Brexit - The Surprise? Result

The Brexit outcome came as a huge surprise with a very close 52% vote to exit. The Leave Campaign was highly successful given that the incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron advocated staying. It was only six months ago that David Cameron was recognized globally as the third most popular political figure after Barack Obama and Angela Merkel!

Following the Brexit vote the political scene has been stark. The PM David Cameron resigned; the face of Brexit, Boris Johnson, was torpedoed out of his assumed leadership role as heir apparent of the Conservative Party by...

The VUCA world of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity is the emergent norm of the post-conventional world. It demands that we develop post-conventional leadership capacity. As Einstein said, we can’t solve problems at the level they were created.

We need to transcend VUCA, which most interestingly means “to wake up” in the Zulu language, with Visionary intentions, deeper Understanding, Clarity and creativity, and Agility in navigation.

This involves a number of shifts in mindset from a fixed mindset, to a growth mindset (Carol Dweck), to an open mindset...

4 Data Points

1. The 2016 Peterson Report found that the 20% of firms from amongst 22,000 surveyed in 91 countries that had 30% or more female executives in upper management enjoyed an increased net revenue margin of 15%

2. The Global Gender Gap in Economic Participation surveyed by the World Economic Forum in 2015 is enormous at 40%. A lower gap leads to greater productivity and more sustainable long-term economic growth.

3. The Talent Pipeline within corporations reduces progressively from 1 in 50 at Entry-level Professional to 1 in 5 at C-suite (McKinsey Research: 118 US...

To shift a stage in leadership development expands your leadership perspective and presence in the world. It increases your ability to influence, coach and mentor others and generate transformational results. However this is not the result of simply increasing self and social awareness. These elements provide us with insight into our character and the challenges that thwart us so we can better navigate our life, but do not in and of themselves take us up the spiral of leadership to become more strategic, inspiring leaders.

Lateral vs. Vertical Development

There is a marked...

In talking to clients, I know that many senior executives have control issues. They want to keep a certain span of control to ensure nothing gets out of hand. At its worst, executives even start to stop "their" people from talking to "their" colleagues direct - they must go through them and/or always be copied in on any and all communications that go outside their unit. Here's a few clues on how to think about things out differently.

1. Hierarchy gives way to Community

Instead of thinking about your organization as a hierarchy or a fiefdom where warrior cannot...

360 Assessments were intended to be more “objective” by including a larger range of “subjective” assessments by peers, team members and external stakeholders in addition to the single assessment by a person’s business unit manager. However the 360 process also has significant limitations and the potential to inhibit rather than promote leadership development.

1. 360 Assessments are largely "Conventional"

Most 360s cover capabilities that only go as far as the final conventional leadership stage of an Achiever focusing on the customer, results,...

The Main Goals of Leadership Coaching are:

• To better know yourself: strengths, stretches, stressors and shadow
• To develop a more confident, authentic and inspiring leadership presence
• To build stronger relationships with others by communicating articulately
• To exercise co-creative power aligned to your purpose with ease and grace, and
• To create a more fulfilling quality of life and balance across life's dimensions.

To undertake developmental coaching within a Group adds significantly to the dynamic! According to Manfred Kets de Vries, Professor of Leadership Development and Director...

Aspirational

First, it’s aspirational. While standard Executive Coaching is about improving your performance at work in more senior executive roles, Executive Leadership Coaching is this and more. It invites you to tap into your career aspirations and personal purpose in relation to how you can make a bigger difference and leave a lasting legacy as a result of your progressively increasing leadership capacity.

“The greater danger is not that our hopes are too high, and we fail to reach them. It’s that they are too low, and we do.” Michelangelo

Strategic Leadership...

Executive Coaching comes in different forms. It’s critical that you match the form of Executive Coaching and the different types of Executive Coaches with your particular situation.

1. Performance Coaching
2. Executive Coaching
3. Leadership Coaching
4. Career Coaching
5. First 100-days Coaching
6. Small Group Coaching
7. Large Group Coaching

Performance Coaching

Performance Coaching is the most traditional form of coaching brought in by Senior Managers and HR Professionals to support and guide an executive who is or is likely to be overwhelmed in a role that requires significant stretch beyond their...