John's Blog

Making decisions can be tough. From small decisions, such as what to have for breakfast, to life-changing decisions, like which career path to take or whether to start a family, making choices can be stressful. Our choices can have a significant impact on our lives, and it’s essential to make informed and thoughtful decisions that align with our values and beliefs. One way to make decision-making easier is by using your values as a guide. What are values? Values are the ethical and moral principles that an individual deems important and holds dear. They influence the decision-making process and shape the behaviours and actions of individuals. Values can be intrinsic, meaning they are an inherent part of an individual's personality, or they can be learned and developed through personal experiences and cultural, societal, or religious influences. Values are an essential aspect of an individual's identity and play a crucial role in guiding decision-making and behaviour. Identifyin...

It will come as no surprise to someone climbing the Leadership Ladder that leaders have to sacrifice in order to succeed! The glamorous image people have of leadership hides the fact that leaders are called to give up more than anyone else in order to stay up the ladder as a leader. The higher you climb as a leader, the greater the sacrifice you will be called to make. Leadership is marked by true living sacrifices. New and budding leaders often falter when they discover the types of sacrifices they need to make and their growth path changes from one of leadership to one of dictatorship. Here is a brief list of sacrifices a leader will be called to make on their path to success:

Like a strong man in a Truck Pulling Contest – Leadership is hard to get started! The strong man leans into the braces with his full weight, taking small, but strong steps to just get the truck rolling. Once it starts to move, keeping the truck rolling is a lot simpler. It the same way, starting your team off will take all the strength you have, but will get easier as you roll along.

Relentless dedication to winning separates the successful leader from the crowd. Whether success is correcting a social wrong like Ghandi, or cornering a segment of the I.T. Market to earn millions like Bill Gates, you commitment must be energetic, unforgiving and never-ending until victory is in the bag! Great leaders all have this in common: They are unwilling to accept anything less than pure VICTORY! The alternative to winning is totally unacceptable and foreign to them, driving them to find the path to success

<< Leadership AVOID being a NEEDY Leader! Leader is almost synonymous with Role Model. People look to Leaders to set an example, to lead the way. People draw strength and encouragement from leaders. So, the pressure is on the Leader to be reliable, consistent and to act with integrity.  Imagine the devastation and harm a needy leader could cause. When a leader decides that their own worth and value is based on the position they hold, they quickly descend into a dark place that makes leadership ugly. Manipulative, controlling and praise-seeking become hallmarks of a needy leader. Even good people walk on a slippery slope that could take them into the role of a needy leader. So, how does a well-meaning leader avoid becoming needy?

8 Universal Life Skills (everyone should have) There is no doubt that the world we live and its inhabitants are changing. Professional communication, access to information, more contact with diverse groups of people; are just three ways over the last decade in which the demands on each person personally has changed. Adaptability was an ability that was favoured, but has become an essential life skill to ensure personal survival in this ever changing world.

6 Steps to Engaged Leadership Whether you are arranging your own life for success, or rallying the energy and enthusiasm of a team, it is important that you and your team are fully engaged in the process.  According to Wikipedia, Engage means: 1. occupy or attract (someone's interest or attention).  2. Participate or become involved in and   3. (With reference to a part of a machine or engine) move into position so as to come into operation. As a leader focused on achievement of a vision, you will require yourself and your team members to be interested in the vision, you will require them to participate or be involved in the active achievement of the vision by moving into an operational position that will make them fruitful. Engaging people is no easy task as approximately 77% of people are disengaged from their own lives and careers. Getting people interested and involved is the single hardest task for a leader that never stops. The six steps to Engaged Lea...

4 Dream Killers for Potential Leaders and Winners With so many people content to live inside the box of Averagedom, it must be comfortable and appealing, right? Yet, studies show that more than 47% of people are discontent with their life and personal achievements. If so many people are unhappy with who they are and what they have achieved, why don’t they do something about it? Is the box so rewarding that people settle for second best for their lives? Or are the obstacles that prevent people from getting out the box so powerful?  It is true; many people choose to remain average throughout their lives. Although there are many reasons for people to stay inside, this article explores 4 difficulties people have trying to get out of the box. These are not the only reasons people struggle to break free from mediocrity, but they offer an insight to the most common barriers to success for potential leaders and winners.

Groups vs. Teams A leader will emerge as a team gathers to accomplish any sort of objective. A handful of key principles will assist a leader to lay a good foundation for his or her personal leadership style. The leader should also understand the phases of a developing team, understand what is required to keep the team on track. A working knowledge of the difference between a group and a team will help the leader identify where the team is in the development process.

5 Steps to turn your Group into a High Performance Team All teams are a group, but not all groups are teams. In order to understand this opening statement it is important to understand the dynamics and definition of a group, and of a team. A Group is a collection of people that have come together, joined by a common cause. A Team is a collection of people, already united by a common cause, and have a common objective or goal to achieve.

