The Hidden (or Overlooked) Hazards Eroding Your Business Performance
You can walk into a room, shake hands, exchange pleasantries, and within minutes of hearing how “everyone respects personal time here” or how “we don’t really suffer from toxic management,” you know there’s something festering under the surface. It’s a pattern I’ve seen more times than I can count: leaders invite me to discuss diagnosing […]
Beyond the Resume: How Businesses Are Failing the Very Skills They So Desperately Need
LinkedIn’s Skills on the Rise 2025 report reveals a significant trend: a majority (7 of the top 10) of the most in-demand skills are ‘soft’ skills. This reflects a changing workplace where, while technological advancements automate many technical tasks, the uniquely human abilities to leverage and monetize those advancements are becoming increasingly vital. Here’s […]
The Unintended Fallout: When RTO Mandates Backfire
Return-to-office (RTO) mandates, often touted as a necessary step for productivity and company culture, are increasingly revealing their unintended consequences. Driven often by a perceived loss of control rather than concrete data, these mandates, particularly those implemented without employee consultation, are breeding resentment, eroding trust, and sparking a talent exodus. The core issue lies in […]
Leadership Under Fire: Are We Unfairly Painting Everyone With The Same Brush?
The digital arena roars with discontent, casting leadership in a harsh light. Social media narratives, fuelled by personal accounts, reveal a stark disconnect between executive perception and employee experience. While individual leaders may feel unjustly targeted, the sheer volume of criticism demands a critical examination. Data Speaks: Quantifying the Trust Deficit The data reveals […]
If You Thought Gen Z Were Bad? Meet Gen Alpha!
Ah, Gen Z. The avocado-toast-loving, work-life-balance-demanding, TikTok-dancing generation that has been giving traditional workplaces a collective headache since they first clocked in. Just when you thought you’d figured out how to handle their “quiet quitting” and requests for mental health days, along comes their even-more-digital, hyper-aware, and socially-conscious successors: Gen Alpha. If your organisation is […]
Musk, Keanu, and the Tipping Point of Capitalism
A recent AI-generated debate between Keanu Reeves and Elon Musk has been making the rounds online. While entirely fictional, the conversation struck a nerve. There were some striking reflections that followed. This one in particular captured my attention. “As a woman I would choose Keanu. As a business person I would explore Musk. As a […]
The Infantilisation of Employees: How Control Creates Anarchy
In many modern workplaces, the employer-employee relationship subtly mirrors a parent-child dynamic. This “infantilisation” of employees—where individuals are treated as if they lack the autonomy, maturity, or capability to make responsible decisions – stems from rigid control structures and hierarchical systems embedded in corporate cultures. While these mechanisms may have originated as a way to […]
I’ve started ‘leaning OUT’ – and everyone’s doing better as a result
Contemporary leadership development emphasizes personal growth through self-reflection, self-awareness, and continuous self-improvement. This involves consciously examining your daily life: how you allocate your time, the people you interact with, and critically evaluating what actions benefit you and others versus what hinders progress. It also entails clarifying your core values, defining your priorities, and ultimately, envisioning […]
The Three Types of Leader in 2025
Humour me for a moment. I know that categorising leaders into just three types is a simplified view of reality. The truth is, human behaviour is complex, and leadership is nuanced. However, arguably, most leaders in 2025 could fit into one of these broad categories: The Tyrant, The Contrarian, and The Enlightened. These leaders all […]
Will ‘workplace wellbeing’ follow DEI down and off the corporate priority list?
The corporate landscape is a fickle one, subject to the whims of economic pressures, shifting social trends, and the ever-evolving priorities of leadership. Recently, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, once heralded as essential cornerstones of modern business, have faced significant pushback and, in some cases, a retreat. This raises a crucial question: will workplace […]