How to become the next influencer
In today’s environment that is saturated with ideas, brands, and promises, how do you make sure that you have the capabilities and capacity to influence others? Such key factors as innovation, collaboration, use of data, and creativity play crucial roles in enhancing organisation’s and individuals’ opportunities to grow their ideas and markets at a larger […]
Leadership and alter egos: making peer review more humane?
I have been attending this week sessions Manager as a Coach, a support program provided by the university for the staff in trying to get us to think more coach-like in how we manage people. My key takeaway messages are that power is something that is shared, that good leaders and managers focus on giving […]
Women’s branding: this is how to roar and get results
This week I had the opportunity to attend a Women in Technology event on personal branding and career development for women. Outspoken Women taught us the different aspects of branding, including communication, the role and use of body language, the importance of breathing properly while using your voice, and how to handle manels. I was […]
How to build identity-based habits
This week I was really struck by James Clear who was on the Coaching for Leaders podcast (episode 376). He has just published the book Atomic Habits where he discusses simple yet effective strategies in how we can change our habits, how to break the bad ones and how to excel in good ones. I […]
How to maintain and access organisational memory
It struck me the other day when I was speaking with a colleague that institutional knowledge and memory is really retained in people. With institutional knowledge and memory I mean the knowledge about who does what, how things really work, who you need to talk to to get access to particular information. It is the […]
What makes and counts as “impact”?
All of us aspire to make a difference in something, whether it is in our profession, with our family, with friends, or at a broader scale. But how do we know that we are actually getting there, and our work is having an impact and changing the way things are done or the way people […]
Why finding a bouncing-ideas-buddy will pay off: the secrets of collaboration
In science and in many related fields, the lone genius assumption persists: that individuals act and think alone, pour themselves over data in solitude and emerge with a solution that is revolutionary and inspirational. Many do buy into this story. Yet, the stories we actually hear are often those of insights that have emerged through […]
Why inclusivity should be the new game in town: Women, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and leadership
We often hear about the glass ceiling that stops women in advancing their careers and how that ceiling, in the era of gender equality, is easier to break through. More and more women are becoming directors, earning degrees, and making significant contributions in science, politics, and everywhere else. Given last week was the International Women’s […]
Why “failure dodging” is hurting your career
Lately I have been thinking a lot about what it means to fail. Most of the advice out there in leadership and management is about success: how to have a successful career, how to build a successful company, and how to become a success full stop. Who would not want to know why Oprah has […]
6 essentials in developing an academic career
I’ve recently been approached by several early career researchers (ECRs) about how to network, how to focus their careers and how to start building their profile while they are still in an early phase in their career. In the university system, there is often not much advice on personal branding for academics or how to […]