The worse blindness is the one when we ‘deliberately refuse to see’!

I (all of us) have seen people missing opportunities and I concede, looking back, I may have missed a few too. And why we see it? Because we are watching or looking from a different angle. Like on the Indian-mythology, we often fail to recognize them because we cannot see it. Sometimes they come disguised of something like hard work, as a tedious job (those nobody wants to do), sometimes our own attitude and you name it.

Last week I met a good friend who used to be my direct report. He recently got promoted as general manager and has always been a great sparring buddy. Besides the fact that I feel extremely proud to see him growing and pleased to be part of it, I also find our talks and engagement inspiring myself as he always add something to the conversations which makes me grow too.

Among different things we spoke about, reminiscing about the time we worked together, the adversities we had – how we surmounted them as well as his/our current challenges, we also spoke about long term ambition and discussed ‘why some people get ahead on their careers and others, even being extremely bright, don’t go so far.

“Opportunities come disguised as hard work.” By Bernardinho (Brazilian volleyball coach and former player).

Then he brought in a very interesting analogy from Indian mythology

Continue reading “The worse blindness is the one when we ‘deliberately refuse to see’!”

The Confident Coach 3: Levels of Listening

What makes a new coach confident about their coaching approach? How does this translate into their ultimate success as business coaches?

This is the third in a series of five articles about The Confident Coach. I thought it would be interesting to discover the factors new coaches starting out on their coaching journey report they are confident about; and how this is a predictor of their ultimate success. To do this we must track their progress over the first 18 weeks of the Coaching Master Class programme. Here’s how the programme works. After the initial training I run three coach-the-coach sessions at six week intervals. Session one focusses on the new coach’s confidence in the five key elements of the training. Session two on the business results being achieved with coaching. And session three to assess coaching capability. A couple of years ago I ran a worldwide Coaching Master Class programme for 100 top leaders. I’ve looked at my notes from coach-the-coach follow up sessions with the top 20 from this group to see what makes them ‘Confident Coaches’.

Continue reading “The Confident Coach 3: Levels of Listening”

Leadership: Your Vote Counts

Which of our politicians shows the best leadership characteristics?

We have a General Election in the UK on Thursday 8th June 2017. The result of which will determine who will lead our country for the next five years. According to the BBC some of the key issues are: Brexit and the Future of the UK; Health & Care; Immigration; the Economy & Taxes; Education & Family.

Many political observers believe this is straight race between two people who want to lead us and become our next Prime Minister – Theresa May (Conservative) and Jeremy Corbyn (Labour). One Social Scientists says this election will prompt some thoughts about what party leadership really requires – and how voters can be encouraged to choose those candidates who are more likely to be effective.

I decided to look at Political Leadership from the perspective of Business Leadership. Let’s see what you, my Blog Readers, think. This is your chance to vote. Not on who should lead the country, but who shows the best leadership characteristics.

Continue reading “Leadership: Your Vote Counts”

The Confident Coach 2: Purposeful Questions

What makes a new coach confident about their coaching approach? How does this translate into their ultimate success as business coaches?

This is the second in a series of five articles about The Confident Coach. I thought it would be interesting to discover the factors new coaches starting out on their coaching journey report they are confident about; and how this is a predictor of their ultimate success. To do this we must track their progress over the first 18 weeks of the Coaching Master Class programme. Here’s how the programme works. After the initial training I run three coach-the-coach sessions at six week intervals. Session one focusses on the new coach’s confidence in the five key elements of the training. Session two on the business results being achieved with coaching. And session three to assess coaching capability. A couple of years ago I ran a worldwide Coaching Master Class programme for 100 top leaders. I’ve looked at my notes from coach-the-coach follow up sessions with the top 20 from this group to see what makes them ‘Confident Coaches’.

Continue reading “The Confident Coach 2: Purposeful Questions”

British Airways – can it ever be again the “world’s favourite airline”?

What’s gone wrong this weekend? How effectively has BA handled this scorching hot potato?

In a past life, someone told me Richard Branson once remarked in the early days of Virgin Atlantic, “We’re in the entertainment business, but at 35,000 feet”.  I can’t now find that remark attributed to Branson on any of the quotation web-sites. However, it came back to me over this weekend as I read and watched the news reports concerning the unending, torrid situation at British Airways.

What entertainment are they now in?  Farce, I suggest.

It is a long, long way since the glory days of Lord King and Colin Marshall when BA claimed to be the “world’s favourite airline” – watch the famous 1989 advert at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxs106rp5RQ

What’s gone wrong this weekend?  How effectively has BA handled this scorching hot potato?

Continue reading “British Airways – can it ever be again the “world’s favourite airline”?”

Happy Birthday Blog

Celebrating one year of The Leadership Coach Blog.

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Blog.

Happy Birthday to you.

Its exactly 12 months since I posted the first article on The Leadership Coach Blog on 19 May 2016.

Many thanks to the Guest Authors, Subscribers and Visitors who have supported the Blog over this time. Every upwards!

Continue reading “Happy Birthday Blog”

Audi Alteram Partem (Listen to the other side).

The ability to ‘listen’ to the part of the brain he needs to use first (even if it is not the ‘preferred’ one) in different situations as well as when it is time to listen to both. This is what (I believe to be) some leaders may call as Contextual intelligence – the proficiency at adapting knowledge and skills (QI and EQ) to different situations and environments to make informed decisions.

In common law, Audi Alteram Partem is a Latin phrase meaning “listen to the other side”, or “let the other side be heard as well”. It is the principle that no person should be judged without a fair hearing in which each party is given the opportunity to respond to the evidence against them. It is a fundamental principle of English common law that a decision-maker should listen to, and take into account, both sides of an argument. This principle is encapsulated in the Latin phrase Audi Alteram Partem, or ‘Let the other side be heard as well’.

Audi Alteram Partem in leadership & project management.

The context I want to bring here is our ability to listen to the two sides of our brain. I am not a specialist on the topic (or any topic) and will share my personal views based on both, readings and work life experience.

As it relates to me, listening to both sides of our brain all the time is not something natural to everyone. We need to practice it. In my case, it took while before I started thinking of it. All of us born with different aptitudes, abilities, and talents. Some people use more the right side of the brain and others the left. If you are not familiar with this at all, i found this short definition about the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Continue reading “Audi Alteram Partem (Listen to the other side).”

Needing Direction

What can business leaders learn from directors of plays?

It’s been a while since I’ve directed a play. I miss it. I miss the freedom to be creative, I miss watching something take form, I miss seeing other people create performances around me. I miss realising a vision.

This last point is one that really interests me. Directing a play is about the most immediate and swift creation of a product I can think of.

Continue reading “Needing Direction”

The Confident Coach 1: The GROW Coaching Model

What makes a new coach confident about their coaching approach? How does this translate into their ultimate success as business coaches?

This is the first in a series of five articles about The Confident Coach. I thought it would be interesting to discover the factors new coaches starting out on their coaching journey report they are confident about; and how this is a predictor of their ultimate success. To do this we must track their progress over the first 18 weeks of the Coaching Master Class programme. Here’s how the programme works. After the initial training I run three coach-the-coach sessions at six week intervals. Session one focusses on the new coach’s confidence in the five key elements of the training. Session two on the business results being achieved with coaching. And session three to assess coaching capability. A couple of years ago I ran a worldwide Coaching Master Class programme for 100 top leaders. I’ve looked at my notes from coach-the-coach follow up sessions with the top 20 from this group to see what makes them ‘Confident Coaches’.

Continue reading “The Confident Coach 1: The GROW Coaching Model”

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.

Continue reading “Vive La Difference”