By David Fisher >> The events of the last few years should leave no one in any doubt that we live in turbulent times. ‘Business as usual’ is an increasingly rare state for most organisations. Why? Because of: 1. Merger and acquisition activity (as acquirer or acquired) 2. Market dislocation (I still buy my CDs from HMV, do you?) 3. Sector crises (bank bailouts, horsemeat lasagnes) 4. More for less (public and third sector “austerity” pressures) It is precisely at ...

By Heather Campbell >> I often work with leaders who wish that their team members would contribute more during team meetings. Sitting in on some of those meetings, the lack of sufficient contribution is clearly apparent – so I can see that these leaders’ concerns are not unfounded. But, observing these same teams in meetings where the leader isn’t present – even if he or she has just nipped our for a few minutes – the problem magically disappears, with animated discussion ...

It’s amazing, isn’t it, how quickly we become creatures of habit? Starting my role with CommsMasters has meant that I now have a daily commute from Edinburgh to Glasgow (when I’m not out visiting clients) and, on reflection, I’m a little bit worried about how soon I’ve got into a ‘routine’. Up at the same time, out at the same time, arrive at the station, grab a latte and jump on the train – heading for ‘my’ seat. It’s only ...

By Steve Mostyn >> Working with business leaders over the years, it seems that the relationship leaders have with the future is a key one. It underpins all their activities from day-to-day, ‘just in time’ challenges to capital investment and assumptions about talent shortages and ‘pipelines’. However, the future is such a deeply embedded assumption it is often not brought to light in day-to-day conversation outside of the project review and calendar-planning processes. Yet those leaders who are in a ...

By David Mason >> One of the key strengths that successful leaders share is that they’re confident. To get where they are they’ve had to have confidence in their own ability, confidence in their strategy and the confidence to ‘hang in there’ when others gave up. However, when strengths are over-used they can quickly become weaknesses, and to put this into a very current context we only need consider the case of the banking industry. In a scenario reminiscent of the one ...

By Heather Campbell >> Being a good listener is one of the skills most frequently cited as essential to good communication. And the majority of people want to be good listeners. On the surface, it seems like an easy thing to do. After all, it’s just about shutting up, paying attention to the other person and keeping an open mind. Isn’t it? If only it were that easy! Here are some of the glib statements people make about listening – and why ...