Change Agents – An Unlikely Hero
August 9, 2009 by Di
Filed under leadership
Phil Black from CNN News brought the Middle Eastern story of a Baghdad traffic cop from Good Morning Middle East and onto the international stage, describing him as an “unlikely but effective hero in a city that needs a lot of them”. The traffic official he is referring to is General Amar Al Kayet. General Amar is an ordinary man in Iraq’s Baghdad who has taken an extraordinary stand to save the lives of people travelling in vehicles on Baghdad’s perilous streets.
Baghdad’s streets are not only congested with angry, hot and impatient drivers caught in gridlock nearly every day, but the streets are also plagued with the dangers of speeding military convoys, violence and murder. The casualties of Iraqi traffic police are high. So high that Iraq’s Traffic Police Directorate has established a web page which honours the traffic martyrs who have been killed in the line of duty at www.itp.gov.iq.
A Climate for Change – the book – Arrives
July 30, 2009 by Di
Filed under change leadership, change management, communication, leadership
A Climate for Change – the book – has arrived. Its first outing was at the National Business Leaders Sustainability Forum at Australia’s Parliament House. As it happens, the Forum proved the ideal venue for the launch, with the key messages of the book striking a chord with over 120 participants securing a copy.
The clear message from those who perused the new book, was that A Climate for Change represents a new model of sustainable leadership. The type of leadership that we need to embrace right now if we are to survive the current climate of change and uncertainty, and position ourselves for a more sustainable and successful future.
Beware the pitfalls of downsizing, restructuring and employee redundancy
January 31, 2009 by Di
Filed under change leadership, change management, leadership, redundancy, organisational restructuring
The last economic downturn to affect Australia saw a widespread cut back in apprentice training. While the effects weren’t experienced immediately, the absence of new talent entering the workforce on such a large scale meant that it was nearly 10 years before Australia returned to the same level of technical skill it enjoyed prior to the downturn. Arguably, the detrimental impact of the “solution” turned out to be far more serious to the country than the initial problem. This is just one example of the potentially harmful downstream consequences of downsizing and cutbacks that business is pursuing in the current economic climate.
Being mindful of the pitfalls of large scale downsizing and employee redundancy was the clear message that Heather Ridout, Chairman of the Australian Industry Group gave to business in a recent 7.30 Report Interview. Heather is not a lone voice in the wilderness on this topic. In the wake of weekly announcements that big business is shedding staff in mammoth proportions, other business and political leaders are joining a growing voice around the world warning of the consequences of these knee-jerk reactions to sustain short-term business viability.
Goal-setting: Love thy neighbour in 2009
January 2, 2009 by Di
Filed under goals, leadership
One of the things about Christmas and New Year I always enjoy is the sense of friendliness, generosity and respect for one another that seems to permeate the air. Neighbours who rarely speak wish good things for one another, we dig deep into our pockets so the less fortunate can have a more pleasant Christmas season, and kiss perfect strangers as midnight falls on new years eve. In 2008, several significant events also brought out our more loving side – Barack Obama’s election win and the influx of young people onto the shores of Sydney, Australia for World Youth Day. It seemed that the heaviest of days was made a little lighter by the mood in Sydney carried by 1000s of relaxed, carefree, happy young people from around the world.
There are exceptions of course to the mood – Christmas car parking rage and the recent spate of thefts of money from banks and automatic tellers, of presents from under Christmas trees, and of Christmas lighting from our homes.
Integrity: Managing our inner Diva – Kylie in Dubai
November 25, 2008 by Di
Filed under integrity, values, leadership
What a gig! Australia’s own Kylie Minogue was the feature artist for a new 7-star Dubai Atlantis hotel opening last weekend. All for a cool $4.4m. Now that’s how you earn a bit of extra Christmas cash.
While the gig made the headlines here in Australia, what was even more interesting was what happened to Kylie after the event. After an exhausting show, she changed from her uncomfortable performance outfits into a tracksuit and headed back into the same hotel for the after party bash.
Leadership and Integrity – Unravelling the red carpet
November 19, 2008 by Di
Filed under integrity, values, leadership
I had occasion to drive past the aftermath of the red carpet premier of the movie Australia in George Street Sydney last night and I couldn’t believe my eyes at the size of the red carpet. It was at least as wide as 3 lanes and who knows how far its length extended into the distance. Just goes to show how many big budget movie premiers I’ve been to, but I always thought they were about the size of a hall runner in a very long house. I guess the bigger the carpet, the more important the event, the leader, the dignitary or the celebrity walking on it. The red carpet phenomenon also applies to what you look like when you walk on the carpet. Look at the pictures of our celebrities who go to great lengths to be exquisitely coiffed and outfitted in a manner befitting royalty when the carpet calls.
Some quick research into the red carpet phenomenon takes us beyond movie premiers and back to 485BC and Aeschylus, a Greek playright. Aeschylus created a character called Agenemon whose wife deceives him into walking onto red carpet which was intended for the gods. Fast forward to the 1820s and we see the red carpet rolled out for a US President and in 1902 red carpet is used in ceremonial fashion to welcome guests to a classy train journey.
Change Management – “Yes we can…change starts today” Barack Obama
November 18, 2008 by Di
Filed under change leadership, change management, leadership
I exchanged some emails with My US publisher the other day, after the frenzy of Obama’s decisive election win. My publisher was fascinated about the rest of the world’s interest in how the race unfolded over the last few months. I’m reminded of the words of Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Thomas Friedman and his recent book – Hot Flat and Crowded, when he describes how the US cannot help but export both its greatest hopes as well as its greatest fears into the world.
Personal Responsibility : Waiter – is that “poo” in my icecream?
November 18, 2008 by Di
Filed under leadership
It’s a sad day when “poo” (or if you’re the sensitive type, excreta or faeces) becomes the central news unfolding around the country. For me the story is less about “poo” and more about personal responsibility. But let’s first go over some of the finer details of how this story unfolded.
A couple of weeks ago, a Sydney family accused a hotel bistro of planting “poo” in their ice-cream after the family had lodged various previous complaints about service. The offending item wasn’t placed into the ice-cream dish in an obvious fashion. It was so discretely placed that it apparently appeared to be an inconspicuous chocolate scoop nestled innocently amongst several other flavours. The item was so well camouflaged, that is was allegedly tasted by a member of the slighted family, so the disgust factor for the public definitely goes up several notches.
Welcome to this on-line forum for leaders of change. My name is Di Worrall, and I help business leaders with the skills and confidence to make change happen for themselves, their career and their business. As an author, organisational change specialist and executive coach, I work with leaders to create a clear path through change and uncertainty; build their leadership skills and confidence; and create systems for lasting change and a more prosperous and sustainable future. For regular updates on our best leadership and change articles, you can subscribe to our fortnightly ezine below.
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