Tag Archive for: leadership

The Pause That Leads

I meet lots of different people.
A term I frequently hear them use is “𝐈’𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲”.
In fact, I hear it every day, many times over.
More recently however, I have started to hear a new phrase surface.
“𝑪𝒓𝒂𝒛𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒚”.
It seems busyness has reached a new level.
Is that you? How did it get this way?
It’s not wrong to get tired, or stressed or anxious, or even feel overwhelmed.
It not wrong to go through seasons where it feels like you are managing chaos, rather than moving with purpose…
Every one of us will pass through periods of complexity in our lives – it happens.
Those times when work simply accelerates, responsibilities layer on top of one another and our capacity to hold on to everything can feel like too much.
The question isn’t “Why am I feeling this way?”
A better question may be “What is this feeling trying to teach me?”
In leadership, we often speak about resilience, agility and capacity.
Yet before we know it, as expectations shift, demands increase and projects multiply, we aren’t leading anymore, we’re simply absorbing.
That’s when we need to slow down and take some time to think.
Take time to acknowledge the pressure, to set boundaries and choose presence over speed, creating a space not only for ourselves to breathe and reset, but also others too.
Its my experience that these seasons of “crazy busy” don’t define us, they simply 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 us.
Those times will pass, they always do.
We all need to slow down a little more, take some time to breathe, reset our boundaries and take some moments to recalibrate.
By taking some time to pause long enough and notice what’s happening within us, we can lead the way not from a point of exhaustion, but from a position of clarity and confidence.
As we do so, we give others the permission to do the same.
So, take that pause today, even a small one and let it steady you.
Let it bring you back to yourself, with a clearer mind, a calmer heart and a renewed sense of purpose.
What one shift would help you lead the way with more clarity and less chaos?

Drawn to Learn

One of the habits I’ve carried with me for a long time is having my head buried in personal and leadership development books.

Over the years, I’ve gathered countless ideas and insights through my reading, many of which have shaped my thinking, my coaching, and the way I show up.

In almost every learning session I facilitate, I take a small stack of these books along with me, that I feel relevant for the topics at hand.

I place them quietly at the front of the room, arranged at eye level, just visible enough to stir a little curiosity.

Surfacing Ideas

Whilst facilitating, a thought, a principle, or an idea often surfaces in the room as part of a discussion.

Frequently, I have noticed that somehow in those moments a memory is triggered – a storyline, a poem or a quote and I just quietly reach for the book, to share it with the group.

And without fail, at some point, perhaps during a break, after a reflective exercise, or on the way out the door, someone wanders up to me, half-whispering the same familiar question:

“Can I have a look at your books?”

There’s something lovely about that moment.

It’s a reminder that learning is magnetic.

People are drawn to ideas, stories, and tools that promise to help them become a little more than they were yesterday.

The books aren’t there to impress.

They’re there as a silent, open invitation.

A gentle nudge that says: There’s always more to uncover. More to question. More to grow into.

And perhaps that’s one of my favourite parts of facilitation, the quiet exchanges that don’t happen when I’m speaking, but when someone chooses to explore a new possibility for themselves.

Because sometimes all it takes is the right book in the right moment… placed in just the right spot.

What’s the next idea you need to explore to grow as a leader?

Lighter Hearts, Better Days…

I meet a lot of people.
Lots.
Politely they’ll ask me, “How are you?”
Over the years, I have tried many different responses…
You know the type…
“Good”… “fine”… “alright”… perhaps even an occasional “great”… “superb” or even “brilliant!”
You have probably tried a few of these yourself.
When I ask the question myself, regularly I get very similar replies.
Some years ago, dear friends gifted me a book written by George Durrant, entitled “My Best day so far.”
Of all the responses I now love to give is “its my best day so far…”
Listen out for it, when I meet you next.
It got me thinking however…
Recently in many facilitated workshops, at the very start of our sessions together, we slow down and check in with attendees asking them how they are feeling, to bring some clarity to their thinking.
We share a “feelings wheel” and ask them to consider how they are really doing as we begin the programme.
Over these last few months, I have heard many responses, including “excited, nervous, curious, anxious, enthusiastic etc…”
In the conversations that follow it’s clear that many arrive with light and buoyant hearts, whilst others are much heavier, often after a long day of travel.
What I’m learning is this: a light heart in leadership isn’t accidental, it’s chosen.
And more often than not, I’ve discovered it’s shaped by simple habits that quietly reveal themselves as we work together.
When we start with that kind of openness, groups breathe easier and conversations deepen.
I’ve learned that’s the best part of checking in with one another, it gives us permission to show up honestly and offers a gentle reminder that we don’t have to navigate the day with a heavy heart.
In fact, if we choose it to be, it really could be “my best day so far…”
What helps your own heart stay buoyant, even on the heavy days?

