(Image courtesy Shutterstock) In my last blog, I looked at how to prepare for delegating important tasks, so that you’re free to deal with your biggest priorities and developing your team. My client Sarah was on quite a journey and we had to start with understanding how she pulled back from taking risks because she […]
What industry are you in? An annoying question!
Surely this one thing about your organisation is settled – your industry. Real life for high-performing executives is not so simple. As markets change, the organisation matures and as you develop in your role, this annoying question becomes more important, and may lead to the breakthrough that ensures your survival. I had a friend raise […]
How to design and run your best team
Looking back at all the most successful CEOs I’ve met or read about, there’s one common thread. All of them had great teams of top performing executives whose role was to partner the CEO, not simply report to them. This is not an accident. Running an organisation of any size is complex and needs a […]
Make big decisions fast.
Here are some scenarios about making big decisions. A swimming pool. Marika goes to the swimming pool at lunch and swims for an hour. When she returns, her assistant comes into the office and they clear all the day’s key communications in 30 minutes. A long flight. Anton sits with earphones and a mineral water […]
Is love relevant to your career transition?
Noise. Scientists have a definition of ‘white noise’, that incoherent hiss in the background. It used to be just background, but now noise is amped up, foreground, invasive. Real noise, such as the music-as-tranquiliser everywhere in cities. And virtual noise, the background information that thrusts itself into our foreground. This throws us into a state that […]
Do something for the first time if you want to grow
Last night I was chatting over a glass of wine with a friend of mine. His stories always captivate and surprise me and I usually leave convinced that he has been everywhere & done everything. We talked about projects in Italy and Vietnam; about sailing in the Mediterranean, the Pacific, Gippsland; how to publish a […]
Win the career strategy numbers game
Career strategy is not a numbers game. Oh, wait, it is…. ‘Hi, tell me, how many people have you spoken to in the last year about your desire for a distinctively new role?’ 1-5 6-10 10-50 50-100 more than 100. I’m pretty sure that if your answer is anything other than e. you’re frustrated with […]
Your next role – it’s not just about ‘doing more stuff’!
Are you an aspiring CEO? Here’s one thought to dump right now. ‘My next role is like this one, just bigger.’ No matter how true that might have been in the past, it is not true about the jump into your first CEO or equivalent role. It’s natural to think this, but it’s wrong. Any […]
Collaborate. If you’re not doing it, you’re not an ‘Executive’.
One of the biggest issues in executive teams – collaboration or the lack of it. [See my blog on Professional Contempt]* . Several studies over the last few years have highlighted how rare it is in the C-suite, yet how necessary. Update: Forrester, which is one of the leading global marketing firms, surveyed CIOs and […]
Your job search – here’s how time matters in making decisions
If you’re out looking for a new role, how long is it going to take to land one? As we get more senior, there are fewer appropriate roles. We’re a bit fussier about the decision because the stakes are higher. And the organisation’s decision can take longer, again because it’s a high-stakes investment. So rather […]