Identifying and nurturing talent is integral to great leadership. I’m not talking about the McKinsey ‘war on talent’ approach which suggests that talent is restricted to a select group of individuals for whom all companies must fight tooth and nail to be successful. I’m talking about the latent talent that lies within… Read More »The Blind Side guide to nurturing talent
Ever wonder why some people seem hungry to develop and improve, while others … don’t? They may be hungry to get promoted of course, but less keen to develop the skills they need to get there. Maybe you’ve even fallen into this trap yourself? A few years ago, I was… Read More »Why mindset is key to development
Despite being over 60 years old, Twelve O’Clock High is apparently still required viewing at U.S. service academies and training schools. While many movies have valuable leadership lessons, few are about the very nature of leadership itself. Twelve O’Clock High is different. It’s a movie that reveals both the power and… Read More »Is Twelve O’Clock High the definitive leadership movie?
With the cinematic release of Star Trek Into Darkness, it seems a good time to recall the conversation from JJ Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek which turns the life of the delinquent young James T Kirk. Captain Pike’s short chat with a beaten-up Kirk following a bar brawl, shown below, is… Read More »The leadership conversation that ignites a Star Trek icon
With the release of Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, interest in the famous American President has never been higher. In Lead like Lincoln, I highlighted five key leadership lessons I personally took from the movie. Many other writers have identified additional lessons, both from the movie and the man himself. Mark Crowley’s… Read More »More leadership lessons from Lincoln
Marvel’s Avengers Assemble set the cinema box office alight in 2012, racing to become the third highest grossing movie of all time. And team dynamics is central to Joss Whedon’s record-breaking movie. To face a global threat, Nick Fury, director of international peacekeeping agency S.H.I.E.L.D., assembles a group of superheroes in… Read More »Team dynamics – Avengers style!
One of the things many new leaders find most difficult is delegation: trusting your team to do a job you may feel you can do better yourself. But hard as it is, it’s essential to becoming a good leader. In his new book Do Nothing, J Keith Murnighan argues that many… Read More »Why trust is key to great leadership
As leaders, a key part of our role is to develop and grow our people. Everyone wants to grow, right? Do well in life? So what holds them back? Coach Carter is one film that explores this question. It tells the true story of high school basketball coach Ken Carter… Read More »Break the bonds that stop your people from growing