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  • Olympians and Leadership Lessons

    Sports and leadership have so much in common, as do leadership and sports?

    Kirsti Yamaguchi could not have put the point across more succinctly.  To be successful in any sports, whether on ice, on snow, in water, on a track or field, focus is required to keep your goal in mind, and in vision at all times.  Sport is a passion as is effective leadership.  The “why” in Why I do this?

    Setting clear and measurable goals is essential for individual sports men and women as well as for teams.  Is this different for any leader?  He or she needs to know and be passionate about the goal and be able to inspire others to share that same passion.

    In sport and in leadership, there are times when discipline and hard work are essential to produce that extra bit more, that bit you didn’t think was possible when the odds appear against you.  Does this happen in business sometimes? Perhaps external or internal circumstances change, putting pressure on how to achieve the goal under changing circumstances, as well as on the leader to find the way to inspire the team to produce synergy to achieve what appears to be the unachievable.  To avoid giving up by finding that bit extra.

    As Mark Phelps, the Olympic Swimmer once said “Goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.” Setting clear and “smart” goals is essential to creating that sense of challenge and focus that we all work towards and celebrate once achieved.

    Celebration and sharing the glory of goals achieved with a team is a genuine opportunity to provide positive feedback on performance, it is a genuine opportunity to support and encourage during the process and an essential characteristic of an inspirational leader.

    Successful sports people, and effective leaders, whether male or female share the importance of self leadership.  Respecting oneself through honouring mind, body and spirit, Eating responsibly to ensure the body and mind are nourished and ready for challenge.  Ever considered if fast foods, snacks, caffeine, energy drinks and processed foods are up to the job?

    Sportsmen and women naturally exercise to train their body.  No Olympian ever succeeded without training both the body and mind to rise to the physical and mental challenge of competing. Do leaders have a duty to themselves firstly and to their followers and company secondly to maintain a healthy level of physical as well as mental stamina?

    The last part of the equation shared by sports people and leaders is adequate sleep to keep the mind and body alert to make those last second and important decisions that make all the difference to performance.

  • New Year – New Opportunities

    The start of a new year is for me always a time to clear out – clear out wardrobes and drawers of clothes I haven’t worn in the last year, storage areas that have been stuffed full of things that “might just come in useful,” as well as my brain, mind and body. In truthfulness body comes a little later in the early days of spring. I find trying to remove the old, dusty and sluggish me difficult to do in the winter months when foods craved are wholesome, warming and consequently heavier in nature. Lymphatic cleaning is is much easier and consuming salads, juicing and lighter foods also easier when the weather is warmer and the days starting to get longer.

    Clearing and cleaning out facilitates space to think, to create and for sure being human will once again over the coming year get filled up, maintaining the cyclical nature of hoarding. There is a saying “I need to clear my head”. This phrase is representative of how I feel about this time of year and the importance of ensuring my head is clear for what is ahead, whether plain sailing or challenges. For most a mixture of both. Above all to have space and the eyes to be able to see new opportunities.

    Clearing out also brings the opportunity to manifest what you want in 2023, by letting go of the old, with thanks and welcoming in the new. After approximately two years of doubt and uncertainty due to Covid fall-out we can look forward to a healthy, positive, forward moving 2023. While the outlook according to “Capital 500, London Quarterly Economic Review” (Q4 2022), sponsored by Haysmacintyre, for the London Chamber of Commerce and commented on by Vicky Pryce, Chief Economic Advisor and Board Member, Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) while not being the most positive forecast, is at least showing an upward trend within London businesses:

    • 17% expecting their workforce size to increase over the next 3 months.
    • 21% reported an increase in investment in training in the last quarter of 2022.
    • 14% reported an increase in investments in plant and equipment.
    • 24% reported an increase in cash flow in the last quarter.

    In combination with this positive upward trend, there is a worrying trend in rising costs. Nothing that we don’t all know already, but never-the-less:

    • 70% reported an increase in their fuel costs last quarter.
    • 79% reported an increase in energy costs last quarter.

    Business confidence which is perhaps one of the most important markers was also showing an upward trend. An important point here is that the field work for this survey was conducted before the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 19 November 2022 and before the recent industrial unrest.

    • 28% expect their profitability to improve over the coming 12 months.
    • 37% expect their turnover to improve over the next 12 months.
    • 21% expect London’s economy to improve in the next 12 months.
    • 22% expect the UK’s economy to improve in the next 12 months.

