How to Expand Your Circle of Influence
Figuratively speaking, each and every one of us is surrounded by 3 concentric circles. The first, and smallest, is our circle of control – the things we have authority over. [...]
Every Day Courage as a Leader
I have been thinking about courage as a key attribute of great leadership. Leading is synonymous with having courage. In simple terms, it takes courage to merely stand alone, make [...]
The Gift You Love to Hate: Feedback
I was contemplating the other day, why we, as humans, face the prospect of feedback with such anxiety and trepidation. You know, when your boss comes to you and says [...]
Remedial Coaching: Steps to Ensure Success
I was reflecting today on some of the tougher coaching assignments that I’ve done and have found that the hardest ones are invariably remedial in nature – i.e. the person’s [...]
Leading the Way: Career Development Paths
At Kwela, our work takes us into many different organizations across a range of industries, which gives us the fortunate position of seeing common themes and challenges in the world [...]
Learning to Play Snakes and Ladders
I recall growing up that I had the impression that life would be like building a house. You start with a foundation (mostly education), then add the walls (get a [...]
Raising the Bar for Teams
Organizations in many sectors of society focus on strengthening teamwork. Consider a sports team, a ballet troupe or an orchestra. They tend to invest a great deal of time and [...]
The Extra Mile
I don’t know any managers who would not want to see their employees go the 'extra mile'. But what does this really mean? For some managers it could mean 'work [...]
Engaging Both the Heart and Mind Helps in Leading Change
I was recently asked what I was observing as “hot trends” in organizations with which we work. It took just a few seconds to consider the question before concluding that [...]
Coping With the Downsides of Technology
I remember one of my early jobs as an electronic engineer – providing telephone support for a worldwide client base that was integrating our products. I’m only 43, but how [...]