By using Power Listening as a technique we enable people to do their best thinking. We model behaviours they can readily replicate in their own teams. We create impact beyond impact. And that’s the role of the catalytic leader.

Most people have experienced imposter syndrome at some point in their adult life. It creeps up in many forms.

You can feel imposter syndrome after getting a promotion or landing a great job – it’s that sudden turn around look at everyone else sense – I’m different, I’m not like these people, How did I get here and most importantly When will they find out I’m a fraud

this blog looks at the value of buildin critical friendships into your leadership style

Although leaders generally buy in to the principle that people are the company’s greatest asset, behaviours don’t always seem to match that belief. Studies by Gallup show that productivity and commitment of employees is significantly increased not necessarily by paying more but by acknowledgement of their contribution.

Leaders turning their relationship with staff into a parent-child relationship shouldn’t really have been surprised to find either minor rebellions on their hands or actually and worse, somewhat sullen disenchanted workers.

Talent Magnets undoubtedly make for great leaders that are attractive to work for. That could be attracting people from outside the organisation. But the starting ground for a talent magnet to practice on and prove their credentials is getting this right on home turf. Do that and the talent magnet has a whole cohort of disciples at their disposal who go out evangelising about how this place allows them to do their best work and feel valued.

Vision is the ultimate source of all leadership. Optimism is vision girded for battle. Optimism can be a shape-shifting and protean force, moving like water past all obstacles, breaking a path of love, expressed in courage

We’re at that famous inflection point with technological change where the topics we’re often trying to figure out as organisations have moved on but our management and leadership styles are still trying to catch up. And feel sorry for the junior Hippos because someone just pulled the rug out from underneath them, having been raised on the seniority track for some time to be told that now their opinion doesn’t count.

Some catalytic leaders devote a day a month to field trips – everyone in the team goes out exploring, whether physically or online and brings back from their safari a plethora of ideas, questions, photos, observations that fuels not just a better understanding of what’s out there but also the creative spark to imagine better.

For our downward dogs, the ego is quite central. Dogs were often raised in the competitive pack mentality searching for the alpha and now they’re it and not letting go. Whether an alpha with stripes on their shoulders or an alpha with lots of knowledge, when a new idea is introduced, their judgement on the idea is critical as often is their approval.

For catalytic energy it’s not about living within these outer worlds, it’s about enabling, motivating and enthusing those people within your immediate circle to push outwards. And as necessary to push outwards through others as well. So you start to get a movement going. And a little bit of you, a tiny little bit of you exists in those outer worlds but that’s not really the point. The point is people went off to explore and do amazing things in those outer worlds because you made it happen. an idea.