5 Tips for Leadership Development Evaluation In my quest to learn, grow and share leadership traits, techniques and tips, I recently attended a conference, my first in many years. Several speakers took to the stage, sharing their secrets of success. Each one had a turn on the stage whipping the crowd into frenzied excitement with dance moves, power chants and positive affirmations. I walked away disappointed that leadership development had been reduced to rah-rah tricks and shallow development tips. Understanding the need for enthusiasm at conferences and the hype needed to promote sales, my concern is that this circus has become the expectation for leadership development.

The Top-Down Effect has confused and baffled leaders, managers and development consultants for years. It is simple in its form yet produces powerful effects. It is a phenomenon that naturally occurs in the business environment that can either make or break culture and brand strategies. The Top-Down Effect silently strips away the layers of jargon and ideals within a company to reveal the authentic intent and style of those at the top of the organization.

So, what is Authentic Leadership? A colleague recently worked with a small Pharmaceutical Company to raise the level of leadership amongst their management. He says he knew it was going to be difficult after he learned that the top management had paid a marketing agency to design the company's values. The management handed him a marketing brief with four popular value words on it saying - "this is the image we want to portray."

Authentic Leadership - The Dark Horse There is no doubt that there is a science to management that takes time to master. The demands from industry forced pioneering managers to take up the role of leader too. This thrusts a set of 3-balls to juggle in to prospective entrepreneurs' hands that are still trying to navigate their way through the terrors of marketing, branding, culture building in the circus of digital business. "Leadership" was not a term forced onto grumpy autocratic managers to make them more likeable. Rather, the ability was recognised and noted as masses started to follow key individuals that shaped our history. As an entrepreneur, I don't mind telling you that I think the role of manager is easier to master than it is to quantify the role of leadership. It is difficult to teach old dogs to engage in the lives of those they manage, but it is even harder to groom authentic leadership. This is the 4th ball potential leaders need to learn...

 I like to think of my self as an artist.  I write, I photograph, I paint and sometimes I do sculptures. This photo is of a sand sculpture I did on a  public beach in Belito, South  Africa. Of all the art forms writing is my most productive, but sand sculpture is the one that really makes me drool.

There are many factors that generate and affect our behaviour as humans. Our age has a role to play in our behaviour and attitudes. Gender also has a role to play in the way a person behaves. The basics behaviour generators in people also include: Culture, Religion, Social Economics, Health and Education. The importance of these factors in our lives is born out of / comes from our very core - Values and Beliefs.

A nagging teacher! A perfectionist mother! An impatient father! The image or nature of the voice in our heads can take on the personality and tone of someone we know. Sometime this voice can be our own voice, with a sterner stance.   Whatever the character that voice assumes, it is a collective voice of all the roles you play in your life. A nagging teacher! A perfectionist mother! An impatient father! The image or nature of the voice in our heads can take on the personality and tone of someone we know. Sometime this voice can be our own voice, with a sterner stance.  Whatever the character that voice assumes, it is a collective voice of all the roles you play in your life.

This Three Part introduction is only a brief introduction to Mind Mutter and its role and function within our lives. In Part 1, we discovered that Mind Mutter is the "Average Enforcer" ensuring that you always live at a standard or level around your life average. In Part 2, we are introduced to the fact that Mind Mutter in a major force within us, that we cannot silence, shake or fool. We have to engage with Mind Mutter and negotiate our way forward. What is Mind Mutter? Part 3 - Behaviour and Intent This Three Part introduction is only a brief introduction to Mind Mutter and its role and function within our lives. In Part 1, we discovered that Mind Mutter is the "Average Enforcer" ensuring that you always live at a standard or level around your life average. In Part 2, we are introduced to the fact that Mind Mutter in a major force within us, that we cannot silence, shake or fool. We have to engage with Mind Mutter and negotiate our way forward.

Our beliefs are what makes us, and our beliefs are what breaks us. Our internal world has such a major impact on the outward consequences. So, it was no surprise to me that amongst the most common beliefs of excellence held as true by the top performing companies is a statement that talks directly to our internal resources. Well, sort of. The eighth belief of excellence that I would like to share with you here is : People have all the resources that they need. "No I don't!" This was my initial reaction to this statement. I looked at my business, the cash flow, my bank statements and thought how I could use a lot more resources than I possessed at the time. I am sure everyone would like to have ac-cess to a little more resources than they have available to them. Especially newly launched entrepreneurs, struggling with cash flow in their start-ups. I regard myself as a tea-spoon in life. I believe my function in the bigger picture is to stir people. Awaken th...

My mother has the gift of the gab. She always has an answer regardless of the situation. Sometimes these are funny chirps, but most often they are comments with a bit of zing in them. Yet strangely, it is when she remains silent in a situation that she communicated the loudest of all. The seventh statement in our beliefs of excellence series is: You cannot not communicate! Yes, I know! It has a double negative in the sentence. But for a moment imagine my 4 foot 8 inch tall Scottish mother, hand on hip, evil angry glint in her look, silent. Is she saying anything? No! Is she communicating? Oh yes! I am a firm believer that effective communication is the backbone of every successful functioning organisation, of every team, of every family and of our personal achievement of goals and dreams. Studies show that more than 50% of divorces occur due to poor communication. A management survey revealed that more than 60% of all management problems have their root in poor communicatio...