Leadership Insights

“If you close your eyes you will see far.” Kenyan Proverb

Successful leaders have a clear set of personal values to which they are committed. What they do and say is guided by these values. When they speak we feel their passion because it is based on what they truly believe in. Examples of values are: honesty, courage, fairness, gratitude, humility, open-mindedness and creativity. read more…

‘… any man can decide what shall become of him – mentally and spiritually.’ Victor Frankl

Sometimes, when things do not go according to our desires, we find ourselves seduced into seeing ourselves a victim of unjust circumstances, selfish behaviors, the incompetence of others, and bad luck. It manifests itself as a creeping feeling of injustice and a sense that the world is against us … And indeed, it is seductive to be a victim because it absolves us of our responsibilities and justifies our frustration and pain.
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‘Patience can cook a stone’ African proverb

Patience is a fundamental life skill. Yet, a lot of people are not patient. I am one of them: I am impatient to get things going, see things moving, make progress, achieve instant results! However, life hardly ever works like that. Typically progress takes time. It is incremental with small shifts and leaps occurring over time. read more…

‘A healthy ear can tolerate hearing sick words’ Senegalese proverb

Let us not take anything personally: This rule is an open secret … and one that can change a lot of things for us. People may be gossiping about us, rumors may be flying, somebody may insult us badly, somebody may not appreciate us sufficiently … If we stop taking things personally, we become immune to all this. We tend to relate things to ourselves that have nothing to do with us and are purely related to the story of another person. We tend to take in the ‘garbage’ of other people, make it our own and then replicate it over and over in our minds, multiplying our suffering. A leader who stops taking things personally will free up his mind from much anxiety and release energy for other things.
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‘Bitter medicine comes from a bitter tree.’ South African proverb

Imagine a colleague is entering the room to give a presentation. We could close our eyes and would know what he will do: the way he walks, holds his shoulders, his hand movements, his smile and his voice. It is a familiar sight which has a particular effect on us. In his presence we may feel light or heavy, patient or impatient, energized or tired. The ‘presence’ of the person evokes specific thoughts and emotions in us. It is a reflection of who he is to us.

“By observing how one is in her body, we can tell a great deal about who she is as a person. … the self is indistinguishable from how we present and express ourselves through our body.” (Strozzi-Heckler, 2007, P.24) read more…

“Foresight is the ‘lead’ that the leader has”. (Greenleaf)

Some time ago there was a major attack by terrorists on a shopping mall in Nairobi. From eye witness accounts it seems that few of the thousands of people who were in the mall at the time were prepared. As the first shots rang out, most assumed it was a robbery. The country and the leadership of the country were also not prepared. Reaction was slow and even as the attack was underway warning was mainly through mouth to mouth. Besides negligence on security there was clearly a lack of contingency thinking around the possibilities of such an attack. And yet, we expect leaders to be prepared for such unusual and rare events. read more…