    Positivity is half the battle, if we start the new year feeling positive and upbeat there is a strong likelihood that we will manifest more of the same. Remember the Law of Attraction that states, “Like attracts like.”  This means, on a daily basis, putting into the ether, our environment and lives, positive thoughts, actions and ideas in order to get back more of the same. Following are some tips and actions to take to start manifesting positivity and abundance in your personal and business lives, in no order of importance:

    1. Be grateful for the small things. Many small things add up to create larger things.
    2. Find others, your colleagues, team members, your boss, family and neighbours doing things right. Give them positive feedback on the spot to encourage more of the same.
    3. Be thankful for the abundance in your life – friends, family, clients, colleagues, partners, food, travel, nature etc
    4. Regard challenges in a positive way. Think about why you are facing this challenge and what it is trying to teach you. Experiences are the best teacher.
    5. Don’t take life too seriously – keep your sense of humour.  Life looks so different when you can laugh with yourself and with others.
    6. Feed your brain as well as your body. If you eat *dead foods you lessen your energy, ability to focus and concentrate, ultimately your mental and physical output.
    7. Nourish your mind, body and soul. Take regular downtime to switch off, tune in to yourself and your environment in order to nourish the soul.
    8. Let go of negative emotions in an appropriate manner. Harbouring negativity is detrimental to mental and physical health.
    9. Do something every day, even if only for 10 minutes that brings you joy and fills your heart, making you smile.
    10. As in the film with Julie Roberts “Eat, pray, love.”  (A film based on a memoir of the American journalist Elizabeth Gilbert.) Enjoy your food, give gratitude and love life by taking in every moment in a fully conscious state.

    Wishing you all a healthy, happy, abundant and beautiful 2023.

     

    *Dead foods – all processed and fast foods, simple carbohydrates – bread, cakes, pasta, sugar-laden foods.

  • International Women’s Day – A Celebration of Female Leadership

    On the 8th March to celebrate International Women’s day perhaps it is appropriate give credit to the many female Heads of State, CEO’s, Owners and Mothers.   How interesting that the world has a strong representation of female leaders, 22 countries in total including  Denmark, Poland, Bangladesh, Lithuania, Brazil and Norway.   This is quite a sizeable representation of women in top leadership positions, some in countries that are culturally showing more masculine than feminine qualities. (Hofstede)  It is irrelevant what you think about them, but the fact is these female leaders are running governments and countries in what can only be termed a very troubled and challenging period, including Teresa May who is grappling with the turmoil created by Brexit.   Angela Merkel holding strong as the German Chancellor who has  just been re-elected (with some help from her friends), and Norway Erna Solberg who has been Prime Minister since 2013.

    What are the principle characteristics of female leadership?  Can we characterize these principles and definitively separate them from the principles of male leadership?  Unlikely, because styles of leadership differ amongst men and women equally depending on education, experience, courage, individuality, stamina and so on.  However, when looking at women and men, there are differences and when women bring these differences into play we might see different characteristics, many of which come naturally to women.

    Female characteristics:

    • Intuitive and sensitive emotional intelligence
    • Ability to sense the emotion behind something as well as see the facts – therefore make decisions on both factual and emotional levels
    • Patience and tolerance
    • Ability to forgive and let go
    • Quiet drive, stamina and courage
    • Ability to multi task therefore being able to think about, understand and action different points with ease
    • Ability to release own emotions to relieve tension and break stress often through crying.  As well as breaking the tension in a situation.
    • Happy to be out of the limelight and just get on with the job

    In this list I am not saying that men do not have some of these characteristics, I am saying that these characteristics are more common in women in general, but particularly in female leaders.

    What does this all mean?  Are we moving into a time when female leadership is more appropriate for the challenges we face in today’s world – starvation, homelessness, loneliness, escalation in chronic disease, environmental damage on a huge scale, greed by the few who want to monopolize the many, to name but a few?

    I don’t know the answer to this, but I do know the questions:  How much longer can we, as human beings go on living in an environment that we are determined to destroy, removing the right to heritage for generations to come?

    How long can we continue to ignore, flush over, minimize the impacts of large industrial farming whether fishing, dairy, crop or animal farming on human health. Not to mention the pain caused to the animals themselves and the impact on waterways, air and the earth?

    How long can we go on not listening to, or covering up the detrimental impact of processing foods on our health and the health of our children, leading to escalation in chronic disease, obesity and stress, all of which we see in most of the English speaking world, with other countries not far behind having adopted a Western diet?

    Lets celebrate all our female leaders and leadership, not only on this day, but everyday whether Heads of State, Heads of Companies, Company Owners or Mothers.  Perhaps it is our leadership that will turn the ship to become more caring and responsible about how we live, what we live for and what we leave behind?

  • Integrity in Leadership; What Business Leaders Can Learn from Our Political System

    In today’s Britain, as we watch our government navigate scandal, public discontent, and complex global challenges, the question arises again and again: are our leaders truly working with honesty and integrity?

    Recent months have seen a string of events that throw this into question. Sir Keir Starmer entered office promising a clean break from political sleaze—but recent revelations suggest a more complex reality.

    In 2024, Starmer declared that he had accepted over £100,000 in gifts and hospitality since becoming an MP—far more than any other parliamentarian, including clothing and accommodation provided by Labour donor Lord Alli. While technically disclosed, this sharply contrasts with his message of accountability and austerity. As one Reddit commentator put it:

    “For a man who found so much pay dirt in presenting himself as a man of integrity, accepting these sorts of gifts … seems like such an easy bullet to dodge.” 

