Blinkered

Lately, a couple of things have got me thinking about the concept of being blinkered, and more specifically what to do about people we come across who are afflicted by this.

Learning is Culture Dependent

A couple of weeks ago the CIPD’s People Management magazine featured an interesting article about how we think the French are lazy (but they’re actually not). Aside from the truths about cultural perceptions, generalisations and misinterpretations from what sounds like a fascinating role, I thought the article title (no doubt intended to provoke), misleading. I’ve never met anyone who’s labelled the French as lazy. Rude, perhaps, but never lazy

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Last week I was lucky to spend a few hours with some very experienced and inspiring people. What I thought was going to be a boring training course blossomed into something very worthwhile indeed.

We’re busy managing by Helen Tracey

Very happy to see my guest blog published on People Performance Potential today! Thanks to David Goddin of @ChangeContinuuum for enabling me to share my thoughts as part of this great series!

People Performance Potential

Welcome to the eigth guest post in this series responding to the statement that “There is no such thing as Management”.

Today’s post comes from Helen Tracey (@HRPotential). It’s another great piece of writing full of challenge & perspective – I particularly like Helen’s point about cult status. What do you think?

We’re busy managing

A few years ago I was sent on a course to teach managers how to be leaders.

The content focussed on numerous ways of categorising staff, such as according to their motivation type or communication style. Although learning these techniques was interesting, and useful to varying degrees, I feel most of us came away disappointed. Did all the effort and investment transform us into great leaders? Frankly, the answer was no.

It wasn’t long ago that the word leader was confined to the highest echelons of political parties or movements. Leadership as a…

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Moral Dilemma

“For too long the focus for leaders and managers has been on actions: what they do to achieve results…we need to shift our view to what leaders and managers are and how they think: their personalities, beliefs and attitudes, which have such an important influence on their behaviour towards those around them.”

Natural Habitats

The recent plight of a polar bear called Arturo, stuck in the searing heat of a zoo in Argentina, brought back a vivid memory from my childhood. I’ve only once visited a zoo and the one thing that sticks in my mind is a poor polar bear stuck in a stark enclosure, no more than twenty paces square with no ice and little water. Even a ten year old can spot a mentally ill polar bear, staring forlornly and shaking it’s head over and over in despair.

You’ve Changed

Everything changes, pretty much constantly. From the minutiae of our daily lives, to the operations of a global organisation, we’re in a state of flux. There are cycles, lifespans, tipping points. Things get worn out, used up or thrown away. We get bored or tired or sick. All those variables, all those interactions, all those risks and possibilities. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend. It’s chaos.

Measuring Business Relationships – Guess How Much I Love You

Relationships are important right? Building relations is part of everyday life – both at work and at home. Thankfully the CIPD is taking part in a new project to promote the importance of relationships and measure their effectiveness.

Wait a minute…what?