The Burble
You know you have been flying too much when you know your way around airport without knowing which country you’re actually in; unless its Heathrow which is the exception that proves the rule.
You’ve been in the air too much when you begin to recognise aircrew and can actually tell before you take off whether they are going to look after you well. But the real indication is when you get an invite from your favourite airline to a weekend launch of something.
Leaders don’t set things on fire.
I am struggling. I have been looking at so much research about leadership and leaders and so much news and information about the topic that I find it remarkable that there still doesn’t seem to be a definition of leadership or what a leader actually is.
What I do know is that there is a fervour amongst leadership devotees that their particular brand of leadership is the best (for which read) the only one. And anyone who has an alternative view of leadership is simply wrong. I have seen friendlier debates between the US and Iran.
Hopefully he title has piqued your interest and so I would like to introduce an old colleague and friend of mine Colin Gautrey. Colin has been one of those individuals who I probably talk to less than once a year and yet who’s advice and support I value a huge amount. His focus is on Influence a topic that is one of the most important for anyone to understand. Being able to influence others, in a business or personal environment is one of the key skills that we all need to learn.
So please read on and see what you think. I spend almost all my days influencing people in 8 countries in Asia to do different things in different ways. Its probably the only way to really make things happen in any organization of more than 2 people. As Colin says
‘When you have to engage with someone, and you have a difficult message to deliver, a decision needs to be made about how direct and assertive you can be. Put another way, you need to decide how tactful and diplomatic you have to be to avoid causing offense.
Source: When to be More or Less Diplomatic‘
There are more men on corporate boards named John, Robert, William or James than there are women on boards altogether – The Washington Post
As you will have seen from a previous post – Let’s take a stand – I am a strong supporter of inclusion. Articles like this one reinforce the need to keep trying to make a difference.
And there are many reasons why it makes sense to do so for any business. Apart from fairness alone (50% of the population are women) results improve for more balanced companies and decision-making becomes more rounded. Groupthink is avoided.
And with more women running businesses its possible they will want to deal with companies who recognize this fact. According to research undertaken across East Asia in 2013 between 38% and 47% of all SME’s businesses are owned by women. With SME’s accounting for the majority of economic output in most countries women will have an ever growing impact.
Probably sensible to be prepared then.
Change will take time but let’s keep going.
One of the issues that business in general struggles with, as do many other areas of society, is the issue of equality. It’s something that we all know needs to be dealt with and there is a lot research that will tell you that business performs best when the company is truly representative of the society in which it operates.
Doing something about it seems to be beyond many people and businesses. But even small steps can help.
So I am going to take a stand on this issue. I’ve signed up for the HeforShe campaign being run by the UN; a campaign that seeks to involve both men and women in making the issue of equality one for the history books.
I’d like to encourage everyone to join in.
And if you need some more background on why this issue is important please watch the video. An obviously nervous Emma Watson gives some background on why the issue is important and why its an issue for all of us.
Take a look. Take a stand.
Well yes I did but you’ll have to forgive me if I take a look at some other things. I will try and be a good business person and focus a bit more. And todays posting is all about communication. Communication and how to design a business that people want to work in.
Communication is extremely important in the world in which we live and work today. This is even more important if you’re looking to do business in another country.
As an Englishman in New York I was, even after over 3 years, still surprised about how differently the British and Americans use the English language. Sometimes even though I try and speak the same language I’m afraid my version of English sometimes means I don’t always communicate as clearly as I could.
Obviously I’d prefer it if I could have encouraged my American friends and colleagues to speak the right version of English but after 36 months of trying I am close to admitting defeat.
Insight for board directors and C Suite Executives
The business world has so many opportunities to reshape itself and drive better outcomes - we are only scratching at the surface of the change agenda and all the possibilities open to us. What ever happens next must embrace how we all work better together, how we are organised, the things we do and the many tools we use to make the change. Let’s make good things happen
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The Burble 