    There's also the awkward incident during lockdown: Starmer reportedly invited an acting coach to Downing Street for in‑person lessons while urging strict lockdown compliance for everyone else. The episode sparked claims of hypocrisy and doubt over whether “rules for some” applied across the board. (IAE Limited)

    On issues of openness and accountability, Starmer has called for a statutory “duty of candour” in government aimed at ending cover‑ups seen in the Post Office, infected blood, and other state failures. Yet critics argue that his own government's internal handling of data secrecy, e.g. hidden Afghan data leaks, hasn't always aligned with these values. 

    Take, for example, the ongoing Post Office Horizon IT scandal. After years of injustice, during which hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for financial shortfalls caused by a faulty computer system, the government promised compensation and transparency. Yet, as of mid-2025, many victims are still waiting. Promised payouts delayed, processes remain unclear, and bureaucratic hurdles persist. Despite repeated reassurances from ministers that the issue is being handled with urgency and compassion, families remain in limbo—forced to relive trauma while fighting for justice that should have been swiftly delivered.

    Is this leadership? Or is it another case of “managing the message” rather than taking meaningful action?

    Honesty and integrity in leadership aren’t abstract ideals. They’re the foundation of trust and trust is the glue that holds together public cooperation, engagement, and belief in the system. When leaders send mixed messages—one rule for the public, another for those in power—it erodes the very contract that enables effective governance. Is this any different for private companies and their employees?

    We’ve been here before. Rewind to the early days of the pandemic and the infamous Partygate scandal under then Prime Minister Boris Johnson. While the public was locked down, making sacrifices and losing loved ones, senior officials partied at Downing Street—breaking the rules they themselves had set. That hypocrisy shattered public confidence and left a deep scar on the national psyche. I suspect the deep scar might become even deeper as the truth about Covid and the “pandemic” is revealed.

    And what about science?

    When it comes to public health and medical research, integrity matters just as much, if not more. In a 2021 article in IHCAN Magazine, journalist Ronald Bailey exposed shocking systemic failures in the scientific research community. Former BMJ editor Dr. Richard Smith even proposed a radical stance: “Assume all medical research is fraudulent until proven otherwise.” Let that sink in! The very field we rely on for life-and-death guidance is increasingly driven by incentives that reward quantity of publication over quality or honesty of findings.

    As researcher Barbara K. Redman wrote, this “isn’t just a case of a few bad apples”—it’s a whole system that encourages poor behaviour. The absence of robust fraud-detection mechanisms, combined with an unwillingness to retract false findings for fear of reputational damage, is deeply troubling, setting an example to the many who look up to and follow those in authority through unquestioned belief. (Authority is one of Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Influence).

    What happens when the people can no longer trust their government leadership and the scientists who produce the “science” it not only relies on, but makes decisions on? When both leadership and knowledge systems seem riddled with opacity, contradiction, and self-interest. Until then, the public will continue to ask: “who are they working for – us or for themselves?

    That same question can be asked of leadership within an organisation. What happens when employees cannot trust their leaders and the information and systems they rely on? 

    For the UK we can still reclaim that future—but only if our leaders choose transparency over spin, substance over slogans, and integrity over image. In organisations it should never come to “reclaiming” because damage will already have been done and consequences will be clear as good employees jump ship, service levels drop and customer negative feedback increases all seriously effecting earning capacity.

    Conclusion: Lessons for Business Leadership

    Examples shared and the many others whether Sir Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, Rishi Sunak, David Lammy or Boris Johnson all demonstrate important lessons for organisational leaders:

    o    Trust is earned, not assumed: Promising reform or transparency isn’t enough if actions don’t follow through—and stakeholders notice inconsistencies.

    o    Details matter: Whether in public office or private boardrooms, undisclosed interests or misstatement, even when unintentional undermine credibility.

    o    Prioritize timely, accurate declarations of interests.

    o    Ensure consultation and stakeholder engagement are genuine and recorded.

    o    Show transparency in who you are and what you do.

    o    Back up what you say with personal behaviour and deliver on what you promised. In other words “walk your talk”.

    o    Communicate honestly—even when facing difficult decisions or scrutiny.

    o    Be true to yourself, and to others.

    As Nelson Mandela reminded us: “A bright future beckons. The onus is on us, through hard work, honesty and integrity, to reach for the stars.”

    Organisations can build that bright future—but only if leadership demonstrates integrity in word, action, and transparency.

    References

    Bailey, Ronald. (2021). Zombie Trials and Outright Fraud: Why Medical Research is Mostly Fake News. IHCAN: The Practice and Science of Natural Medicine, September, p. 42.

    Smith, Richard. (2021). “Time to Assume Fraud?” BMJ Editorial.

