Posts for tag: leadership

Scientific evidence shows that women are hard-wired to make better managers

In the early 1990’s neuroscientists at the University of Parma discovered that brain cells not only fire when we perform a given action, such as reaching for a cold drink on a hot day, they also fire when we see someone else doing that action – hence the name mirror neuron (click here for a link to the research). This is why we sometimes wince when we see another person experience pain or embarrassment. 

This theory has been used to explain characteristics such as empathy, the ability to read other people’s emotions, with some research* suggesting that the female brain is better able to create mirror neurons and therefore better equipped to anticipate the moods and feelings of others. The men vs women debate continues……..

Why Hiring Goes Wrong – 7 Reasons Recruitment Fails

Hiring the wrong person for a role is estimated to cost the employer over £20k, with that figure multiplying when it’s a  management position.

Along with the recruitment costs and the time to process applications there’s productivity losses to account for.  And, if the error isn’t detected and dealt with speedily, the fall-out across other staff. …

Dump PowerPoint – Tell Stories

We all talk about ‘Death by PowerPoint’ yet the massacre continues.  There may be occasions when a picture, quotation or chart can help to reinforce a fact, but they rarely inspire an audience in the same way as a well told story. And still a terrifying proportion of highly paid execs continue to fall foul of the classic PowerPoint bloopers:

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Learning from Journalists – 15 ways to ask better questions

Journalists are among the least trusted of all professions, yet there’s still a thing or two they can teach managers.

To manage effectively we need to have good insight. A primary source for insight is those around us, not just our own team but our peers, customers and those that lead us. …

Make it fun and it’ll get done

In the opening chapter of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer we see Tom persuade passers by to help him paint a picket fence: “work consists of what a body is obliged to do, play consists of what a body is not obliged to do” – Mark Twain.

Similarly the clip below demonstrates how commuters were persuaded to take the stairs in preference to the escalator, by making climbing the stairs fun.

Teams that play together, work together.

10 Resolutions for Leaders

As we begin another new year with good intentions to break bad habits, let’s take a moment to consider what small behaviours could make a big difference in our role as leaders.

Hopefully many of these already form part of your day to day routine, but which are missing?…

Obama – Leadership by results

Having successfully won the election for a second and final term Barack Obama has just four years to deliver his vision, the re-election distraction now thankfully behind him.

In 2016 journalists will look back on his eight years in the top job and reflect on his style, character and skin colour, while historians will assess the impact his leadership has had on the world’s most prominent nation….

Derren Brown on Leadership Development

The TV star and illusionist has been back on our screens with an extravagant two part show entitled Apocalypse. 

In the show Derren takes a young man who apparently doesn’t appreciate his life and family and attempts to teach him a lesson.  Brown’s goal is to get Stephen Brosnan to take responsibility for his life and to see how he handles himself under pressure and when put into a position of leadership….

A Recipe for Successful Teams

Great chefs know that alongside the core ingredients it’s the careful use of seasoning that turns a mediocre meal into a something scrumptious.

Here we offer some tips to help team leaders make their team rise:…

Management Training – The Moral of the Story

It could be said that those with the greatest influence on society are leading the nation astray. MPs cheat on their expenses, bankers alter the rules to suit themselves and journalists listen in on private voicemails to get a story.

Business skeletons seem to be falling out of closets with increasing regularity and Wikipedia’s growing list of corporate scandals features many previously respected companies….