Just quickly…

A large portion of my work is advising leaders across all types of industries and roles. This puts me in the interesting position of seeing what insights make a meaningful difference across multiple people, places and contexts.

So in the hope that they may help you too, here’s three that truly resonated with my clients this year:

• You’re overcomplicating it. Your proximity to your problem means you can only see the complexity, so narrowing in on what’s important is harder. Find a way to step back yourself, or ask someone who is one step removed for their view.
• Stop expecting hierarchy to solve all your ails. There are two directions of power & communication within any organisation: vertical (hierarchical) and horizontal (network). Leverage both.
• When you have nothing to lose, experiment! If you’re considering leaving your role in the next 3 to 6 months then your appetite for managerial experimentation & ambitious challenge should increase. Ask yourself: “what big thing can I experiment with while I’m still here” or “what big, scary, ambitious challenge can I overcome before I go” → You’ll either be wrong (but leaving anyway), or you’ll be right and you’ll have grown your list of achievements & skills.