    Redman, Barbara K. (2021). Research Misconduct Policy in Biomedicine: Beyond the Bad-Apple Approach.

    https://iaelimited.com/keir-starmers-days-are-numbered-the-scandal-that-could-end-his-leadership-carole-malone/

    Cialdini's 6 principles of Persuasion book

  • Inspirational Leadership – A Festive Thought

    2018 has been a very turbulent year, especially when we look at what has been going on in the world – dare I mention the “B” word again and all the leaders involved in that process to execute the will of the British public, the turbulence in the USA that came with Trump leadership, the unrest in France, challenges to the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and many more issues that have created news in 2018.

    However, my thought as this year comes to a close, is around inspirational leadership.  Sadly there is little evidence of inspiration coming from world leaders during this year, therefore I want to go back to February when I had the honour of attending the winter Olympic Games in South Korea.  When I say, the honour, what I am referring to is the fact that one of my godson’s was competing.  Infact he was and still is the skip of the Swiss men’s curling team.

    I have never attended an Olympic games before, and from a leadership perspective it was quite fascinating to watch the curling teams manage the challenges of each game, the pressure that a competition like the Olympic games brings, as well as the relationships within the team and the need to make decisions in the moment that very often demanded the courage to take risk in order to be at the top of your game.  As in business, this risk sometimes pays off, and sometimes it does not.   Making those decisions does not make you less of a leader, infact the reverse as it is an opportunity to learn and grow, but at the same time an opportunity to inspire each and every team member to give of their best and to find that energy, courage and enthusiasm to keep focused and to excel by pulling something extraordinary out of the hat.

    Is inspirational leadership about winning?  Personally, I do not think so.  Winning is a bonus.  Instead it is about sharing the glory, sharing the disappointments, but more importantly knowing that everyone gave of their best and in that there is always celebration.

    I wish you all a very inspirational 2019 with opportunities to share, to experience the true essence of being a team, and to celebrate at every opportunity.

  • In pursuit of perfectionism

    Perfect or perfection is often thrown about in the business world as a desired state.  This might be voiced as an exclamation – “Oh perfect!”, as a statement, related to a particular desired outcome – “That is almost perfect?”  Clearly from the last sentence we can see that something is missing, not aligned correctly, has a small flaw and therefore in some way it does not achieve the status of “perfect” or “perfection”.

    When looking into the dictionary at the definition of “perfect” and “perfection” we see:

    Perfect –  “Complete and correct in every way, of the best possible type or without fault”. (Cambridge English Dictionary).

    Perfection – “Quality of being, as good at it is possible for something of a particular kind to be”.  (Collins English Dictionary)

    How do we define if something is perfect or not?  Of course when talking about figures in terms of achieving targets and goals, it is clear, you either achieve that figure, therefore its perfect, or you do not – a state of not being perfect.  For other situations and for behaviour we create parameters for measuring the end result, which then matches or it does not match and therefore is perfect or not.  However, what about being a perfectionist?  Someone who strives for the perfect result, which they decide is the final result and whether in their own eyes is perfect.  “A person who wants everything to be perfect and demands the highest standards possible”. (Cambridge English Dictionary)

    When being a perfectionist or working for a boss who is a perfectionist, very often nothing is ever quite right, or good enough in some way, in other words it does not meet expectations.   Their expectations!  As a perfectionist how does this affect your life?  Very often you create your own stress around improving that result so that it becomes perfect.  The time “invested” in this last effort to create perfection, drains your resources through nervous energy, missing deadlines and being overly hard on yourself.  Not only do you suffer, but possibly so do those around you who have to wait while you achieve this perfection, have to deal with your emotional instability whilst you strive for that perfection and perhaps even try to negotiate you around to accepting what you have done is already “perfect” because it meets their expectations and the agreed parameters, or indeed the result is even better than they expected and they prefer the outcome, even though it is not exactly what was agreed according to those same parameters.

    On the other side is that fact that being a perfectionist means that you do not make mistakes, defined as “Atelophobia” (taken from Greek) or the fear (phobia) of being imperfect (atelo).  If you do not make mistakes, how and what can you learn because you are already perfect?

    Working for a boss who is a perfectionist can be demotivating, destabilising and frustrating, as nothing is ever good enough.  This means the feedback is always half-hearted at best, – “Well, I like what you have done so far.  If you just work on this bit in XYZ way, it will be perfect!” “You have produced something that is good, in order to improve on that, why don’t you change this and then it will be perfect?”, and so on.  I am sure these and other similar statements are familiar.  I am also sure that over time hearing such feedback undermines your confidence and motivation, because you realise that whatever you do, you will never get it quite right, and therefore why put in the effort?  Leaving you with a feeling of being undervalued.

