Culture becomes visible when values are tested. Drawing on my conversation with former NASA leader Brady Pyle, here are the lessons organisations can learn about building culture through systems, stories and leadership choices.
There is something deeply unsettling happening in artificial intelligence. It isn’t simply that some researchers believe advanced AI could eventually become dangerous. It is that people working close to the technology are publicly expressing serious concerns about where it may be heading – while the organisations and industry around them continue racing to make AI […]
Why holding managers accountable for outcomes they cannot meaningfully influence creates frustration, distorted behaviour and hidden organisational risk Years ago, I remember a manager becoming deeply frustrated about his employee engagement results. Like many managers, he was being held accountable for the engagement score of the people in his area. On the surface, that seems […]
Every organisation has a formal structure — and another system beneath it. The Hidden Ecology explains how unseen conditions such as climate, pressure, influence and capacity shape culture, performance and change.
The instinct to exert more control when conditions become less predictable is understandable. When leaders face disruption, uncertainty, or rapidly changing expectations, they often respond by tightening their grip. They introduce more reporting, more meetings, more oversight, more performance measures and more approval points. It can create the appearance of control. But it does not […]
What makes a leader resilient? It isn’t simply the ability to endure more pressure. And it certainly isn’t about working harder until you eventually run out of capacity. Resilient leadership is the ability to encounter difficulty, make sense of what is happening, adapt your thinking and find another way forward. Few people illustrate that distinction […]
Artificial intelligence can analyse enormous amounts of information, identify patterns, generate options and produce sophisticated answers in seconds. But can it exercise judgment? And perhaps more importantly: what happens to human judgment when AI becomes the easiest source of an answer? That question sits at the heart of one of the most important leadership challenges […]
Introducing the Recognition Pathway™ Most of us begin our careers believing that good work will naturally lead to recognition. It seems like a reasonable assumption. If you consistently deliver high-quality work, solve difficult problems and contribute to the success of your team, surely the right people will notice. Surely opportunities will follow. For a while, […]
“We’re not political here.” I’ve heard that sentence hundreds of times over the years. It usually comes from well-intentioned leaders who are proud of the culture they’ve built. To them, politics means gossip, backstabbing, empire building and people advancing themselves at the expense of others. If that’s organisational politics, then of course they don’t want […]
Conflict is often treated as a people problem. When tensions rise, relationships become strained, or teams struggle to work together, organisations frequently respond by investing in conflict resolution training. Leaders are taught how to have difficult conversations, provide feedback, and manage disagreements more effectively. While these skills are valuable, they often address only the symptoms […]