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 […]
Should you give up digital platforms to become successful?

Usually when I pick a book from the shelf at the bookstore, I feel excited. It’s that excitement where you know that someone has spent years of devoted time to amass the wisdom and insights on a topic that I am about to benefit from. With Cal Newports Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in […]
3 key factors that can help you to become a successful original

In a world that in theory praises failure all across management and leadership wisdom (“failure leads to growthâ€), in reality many people’s number one worry is that they would fail publicly in something that they have invested heavily in. This means that most of us curb the innovation and original ideas that reside within us […]
How to speak up in a way that matters

How many times have you left an idea to just lay there because you did not have the courage or energy to take it forward and speak up? In Adam Grant’s Originals there are lots of insights into why some people and ideas flourish. Amongst the key messages are two fundamental issues: choosing the right audience […]
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 invest in people in an era of changing leadership platforms

Leadership and talent development are a growing and increasingly urgent reality for many companies. Increasingly companies are looking at their workforce through the eyes of talent acquisition and concern: who is doing well, who can do better and which processes deliver the most effective growth in the skill sets companies look to advance. Yet, the […]
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 […]
How to create spaces for breakthrough ideas

I have started re-reading Safi Bachall’s book on Loonshots that I blogged about last week (here) and also thinking more broadly about taking time to focus and reflect on idea development. This is particularly relevant as the last weeks have made me also reconsider whether I am taking enough time to create these spaces for […]
How to attract the hidden funding opportunities

I spent a day this week at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s conference (CASE ASAP conference) in Brisbane where I attended the role of academic leadership and its linkage to philanthropic funding. CASE focuses on “advancement professionals” who are often the unnoticed group of professionals in organisations who are tasked in leveraging […]
How to achieve unique coherence

Anyone in a leadership or managerial position knows how difficult it is to manage teams. You need to take into account the different skill sets and specific expertise, the personalities, and also different understandings of what needs to be prioritised and when. Yet, at the same time, we are increasingly told that we need to […]