Henley Blogs

Career sustainability and the purpose of education

Dr David Pendleton, Professor in Leadership, Henley Business School Eight years ago, I was sitting at a large dining table in a private dining room in the St Louis Club, having just arrived from the UK via Chicago. I was surrounded by 20 of the great and the good from that fabled midwestern city who…

Why should we stop playing down ageism at work?

By Tatiana Rowson I was recently part of a diversity conversation, and the issue of age was brushed off as too complex to be part of the discussion. I agree that age (and ageism) at work is a complex subject, and this is not only a diversity issue but an occupational health and wellbeing issue…

Are you an authentic leader?

I was privileged to be on the first cohort of the MA Leadership at Henley Business School between June 2016 and April 2018. It was an amazing experience having the opportunity to study leadership and implementing my learning in my organisation. The biggest takeaway for me personally though was learning how to lead authentically, in…

Fragile – Resilient – Anti-fragile

We hear a lot about building resilience, whether that is in organisational systems or individuals. Resilience, in the dictionary is defined as ‘the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity’. For a person, it is defined as ‘the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness’. Resilience means knowing how to…

How to support healthy performance in a technology-based remote workforce?

We are all experiencing it: Remote working has advantages for integrating work and life demands but also creates challenges for health and performance. I like the flexibility of working from home but I miss my commute! The time to disconnect from work and some quiet time before taking charge of home life. I miss my…

Before, now, and after: The pandemic impact on working mothers

Mother’s Day was observed in the UK on Sunday, but one wonders: have working mothers in Britain many reasons to celebrate? In late January, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in the House of Commons: “We owe mums everywhere an enormous debt of thanks for doing the enormously difficult job of juggling childcare and work at this…

What a past presidency can teach us about the future of leadership

Rather uncomfortable – we as an active part of the Trump leadership phenomenon? A first uncomfortable thought. How much of the Trump phenomenon is in all of us, at work, in our leadership or community behaviour? Have you, at times, subordinated everything, including some of your values, to winning? A leisurely approach to accountability? Economical…

Trump’s pardons and medieval grants of mercy

In his final hours as American President, Donald Trump has made headlines by issuing pardons – but did you know the power has its roots in English history? Professor Adrian R Bell from Henley Business School and colleagues Helen Lacey (University of Oxford) and Andrew Prescott (University of Glasgow) explain. US President Donald Trump’s final…

Back to normal like before Covid-19? No way!

For managers, politicians, employees, friends “Back to normal” seems to be the new outlook after a first vaccine is out and more to come. Understandably many seem to be obsessed with normal in current times. Well, it is either normal or unprecedented. Did we really think this was normal and do we want to go…

Biden his time

My dear friend John Rishton has an aphorism: commentary is easy, leadership is hard. John has been there. He was CEO of two major international organisations and FD of another. He knows the truth of what he has said. The USA presidential election is demonstrating the validity of the principle. The airwaves are now buzzing…