OK, so I bought a Tesla. Your reaction will either be “Cool! An amazing car…which one have you got?” or “Yeah, well, I just don’t like Elon Musk, ok?” At least, those are the two reactions I’ve had so far. But let me tell you what it is about this car that’s different and better than anything I have ever driven.
I have friends who have done multiple Ironman, but I had convinced myself that it wasn’t for me. How on earth, at the age of 63, could I sea swim for almost 2km, then cycle for around four hours and then run a half marathon. Oh, and I had a replacement hip 6 years ago.
I revisited an iconic Apple advert from 1997, whose message about creativity in challenging the status quo spoke volumes about what it means to be a leader.
In December every year I look back to see what I’ve achieved, what I’ve learned, how my health and fitness is, how my relationships have developed and grown. When I’ve reviewed the previous year, I decide what my key goals, actions and targets will be for the next year.
Over the last 10 years I must have run at least 20 executive Retreats and they never fail to deliver. People come away having spent time thinking, reflecting and gaining perspective on their lives. They follow this with real change, not usually on the small things, but quite life changing things.
Change is a complicated beast; it’s all around us and yet we find it so hard to do in organisations. Why is this?
Developing your people will show you care, allow you to challenge and support them and ultimately grow them, you and your business. Never neglect your 1-2-1s; they are a key ingredient in your role as a leader.
Setting easy goals doesn’t get your people excited. Take a chance on something really challenging and generate some excitement.
It’s one of the joys of my life to observe people and teams, grow, change direction, stretch themselves, show vulnerability and become what they want to be, not rest on what they are.
Strategy is one of the most overused, yet misunderstood, words in leadership circles. And the biggest danger is that the members of your leadership team have different views about what it means. In other words: there is no clarity and alignment.
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