Category: #leadership

We shape our tools

“How do you find a good name for your start-up?” someone asked. “Hold it lightly – don’t overthink it. In the beginning you don’t even know what it is. As it starts to take shape it will start telling you what it wants to be called”, I said, almost sounding like I knew what I…
Things cannot be made simpler

I had the pleasure of tuning in to the initial keynote at ALTC23 by Anne-Marie Scott. She spoke about leadership in a crisis. I enjoyed a long conversation afterwards about all sorts of stories and journeys. I could learn a lot from Anne-Marie.
Reflective vs Reflexive Practice

I’ve been creating visual landscapes with people from the Chartered Institute of Professional Development recently, and in one of the conversations with Andy Lancaster, this interesting contrast arose… Reflective practice: where the learner reflects on what they have learnt and what it means to them; Reflexive practice: where the learner considers implications from what they…
Giving a public talk

I stumbled across this thread on twitter about the confidence required to give a public talk. Some of the responses reminded me of my own moment of clarity shortly before being due to speak: I realised that I was going to enjoy giving the talk. So, I think the roller coaster metaphor is a pretty…
Digital Transformation

Oh, when shall we have undergone our journey of digital transformation and reached the pot of gold at it’s end? When indeed. Digital transformation is not an event… This thought also emerged from a conversation with Louise Jones.
Culture of Innovation

In my humble experience, Innovation is often highlighted as a value, but rarely embedded in a culture. What does a culture of innovation look like? A culture where everyone’s perspective is valued and anyone can be involved in an idea. This thought emerged from a conversation with Louise Jones.
Our tools shape us

A library of code, a palette of brushes, a diary of thoughts, a schedule of plans, a smorgasbord of apps, a myriad of processes… Quote: John Culkin – “A schoolman’s guide to Marshall McLuhan” – via Doug Belshaw’s Thought Shrapnel.
The Starfish Model

I’ve come across a few versions of the Retrospective Starfish, but I saw it being used via twitter, and wondered why there wasn’t a likeable little starfish in the middle. So I drew one. Hello little fella… If you’re wondering what this model is all about – check out this blogpost: The Retrospective Starfish
Being a leader

There are a grazillion lists of leadership qualities compiled by those who seem to be able to exactly define what it takes to be a leader. Yet, in my experience, the ability to lead is a shape-shifting un-bottle-able mist. Nevertheless, here are four very general qualities that I reckon a good leader does indeed require, which…
A very carroty stick

What, me? Nooooooo, I’m definitely a carrot…
The Radical

Speak out. Listen. A radical must do both… I was first introduced to Paulo Freire by my wife, who asked me to create some illustrations for her PGCE presentation. It influenced what I now call conversational thinkery – articulating something with a person’s bias thrown in, giving you clues as to what the articulation might look like.…
Future kinds of work

How I work has changed massively over the past ten years. Okay, so now I draw pictures, whereas I used to write programs – or lead others to write programs. Probably the biggest change I’ve had is being exposed to Mozilla’s way of working. They corale creative communities using some very clever practices and technologies. And…