    Performance, self assessment and stress are directly related.  Striving for perfection, does it change anything in the result and outcome, the investment of energy, analysis, action and so on?  How we assess ourselves is a reflection of self confidence, being a perfectionist is one of the quickest ways to undermine yourself and your self confidence.  Stress – pushing and pulling, putting in those extra hours to achieve that last tweak, that last re-model, re-work or other to achieve that level of perfection takes away from a balance of work to home life, sports, activities and friends, which can end up with self disappointment, beating yourself up for not being good enough, and potentially affecting your health through decreasing immunity to infections and viruses, stomach ulcers, and headaches, fatigue and perhaps in the worst case scenario even adrenal exhaustion.  Not to mention the fact that your family will suffer as will your friendships.  For what?  Knowing when you have achieved the goal and stopping there giving yourself the reward and satisfaction is key to self management and strong self confidence.

  • Ignoring Bad Leadership is Damaging your Business

    We have all had at least one experience of poor or bad leadership. I could add “unfortunately” at the end of that sentence? In most cases it is a learning lesson for the employee to avoid such leaders and their behaviour in the future. In other words, it teaches a very good lesson and makes us wiser in our future job searches and appointments. What about the organisation, is it unfortunate for them? The answer is most likely “yes” for the obvious reasons such as loss of good employees, poor morale that leads to low employee engagement, low productivity and ultimately increased sickness and absenteeism. The 2022 Gallup poll stated that “60% of employees are disengaged at a cost of US$8.8 trillion to business globally.” If that doesn’t make your ears prick up or hair stand on end, then I don’t know what will.

    What are the top-rated worst leadership behaviours according to a survey conducted by Bamboo HR of 1000 employees:

    Your boss takes credit for your work 63%
    Your boss doesn’t trust or empower you 62%
    Your boss doesn’t care if you are overworked 58%
    Your boss doesn’t advocate for you when it comes to compensation 57%
    Your boss hires and/or promotes the wrong people  56%
    Your boss doesn’t back you up when there is a dispute  55%
    Your boss doesn’t provide proper direction on assignment/roles  54%
    Your boss micromanages and doesn’t allow you freedom to work 53%
    Your boss focuses more on your weaknesses than strengths  53%
    Your boss doesn’t set clear expectations  52%

    On top of these reasons, Gallup together with Workhuman in a survey conducted in May 2023 established an extensive connection between employee recognition and wellbeing, finding that “employees who receive the right amount of recognition for the work they do suffer from lower burnout, enjoy improved daily emotions and stronger relations with their co-workers.”

    What does Gallup consider to be wellbeing? This is divided into different aspects of wellbeing:

    • Community
    • Social
    • Financial
    • Career
    • Physical

    I agree that wellbeing is not just physical, wellbeing is much more than that, infact it is holistic just as Gallup has highlighted. The way I explain wellbeing is physical (vitality, energy, strength) mental (clarity, cognition, concentration), emotional (resilience, inner balance, positivity, self-compassion), and spiritual (purpose, alignment, integrity). In the Gallup survey these different aspects of wellbeing, in turn are placed into three buckets:

    • Thriving Wellbeing – High wellbeing across most elements
    • Suffering Wellbeing – A mix of high, medium or low elements
    • Struggling Wellbeing – Low wellbeing across most elements

    What then is the link between leadership and thriving employee wellbeing? According to Gallup and Workhuman – it is what they term “Strategic Recognition”. This is the ability to use the technique of giving genuine recognition to all employees. To be strategic it needs to:

    1. Meet employee expectations. In other words, be given in a timely manner and for the work that the employee thinks deserves recognition.
    2. Be authentic and genuine and not something that is simply on a to do list to be done every day.
    3. Personalised – given fairly to all without showing favouritism.
    4. Equitable – taking the needs of each individual into consideration rather than a one size fits all.
    5. Is part of the organisation culture and is lived throughout the organisation by all in everything they do.

    The interesting point here is that giving recognition to an employee for doing a good job, costs nothing, there is no pay check attached, bonus or increase of some kind. It is a simple act of human, respect, gratitude and quiet celebration of an individual’s performance. The result when recognition is given authentically is an employee who feels valued for what they do, resulting in willingly doing more of the same. This in turn leads to increased engagement and productivity, less employees actively searching for a job and therefore increased retention, not forgetting the ultimate aim of decreasing sickness, both mental and physical, and absenteeism because employees thrive within the organisation culture.

    So what you might ask? A Harvard Business Review survey on the impact of poor leadership behaviours revealed that:

    • 48% of employees intentionally decreased their work effort.
    • 47% intentionally decreased the time spent at work.
    • 38% intentionally decreased the quality of their work.
    • 63% lost work time trying to avoid the offender.
    • 66% said that their performance declined.
    • 78% said that their commitment to the organization declined.
    • 25% admitted to taking their frustrations out on customers.

    Give me an example of any organisation leadership that would not want to turn employee performance around to stop damaging their business? I hope that all organisations would want to turn this around and create a thriving workforce who love what they do. This requires a change in leadership behaviour to those that embrace their employees and encourage top performance through strategic recognition. Does this mean that all employees perform well? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean that a manager and leader should see this as requiring discipline, severe correction or even some kind of abuse. It is an opportunity to understand why and consequently turn the employee’s performance round to one of excellence. In my opinion there are no such thing as bad employees, only bad managers.

