Power and leadership go hand in hand – we look to those who have power and assume that they are also leaders. But if we take it for granted that leadership is what we do rather than a position we hold, does it become clearer that leadership and power are actually highly opposed? Hubristic stories of senior individuals have fascinated us since we first started recognising leaders – from Alexander the Great two and a half thousand years ago to Harvey Weinstein yesterday – have

Given the importance of self-awareness in the context of leadership at all levels, I recently spent some time reflecting on exactly what it is that people in senior leadership roles think of themselves. If we held a leadership ‘mirror’ up to them, what would they see? I was reminded of a leadership offsite event I ran for one of my clients’ Senior Leadership Team recently. My aim was to generate and facilitate a challenging, deep and reflective dialogue between participants –

As a society we believe that there are some services and utilities that are so important to the smooth running of our communities that they need a degree of oversight to ensure that they function properly. The degree of scrutiny that is undertaken of each industry depends mainly on three factors: The impact that failure or damage to that industry would have on broader society The desire for public oversight and sense of duty that it is felt that industry should maintain The l

The other side of the leadership coin is followership – one cannot exist without the other, but the latter is perhaps not so well explored and understood. We understand the notion that we are all called to be leaders at times, according to context, need and appropriate skills and knowledge, but recognising ourselves as followers? Does it feel great to class ourselves as a follower? Followership is not about acquiescence; it is about empowerment. It is about recognising that y

I have been fortunate this week to be not exactly present as history is made, but co-located with it at the very least. Working with a client in Midtown New York this week has given me the fantastic opportunity to get a sense of the response to the outcome of the Presidential election. Donald Trump has succeeded in gaining the presidency, and right now half of the nation is invigorated, and the other half is downhearted, fearful even. What all sides have to deal with now is u

At times, leadership can be a curious thing to pin down – and often it is the absence of leadership, or what it is not which is easier to identify. We have recently been subject to three highly visible discourses on leadership in the last 4 months, one of which is ongoing. The Brexit debate, the Labour Party leadership campaign and the American presidential campaign have all been characterised by a great deal of commentary on how unsatisfactory the leadership capabilities on

All organisations have a clear goal that everyone can rally behind – surely. Hopefully that is the case but not always. Our people need to know not only WHAT they do but WHY they do it. It is only when our people understand the WHY that they can truly add value beyond what they have simply been asked to do. That is how we get organisations that seem to be able to do stuff way beyond what the market might have expected. That is how we manage to get decisions taken at the

As a business we recognise that you need to bring your best at all times. At TMD we believe that the key differentiation between good and great organisations lies in the most fundamental resource they have – their people. High performance in organisations is the product of great teams, great leaders and great culture. Balancing these three challenges is an extreme challenge, and TMD is here to help you ensure that you are best equipped to ensure success in each area. We see t