What I learned about successful meetings from one of the best Generals in the British Army — The power of effective communication is clear. No matter how refined, insightful, or world-beating your thoughts and ideas are, if you are unable to articulate them effectively, they have limited use. We all have good ideas, and all want to get them out there. This is entirely the problem. …

What you do with your shopping cart might say a lot about you — The lonely presence of an abandoned shopping trolley is not an unusual sight. Used and discarded. Often befouled with an unwanted receipt, used shopping list or the stray skin of an absent onion. It eagerly fulfilled its function, then was abandoned in its hour of need. Empty and alone, it…

Small actions matter in leadership and life, here are some examples and why you should start doing them — Leadership is tough. We rarely get taught how to do it, or spend enough time thinking about it before we are in a leadership role. Before we have realized it, we have often been in post a short time and inadvertently set an undesirable culture and tone, and may consider…

Leaders should make time to talk, and if you ask someone a question, take the time to stay and listen to the answer — I never really understood the significance of a leader taking an interest in me. If they ever walked past and asked how I was, I thought they were just doing it to be polite. And most were. Either that or it was just a ‘box-tick’, to make them feel happy…

Mission failed successfully — it was absolutely the right thing to do. — The result of my first proper writing challenge is abject failure. I had it all laid out, with rules and targets and a compelling justification as well. I explained my motivation, I gave myself boundaries, and even roped the family in to it with a Sunday dinner discussion None of…

Leaders who respect their team will not make them wait — I was infamous for it in my teens and early 20s. I was always late. My friends would even count on the fact that I would be late every time we arranged to meet. So much so, they would aim off by 15 minutes on either the time they told…

You set the tone for your team, make sure its the right one Polish Your Shoes to be a good leader. Of course I am going to say that — I’m a British Army Officer. …

What will the Ukrainian President's legacy be? — We have all seen the appalling imagery from The Ukraine. The accompanying reports fill out the harrowing detail. Once again, Europe is beset by a conflict which will be remembered for the indiscriminate and deliberate targeting of civilians. …

Diversity matters. It matters to you, and it matters to your organization. Here’s why… — Diversity matters. But probably not why you think. This is not a matter of race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality or any other specific group. This is a matter of using a spread of talent, experience, and perspective. If you want to understand why diversity will give you a competitive edge, this…