    What behaviours do managers and leaders need to increase? Start by giving genuine authentic feedback and strategic recognition. This means “managing by walking about”, a concept that I learned in my early 20’s. By doing this you become human and approachable, you also know your employees by name and see how they perform, at the rock face while experiencing their daily work lives and not just seeing their names on a report or computer screen.

    Not all managers and leaders have received appropriate training to know when and how to deliver feedback. Ask yourself: “What is the damage and cost to your business for not investing in your leaders to provide the necessary training in leadership and these vital skills?

    Start the leadership training today, let’s talk.

    References:

    https://www.workhuman.com/resources/reports-guides/from-thank-you-to-thriving-workhuman-gallup-report-emea/?utm

    https://newageleadership.com/poor-leadership-behaviors-its-collateral-damage/#:~:text=Poor%20leadership%20behaviors%20and%20bad,root%20cause%20%E2%80%93%20bad%20leadership%20behaviors.

  • I Will Honour Christmas in My Heart

    “I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.”

    Beautiful words from Charles Dickens – A Christmas Carol

    Christmas is a special time for most, surrounded by family and festive cheer. To get to this point often triggers stress levels to ensure everything and everyone is remembered whether by sending a Christmas card, giving a call, popping round for a mince pie or sharing the big day. Did you know that apparently each person in the UK consumes an average of 15 mince pies over the Christmas period. As a nation, that is over 780 million mince pies!

    The festive season is around Christmas cheer, hugs and kisses and dare I say a good glass of wine or two while sharing banter about the year that is coming to end and making way for the New Year. The Christmas work parties, local get-togethers and family gatherings can leave us with an aftermath of feeling uncomfortable from overeating, a little slow thinking from one too many glasses of wine and a lack of energy, because quite frankly it's the end of the year and most of us have been on a marathon to complete everything in order to switch off and relax for a few days.

    The days are short and the nights long. Nature has a way of showing us what it is we should be doing. The cold, winter days are a time of nourishing one’s self and slowing down, just as nature does in order to refuel and be full of energy and vitality ready for the coming spring. It's a time to listen to your body and if its shouting “have a pyjama day”, have one. If it is asking for a hearty stew whether with meat or otherwise, enjoy one. 

    The main focus around Christmas is about the heart. It is a time of giving and receiving and both drive positive heart energy. Giving with joy and unconditional love is one of the most positive emotions and energies we can transmit to others. Receiving with gratitude even if you are thinking “What on earth……..?” feeds not only your heart, but the other person’s heart. Both raise our vibration and energy that we transmit attracting more of the same. Like attracts like. This is simply the law of the Attraction. The Law of Attraction is a concept that suggests that we attract experiences and outcomes in our lives that are in alignment with our thoughts. 

    Tips for Honouring Yourself and Others Over the Festive Season

    It would be ridiculous for me to state the obvious to avoid over-eating and limiting alcohol intake. In fact, I can hear you all laughing now.  Let’s try a different tack:

    • Give gratitude for the abundance in your life – friendships, family, good health, good food, Mother Nature….. There is so much to be grateful for.
    • Try to see the positive in everything and everyone. Sometimes this might be difficult, but with practice judgement drops and is replaced with unconditional love.
    • Avoid over-eating. When you feel full, stop to avoid that uncomfortable bloated and tight feeling due to too much food.
    • Balance alcohol intake with water to keep hydrated. Drink long drinks, for example white wine spritzer instead of simply white wine or champagne with orange juice as opposed to straight champagne. The addition of water or juice helps keep the body and mind hydrated, while consuming less alcohol overall. 
    • Choose the vegetarian option at the office party. Vegetables are generally digested easier than meat, and do not lie heavily on the stomach, affecting your quality of sleep.  
    • Include a wide range of vegetables, cooked and raw of different colours to ensure you get plenty of antioxidants that strengthen the immune, as well as providing fibre to aid effective digestion. 
    • Eat slowly, chew well and enjoy your food while being fully present to all those sharing the table. Eating slowly is a good tactic to eating less as it means you feel when you are satiated before becoming uncomfortable from over-eating.
    • Your body and mind will thank you for leaving 12 hours, better 16 between the last meal of the day and the next meal on Boxing day or New Year’s day. In fact, any day. This gives the gut time to digest everything fully, increasing both mental and physical energy.  
    • Enjoy the benefits of the “great outdoors” with a good walk, run, cycle or play of some kind each day. This increases oxygen levels in the blood, clears the head, increases energy, while also assisting the lymphatic system in clearing toxins from the body and sustaining the effectiveness of your immune system.

    As a closing thought, if you don't get that present you really wanted, if the family starting falling out over lunch, auntie has a panic attack and mum gets locked in the toilet:

    “Just remember true Christmas lies in your heart.” Santa, Polar Express

    Wishing everyone a Christmas full of festive joy and fun, and a blessed, heartful, healthy, happy 2025.

