Rob Kendall...

Many years ago, I was involved in organising some round-table discussions on leadership between Mike Harris (founder of First Direct, Mercury Communications and Egg), and company CEO's. The invitees came looking for tips and advice from a man who had built 3 businesses from scratch valued at over £1 billion, but Mike never really fitted that mould. He began by asking people what they considered to be their biggest leadership challenge. Back came all the expected answers: the rise of the global market, new competitors coming in from different markets, and how to lead their people through continuous waves of change. Mike acknowledged all of these but said, in his view, that the greatest challenge for a leader was their own fear of failure. The CEO's were a bit hushed at this point. They were too proud to agree, and too polite to scoff into their carbonated water. So... Read More »

Let's face it. People who deliver on audacious commitments are obsessive and are unwilling to operate by ordinary standards. This was immediately evident when I met Hugh Brasher and Nick Pearson (directors of Sweatshop, the UK's leading running retailer) 5 years ago. Hugh was on his way back from a lunchtime run, and apologised for keeping me waiting. Pictures on the wall celebrated his father winning Olympic gold in the 1956 games in Melbourne. People were wandering around the office in running and cycling gear. I love organisations that aren't bland, where the staff have taken a bold stand for something they believe in, and this was one of them. Hugh and Nick kept talking about their vision to get Britain running, which sounded madder than Jamie Oliver's plan to transform Britain's school dinners. And the more they said it, the more I liked them. I've worked with... Read More »

It is easy to believe that success is defined by reaching the top rung of the career ladder and that, when we finally reach those heady heights, happiness will follow. The most bizarre story I heard about a global organisation trying to motivate their people to 'get to the top' involved rewarding their senior executives with wall-to-wall carpet in their office. However, this created real problems. Let's say that a director moved to another location and you took over his office. However, if you were 1 pay grade lower than him, the carpet in your office was simply too posh for you. Consequently the nice people from the facilities department would arrive with a stanley knife and cut 6 inches off your carpet along each of the walls, so that you ended up with a rather weird, extended rug. This would remind you that you still have another rung... Read More »

I have been collaborating all year with Rob Archer from Bloom Psychology to develop some new thinking around mental toughness. We have interviewed sports professionals and business leaders. We've trawled through exhaustive volumes of leading edge research. We've tested assumptions with project leaders working on the 2012 Olympic site, with people going through career changes, with graduates and school students. To our surprise, our conclusion is that we need to develop a new and emerging field of work called Psychological Flexibility. We've been studying how come we are experiencing an explosion in choice and information in comparison to our forebears and yet huge numbers of people feel under intolerable stress in their working lives. People are increasingly distracted, disengaged and distressed. While the quick-fix industry is booming, and 4,000 books on happiness were published last year, we believe the real problem lies in the way that we think. In short,... Read More »

Over the last 15 years, I have asked thousands of managers and leaders what they do all day. In response, I hear accounts of endless meetings, emails and phone calls. What's easily missed is that these are all forms of conversation. In fact, most managers say they spend 75% to 90% of their day engaged in the practice of speaking and listening. And yet, how well trained are we in this area? When I ask my teenage children whether they have ever had a lesson on conversation during their school education, they give me one of those blank looks that are reserved for parents who ask absurd questions. How does this add up? We have all experienced teachers who have a string of qualifications next to their name but kill every ounce of educational passion in their young charges. And yet other teachers, who may be less technically qualified, spark a... Read More »