Whichever way one looks at it, Paul Henry’s recent comments asking the Prime Minister whether the next Governor-General is going to “look and sound like a New Zealander” are insulting and racist. It falls way below the mark in his role as a TVNZ breakfast host. 

The basic requirement of any job including those in leadership is that we deliver what is expected of that role and take full responsibility for our actions.  When managers, leaders and politicians fail to do this, their leadership including the organization’s culture and ethos are – quite rightly – questioned.

Prejudice and stereotypes invariably blind us. Never mind Sir Anand’s background, calibre and merit in having been an almost perfect fit for the job. He is “culturally different” or more to the point “not white.”  So everything else becomes irrelevant. This is a not a recipe for  building and leading a team, organization or country. (more…)

1. Employee engagement is a three-way process and requires responsibility, accountability and ownership from employer, employees and the organization.  We talk about employee engagement including the kinds of things employees need to feel engaged and what the managers and leaders need to provide. The latter certainly have an active role in harnessing the best of their talent and creating a rich culture that people want to be part of and enjoy coming to work.  There is certainly a lot that can be done at the level of leadership engagement behaviours.  However, employees aren’t mere passive receptacles of these initiatives but are also active players who have a role in shaping a great workplace. (more…)

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.   (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. (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…. (more…)