A story of bravery, owning it, inspiring self and others. #itsyourfault @kealasettle #andtheoscargoesto #thisisme
Presence
Smashing Paradigms – “I was wrong”
What if leaders said “I was wrong” ? What could change (and yes, I will utter the words “gun control” here). Thanks to @chipconley @satyanadella…
How you do anything…a Leaders angle
As a leader, how can you be sure your team are acting authentically around you? Here’s a tip.
Smashing Paradigms – What is Bravery?
Bravery takes different forms, and it is always relative to the individual. Stories here on swim coaching, mental health, and the bravery of a 7…
Smashing Paradigms – Ellen
The words of the brave and inspiring Dr Taylor Burrowes on the inspiration and bravery of Ellen DeGeneres
If I’d had more time….
If you had more time, would you create more, or create less and make it of more value? Who did you learn this from anyway?
Stoicism – The Tao of Bobby Orr
A leader is someone other choose to follow. Could stoicism be a valuable tool for you to create followers for your leadership ?
A Purpose Story – “I have a dream”
Are you a purpose-driven leader? What is your “I have a dream?”, what drives you and has your people follow you?
Memento Mori
This week a twist, three powerful commencement speeches to share
Take time for solitude
This morning I write this overlooking a beautiful and quiet garden on a winter's day in the Scottish Highlands. I am visiting friends and they have gone out for a while and I sit here in solitude and stillness. We have so much information in the world, so much for our...
Mystic realism – Shoshin and Business
What if we bring a beginner’s mind to business leadership?
Writing I love – Invictus
A masterful poem that has so often inspired me in both dark time and light.
New Year – Your “Why” comes before setting goals
Learn the story of the greek fisherman and then consider your WHY for 2018.
Writing I love – Silence in the Age of Noise
Musing on silence. Do find time to rest and recharge and find silence at this time of year
Father Christmas asks – What’s your Centre?
What’s your centre? #MakingPotentialPossible
Are you Magnificent, or Quietly Fabulous ?
So today one of the dearest (and magnificent!) people in the world to me sent me this picture, knowing I am struggling a little with a winter cold. A humorous reference to remind me that some days it is ok to slow down and practice self-care. It got me thinking about...
Flow – Michael Jordan and Jason Silva
In 1992, Michael Jordan, not renowned as a long distance shooter, hit an amazing six 3 point shots in the first half of an NBA Finals game, then this famous photo caught him shrugging to his bench as if to say "don't ask me what is happening" In 2004,...
InnSaei – to see from the Inside Out
"We have to be really ready to fail, the failure... to be part of the journey" "To me, going to the unknown is absolutely rule number one" “in order to create something new human beings need to go into the unknown” Marina Abramovic, interviewed in the documentary...
Leadership and Resilience
Give abundantly, and also set boundaries and be resilient. Find the balance
Favourite quote – Our deepest fear
Yesterday I wrote about flipping procrastination and fear into growth. This reminded me of probably my favourite quote of all time. Given how many quotes I love, the fact that this one stands above all others says a lot to and about me. "Our deepest fear is not that...
Cogito Ergo Sum, or Sentio Ergo Sum?
Watch the three clips in this post and consider if we are led by thoughts or feelings.
A leader is someone others choose to follow
My definition of a leader is: A leader is someone others choose to follow. What type of leader do you want to follow. A recent post was on "How far is it acceptable to push ?" and reflected on the difference in two teams in pro cycling. One driven by fear and control...
Captain Kel – Seize the Day
Cayman Airways pilots Kel Thompson and Steven Coe In writing another article on "Leadership lessons from a Swim Referee" I was reminded of something a mentor and dear friend often said to me. Captain Kel Thompson described being a commercial pilot as "endless hours of...
Are you a Ford or a Ferrari?
I love to support and to work with a person who is a "Ferrari". Read on, and if you recognise yourself here, I'd love to talk to you and support your journey. This can start with a call, a cup of coffee, and out of this I know we will connect you to something in and...
Investing in time to make an impact
Perhaps things could truly change if we choose to "invest in TIME.. to make an impact". Recently I wrote about a quote from a report on CEOs that said : "Leaders of industry [are] extremely bad at thinking" Today I was speaking with a friend who I regard as one of the...
Not all those who wander are lost
When you wander, are you lost, or is that where the magic happens ?
What happens when we find silence?
I recently read Silence in the age of noise by Erling Kagge, and a couple of themes came out for me. One was that while yes, we can find near-absolute silence by heading out into the wilderness, silence is available to us at any time, in any place. The key is to...
What does silence mean to you?
In my last article, Power of Silence, I began to muse on silence and what being silent opens up to you. In chatting about this with my wildly polymathic friend Maeve Gillies, she sent me this link to a musical work by John Gage called 4'33". Over four minutes of...
Power of Silence
I'm exploring the concept of silence, including reading this book : The author once spent fifty days walking solo across Antarctica with no radio and I'm fascinated by his observations on silence. To me it is far deeper than being in nature, it is about silence within...
Try something new
Take a chance and step outside your comfort zone. Try something new today. https://youtu.be/F6sV-tvUOHQ Recently I ran a workshop in Edinburgh called UNTHINKABLE. From this, I was inspired to write a series of articles on Linked In on the theme of #Open Leadership,...
Who are you NOT to be ?
In a similar way to feeling inspired (as I wrote here) by the line from Mary Oliver : "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" This quote from Marianne Williamson is a touchstone for me in many ways. In my years as a leader and...
Presence…and Vulnerability
The new paradigm of leadership has presence and vulnerability at the core. https://youtu.be/Ks-_Mh1QhMc One of my favourite TED talks of all time is this one from Amy Cuddy. I recalled this as I was going to write about the power of self-awareness of the body,...
Doing from Being
Before I started to really look into the Japanese concept of Ikigai, "A reason for being", I had already discovered this image as a Linked In meme: I love this visual representation, and at the same time, I recognise how many of us focus on the "what you can be paid...
Life is Wild and Precious, Be Present
January 2017, a glorious winter's day at the top of a mountain in the Alps with an amazing group of inspiring entrepreneurs, or "Snowhowers", including Dr Rachel Morris, who had been so inspired by this phrase that she used this when she left the mountain as...