Shared Purpose, Individual Paths

This week I’ve been delivering to a senior group on the new Lead the Way programme with Aviva in Perth.
As the pace of delivery picks up for me, I’m starting to see the programme in a slightly different way, from the inside out.
More people are coming through the learning centre, more conversations are happening, and each session adds a deeper layer to my understanding of the learning outcomes.
What hit me most this week, is how different every group feels, even when the content is identical.
My co-facilitators and I often use the same stories, the same themes, and similar ways of framing ideas.
Yet the reactions and insights keep shifting. A point that sparks debate in one room lands quietly in another. And a topic that feels simple one day becomes the heart of a long discussion the next.
No two programmes ever seem to unfold in the same way.
Yesterday, I also noticed a few balloons from last week’s launch are still in the learning centre. They share the same space and purpose, but each one has its own colour and shape. A simple reminder that even with a shared programme, every person brings something different to the room.
It is a clear reminder that every person attending is unique.
Each delegate brings their own mix of experience, questions, confidence, and expectations. It also means that our approach as facilitators can never be that one size fits all.
The content doesn’t shift, but everyone brings it to life in their own way.
We have to notice what each participant needs, respond to the moment, and make space for each participant to think for themselves.
For me, leadership and coaching follow similar patterns.
Leadership begins with meeting people where they are.
Coaching grows from listening, adapting, and supporting the next step that fits them.
With every session, the more I see what matters most.
Content helps, but it is not the heart of the experience. The heart is seeing each person one by one, as they really are. That is where learning starts. That is where leadership grows.
How would your leadership change if you slowed down long enough to understand what each person needs?

Reality? Aye, Right!

Last night Scotland reminded the world that we do not qualify for tournaments, we survive them.
Somewhere between divine intervention, blind panic, and the national pastime of making simple things impossibly stressful, Scotland beat Denmark 4–2.
Somehow Scotland booked a place at a World Cup for the first time since 1998, taking a new generation into a different reality!
All they had to do was win.
So naturally, they scored a wonder overhead kick in the third minute, just to lure us into a false sense of comfort. Then they spent the next eighty-odd minutes proving once again that no team can snatch chaos from the jaws of death quite like Scotland.
Denmark equalised. Of course they did. Play offs looming. Blood pressure soaring. We were glued to the TV, unable to move. Denmark went down to ten men, which somehow made them look even better. Then Scotland poked in a second and for a brief moment it was 2-1.
Naturally, Denmark scored again and it was 2–2. Hampden and the whole nation groaned. Play offs back on the horizon. The clock hit injury time.
Then it happened. A wonder strike out of nowhere. 3–2.
Pandemonium. Absolute mayhem.
Seconds left, Denmark surged forward and looked dangerous again because Scotland do not believe in calm endings. The ball broke, and from the halfway line came a goal so absurd it felt like a glitch in reality. 4–2. Full time. The Nation collapsed in a joyful heap.
The commentator summed it up. “Nine forty-eight pm on Tuesday the eighteenth of November. We will never forget it.” Mainly because our nerves will never recover!
Scotland qualified the only way Scotland know how. The hard way. The torturous way! 😆
And we would not have it any other way, would we?!
Is there is a lesson in all this?
Coaching Scotland must be the purest test of leadership on the planet. It is not about strategy or a philosophy. It is managing a squad of talented players who insist on performing every match like a Hollywood thriller where nobody knows the script until the last thirty seconds.
Leading this team means keeping belief alive when the rest of us are hiding behind the couch. It is about steadying the nerves of a nation that has none left.
It is about turning mayhem into magic.
So, after a night that broke the laws of logic and possibly physics too, only one question remains.
If Scotland can rewrite reality, what excuse do the rest of us have?

