One of the reasons that many people find it difficult to change their behaviour is that they are not comfortable with being uncomfortable. Take this example… I was coaching a very senior leader (let’s call him Neville) on his communication style. Neville could be very back and white in his views and also found group […]
There is a lot of work on human motivation and how, as leaders, to motivate our people to bring their best. One of the key pieces of work that I refer to regularly is David McClelland’s work on Social Motives. McClelland identified three key human motivations: Need for Achievement (N ach) focus on goals, improving […]
In a previous blog, I discussed some practical ways to use emotions in the workplace. https://www.shapingchange.com.au/blog/?p=20 Let’s explore a little further. If you are interested in EI, there is a very good book called the Emotional Intelligent Manager, by Caruso and Salovey. The work of Mayer, Salovey and Caruso’s on EI tells us the following: […]
On our travels through the US and Canada, we have crossed a number of cattle grids (I have also seen them referred to as Texas gates). Most people would know them – the metal grids in the road to prevent livestock from crossing. They are most usually used on the open range, where there are […]
Yesterday I visited the Buffalo Bill Historic Centre in Cody, Wyoming. I learned a lot of things about the man behind the legend, and something that struck me was the rise and fall of his fortunes. According to the history presented in the exhibits, Buffalo Bill Cody made his fortune many times, but was prone […]
I recently visited the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington and I struck up a conversation with our friendly tour guide about what it is like to work there. Jewell told me “Most employees are really happy here. They love seeing the results of their work, the finished product at the end of construction. The benefits […]
Several years ago I was introduced to the FISH! Philosophy. The FISH! Philosophy is a customer service training program developed by John Christensen, and was inspired by work culture at Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market. The Fish Company is renowned for their customer service and entertainment, and are a well-known attraction at the Pike Place Markets […]
I have been doing a lot of work in the change leadership space recently. One of the key challenges facing leaders in times of uncertainty is remembering that “it is not all about me”. Leading through change is a tough gig – absolutely. And it is easy to get caught up in how you are […]
I have been reading quite a bit on blogs and web sites about trust and leadership. There is a trust model that I use where trust in leaders comes from two things – my belief that you are competent and my belief that you care about me as a person. However, one of my LinkedIn […]
There has been a big response to my first blog about “Game of Thrones” – it obviously struck a chord with readers, so I thought I’d continue the theme. If you missed part 1, read here https://www.shapingchange.com.au/blog/?p=17 So, let’s continue the leadership lessons with Eddard Stark. As appointed “Hand of the King”, Eddard and the […]