Professor David Pendleton The U.K. government seems to be feeling the absence of its leader. At the start of the coronavirus emergency, a slew of actions were taken that seemed decisive. Information flowed, lockdown was announced, vast sums of money were put aside to help, all in a succession of actions that were designed to…
Category: Leadership
Personal leader resilience is key to navigate the current crisis and uncertain future.
Dr Caroline Rook Currently, the resilience of businesses is being tested to the limit. But also, leaders’ robustness and resilience are key now to enable organisations and their teams to operate in these current unprecedented, frightening times. Over the coming months, if not years, leaders not only might have to question and transform the way…
Coping in a crisis: routine, routine, routine
By Dr Rebecca Jones I have always been a big fan of routine. I generally find that having a routine helps me to form healthy habits and to get things done, therefore making me as efficient as I can be. Having a routine around things like exercise makes it easier to consistently achieve my goals…
An introduction to eco-coaching
Standing on the Ridgeway near West Kennet, Wiltshire a dark bank of clouds rolled towards us. The temperature plummeted and snow started to fall. We shivered, wrapped our jackets closer and adopted a slightly brisker pace as we walked back towards our parked cars; our coaching session nearly at its conclusion for the day. Suddenly…
What Should the Parties of the Centre-Left do Now?
This is not a party political piece. I am writing, as ever, about leadership since there are important leadership lessons here. They apply equally well to organisations, sports teams, political parties and others. In the face of failure, when the circumstances should have led to success, the critical next step is to learn but how…
What questions should be at the heart of leadership in a business school?
What is leadership for? This is not a new question, or an answered one. Academics have so many ways of framing responses to this question that managers may justly ask how they are supposed to know which one to study in order to become a good leader. So perhaps we need to think again. If…
A sad story
My nine year old came home from school today and said he was very upset. He told me that a group of his friends had been having a party at the house of a very posh friend and a few of them had been telling stories when one of the group started mocking another kid…
Ambition vs Gratitude
Dr Rebecca J Jones I have been thinking a lot recently about ambition. More specifically, where and how ambition can fit in with gratitude. In my younger years, I would say that perhaps my most defining characteristic was my ambition. I was hungry for success and had a laser sharp focus on achieving this. The…
Leadership takes time
Dr David Pendleton; Professor in Leadership, Henley Business School I teach leadership and regularly discuss the satisfactions and frustrations of leaders as they navigate their roles in busy organisations. There is a familiar pattern to several of these discussions. Organisations, rightly, seek to keep a tight rein on expenditure and staffing levels. An unforeseen consequence…
The Magic of Intellectual Curiosity
By Dr Amal Ahmadi I was at the Academy of Management annual meeting last week, where over 11,000 academics and practitioners gathered in Boston to discuss critical issues facing business leaders across the globe. I was fascinated by the power of intellectual curiosity and the range of ideas and insights presented at the conference, ultimately…
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