The Slowless Society

Earlier this week, a nasty bug forced me to slow down and spend a couple of days in bed.
On the upside, it allowed me some time to think.
And I realised something once more…
In our modern world, everything around us is designed for speed, at full throttle: fast answers, fast success, fast solutions, fast change, fast communications and fast paced results!
All in an instant!
Our phones, computers and tablets buzz constantly with the latest message and update – my own devices were merrily beeping around me.
Faster and faster and faster.
More scrolling, less living.
We live in what I’m now calling a 𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚.
I turned to one of my favourite scriptures for grounding – Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God”.
Yet in our world there is a strong allergy towards stillness.
More noise, less His voice.
Hurry grows; clarity goes, whilst complexity swirls around us.
We’ve moved from that older “microwave mentality or mindset” to something I fear is far more pervasive.
Simply stated, it is the belief that everything meaningful in life should arrive instantly, without delay, without effort, and certainly without patience.
But my experience is that the soul doesn’t work at microwave speed.
Neither does growth.
Nor discipleship, leadership, healing, or even wisdom.
All of these require time.
And time is one of the greatest gifts we are given, but one that we so rarely honour.
Our Slowless Society pushes us to hurry, to rush, to skip the process, and to become frustrated when life doesn’t heat up in 60 seconds.
It was good to be forced to slow down and be still.
My realisation was this…
Speed steals what stillness reveals.
It’s not about speed, it’s about intention.
What might stillness reveal if I made space for it today?

Bouncing Back

This week reminded me that life has a funny way of keeping us grounded… sometimes literally.
On Monday, I was present at the official launch of the brand-new Learning Centre at Aviva in Perth, and I was fortunate to co-facilitate one of the very first sessions in the new facility.
The excitement in the building was fantastic, after months of work finally came to life. New rooms, new tech, new possibilities.
Meanwhile back at home, things were a little different. My poor wife Monic took suddenly unwell that very morning. We thought it might have been something from the weekend in the Netherlands… and by the time I got home that evening with all the family together to celebrate Cristi’s birthday, I was down with it too… 🤨
A rough 24 hours, to say the least!
What we first thought was potentially food poisoning soon felt much more like a norovirus, the sort that leaves you just completely wiped out.

A little wobble…

Thankfully, a few days later I’m back on my feet, but my brilliant co-facilitator had to deliver a two-day programme on her own. Thank you, Jodi, and thanks too to the team members who stepped in to cover the latter half of the week. I’m very grateful.
It reminded me that leadership isn’t always about being the one at the front of the room.
Resilience isn’t always about pushing through. Sometimes it’s about resting when you need to, trusting others when you must, and bouncing back when you’re able.
Life brings these little wobble moments of unexpected highs, plus unexpected lows, yet each one teaches us something if we let it.
I’m simply grateful to be feeling a little better today… and grateful for the people around me who carry things forward when I can’t.
Here’s to new beginnings, good colleagues, recovering strength, and the quiet courage it takes to keep going.
I also sincerely hope I never passed the bug onto any others!
Where in your life do you need to slow down, trust someone else, or simply take a breath in order to come back stronger?

When Love Leads

With the recent passing of President Russell M. Nelson, we have seen some changes in the senior leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It caused me to reflect upon some moments that I have had with them.
I love and sustain President Dallin H. Oaks, and those who have been called as prophets, seers, and revelators in these latter days.
A few years ago, Monic and I had some personal experiences with President Oaks that have remained deeply etched in our hearts. Moments that we cherish and will remember forever.

Genuine Love

What touched us most was his kindness and quiet strength, as well as a spirit of humility and meekness that seemed to surround him. There was a warmth in his presence, a gentleness in his manner, and a genuine love that could be deeply felt.
He led with conviction, yet always with a Christlike compassion that touched every heart around him.
I testify that he, and all who are called to serve as prophets of God, are endowed with divine gifts and guidance. As we listen to their counsel and align our lives with the teachings of Jesus Christ, we will find peace, direction, and an increased capacity to love and serve others.
The key is to follow the Living Prophet.

