“Johnny is useless, he needs coaching”

We all have “blind spots” – things we are unaware of, opportunities to make better for us or become better.

Coaching is useful.

Here I explain what coaching is and is not and how to find an experienced and qualified coach.

Spot the Industry blind spot …

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Cleaver book review

This one is a bit different. Not written by me.

My Deep and Deliberate Delegation book sells best in the USA. I don’t know why, maybe they ‘get’ the need?

Occasionally, Americans invite me to speak on the subject – early November is my next gig.

My host Todd Stone of The Cleaver Company wrote this book review to introduce my talk. Here it is in full …

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Recommended reads: books about working better with people

People ask me for recommended reading lists. They know I read lots of books about leadership and management and people.
I seem to write a reading list every three years. Here’s my latest one.
If you are interested in giving your best and getting the best from people then this may be useful for you.

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Leading with emotion: tap into your team’s brain science

I wrote this as a LinkedIn article in March 2016. It was then current brain science. I was trying to get across the need to acknowledge emotions when dealing with people. 100 LinkedIn articles later I am recycling it cos its still valid even though the brain science may have moved on (or may not have). It’s still relevant though I am concerned we are moving in the wrong direction in terms of how we deal with people.

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Five sure ways to make meetings matter

Our research suggests senior people are wasting several days every month in meetings that don’t help them do their jobs. That creates a serious lag in their organisation’s productivity, and is deadly for morale. But it doesn’t have to be that way

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Six steps to inspire joined-up leadership (full version)

Sometimes I run a programme called Curated Leadership Conversations for execs. Basically, I put a leadership concept, insight or tool on the table (that’s the curation) and we talk about it in the context of their business. It works great.

I have been thinking about how I can give it to you for the price of a few books (Full version)

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Six steps to inspire joined-up leadership (Shorter version)

Sometimes I run a programme called Curated Leadership Conversations for execs. Basically, I put a leadership concept, insight or tool on the table (that’s the curation) and we talk about it in the context of their business. It works great.

I have been thinking about how I can give it to you for the price of a few books. Here is shorter version …

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How effective communication can transform your leadership style

This post is about “communication” – a topic of frequent conversation among the execs and leadership teams I work with. In it I share a little of what learnt from when I had a proper job and from the people I coach. Also, I attempt to distinguish between dialogue and debate.
… “it’s all about communication”

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Want to attract new talent? Leave the kids alone

We’ve been talking about ‘the skills shortage’ for most of the 48 years I have been in the construction industry.
In the 90’s I went into schools to enthuse about my work as a civil engineer, the kids didn’t seem at all interested. It didn’t work. It hasn’t worked.
Here I offer a different mindset, an alternative approach that is working. Now we need to scale it.

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