RWC Blog…

For many years I have been intrigued by statements made by others which talk about “motivating other people”. For example, many employers include in job advertisements the expectation that the incumbent is to motivate the team that they would be leading if they are successfully appointed. Here’s the newsflash: leaders cannot motivate other people to behave in any particular way. This expectation is a fallacy, and is continually proven as being so. The highest level of behavioural change that leaders…

In a world which is increasingly being wrapped in legislation and regulation, it is still proving to be the case that the most effective leaders are those who are able to apply their imagination to their work. ‘Imagination’ is the “Golden Key” to being different…to offering something different to customers…and to separating your value proposition from that of your competitors. It is easy to spot businesses that lack imagination – they are typically the ones where personnel show an unwillingness to think…

Here’s the first truism: most of the human population fears change…any change. Change is interpreted by most people as being something bad or unwanted that is going to happen to them. Mostly people resist change because they have grown attached to (and they like) what is familiar to them. Familiarity breeds comfort…change what is familiar and you take away comfort. However, change and adaptation are also two of the most powerful forces in life – in the case of all…

During the past 5 or so years my ears have pricked-up when I’ve heard stories about high achieving people not having later during the course of their lives given something of themselves (their time/ knowledge/ skills) back to their community – whether “community” is taken to mean a school that they once attended, or a club that they once belonged to, etc. Around 5 years ago I started to experience a change in mindset, from (to that point in time)…

Good leaders understand that each person has both strengths and weaknesses. Some people like to think that they have no weaknesses, but I would tend to question this self-evaluation.  Knowing what the strengths and weaknesses are of other people who we work and play with is the first step along the path of accepting and celebrating the differences found in others. It is also the the first step to take as a leader in determining how best to draw the…

As we grow-up we are often told liberating advice such “be yourself”, “dare to be different”…and “don’t worry about what other people think about you”. Then suddenly – as we turn the corner into adulthood – we find out the sharp reality of human life; that many people seem to have made it their life goal to “standardize” the human race and put everyone in the same little boxes of expected conformity to make them behave in the same way…or…

One of the surest ways for any organization to stop evolving is for decision-makers to lose their appetite to trial new ways/ approaches/ processes/ systems/ products/ services. Comfort with what is familiar combined with fear of the unknown and making mistakes is what mostly causes appetites to be lost. In my book I talk about the willingness of organizations to challenge their status quo – to be prepared to explore unchartered waters to find new fertile ground to change their…

As a Business Advisor in the Hawkes Bay region I was dismayed to see how few businesses practiced strategic thinking and planning. During the business discovery process that I worked through with clients it actually shocked me to learn how consumed clients (business owners/ managers) were with fearful thoughts of failing to comply with this, that and the other legislative/ regulatory requirement…at the detriment of not thinking creatively/ strategically about the future direction of their businesses. We all understand the…

In my view the greatest attributes that a leader can possess – over and above being an accomplished and articulate communicator – are “integrity” and “transparency”. Both of these traits are instrumental in developing stakeholder trust, and the greater your integrity and transparency the more you will be trusted…particularly if/ when you “walk the talk” and do as you say. Great leaders have no qualms about sharing information – they know what the positive consequences are of sharing relevant information…

The principle of “division of labour” has long been established in the field of economics. Essentially it recognizes that in order to achieve best possible desired outcomes, an organization must appoint the right people and the right number of people  to do the right things at the right time. Too many times (still) business owners attempt to cover a number of bases (work functions) which well and truly exceed their capacity (and often their capability also). I consider that this…