Hearken

The Lord blesses us when we hearken to the voice of His chosen servants. Their messages invite us to come unto Christ and truly live.
I know that Heavenly Father reveals knowledge and truths to His children on earth through His servants the prophets. In Amos 3:7 we read “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”
Are you troubled by the turmoil in the world today?
If your heart feels heavy, if life seems uncertain, or if you’re simply searching for greater light, joy, and purpose, please don’t give up the search.
Turn to the words of living prophets. Explore these revealed truths for yourself. Listen with faith and let their inspired counsel lift and guide you.
I love and support President Dallin H. Oaks as he stands as a living witness and mouthpiece of the Lord Jesus Christ, a humble servant through whom God’s love and direction reaches all of humankind.
My invitation is to come and listen to a prophet’s voice and discover the peace that only Christ can bring.
Speak with our missionaries today.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Moments That Move Us

I’ve been so focused on facilitation and delivery lately that I almost forgot how easy it is to lose track of what really moves people.

However, a recent experience reminded me of a moment in a workshop from a few years ago.

It taught me a simple truth… Thoughts shape emotions. Emotions drive action.

I recall the energy in the room was buzzing. Everyone was engaged, leaning in. Then, something shifted.

One participant, quiet until then, spoke up: “I can relate to that.”

And just like that, the tears came.

The tone changed instantly. We’d already built a space of psychological safety that day, but this moment, this raw, real moment – cut through even deeper.

The room stilled. Everyone listened.

As this person opened up, they stepped into a deeply vulnerable space. And by doing so, they pulled us in with them. In that fleeting moment, you could feel the silence, it wasn’t awkward, it felt sacred.

No one said a word.

Then it happened.

The people sitting closest reached out, not with words, but with a simple, human touch. A hand on the shoulder. A nod. A connection.

In that instant, the group wasn’t just a room of individuals.

We were one.

United.

Present.

Together.

That one moment changed the whole workshop. And I’ve carried it with me ever since.

These turning points, the ones that really teach us something meaningful, don’t come with warning signs. They show up unannounced. But when they do, welcome them. Lean in. Let them shape you.

Because those are the moments that matter.

Is there someone you can reach out to today?

Bruised, But Not Broken

It all started so promisingly.
Arriving early at Murrayfield yesterday, for the friendly rugby international, Scotland v USA on a lovely evening in Edinburgh.
Amilya, Hazel and I were excited.
The build up was loud with a DJ in action pumping up the volume.
A lot of pride was in the air with our respective national anthems – the Star-Spangled Banner and Flower of Scotland.
We were all set for the action to unfold!
I did warn my two American friends that it could be rather one sided!
It was only a few minutes before Scotland scored, then again and again and again.
By half time it was 45 – 0.
By full time it was 85 – 0, sweeping aside the USA for their biggest ever Murrayfield win.
I don’t think anybody attending the match thought Scotland were ever in any danger of losing, but the scale of Scotland’s win was impressive.
And depending on your perspective, it may feel brutal, even a little unfair.
What struck me though about the Americans was they didn’t quit!
They kept tackling, kept resetting, kept showing up.
Outmatched, yes – but not undone.
Such a humbling defeat isn’t easy for anyone to accept.
Despite the loss, it was fun watching Amilya and Hazel, they had a great time in a stadium that rocked from start to finish.

Compelled to be Humble

Sometimes we are compelled to be humble – and yesterday was one of those days for the American rugby team.
It reminded me of this verse from the Book of Mormon:
“And now, because ye are compelled to be humble, blessed are ye.” – Alma 32:13
That kind of humility, the kind we don’t choose, but are forced into, can feel a little rough.
Embarrassing, possibly even unfair.
But in a gospel sense in God’s eyes, it’s still an opening, it’s still a beginning.
Because what matters isn’t how we were humbled, rather what matters is what we choose to do next.
So, the question I’m asking myself this Sunday morning is:
When life humbles me, do I let it shape me? Or just shame me?