Conversation
If you assume that someone who is quiet is an introvert, you could completely miss the opportunity to create an environment where they can flourish and contribute their best. Of course, it is very possible that the person 𝘪𝘴 an introvert. But introverts are not always quiet, and not all quiet people are introverts! People can be quiet due to:
Read more “Don’t assume that a person being quiet is an introvert”
Diversity and Inclusion
If we want to advance DEI and lift the quality of leadership, we need to focus on upgrading the system, along with unlocking individual potential.
Maintaining the status quo and trying to integrate those who are not in the majority, is an easy trap to fall into. It is easier for the majority as they don’t have to do anything. However, the collective then misses out on growth and evolution.
Read more “We need to stop trying to ‘fix’ people who don’t fit the majority”
Conversation
A consistent theme we see in today’s fast-paced, high-pressure work environments, is leaders and teams reacting to challenges rather than proactively anticipating or addressing them.
Even as the year begins, we are hearing concerns about:
Leadership
In my previous article, I shared that ‘Many of us underestimate what we are capable of.’ This talked about As leaders, we often focus on the words we say and the policies we put in place, believing they are sending the right messages needed to guide their teams. While words and policies are important, what many leaders forget is that they are constantly sending messages—24/7—through their behaviours, body language, and implicit actions. And here’s the kicker: it is not the leader who gets to interpret what these messages mean. It is the people around them who decide what story those behaviours tell.
Messages received is what matters.
Read more “What Messages Are People Receiving Through Your Leadership Behaviours?”
Conversation
In my previous article, I shared that ‘Many of us underestimate what we are capable of.’ This talked about the ‘competence gap’ and how for many people, their level of confidence is below their level of competence.
Part of the reason why we underestimate ourselves is we often hear the comment: “Just be yourself.”
While this may sound good and helpful, it may hold you back from becoming who you could be. My feedback to people is to be yourself AND who you are becoming.
Read more ““Just be yourself” is not helpful”
Confidence
I often quote Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic‘s reference to a study that shows the overlap between confidence and competence is a mere 9%. There are two sides to this mismatch, or ‘competence gap’:
Confidence > Competence (overconfidence)
Confidence < Competence (under-confidence)
Read more “Over- and under-estimating what we are capable of”
Leadership
Have you noticed how much and how often we label others?
It is easier to place people in neat categories—labels that we believe define others’ values, intentions, or intelligence. Whether it’s generational terms like “Boomer” and “Gen Z,” political identities like “right-wing” and “woke”, gender, race, personalities, religion, or even viewpoints on contentious topics like vaccines or reproductive rights, labels serve as quick identifiers.
Read more “Labelling Divides, Listening Builds Bridges”
Conversation
In a world where assertiveness and charisma are still seen as prerequisites for success, humility might seem like a weakness. But true humility is far from self-effacing or submissive; it is, in fact, a profound demonstration of self-esteem. Having interviewed 50+ successful Quietly Powerful leaders, humility stands out as one of their leadership strengths.
Read more “True Humility: A Sign of Self-Esteem”
Conversation
There’s a difference between being safe and being comfortable, whether physical or psychological.
When you’re training to run a marathon, there’s no doubt there will be some discomfort while training. There will be a certain point where, if you overtrain, it becomes unsafe, but it’s further along than the point at which you become uncomfortable.
Read more “Psychological Safety is not the same as being comfortable”
Leadership
Have you seen ‘mistaken’ leadership appointments or promotions where people who appeared to have leadership potential did not turn out to be the best leaders?
On the flipside, have you seen people with great leadership capabilities or potential being overlooked, perhaps because they are not as visible or do not fit the ‘prototype’ of who looks, sounds or feels leader-like?
Read more “Leadership emergence is NOT the same as Leadership effectiveness”