April 2024
Mastering Crisis: The Fast and Slow Approach when Under Pressure
This post focuses on the work of Fink and Kahneman. The objective is to explore how bias can affect the framing of critical and complex leadership challenges, often resulting in intense pressure for decision-making. Are Kahneman and Fink both relevant to Crisis Leadership? Both Kahneman's research on cognitive biases and decision-making (Kahneman, 2011) and Fink's framework for...
March 2024
Guiding Leaders: Purposeful Wisdom in Action
Purposeful Wisdom in Action Standing on the Shoulders of Aristotle In the constantly changing environment of modern organisations, defining a clear purpose, mission, vision, and values is essential for fostering direction, coherence, and alignment among stakeholders. Drawing from Aristotle’s philosophical concepts of teleology [Higher Purpose], Phronesis {Intelligence to Wisdom], and Praxis [Theory to Practice], we can provide...
January 2024
The Ignominious disgrace of public leadership in the UK Post Office
Reflecting on the lessons of why some seemingly excellent institutions' leaders turn evil The recent ITV series "Mr Bates vs the Post Office" has shed light on the problem of toxic leadership at the highest levels of the UK Post Office. But is it just the Post Office, or does it illustrate how insensitive the Government...
November 2023
Exploring Applied Leadership Challenge Spaces
Why do we need a Leadership Space? I have often stood on the shoulders of Giants in developing both my thinking and practice of leadership. Aristotle is. the earliest and one of the most paramount of those Giants. I often paraphrase the classic thoughts of Aristotle in his various writings on leadership as. TO DO the right...
October 2023
HAS LEADERSHIP BEEN TOO SOLITARY, POOR, NASTY, BRUTISH AND SHORT?
I had been musing about why it was so difficult to “do” collective leadership when its benefits were so evident. My epiphany came just after I had joined Manchester Business School in 2006 when I saw Richard Dawkins’ 30th Anniversary edition of "The Selfish Gene". Having purchased and devoured it, I realised it is because...
September 2023
Adaptability and Split Second Decisions
Adaptability and Split-Second Decision Making The purpose of my Sunday roast is to provide “Relevant, Objective Analyses of Strategic and Tactical Leadership Challenges“. I initially intended to explain more about my ‘Roasts’ and follow my theme of adaptability, which was the foundation of my inaugural Friday “early doors“ newsletter on Friday. However, the morning of Saturday,...
Bouncebackability encapsulates Adaptability, Flexibility and Resilience perfectly!
Failure can often be the seed for subsequent success. I will never forget the description given by Iain Dowie for why the football team he managed (Crystal Palace) achieved promotion to the English Premier League in England in 2004 just one year after they lost the play-off final the year before. It was...
October 2022
Understanding Collective Leadership
Understanding Collective Leadership What is Collective Leadership? Leaders working Collectively together The overriding definition of Collective leadership, based on experience and research, is: “ a form of leadership based on shared values for achieving impact in the public interest, rather than individual leadership based on self-interest” In this article, I explain how we think about and promote collective leadership. Using...