     

  • How to Take Responsibility of Your Life

    Winston Churchill once said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.”

    How does this phrase reflect what is meant by ‘taking responsibility’?

    As defined by the English Oxford dictionary, responsibility is:

    • The state or fact of having a duty to deal with something or of having control over someone. Example: “a true leader takes responsibility for their team and helps them achieve goals”.
    • The state or fact of being accountable or to blame for something. Example “the group has claimed responsibility for the vandalism of …..”

    RESPONSIBILITY IMPACTS RELATIONSHIPS

    By definition there is an understanding that responsibility lies with an individual or a group/team.  Responsibility whether you take it or not has a direct impact on relationships – can you be relied on to do what you say you will do, and therefore, is there trust in that relationship?

    Responsibility in one’s personal life is the same as in a business world, whoever you might be – husband, wife, mother, friend, subordinate, manager or leader.  Each one of these roles, and many others, encompasses the need to take responsibility for what you are doing, or what you have done. Firstly being answerable to yourself and secondly to others involved in the commitment to do something.

    HOW IS TAKING AND SHOWING RESPONSIBILITY MANIFESTED?

    We show our ability to take responsibility:

    • By doing what we say we will do.  Not only that, but by doing it by the agreed time.
    • By admitting we have made a mistake, if indeed that is the case, and not blaming someone or something for the mistake.  Being honest with yourself and admitting a mistake, means you can learn from it and move on. 

    Just because no one takes responsibility for the mistake does not mean the mistake did not happen.   Spending time and energy blaming someone else for the problem is counter-productive to empowering others as well as the end result.

    How to take responsibility of your life4 TIPS TO TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

    TIP 1.  DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO AND BY WHEN YOU SAY YOU WILL DO IT.

    What happens if you committed to doing something and unforeseen circumstances occur, meaning you will not be able to deliver as agreed?

    Of course, life throws curve balls at us on occasions, which lead to circumstances that we firstly did not seek, and secondly do not want.  Such circumstances are seldom the norm, and if you are a reliable, responsible person, this can be handled by explaining the situation and agreeing a “Plan B” once you know that you cannot deliver.  Do not delay, thus limiting the opportunity for the other party in finding an alternative solution in a timely manner.

    TIP 2.  TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR MISTAKES, RATHER THAN CASTING BLAME

    Considering responsibility from a leader’s perspective is no different to responsibility in our personal lives, with the exception that we are part of and therefore committed to a team, thus having responsibility to each and every team member.

    Responsible leaders develop trust through doing what they say they will do and taking the blame; by admitting your performance is the reason why the team has not succeeded, rather than looking for someone to blame.  An effective leader will take responsibility for the mistake and admit he or she did not prepare enough, give enough guidance, or support, etc…

    Leaders are the ones who have ultimate responsibility for decisions taken, whether right or wrong.  President Harry S. Truman had a sign on his desk in the Oval Office with  “The Buck Stops Here”.  This phrase refers to the fact that the President had to accept the ultimate responsibility for decisions taken in his team.

    TIP 3. EMPOWER YOUR TEAM TO SHARE THE RISKS & RESPONSIBILITIES

    Empowerment of people goes a little further by expanding on the notion of taking responsibility.  A leader who is able to create an empowerment culture within the team and the organisation, gives out responsibility and power.  “Empowerment is the creation of an organisational climate that releases the knowledge, experience and motivation that reside in people.” (Ken Blanchard, Leading at a Higher Level)

    Empowering subordinates is easier said than done for many reasons, including subordinates themselves misinterpreting the term “empowerment”, often mistaking it for freedom to work as they please whilst making decisions around their own job.  Empowerment requires direct reports to embrace the freedom and in doing so participate fully in sharing risks and responsibilities.  This commitment to increased responsibility to achieve full empowerment engages direct reports and gives them a sense of fulfillment, ultimately leading to greater organisation performance.

    Does empowering others to take responsibility really work?

    There are numerous organisation studies that demonstrate the benefits of empowerment including an increase in return on sales between companies that empower and companies that do not empower.  Edward E. Lawler III, Professor of Business at the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, found the difference to be 10.3% versus 6.3% increase on return of sales.

    TIP 4. AS A DIRECT REPORT, COMMIT TO TAKING A FULL SHARE OF THE RISKS AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES.

    “In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape our ourselves.  The process never ends until we die.  And the choices we make are our own responsibility.”  ~ Eleanor Roosevelt 

     

    References:

    Oxford English Dictionary

    Leading at a Higher Level, Ken Blanchard

    Edward E. Lawler III, Professor of Business at the University of Southern California

    Originally published on Up Journey May 29 2019  https://upjourney.com/ways-to-take-responsibility-for-your-life 

     

    Rachel ShackletonRachel Shackleton is an entrepreneur who owns and manages Green Key Personal Development and Green Key Health. Working with local and multinational organisations, she is a public speaker and trainer in the spheres of leadership, communication and customer excellence. She ensures sustainable productivity and profitability through healthy self-management and leadership practices, ensuring a focused and successful workforce.

