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Presence

Ironing, On the Edge

Ironing, On the Edge

Where I Iron 😉 I moved to Cayman aged 24 on my own, thousands of miles from family, friends and the familiar. It was wonderful, I threw myself into work, sports, meeting new people, learning about my new home. At the same time, sometimes it felt a little...

My first quarantine pause

My first quarantine pause

I arrived in Cayman last Wednesday evening, all going smoothly I will get the all-clear to release from it by Tuesday evening. Today, Monday morning, I'm therefore entering day five of six of this quarantine "pause". In short, it has been a very quiet few days,...

Pausing, Together, Patiently

Pausing, Together, Patiently

Yesterday I was on a group call around the theme of "the Power of Pausing". As I listened to the esteemed panellists, I recognised that their themes were all around pausing as individuals. It occurred to me that we can also choose to pause, together. I then thought of...

Follow the Energy

Follow the Energy

In working with leaders, I often refer to the "Three Tenets of Leadership" of: Set and Hold the ContextManage the EnergyCoach, Don't Play For more on what I mean by these three tenets, read the earlier post: "Managing Energy – learning from comedians" So much of...

Slowing down and enjoying the wildflowers

Slowing down and enjoying the wildflowers

I took this photo two days ago, when a friend came out from London to "fill their cup" (see this recent post "are you tired or are you depleted?") by taking a walk in the country. Over the summer, this area has had much cooler and wetter conditions than normal, which...

Marina Abramovic on being present for others

Marina Abramovic on being present for others

Presence is a key skill for leaders. I seek to learn often and from varied sources around this. One of those sources is Marina Abramovic. Presence, specifically the ability to be 100% present for others, is a key skill for leaders. I seek to learn often and from...

Be more Polar Bear, do more nothing

Be more Polar Bear, do more nothing

Mornin' to you! How is your Sunday looking? Big plans? Here in London, as regular readers will know, we are locked down for, well, the next couple of months or so I'd figure, so I have no plans, nothing I have to do today. Now, when it comes to my work with leaders, I...

The Perfect 10-Year Plan

The Perfect 10-Year Plan

Take the time to make your perfect 10-year plan. Limited edition print available from Steve Chapman As I noted in: "Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist", one of my favourite wisdom quotes is: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery,...

Being in Flow

Being in Flow

MJ's expression after an inexplicable "flow moment" Today I share with you one of the ultimate flow moments in my life so far, one, where I was so deep in "the zone" for hours that astonishing things happened. Through this, I hope this helps you reflect on when and...

Stop waiting for the perfect moment

Stop waiting for the perfect moment

Perfection is the enemy of progress. Simply act when conditions are right and stop waiting for the perfect moment. GBP-USD has moved from a low of 1.23 to..over 1.28 in the last month This is yesterday's GBP-USD FX chart for the last month. Nearly a month ago I moved...

Lazy Sunday

Lazy Sunday

Over 1,000 daily posts in a row. Some are short and make one or two simple points, some are curated from others, some are long and indepth with many linkouts. Once in a while, though, I feel to simply model what I encourage leaders to do for themselves, which is to...

Marking moments with place

Marking moments with place

What a view! In this world we currently live in where we "meet" online so much, this week I had a powerful reminder of how a place can mark a moment. First meetings and place I like to start work with new clients by taking half a day with them in their home town, yet...

A weekend pause

A weekend pause

Remember to take a weekend pause now and then. There are long pauses such as the world being on pause for about three months of lockdown. There are also micro-pauses such as when we think of something to say when listening to someone else, then check ourselves and...

Musings on Time

Musings on Time

Today I share some musings about Time. "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen"opening line from 1984, by George Orwell The bizarre times and national leadership we are seeing often makes me think of Orwell's 1984 of late, but that...

Be of Integrity

Be of Integrity

Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching. "Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching" This phrase has been very much on my mind in the last week or two. Right now we all (yes, me too) face some frustration as we remain at home,...

Pausing…

Pausing…

A four day weekend for Easter here in the UK. Though it is easy to allow the days to blend into one another in lockdown, I'm consciously pausing this weekend. Yesterday in: “What can you do to help?” I told the story of picking up a Jigsaw puzzle left outside their...