Entries with tag leadership .

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Blair McPherson
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14 Apr 2024 - 15:47

null I am the Question not the Answer 

Organisations look to leaders for the answers but effective leaders ask questions. Good questions. Good question prompt others to focus on the right things and come up with solutions.  Blair McPherson former director author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk 
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Blair McPherson
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08 Feb 2024 - 14:28

null The opposite of a dysfunctional team is not a nice team

He was a very nice man but an ineffective leader. She was abrasive, opinionated and intolerant of those less experienced.  Together they frustrated and annoyed the rest of the team.   In a dysfunctional team people just don’t get on, they don’t respect the leaders authority and they don’t rate each others abilities. They don’t agree on much, the leader can’t establish a consensus on... See more
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Blair McPherson
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01 Feb 2024 - 15:50

null Be curious

Tattooed on the arm of every Cnief Executive and Council Leader, Portfolio holder and senior manager.   Be curious, ask the right questions, if the rumours persist investigate them.     Blair Mcpherson former director author and blogger www.blaimcpherson.co.uk 
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Blair McPherson
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16 Jan 2024 - 16:19

null Of course leadership makes a difference but does it make The difference. 

 “ I’m not afraid of an army of lions lead by sheep. I am afraid of an army of sheep lead by lions.”  Alexander the Great. But maybe he should have been a little afraid.  Poor leadership can make organisations less effective, wast talent, miss opportunities, and fritter away resources but can good leadership compensate for inadequate resources, lack of a talent pool, incomplete... See more
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Blair McPherson
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12 Jan 2024 - 11:48

null I never sleep well on a Sunday 

For an increasing number of people the working week starts on a Sunday evening.That’s when they look at their diary for the weekend ahead. It’s when they start to think about work. What needs to be done before which meetings, actions to chase up, reports to write and reports to have read in advance. It’s when people can’t put off any longer checking their emails. Not just the ones they didn’t... See more
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Blair McPherson
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09 Jan 2024 - 14:20

null Follow from the front 

It sounds like a contradiction but it really just means take what the leader says and apply the underlying values and principles to the circumstances and situation you and your team find your self in. But do it with enthusiasm and conviction even if you don’t feel it.    Management is different to leadership but managers are increasingly expected to be more than passive... See more
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Blair McPherson
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08 Dec 2023 - 12:36

null Good leaders never overlook human collateral damage. 

“Explain to me why it is more noble to kill 10,000 men in battle than a dozen at dinner?” Tywin Lannister ( Game of Thrones) says in defence of that infamous Red Wedding ambush. This statement sums up his fatal flaw as a leader.He can’t see what’s wrong with murdering a pregnant woman at a wedding. All he sees is the result. Good leaders never overlook human collateral damage. They... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
13 Nov 2023 - 20:23

null The lion king, the jackals and the bull

In the Panchantantra animal fables from India cunning, strategy and amorality often overcome all opposition. The good guys don’t always win.( Sometimes it’s not even clear who the good guys are). Which is why these stories seem so relevant to a Local Authority audience.  " One day the lion king was frightened by a roaring noise in the forest, which the jackals knew was the sound of a... See more
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Blair McPherson
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13 Oct 2023 - 14:17

null I would do anything out of loyalty but I won’t do that! 

I like to think I was loyal to my manager but if they resigned on a matter of principle I can’t image I would also resign in support. I would do anything out of loyalty but I won’t do that. I will stand by unpopular decisions. I will challenge anyone who criticises the boss/organisation. I will be enthusiastic and positive  even when things are bad. I will stay when others decide they have... See more
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Blair McPherson
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08 Oct 2023 - 11:37

null Go Bold or tread cautiously 

Is changed best secured through radicalism , inspiration and impatience or pragmatic , cautious and gradual? Because there is no middle way.  Assuming of course you have a choice which often is not the case as driven by events and the ambitions of an impatient board you go full steam ahead. Most leaders would recognise that whilst there is no middle way success is far more likely if the... See more
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Blair McPherson
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25 Sep 2023 - 11:52

null It’s about convincing people it’s possible 

I wish I could remember the name of the piece. It was played on an acoustic guitar by a popular  folk /jazz guitarist of the 70’s. This was an instrumental piece noted for the speed and dexterity of the playing. Some years latter I heard an interview with the artist who was asked how he developed the technic. His reply was both interesting and shocking. He said we cheated. In the studio I... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
16 May 2023 - 12:18

null No consensus 

   The best managers seek consensus but recognise when the pursuit is being abused. I had a colleague on the senior management team who seemed to delight in frustrating the rest of the team every meeting. There was always one agenda item where she was at odds with the rest of the us. Rather than curtail the discussion and go with the majority the boss would seek consensus and the... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
01 Apr 2023 - 06:41

null Bear shaving

Aimed at those who dismiss the problem of global warming as exaggerated an activist responded by saying they supposed critics would see the answer to bears dying of heat exhaustion as shaving off their fur. The expression , “bear shaving “ has come to mean proposing superficial solutions rather than tackling the real problem. And there is plenty of evidence of organisations doing just... See more
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Blair McPherson
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26 Dec 2022 - 12:39

null Good advice from Richard Branson

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” “Respect is how to treat everyone, not just those you want to impress.” “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don't want to.” Richard Branson 
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Blair McPherson
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29 Nov 2022 - 10:37

null Your ever so humble public servant 

I once worked for a boss who was fond of telling people he felt privileged to be a Director of social services. Echoing that same ever so humble sentiment. Had the term been prevalent at the time he would probably have seen himself as a servant leader. He wasn’t.  Servant Leadership sounds like a contradiction in terms. A servant is someone who does the bidding of... See more
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Blair McPherson
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21 Jul 2022 - 08:13

null Top Gun and the Maverick Manager

  Thundering rock music,  super sonic jet fighters and a central character who is a rebel with a need for speed, Top Gun gives a lot of bangs for your bucks. But why are senior management always portrayed as out of touch, overly bureaucratic , risk adverse, stuffed shirts. I would like to see a film or t.v.series where senior management is the hero. The pitch to the commissioning... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
28 May 2022 - 10:57

null Leadership like a submarine 

Rarely seen, silent on most issues, assumed to be getting on with it, ignoring what’s going on around them, isolated from the rest of the world/organisation. But requiring us to trust them. Not really leadership.  Blair Mcpherson former director, author and blogger www.blairmcpherson.co.uk 
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
26 May 2022 - 14:27

null In charge but not in control 

Who is in charge is a question that comes up a lot at work in all types of organisations. At one stage in my management career I was responsible for 83 Nursing and Residential  care Homes. Before we changed their job titles each Home had an Officer in Charge. This type of institutional care regularly throws up scandals involving abuse and neglect and routinely involves allegations of... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
07 Jun 2022 - 07:04

null It’s Shangri-la and you are the legend at its centre 

“ Where everyone of us has the chance to make a mark and shape the future. Where senior managers are a catalyst for this change. Energising the people who can make it happen. At the centre of everything you will inspire passion. You instil courage. You bring the heart of a leader. “ It’s an advert for the organisation’s top post. It’s an advert that tells you what... See more
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Blair McPherson
wrote a new blog post
21 Mar 2022 - 16:42

null Fear,  Favour , Fortune 

It’s the 50 th anniversary of The Godfather probable the most famous and many would say the best film about the mafia. Films and t.v. series set in the world of organised crime are often referred to in articles  to illustrate the principles of effective business thus spicing up what otherwise might be rather dull academic accounts. In any discussion about leadership, strategy,... See more
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