Sam Meets… Simon Grosse

Whiteknights at the University of Reading is a home for many; students, academics; small businesses, even ducks and swans. One organisation that truly considers Whiteknights as home is a business called Foundation SP, a business based at the enterprise centre in Early gate. Foundation SP is an award-winning Technology Company that provides dynamic technology solutions….

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Women in Business

Last week I attended the ‘Leadership without gender’ event hosted by Henley Business School and the ICMA Centre. The event was all about the changing role of women in business, and as a final-year undergrad who has just completed a year’s placement in the traditionally male-dominated tech industry, I was excited to hear about leadership…

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The Japanese word for “leadership” is, er….

In 1971 Peter Drucker wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review entitled “What We Can Learn from Japanese Management”.  Through several, mostly favourable, comparisons with management and leadership practice in the US, Drucker’s writing describes with typical grace and sagacity how the West might understand the economic success story of Japan that had taken…

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Freshers! Don’t snooze after the blues

“First year doesn’t count”. You may have heard this phrase thrown about the place, partnered with “you only need 40% to pass”. Don’t get fooled into believing this. To some extent, you can spend your first year getting used to being at university and finding your feet. However, don’t just do the bare minimum to get by with that 40%, because your first year could have more of an impact than you originally thought.

Transformational Leadership Embraces Innovation

  In the 21st century, we understand that political and business leaders in the East and the West face different challenges. For example, there is still slow economic recovery and a strong demand for job creation and social stability in the West, while in the East the need is for the delivery of economic and…

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Placement Poster Fair and Awards

On Tuesday night I attended Henley Business School poster fair held in the university’s student union. The idea of the poster fair was to give the returning placement students a chance to reflect on their past year working in the business environment and offer advice to second years considering apply. Although I am currently in…

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Well-being and adaptability: are you ready?

Last week, we hosted our World of Work conference exploring the future of work in the light of technological advancements.  Common themes among the speakers included disruption, agility, diversity, humanity and well-being, and my talk was no different, as I chose to look at the relationship between adaptability and well-being. After many years of studying…

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Through the Telescope: Work and Leadership in 2028

Sometimes it is wonderful how an exciting and thought-provoking piece of work can simply land on your desk. Deutsche Telekom and Detecon International asked me and Obiageli Heidelberger-Nkenke at the Henley Centre for Leadership to partner with them and explore how work and leadership might look in 2028.  Our investigations have resulted in a report…

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Teaching an Old Board New Tricks

What is the number one indicator of school performance? Teachers. So why is it that less than 15% of UK school boards include an educator in their ranks? Why are school leaders missing out on key insights that could put their school on top for years to come? And what can be done about it?…

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Changing attitudes towards LGBT+ in the business world.

By Lin McDevitt-Pugh MBA Both June and August are Pride months. In June we celebrate a brave LGBT+ group who, in a bar in New York in 1969, were fed up with being attacked, derided and outcast so decided to stand up for their rights. August was then possibly tacked on because it’s the best…

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