Truly Being at Work
How would your team members respond if you asked them: Why are you really at work? Simple and innocent as the question sounds, how many team members would really answer honestly? Would you? Wouldn’t most of us prefer a day…
How personal communication styles influence negotiation at the office
Negotiation may be defined as a process between two or more parties, each with their own aims, needs and views, seeking to discover a common ground and reach an agreement to settle a matter of mutual concern or conflict. While…
Why fostering a culture of pride and trust is good for business
Imagine dedicating 40+ hours every week providing a (specialist) service in an organisation that treats you like a cog in their commercial machine. Would you trudge resolutely onwards for several years unaffected by your working environment or would you begin…
Corporate Culture Is Not The HR Department’s Responsibility
The Human Resources (HR) role has evolved significantly over the years – from being purely administrative, to including training and development for succession planning, to pioneering employee relations initiatives. Historically, HR has been seen as a timid role with team…
Building Trust And Living Your Brand
Trust reminds me of the simple things in life – as simple as making a promise. Then going ahead and keeping it. Trust cannot be assumed, it has to be built. Whilst growing up, we were taught that trust was…
Barnes, Sartre, Fanon and Employee Engagement
Julian Barnes begins his book, Levels of Life, with the following words: You put two things together that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. I experienced this recently: on one hand the opinion of a…
Beating the stakes: Coaching your team to thrive under pressure
When you are fighting for national pride, backing down is not an option. But how do you turn the pressure into grit when the stakes are so high? South Africa is an especially passionate sporting nation. As we are all…
King IV puts much needed emphasis on ethical leadership and transparency
The King IV report, released late last year, was generally well-received and for good reason. In sharp contrast to King III which was rules-based, leading to a box-ticking approach for companies, the revised code focuses on the application of principles…
Good Leaders Learn To Remain Relevant
An integral part of good leadership is making time for the hard work that continual learning requires. Purposeful leaders are lifelong learners. They appreciate the true value of learning to improve their leadership so they enrich all those around them,…
Practical Tips To Make Your Career Your Legacy
Mediocre goals realise mediocre results. Everyone knows this. Our plans for the future are largely driven by our ambition to set realistic goals; pretty similar to the way that the quality of our thoughts drives the quality of our actions.…