Change of Energy

In the Northern hemisphere we have just passed the Autumn Equinox, when the days start getting shorter again.  In nature it is the time of harvest and preparing for the new.  

I decided a long time ago to attune my own process of evolution to mirror the cycles of nature.  We all have innate potential that is seeded in us and wants to express itself.  We are a part of nature and at some level are coded to its rhythms of transformation and transition.

Ending A Chapter And Beginning A New One

Traditionally, we celebrate January as the time of new beginnings with our new year resolutions.  But we forget that in nature the process starts much earlier than that.  

In nature, September/October/November are a time of harvest, endings and reorganising - when we collect the bounty of the last year, complete this chapter and move on to prepare the soil for the new crop.  

So this is a time to harvest what you have...

Here are a few extracts from past blogs that I thought you would find useful to take care of yourself and reconnect over the summer.  See it as creating your very own mini-retreat.

Which Type Of Rest?

In our society, it is a badge of honour to always be switched on and ‘out there’.

So it feels like an act of courage to say:’ I am taking some time out to rest and to just 'be' for a while’. To rest not just your body - but also your mind, heart and soul.

A while back I saw this social media post I loved about 9 types of rest:

1. Time Away

2. Permission to not be helpful

3. Something ‘unproductive’

4. Connection to art and nature

5. Solitude to recharge

6. A break from responsibility

7. Stillness to decompress

8. Safe space

9. Alone time at home

Most of us can relate to sleep, holiday, ‘me’ time or going out into nature to recuperate. We know about those... even if we don’t always do them. But I find this a useful checklist for...

A Next Generation Leader is someone who feels called to contribute from their inspiration, purpose and humanity. They are naturally drawn to embody more humane values. They often don't really see themselves as leaders.  But they want to somehow make the world a better place.

The Untapped Potential of A Next Generation Leader

One of my favorite quotes is: 'If you feel like you don't fit into the world you inherited it is because you were born to help create a new one.' (Ross Caligiuri)

This applies perfectly to Next Generation leaders. Their potential is to lead the charge to a new sustainable loving world where we can all flourish. They have the innate ability to catalyse that new world into being. Bringing new blueprints for how we live and work on this planet. They are not here to maintain the status quo. They are here to evolve it.

Reluctant leaders, they are often not aware of their power. Unconscious as to what they are made for, they focus on fitting into the...

I have heard many people around me talk about feeling emotional, tired, unfocused, unbalanced, ungrounded. Some are even skirting burn out. I don’t know where you are at. But I wanted to address that. Within this period lies a gift. But we need to know how to invite it in.

Make Time For Process

The last few months with Covid have been challenging to say the least. At best stressful. At worst traumatic. We have been dealing with its physical and economic effects. Now it’s time to address its psychological effects.

Our body waits until an extreme stress or traumatic event is over to process it. So you might think that the mental impact would have come during lockdown. But actually our system will wait until the end of lockdown to process it properly. So it is important to watch out for the signs of that.

Signs can take different forms. Feeling emotional and not really knowing why. Feeling intensely angry or sad. Feeling exhausted and having no motivation. Difficulty...

I was asked recently what a next generation leader was. So here goes...

I believe that we are at a pivotal moment in human history. That we are being called to upgrade our operating system on the planet. My big vision is that we finally find the courage to make the shift to a sustainable world where we all flourish.

Next Generation Leaders are the ones who will lead us there.  

Voicing The Gap

How this idea started is that I realised how ill equipped traditional leaders are for this.

My background is in leadership and career development. A few years back I toyed with the idea of abandoning leadership development. I could feel the gap between my version of leadership and what companies were wanting. In parallel, I was experiencing this intense frustration (ok let’s call it what it was... a mixture of anger and powerlessness) at how leaders were showing up and what they were creating out in the world.

I was then luckily asked to support a department of change makers...

We have known for a while that our operating model on the planet is not fit for purpose. Deep down we knew that a system upgrade would come. What if this is the reset point we have been waiting for?

The work that I do centers around pivotal moments. Those times when you question your life and how you have been living it. When you feel called to review the blueprint of what you have created. When you yearn for a profound shift to something more fulfilling, meaningful and impactful.

At a pivotal moment you realise that you have got off track. That you have lost yourself in the chase for external success. It is a bit like a faulty software gone mad. You think it is serving you, and then you suddenly realise it isn’t getting you what you need at all.

The antidote is realigning to your potential, purpose and leadership. To your original operating blueprint. A bit like pressing reset on your computer.

I have been wondering recently ... What if this is a pivotal moment for...

Einstein said that we can’t solve a problem by using the same level of consciousness that created it. I hear people ask: ’Are we just going to go back to normal. I am not sure I want to. So what do we do now?’

For a new level of consciousness to emerge in the world now, we need leaders who will inspire to new possibilities. To change the ways we treat ourselves, each other and the planet, we need leaders to create a new operating model. To build a more caring and sustainable world, we need leaders who will show us what that looks like.

So Where Are These New Leaders?

These new potential leaders exist but they aren’t showing up. Often they don’t see themselves as leaders. They wait for the cavalry made up of other people to come. Forgetting what is for them to do. Lulled into the false sense of security of the comfort zone, they lose the sense of urgency of our times. One day they think...

Or as we were discussing in one of our Academy calls recently,...

How are you doing? Like really...

Here, and talking to clients, there are good days and bad days...

Today the clouds are just hanging out on the mountains - like fluffy cotton hugs cajoling the peaks. The misty cover comes and goes. One minute you see clearly, the next all is invisible.

As I watch, I am pondering what comes next?

This sentence keeps playing in my mind: ‘The future is not what is going to happen, but what we make it.’

At the beginning of the year it all seemed so clear. I started the year with a real high - being invited to speak at the House of Switzerland during Davos 2020. I talked about what it really takes to become a next generation leader - the Visionary, the Disruptor, the Change Maker who will create the sustainable world of tomorrow where we all flourish.  And the steps that all of us can take to become that kind of leader.   

Emerging Into New Vision

Now it’s a bit like those peaks and those clouds. Vision was hidden...