I have been to conferences with a mix of very good and very boring talks, but if you asked me a few months later, I could not remember for the life of me what the conference or any of the talks were about. I have also been to quite different conferences, notably the...
Even the most grounded visionaries struggle with the many demands on their time, the many meetings, ever longer to do list, and constant distractions from mobile devices. The problem is that if you get swept away by day-to-day chores at the expense of what really...
The average life span of today's Fortune 500 corporation is 40 to 50 years. One of the reasons for premature death is that management tends to cling to the status-quo. When leaders fails to see changes in the outside world, or can only react with a business-as-usual...
At Choose Leadership, we always start from Purpose. Be it in our work with individuals, teams, or organisations. The reason is simple: Without a purpose, our clients drift. Purpose is the ultimate WHY – the reason for which something is done or created. When leaders...
Most people struggle when asked about their personal vision for life. They tell me about goals, about what they don’t want. They often linger on those things they desperately want out of their lives - the sooner the better. Often they wish they had a better job, got...
All leadership challenges fall into two buckets:
A lack of relationship.
A lack of direction.
As a leader, your role is to provide both.
Most leaders struggle with either relationship building, or with leading from a compelling vision.
Both can be mastered.
On the other side lies a loyal and creative team that weathers the storms of uncertain times and crisis.
Leadership does not happen in a vacuum. It happens in interaction with others. The space of leadership has to be co-created by all who interact. As a leader, you have the opportunity to create a space that invites and allows all to show up as the leaders you need them to be to achieve your goals.
At Choose Leadership, we always start from Purpose. Be it in our work with individuals, teams, or organisations. The reason is simple:
Purpose is the ultimate WHY – the reason for which something is done or created. When leaders don’t connect to why it really matters, they might well decide to have the important conversation, or finally make that important decision. But then urgent things get in the way. They end up distracted, and … drift.
That’s why…
Leadership happens in interaction with others. And interaction often means rubbing up against each other. It’s not enough to tell others to just follow us, because we are the boss. The carrot-and-stick approach (comfortable monthly paycheck vs. threat of being fired) does not work in an age of insecure jobs and recurring reorganisations. At the best of times, carrot-and-stick management has lead to compliance at best, but never to engagement and commitment.
How can we engage others and get their commitment to our vision?
First of all, we need to …
Last night I was on a call with a group within my leadership community. We are a diverse group, and luckily we are aligned around what we want from and for each other: the possibility of having conversations we can’t have anywhere else. This is what we practice in order to grow each other as leaders. And this art is what we want to bring into the world, because it is of essence to enable …
I often hear this: I am motivated, keen to advance my career. Work comes first, and I am ambitious. But suddenly someone has announced a restructuring that affected my department. And none of my accomplishments or contributions count in this uncertain situation. They’re not a factor. Restructuring, even the pending possibility of its hitting your department is more than unsettling.
For many, going, through restructuring is
The average life span of today’s multinational, Fortune 500 corporation is 40 to 50 years.
One of the reasons for premature death is that management tends to …