  • How Sustainable is Your Human Resource Strategy?

    Recently I attended a webinar that was focused to helping make businesses sustainable which got me thinking about sustainability in deeper terms than usually addressed through our media and government. My question to the person leading this webinar was, “You have given a case study in this session which you are using to show good measures that this particular company is taking to become more sustainable. In the example, I was confused because as the company is focused to delivery service, they had switched all vans to electric. On the surface we can say that is a good step to take, but going deeper, are electric vehicles really sustainable? How is the electricity generated to charge those vehicles? The company that makes the batteries – are they operating a green, sustainable production? Where and who mines the lithium for those batteries? How much water does production take and so on? Perhaps I digress, as the essence of my question was “Please tell me what does it mean to be sustainable?” What is sustainability?

    Whilst I did not receive a direct answer to these questions, it was clear that we all have to start somewhere in this journey and if we can influence our suppliers to follow suit through buying choices, this can only be a good thing for all concerned, including our environment.

    Seldom do you hear someone in conversation connecting sustainability to human resources. Perhaps I have been sleeping, but it still seems that the emphasis on creating a sustainable workforce is very much on surface level, as perhaps other aspects of becoming a sustainable business are. We measure turnover (churn), sickness and absenteeism, accidents in the workplace, mental ill health and so on. If these issues were truly addressed through the lens of creating a sustainable workforce through effective, caring, nurturing organisation leadership, surely the results of measuring these things would show minimal impact on business productivity and ultimately profitability?

     The conclusion of an article in Science Direct titled, “Systematic literature review on sustainable human resource management” by Janaina Macke, Denise Genari stated “Beyond the triple bottom line concept, leadership plays a very important role in sustainable human resource management. A formal and clear leadership definition is, in fact, the most important element for the implementation of sustainability principles in human resource management”.

    Some organisations take the time to measure happiness, morale and wellbeing in the operation which is a very positive action and one that will be well received by employees if:

    1.    They are privy to the results, in other words results are transparent.

    2.    Actions are taken to change those issues that are not supporting positive morale, happiness, wellbeing and ultimately sustainability.

    3.    Measurement is carried out on a regular basis in order to track results of actions implemented and to track any changes, ultimately making updates to the initial plan as necessary.

     

    In an article by Ed Houghton, CIPD, he stated that “Sustainable HRM recognises performance outcomes, which are broader than financial outcomes (for example, by including environmental and social outcomes) and assumes that in working towards multiple goals there are likely to be contradictory outcomes that must be resolved. In addition to this, sustainable HRM creates and captures value over the longer term and recognises that to be truly sustainable HRM must be able to deal with the internal and external environment and the changing context in which the business is operating.” Surely this again links into the effectiveness and overall approach of leadership within the organisation?

    A few ideas of how I understand the concept of sustainable human resources:

     

    ·      Employees who stay with the company for a minimum of two years

    ·      A healthy track record of promoting from within into positions that are created due to company expansion or to fill gaps due to natural attrition

    ·      Employees who speak positively about the organisation in which they work

    ·      A willingness of employees to help others without being asked

    ·      Minimal absenteeism according to or lower than internal targets set

    ·      Minimal sickness whether physical, mental or emotional according to or lower than internal targets set

    ·      Orientation away from shareholder value to multi-stakeholder value

    ·      Leadership who has the employees’ best interests at heart while remaining focused to organisation goals

    ·      An environment of kindness and positive energy creating positive morale

    ·      Group problem solving and decision making

    ·   Focus to the positives of what was achieved and not the other way round in order to learn from and strengthen successes rather than only focusing towards mistakes and non-successes and what we need to do about them

    ·      Leadership that provides a strong positive example of what is expected, knows all employees by name and gets out and about into the operation. The “old” style of management by walking about.

     

    I am sure there are many more examples of what could be included into an organisation’s sustainable human resource strategy and approach. However, each one of these points has great depth to implement and get it right in order to result  not only in a strategy, but actual sustainable human resource management that really works.

    Why are sustainable human resources important? With the shortage of candidates in the marketplace, surely it makes sense to look after those you already have. Less time fighting fires, avoids costly time-consuming hiring processes, no need for onboarding training to bring employees up to speed, giving time to focus on developing employees in the roles they hold. This translates into increased loyalty, good company reputation and overall productivity. In fact, I don’t see any negatives in this approach. This is simply effective, caring leadership that is part of the overall organisation strategy and goals for becoming and being a sustainable organisation that serves multi stakeholders rather than shareholders only.

     

    References

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652618331056

    https://www.cipd.org/uk/views-and-insights/thought-leadership/the-world-of-work/sustainable-hr/