We’ve all seen it in meetings – the charming fluent communicator with a gift to flatter and amuse, yet whose factual substance and breadth of perspective seem lacking. Or the concerned crusader, demanding to be heard on a relatively narrow operational issue in the overall scheme of things. Meanwhile, silent peers check out by checking…
– Who to invite and why First published on LinkedIn in July 2026 When you know you have strangers coming to view your home, you start to see everything in it with fresh eyes – items that could be repositioned, clutter to clear away, and surfaces to clean that previously hadn’t been noticed. I’ve recently…
First published on LinkedIn 20Apr26 Many senior leaders in manufacturing and high-tech built their careers in a world that had, for most of their working lives, a recognisable shape. For almost eighty years, the post-WWII international order provided the operating environment that British manufacturing could take as given. Open trade flows. Predictable regulatory frameworks. Reliable…
When promotion tests identity, not competence First posted on LinkedIn Jan 2026 Moving into senior leadership demands new skills and new mindsets. As The Leadership Pipeline (Charan, Drotter and Noel) illustrates, horizons widen, stakeholders multiply, and the questions become more complex. Stepping up from a functional lead is especially significant: it often brings you into…
First posted on LinkedIn in Nov 2025 I’ve chosen the metaphor of a lacey life for a reason. Through my clients’ and my own bittersweet experience, I’ve learned that that when we live life as a dense mat – diaries crammed with meetings, projects, and, well stuff, however important – that often it does not…
First published in Enterprise Viewpoint 2024 In recent years, the term innovation has infiltrated management-speak. For some it is synonymous with creativity. Innovation vs Creativity Creativity is an individual capability that differs from person to person. However, innovation is a typically a group process of experimentation that combines creativity with experience to solve challenges…
First published in the ICAEW’s Business and Management 15th March 2022 While cattle may run from impending danger, we need to be more like the buffalo and face the storm head on. Scenario planning for multiple eventualities, however unlikely they may seem, is key to succeeding where others fail. React or respond We humans learn…
First published in Jun 2010 Over the years a strong theme has emerged for many of the leaders I’ve been coaching. It’s about the difference between what’s got them to where they are now, and what can help them step up to the next level of leadership, and achieve a whole new order of success. …
First published in the ICAEW Business and Management Feb 2010 Feeling burnt out? Or just overwhelmed by the pressure of work? It may not be the workload that is to blame. Certain behaviours, under our own control, can make the difference between enduring and going under. You are not alone The statistics are not pretty….