As a brilliant young lawyer from a good family Mahatma Gandhi’s future was bright.  He was on track to be a good lawyer and make lots of money until, while riding in first class on a South African train, he bumped into the realities of colonialism in the form of Apartheid.  He was forcibly told to go into the crowed 3rd class cars.

I got to thinking about leaders I admire.  Obviously I do not know these leaders personally, however, they are all leaders I’ve taken a keen interest in and followed their lives to varying degrees over the years.  In this short, mini-series, I reflect on what appear to be factors that molded them as good, even great leaders.  Leaders who the world is better for them having led.

I got to thinking about leaders I admire.  Obviously I do not know these leaders personally, however, they are all leaders I’ve taken a keen interest in and followed their lives to varying degrees over the years.  In this short, mini-series, I reflect on what appear to be factors that molded them as good, even great leaders.  Leaders who the world is better for them having led.

The last 15 years has seen a steady increase in companies embracing executive coaching as a core piece in their leadership development suite of tools. Those who’ve been coached swear by it. Others are still skeptical. A large component of the distrust stems from the lack of compulsory regulation in the industry, leaving consumers vulnerable as they try to discern the value they can expect from their coach.

Services are always hard to determine the value of, how do you know if you’re getting good value from your accountant, architect or lawyer?  Executive coaching is no different.  You can’t ‘kick the tires’ of a service before you buy it, but you probably do have a few indicators that help you determine the value you want from a service.

Christine took a 4 year sabbatical from our team during which time she completed her PHD in Leadership. We’re excited to have Christine back on our team and have asked her to highlight some of the insights she gained during the last four years of studying, researching and writing about leadership as part of her PhD.

I’m putting away my golf clubs for the season. As I do that, I can’t help but reflect on what a great metaphor golf is for leaders and leadership. In my role as Executive Coach I have engaged this metaphor with clients who are also golfers with some surprising results.Like the complex and changing corporate environment, there are constant unknowns in the game.

Like the skiers in the photograph, leaders are often faced with decisions that are complex and where making the wrong decision could have serious consequences.  In such situations, decision makers can find themselves at either end of the decision making spectrum – analysis paralysis on the one end or falsely simplifying the ‘landscape’  or context to make the decision easier on the other.

This leadership secret is probably best illustrated outside of work. How do you know that your parent, spouse, child or partner loves you?  What makes you sure and what causes you to doubt? There are many visible things they do and say that point to their love for you.  But that’s not what really clinches the deal. While they are an important part of your knowing, they are far from being the whole picture.

I’d like to share a story with you.  A story of beginnings.  A story of discovery.  A story that I hope begins to show what we believe so deeply about the forces at the heart of Spacious Complexity. As a person who values meaningful, lasting impact I always give myself fully to whatever I do.