There is much written about coaching, which is undeniably an incredible and powerful way to develop people. Far less is written about mentoring; yet mentoring is one of the most powerful tools for personal development known to mankind. Speaking generically, there are three major ways to improve oneself: first, trial and error – a necessaryContinue reading “Understanding more about mentoring”
Category Archives: Weblogs
Who Needs Traffic Lights?
I walked this morning to my regular Tai Chi practice with Dr John. And as I always do I came to the T-Junction at the top end of Ashley Road. There is an intricate system of traffic lights – you know the sort, with green arrows so that while one lane is on red, anotherContinue reading “Who Needs Traffic Lights?”
The importance of belief
Belief is the essence of religions throughout the world, and having belief. And religions throughout the world have at least one commonality: there is not a religion that I am aware of that does not exhort its followers to believe AND as a result of believing to become more perfect – to follow the path.Continue reading “The importance of belief”
Consultants – and changes afoot!
A recent article in a London paper stated that the NHS in London “splashes out £114M on advisers”. Here, they helpfully explained, 'advisers' meant ‘management consultants’. As a management consultant myself I should be saying, Good! But I am not. Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, is staggered by the bill and wants to reduce itContinue reading “Consultants – and changes afoot!”
Leadership as theatre
To work in metaphors is the essence not of childishness, but of maturity, and it is fundamental to our appreciation of the world because it enables us to see the invisible relationship between things, ideas and processes. Metaphor is essentially dynamic – precisely what leadership is. If we wish to capture the essence of theContinue reading “Leadership as theatre”
Getting to grips with performance
The subject of performance is one of the most important of our lives and of our business. The reasons are not difficult to understand. At one level we are constantly judging how people perform, consciously or subconsciously. This may be easy to get when we consider a leader or manager at work: we think,Continue reading “Getting to grips with performance”
Thinking and our destiny
One of the most famous texts of the self help, personal development movement is James Allen's As a Man Thinketh. This fascinating book was first published in 1905 and has been cited ever since by almost every personal development guru, especially American guru. And for good reason: from its central contention – “As aContinue reading “Thinking and our destiny”
Vision, details and the centipede
I’m a great believer in vision and goals. But, as with everything, there are limits. This was never truer than when I heard the story of the centipede. One day, not so long ago, two teams of animals decided to compete to see who was best at football (soccer). It was a case of theContinue reading “Vision, details and the centipede”
Leverage and people
In organisations dealing with the people is always about dealing with all that is not secure! With all that is ambivalent and difficult to quantify– leadership, culture, values, management, motivation and morale, attitude, training and development, performance and so on. And the thing about these elements is that they are highly ambiguous. What is itContinue reading “Leverage and people”
Getting Motivated Yourself
Being consistently motivated is one of the most important tasks we have in our life, although many people have no idea just how important it is. The reason it is so important is quite simple: the quality of life depends on it. When we are motivated we feel good, and when we are not,Continue reading “Getting Motivated Yourself”
The Mapping Motivation Series 