Reflections of a climate adaptation scientist
This past week I haven’t had much time or energy to read, the perks of being on a holiday… although I have to confess I walked into a second hand book store and got a “few” books now waiting for me… (below the evidence; my mother thought I was kidding when I had stacked these […]
How to find your vision in a messy world
This week I have been challenged with many processes, with an abundance of opportunities to reflect on things like how we can find our vision, how we learn to lead, and how we make decisions under uncertainty. One of the biggest learnings has been that of observing a process, going back to my core values […]
How to embrace leadership as a habit
Most of us have lots of ideas what we’d like to be like, what we intend to commit to, and what “success” looks like for us. We have in other words a vision, a dream of something that drives us, and that enables us to build strategies into our career plans so that we tick […]
How to develop robust decision principles
Learn from the best is what most of us aspire to do. So no wonder that when people like Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, decides to put his life principles into a book, you simply cannot not buy that book. Principles (Life and Work) is Ray Dalio’s personal explanation of his life work […]
How to assess true competence vs. confidence
Many of us can detect bad leadership very easily and can point out which leaders are not living up to good leadership standards. Yet, in the book Why do so many incompetent men become leaders? Thomas Chamorro-Premuzic poses an interesting question that should alarm us all: if we are so good at recognising bad leadership, why […]
How to become an innovation leader
Innovation leaders are people who have a broad set of skills ranging from ideas to strategic implementation, perform generally much better, with higher company revenues, and with higher customer satisfaction and staff inspiration. These leaders are inspirational, able to attract the best talent but also unafraid to ask the complex challenging questions that can transform […]
How to lead and conference through vulnerability
The European Climate Change Adaptation Conference 2019 in Lisbon this week brought together 1200 individuals who are all working on different aspects of climate adaptation in Europe and internationally. Attending the conference and listening to the conversations taking place made me reflect again how we organise gatherings and how we design spaces, moments and times […]
How to improve organisational fitness
Most leaders are eager to learn the secrets how to improve organisational performance, and there are countless books how to do this more or less painfully. Yet, the actual changes needed are not about culture but of structure; changes that challenge the common views and are therefore often discounted as actual solutions. I have lately […]
Building blocks in drafting a winning strategy
I have been moving to a new house and this process has opened up a Pandora’s box of customer experiences with very different kinds of companies. This has come down to choosing electricity providers, trying to get the roof fixed, internet connected, you name it. The beauty of moving houses is that it really provides […]
3 mistakes most people do in career transitions
Those of you following me in Twitter or LinkedIn already know that only last week I began a new job at my university, transitioning from research role to a role of lecturer in environmental policy where my job will consist of teaching, research and service. Given many people have flagged to me how teaching often […]