In December I had the pleasure of joining Patrick Akil for a fire side chat about the “human stuff” in teams – all the unspoken opinions, expectations, frustrations, etc etc – how it affects everything, whether you like it or not, and what can be done about it. We covered a lot, from Read more…
I have always been shy, consider myself an introvert and was not born a natural leader. I am able to create rapport with almost anyone, I dare to speak my mind even if it feels scary, and know how to do it without creating tension. Presenting ideas and creating buy-in Read more…
These days everyone is talking about the C word: culture. Since the scandal in the Netherlands around TV talent show The Voice there is a lot of talk here about the need to make company cultures less macho. And with the revelations of indecent behaviour in the management team of football Read more…
Last month I had talks with a Fintech company based in the UK. There was a sense that despite the professionalism of the young workforce, they weren’t owning the numbers. As long as the management team kept the pressure on things would go fine, but as soon as they took Read more…
This is a cautionary tale of four people, who never met each other, called Bill, Lakshmi, Tatjana and Mo. These are not their real names, but I have personally worked with all of them. Bill, in his late fifties, was a senior manager at a scale-up running an important worldwide environmental Read more…
If you want to become a star in your work, you want to get good at creating alignment both with others and with yourself. One of the four aspects of creating alignment with others is the art of encouraging and giving honest input and knowing how to work with it. Read more…
Giving and receiving honest input is a sensitive point for many people for two very simple reasons: a) most people are afraid of being criticised b) they don’t want to insult and hurt others, and c) while many companies make a show of being positive, when it comes to the Read more…