Creating a more inclusive work environment, creating a culture of trust, creating more resilient teams can seem tough. Viewing it as a learnable skill and visualising moving along to the right on that normal distribution curve is one way to think about. We can all learn, both individually and collectively to become more resilient and to bounce back faster and stronger from challenges.

What are the unconscious levers acting on your team?

In the late 1990s, I lived in Windsor located 10 miles from Heathrow Airport. Close enough that the sound of planes taking off interrupted your conversations. Initially, it was really noticeable. After a while, I ceased to notice and it blended into the background sound of life. It wasn’t long until I no longer noticed it.

The Disruptors Mindset

What major trends are influencing the sector you currently operate in? What's the best guess of the future playing field? And crucially how do you position yourself for that future?

That’s the piece of strategic thinking that needs to be done to point the team in the right direction

The biggest risks I see to any organisation are:

• Hubris - we're the best at {insert x …..} and therefore we're ok...

• Fixed Mindset - not having a flexible identity to adapt to a future playing field and to make those moves today

• Thinking 5% or 10% rather than 5x or 10x.

If you're not thinking big and bold and figuring out how to disrupt yourself I guarantee there are nimble renegades sizing up how to best eat the lunch you have today and what the future opportunity looks like.

Who's thinking big and bold in your team?

Leading in the Future

What does the future of Leadership look like?

What are the essentials skill that current and aspiring leaders need to sharpen, hone and focus on?

Empathy has to be one of the top three, if not the top one. There is research that agrees, but how does this land when these ideas collides with the leaders of today.

Here’s one conversation I had recently:

Few people need reminding of the importance of supporting mental health in the workplace and yet there is still much to be learned and much much more that can be done. The UK Government stats show that poor mental health costs employers between £33 billion and £42 billion a year.

It happens far more than we probably all realise. Some of us show signs of it, some us seek to deal with it silently, some of us meet it head-on. The one truth is that it’s all around us - whether in us or in our team.

Some simple truths I’ve learned along the way which you can use to help you and those around you - even if you or they haven’t said there’s a problem.

In a recent survey published by ATD (Association for Talent Development), 44% of people said their trust in their employer had decreased over the past year.

Given recent debate over the great resignation and the notion that no-one leaves a ship in a storm, this should be something that leaders are paying attention to.

When was the last time you and your team explored the area of trust?

It reminded me of powerful truths I once used to action and had somehow forgotten from being front of mind along the way. Perhaps they had always stayed there unconsciously, but reminding ourselves of important truths is a good thing.

I’m fine

Easiest two words any of us can say. They trip off the tongue. It’s such a British thing isn’t it. Few people want to draw attention to themselves. Stiff upper lip. The stoic approach.

Only it so often isn’t true.

I was reminded of this when I happened across this simple picture: