Sir John Whitmore is a pre-eminent thinker in leadership and organisational change and works globally with international organisations and leading multinational corporations to establish coaching management cultures and leadership programmes.  He has written five books on leadership, coaching and sports, of which Coaching for Performance is the best known having sold 500,000 copies in 17 languages. He is also the former British and European motor racing champion and the Executive Chairman of Performance Consultants.

I interviewed him recently on the role of coaches and leadership in the changing business and economic environment.   Read more »

Been out of your comfort zone lately? Can you recall how you reacted and its impact on your problem-solving or decision making? My business coaching client, the CEO of a SME, related the fascinating story of his recent trip to China where he met up with other key players from around the globe. The city they visited was no Beijing or Shanghai. It was smaller in size and his hotel was in an area specified as the “government zone.” As foreign nationals they were advised not to venture out of this. However, in need of much exercise and fresh air, my client did venture forth one day and soon found himself walking beyond the edges of familiarity. He noted that suddenly the scenery had changed dramatically. Read more »

The All Whites performance at FIFA has been remarkable; a demonstration of great leadership and excellent team work. With the World Cup they have –  rather suddenly, sprouted in our sporting consciousness and totally captured the nation’s imagination. After being an insignificant seventy eight in the world rankings, who would have expected them to do as well as they did? Here’s a team that did not have the support, backing and resources such as the All Blacks and yet they made every Kiwi feel proud by remaining unbeaten and scoring the goals they did – firstly with Slovakia and then against the World Cup holders, Italy! And we could go on here…. Read more »

In times of crisis, how a leader fronts and deals with the situation can either fan an already out of control situation or they can take full responsibility and become part of the solution. Sadly, BP’s CEO – Tony Hayward’s words, behaviour and demeanour have only but fueled the situation.

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a disaster on many levels. And it appears that it could have been avoided. Questions are being asked of the CEO but answers to date have not been forthcoming – answers which could provide a deeper, systemic understanding about what went wrong and why and how best to deal with this major catastrophe. Read more »

We all have our strengths and weaknesses. When we use our strengths in a way that produces results, gives us satisfaction and rewards us emotionally and financially, we feel fulfilled. Our signature strengths enable us do our jobs and fulfill our career aspirations in a proficient and credible way.

But the very strength we have relied upon all these years can also become a career derailer! So when is strength not strength? Well – a common scenario is when we overuse them! Read more »