Resources
Culture, at its core, is how we do things around here. The behaviour leadership tolerates directly impacts the organisation’s culture and, in turn, its long-term performance. Organisations invest heavily in crystallising and codifying culture, identifying the core values that will hopefully sustain it. Yet the codified and lived versions are often very different. Culture is […]
Inspired by Patrick Lencioni’s The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business In The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni argues that organisational health can provide a significant competitive advantage. Beyond strategy, expertise and intelligence, healthy organisations are characterised by leadership alignment, clarity, consistency and an environment in which people understand what matters and how they […]
Question: In my team, there is a high performer with poor behaviour. Do I address it, or protect performance? Answer: You should address it. Protecting performance at the expense of behaviour almost always costs you more in morale, retention, and long-term output than it gains in short-term results. More importantly, condoning toxic behaviour will undermine your legitimacy […]
I was recently working from a coffee shop, and while sipping my coffee, I happened to see a group of the senior leadership of this establishment walk into the area for a quick “coffee catch-up meeting”. I don’t want to say that I was eavesdropping (giggles), but in my defence, they chose to have the […]
Question: How do I stay professional when I feel frustrated or overwhelmed? Answer: For me, professionalism begins with emotional maturity; recognising that I can experience frustration, pressure or overwhelm without allowing those emotions to dictate how I respond to others. I do not need to suppress the emotion; I need to manage myself within it. Pause, […]
Question: My team is anxious about ongoing changes. How do I keep morale steady? Answer: Change is often a source of anxiety, firstly because it’s not welcome, and secondly because we’re not in control of much of it. It is also an everyday reality for most teams in organisations, since change happens frequently. There are […]
Comment on the article by Sean Hagger, Managing Director [International], Legitimate Leadership: Leaders are only really tested when they are personally under pressure. During times of change, transformation, or external turbulence, leadership really earns its stripes. The test they are passing is a question of character rather than skill. Are they prepared to do the […]
Back in November 2025, I spent two days at the Telford International Centre with 900 healthcare procurement and supply chain professionals for the HCSA Annual Conference & Exhibition. Since then, I’ve been travelling and working in the USA and South Africa, which has given me time to reflect on what was a truly great conference […]
Question: How do I give feedback without demotivating my team? Answer: Here’s the thing: the question itself contains a hidden assumption worth unpacking. Most people asking this are focused on the how of feedback. But whether feedback motivates or demotivates has far less to do with technique than most leaders think. It comes down to one […]
This article was originally written by Stefaan van den Heever in 2018. Nearly two decades later, his observation that coaching alone cannot drive lasting change feels more relevant than ever. I have been an executive coach since 2007. It is work I love deeply; there is something profoundly privileged about holding up a clear, unfiltered […]