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Developing a high performance culture
During the past year or so, I have been working with a number of companies on enhancing performance, and subsequently results, through refocusing these business entities on employee engagement and...
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Emotional intelligence – the heart of effective leadership
I used to work for a banking corporation in South Africa. As part of my role of leadership and management development for the bank, I travelled all over Southern Africa, visiting branches to train and...
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Conducting crucial & candid conversations with staff
Employee engagement is essential to keep staff motivated, increase business results and enhance staff retention. When I worked for a banking corporation many years ago, I attempted to spend time with...
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Accurately utilising existing motivation for productivity
Having the opportunity of consulting and working within a number of industry sectors and various companies in many parts of the world, I am continually intrigued by the “motivation questions” that are...
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Creating an organisational heart-beat
The Year 2000 Problem (or Y2K) was a crisis for both digital (computer-related) and non-digital documentation and data storage situations which resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit...
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Living and working as a result of a compelling vision
Alinda Nortje, colleague and Executive Chairperson of Free To Grow, during a presentation, related her experiences of facilitating a workshop for UNICEF in a country in the Middle East – as...
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Realising your vision for your life
A supervisor who attended a workshop that I was facilitating for a plastics company, in an exercise which examined personal vision and passion, admitted that he had always wanted to become a fireman –...
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Becoming a God’s advocate instead of a devil’s advocate
I recall very clearly a team’s behaviour in a large manufacturing company, the team largely been made up of engineers and operational/production experts – whenever an idea was introduced to the larger...
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Leaders, support your staff
When my children were very young, there were certain environments where my wife and I “let them loose” to play to their heart’s content. They were free to run around and use their pent-up energy in the...
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Using emotional impact to motivate others
“People will forget what you said and what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel” —Maya Angelou. Isn’t it interesting that we can’t really remember the Oscar winners for the past...
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Hiring for leadership uniqueness
Trends change over time. This is not only true of fashion and cultural preferences, but also, and of particular note, the way we do business and hire people to fulfil their respective roles within the...
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Protecting yourself in a toxic work environment
You see them on the public transportation systems (taxis, buses and trains) as they daily commute to and from work – grim faces representing hearts and minds that are just trying to make it through...
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Appreciation is the foundation of motivation
Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, once said: “There are two things people want more than sex and money … recognition and praise”. Repeatedly, the one motivating factor that heads employee...
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When your most motivated employees become quiet
Tim McClure, Professional Speaker and Brand and Leadership Consultant, noted: “The biggest concern for any organisation should be when their most passionate people become quiet”. Highly motivated...
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Motivating the minds (& hearts) of millennials
Millennials, those born after 1980 and before 2000 and representing well over 35% of the world’s population, are a largely talented and versatile group. For many companies with rigid structures and...
View ArticleMotivation germinates in a recognition environment
In West Africa, I was enjoying working with and facilitating a workshop for a group of managers from a media company – having rigorous discussions about the topic ‘leadership style’. Many contended...
View ArticleOvercoming conditioning with a strong sense of dynamic purpose
“Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes; lesser ones exist on wishes and inclinations” (Kenneth Hildebrand) My cats enjoy their daily routine of playing in the garden – they can’t wait to get...
View ArticleTake heed of feelings
Human energy, a property tied closely to one’s motivation, is a resource that we all have. The human being is designed this way – little boys and girls are able to act out a story, run a race, build a...
View ArticleFocus on finding solutions
“Modern psychology has been co-opted by the disease model. We’ve become too preoccupied with repairing damage when our focus should be on building strength and resilience” (Martin Seligman, founder of...
View ArticleDealing with an emotional tsunami
Persistent insecurity has marked this year 2020 – our lives and livelihoods have been threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic. After many months of extreme uncertainty, many people are experiencing waves...
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