Do you want to start something? Do you want to grow something? Do you want to make the world a better place? Rosabeth Moss Kanter is a Harvard Professor that has spent her life looking at what it takes for leaders to get things done. 6 Keys to Leading Positive Change Show up – if … Read more
What is charisma? Charisma means “special gift” in Greek. It is something that allows some people to magnetically attract others to them and their projects. Is it innate or can it be learnt? According to John Antonakis, Marika Fenley and Sue Liechti in the Harvard Business Review June 2012 article “Learning Charisma”, it is learnt. How to Learn … Read more
The mission of the IESE Business School, where I teach about 1,000 EMBA, MBA and Senior Management participants each year, is to “develop leaders who aspire to have a deep, lasting and positive impact on people, firms and society” and I have spent a lot of the last 13 years attempting to find a way to … Read more
I came across a TEDx talk today by Drew Dudley about Leadership. It is called “Creating cultures of leadership”. He explains his first ever class on leadership. After the class, a participant came up and said “I thought I understood leadership, but now I don’t. Could you explain exactly what you mean by leadership?” He could … Read more
Companies today aren’t managing your career. You must be your own HR guru. That means it’s up to you to identify your place in the world and know when to change course. It’s up to you to keep yourself engaged and productive. This is the premise of Peter Drucker’s 2005 HBR article “Managing Oneself”. Peter Drucker asks … Read more
They lie, they manipulate and they pick fights: Some colleagues are ruthless, especially when it comes to their own professional advancement. Avoiding a toxic employee can save a company more than twice as much as bringing on a star performer. The trouble with Toxics is that they are difficult to detect. Often, Toxics are popular with … Read more
I have sat through many presentations over the last 3 years listening to experts telling company leaders how they can make their company an engaging workplace; how they can increase employee engagement. Is it really the employer’s responsibility? Engagement is a Choice Surely a basic requirement when you accept a job is that you engage … Read more
Most people do not have a compelling vision. A boring vision attracts mediocre people and mediocre performance. “I want to make €1 million” is not a compelling vision. It is about you, and you alone. Why would anyone else give their best effort so that you can have €1 million in your bank account? Guy … Read more
We love to talk about the problem It drives me nuts when someone just wants to use me as a sounding board as they share their problems. I find it hard to listen to someone who just wants to tell me about the problem. They have a lot of energy and passion to describe their … Read more
De duodecim abusivis saeculi “On the Twelve Abuses of the World” is a self-help book written by an Irish author between 630 and 700AD. You could say that it was the earliest precursor to Steven Covey, Brian Tracy or Jim Rohn. The work was widely propagated throughout Europe by Irish missionaries in the 8th century. Its authorship was often … Read more