Leading over the holidays: 3 festive rules
The figure of Ebenezer Scrooge looms large at this time of year. Charles Dickens’ most famous character is also the most famous Christmastime boss, and a yardstick of sorts for the rest of us. Needless to say, it’s a comparison few would like to earn. But getting leadership right over the holiday period is a […]
What they don’t tell you about leading flexible teams
That prognosis still probably holds in the long term, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see a relapse over the next year. The cost of living crisis and recession are focusing minds. People are unlikely to be as insistent about their working conditions if they’re worried about meeting mortgage payments. At the same time, the […]
5 leadership horror stories
Her own Nightmare on Downing Street will surely go down as a case study in disastrous leadership. Miscalculations, intransigence, betrayal, screeching U-turns and a collapse in authority, all in the space of a few weeks. For leaders in less rarefied and unenviable positions, it can be useful to reflect on a cold, near-Halloween night on […]
How to find your purpose (a sceptic’s guide)
Simon Sinek’s bestseller Start With Why hit a nerve in 2009 with a message that was both revelatory and obvious: great businesses and great leaders are not determined by what they do or how they do it; what mattered was why. Purpose duly became the business buzzword of the following decade, no doubt helped by the global […]
5 black leaders you should know about
In 2021, something unusual happened – a fact made the news! This fact was one that most people in the headhunting world could have told you: there were at the time precisely zero black CEOs, CFOs or chairs of FTSE 100 companies. Progress has been made, according to the recent Parker Review, with 96% of FTSE 100 […]
3 characteristics of inclusive leaders
The Black Lives Matter protests that reignited after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 belatedly made these business issues too. Many firms have since ventured into the somewhat uncomfortable political territory of standing up for a cause, if for no other reason than because consumers and employees expect it. Sometimes, they get into hot […]
Lessons for a new leader from King Charles
Unlike ambitious executives, the then-Prince of Wales was dreading the moment of his accession, but there are some similarities. Most importantly, new CEOs and new Kings alike will quickly discover that no matter how much thought and planning they’ve put into what they will do, they can never fully prepare. Partly, this is because you […]
Is it your job to make your employees happy?
The more self-aware among us will know how important it is to keep ourselves motivated and inspired too. But does that sentiment extend to happiness? The old adage ‘a happy worker is a productive worker’ may seem to come from another, more paternalistic age, but the idea has hardly gone out of fashion. Silicon Valley […]
Liz Truss: Turnaround leader or growth CEO?
The old leader leaves in good time and on good terms, with the organisation in good stead. It doesn’t need them to survive because they developed leadership capabilities in depth throughout their time there. The new leader is a perfect fit for the demands of the role and what the company needs to take its […]
Why growth matters
Environmental and social activists have rightly called into question the desirability of pursuing economic growth at all costs, while others have pointed out that raising GDP is a poor policy objective, because it fails to account for social quality or quality of life. Individual businesses face a concurrent critique over claims that rapid scaling frequently […]
