling both in my professional and personal life. I started being over anxious about my future and so I was not enjoying my present. Does this sound familiar? Most of the time we get so immersed in ourselves that we fail to enjoy our life by missing out on those beautiful moments around us. I sat down and started thinking about what I could do to stop worrying so much and just allow things to be.

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The Celebration of Life and the Pursuit of Happiness

The celebration of life is the fuel that will keep us happy in the process of achieving our goals.

This article has been written at a time when most of us have given up on our new year’s resolution. And now we need to ask why it is so common that we fail in our resolutions? We set measurable objectives and we make a plan to achieve them.  Then what is missing?  Most of our plans miss two crucial aspects:  preventative plan for relapses and a plan to ensure that we enjoy the process.  The main reason we miss this is that there is a general belief that in order to achieve our goals and ensure happiness, we need to put ourselves through hell while we pursue this happiness.  We tend to compare hard work with being miserable.

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Leadership Interview: Cynthia Li ‘My Coaching Journey’

We follow the fortunes of a senior leader in the shipping industry in China over a five year period as she learns and applies her coaching skills in progressively more senior job roles. She changes companies and ends up Head of Commercial for mainland China and Hong Kong.

I started working with the Top Team at Maersk Line East China Cluster (PRE) in Shanghai when I visited them in April 2011 to kick off the Coaching Master Class program. Cynthia Li was Customer Service General Manager and starting out on her coaching journey.

Here she reflects on that five year journey. In 2013 Cynthia was promoted and moved from Customer Service to sales as Key Client General Sales Manager. In 2016 Cynthia jumped ship (pun intended) and joined Swire Shipping in Shanghai as Head of Commercial for mainland China and Hong Kong. What has Cynthia learned from her broad experience as a senior leader in the shipping industry? What can we learn from her coaching journey?

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Unsung heroes (Introverts) – whose ‘QUIET’ dedication makes them special.

Unsung heroes – whose quiet dedication makes them special.

For those who live in UK and/or follow the tradition, know about ‘Her Majesty’s Most Gracious Speech.’ given on December 25 at 3pm local time. This is an old tradition which was started back in 1932. The first time was given by Elizabeth II’s grandfather King George V and the Queen has been giving address since 1952.

Since I moved to UK, 2014, I watch The Queen’s speech with great interest. I did some research to know who writes her speech and came to know that the Queen does it herself and use it as a chance to reflect on major events that have occurred that year, her personal milestones and her view on Christmas in general.

Last year’s speech was very touching, as it usually is, and she covered topics that I immediately related to business reality. But there was one part that resonated in my mind and inspired me to write this article. When she spoke about ‘Unsung Heroes’.

Her Majesty’s words “I often draw strength from meeting ordinary people doing extraordinary things: volunteers, carers, community organisers and good neighbours; unsung heroes whose quiet dedication makes them special.”

Deliberating about it and the different interactions I have had throughout my career and a book I read some time back, Continue reading “Unsung heroes (Introverts) – whose ‘QUIET’ dedication makes them special.”

‘Sense of being’ in Coaching and Leadership.

Coaching is a trusting relationship, and not exclusive to the coaching journey it is also applicable to leadership relationships between leaders and their followers.

In the midst of own research with learners in formal educational settings and those coached through virtual reality technologies, I discovered what formed the bedrock to my coaching and leadership interactions – Five Levers. The associations between one’s Identity, Presence, Co-Presence, Emotional Intelligence and Immersion produce an effective sense of being in those experiences.

According to Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development ([CIPD] 2017) coaching supports individuals become high-performers in their workplace activities. The coaching relationship is targeted at the specific skills, behaviour and goals identified by the individual and their employer. The duration of the relationship is variable and has no fixed timescale; it is proportional to the individual’s development and Mastery of practice (Pink 2011). From the onset, a coaching relationship has a purpose of aligning human abilities to organisational leadership. The Coachee has a goal to unlock and fulfil their potential; they may wish to become better furnished with know-how in dealing with complex and challenging organisational situations.

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Leadership is a contact sport

Leadership is a contact sport. In 2017, more than ever before, as leaders let’s invest in our people through the time we spend with them and the effectiveness of that time we spend together.

I came across the statement forming the title of this post towards the end of 2016.  It is attributed to Marshall Goldsmith, who is an American leadership coach.  I have paired it with another quotation, which was made by President Eisenhower, “You don’t lead people by hitting them over the head.  That is assault, not leadership.”

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