Author Archives: Gaylin Jee

Psychological Flexibility

View Post For most people and companies, it’s been a rough year and a half. When it comes to experiences of pleasure, humans like some novelty. But regarding pain, we seek certainty. If we know what’s up ahead, we can prepare ourselves for it. While certain parts of our more recent existence feel within ourContinue reading “Psychological Flexibility”

Think Again

Are you interested in finding out what you don’t know? According to organisational psychologist and Wharton professor Adam Grant, you should be.   When presented with someone else’s argument, we are very good at spotting weaknesses. But the positions we are blind about, are our own, says Grant. There is nothing like our inner dictatorContinue reading “Think Again”

Tech skills lay foundation. Social and emotional skills in high demand.

Through all the change and remoteness of recent times, we have all had to rethink how we model work out and engage employees. And a good year down the line, it has become more obvious to me. The companies faring better, from my direct experience, seem to be investing heavily in the ‘soft stuff’, and acknolwedlging that tech skills are just a base. As you will read below: “specialised capabilities need to be complimented by strong social, creative and collaboration skills.“

HYBRIDITY

The conversations we need to start having about hybridity ‘The ability to effectively navigate in a hybrid environment is itself a skill and therefore a source of power.’ Collaborative work is making its way through a sticky and speedy evolution. This necessary process was catapulted up the agenda as remote working extended beyond what mostContinue reading “HYBRIDITY”

Meta – lessons from an unknowable year

My big insights from the past 12 months or so. Comfort with ‘not knowing’ is a gift. It opens your awareness to all that is and could be. There is a human in every person. Be the human in each interaction. Investing in relationships produces compound interest. Get clear about the relationships that will matterContinue reading “Meta – lessons from an unknowable year”

Flying too close to the sun?

It’s easy to lose sight of the distinction between the truly important and the merely urgent. There is an age old two-by-two model called the Eisenhower Matrix. It helps sort out what matters from what does not. If used well, it can focus our time and energy in the right ways. A Google (or privacy-respectingContinue reading “Flying too close to the sun?”

do less, but better

Thinking that we can have it all, and somehow smartly do it all, has run its course. So says Greg McKeown in his book: Essentialism: The disciplined pursuit of less. In essence, he paints the way of the Essentialist – the person who does less, but does it better. The central concept is to applyContinue reading “do less, but better”

Decompression Zone

Has 2020 been tough, manageable or has it presented new opportunity and growth? Are you processing the year that is passing and orientating towards the one ahead? Or is it a case of holding on in this lockdown state until we know more, so that we can do more? When will we convene with ourContinue reading “Decompression Zone”

Above the line

Are you operating above or below the line? Motivations drive our behaviour and our thinking. They impact our relationships and our results. So it makes sense for us to take a step back and ask, what is driving us? How does that impact our behaviour? What results are we getting? What is behind those interactionsContinue reading “Above the line”

Covid-19 Responses: #CaretoAct 3

Post number 3 – already! More stories are emerging that tell of the power struggles over resources amassed and centralised for Covid-19 relief. Sometimes the help needed does not come. Shining a light on ‘non-centralised’ ways of providing tangible and effective relief seems super important right now. Thanks to Talent Talks, we have a channelContinue reading “Covid-19 Responses: #CaretoAct 3”

Care to Act? Post 2 in the Covid-19 response posts

This is the second post in the Care To Act series. Read the call to action in the first post for more background. Covid19 has shone a bright light upon the uglier parts of what we accepted as ‘normal’. With the country starting to move through the lockdown stages, the challenge for businesses will beContinue reading “Care to Act? Post 2 in the Covid-19 response posts”

Care to Act? A Covid-19 response

I first came across Patagonia the company around three or four years ago. A bright yellow book caught my eye in a bookshop. On the cover, in bold black and green writing, was the luminous title: ‘Conscious Capitalism – liberating the heroic spirit of business.’ Patagonia is a case study in the book (yes, the book cameContinue reading “Care to Act? A Covid-19 response”

In search of perfection #betterleaders #betterworld

In his book “Lift as you rise”, Bonang Mohale describes leadership as ‘creating movement and influence’. This definition is resonant with Conscious Leadership, one of four tenets of a conscious business design, which, contrary to popular belief, is proven to deliver vastly superior financial returns (see the Firms of Endearment Studies). The other tenets ofContinue reading “In search of perfection #betterleaders #betterworld”

The story of Lego Serious Play

The story of the Lego® Serious Play® method, now widely applied in small and large organisations globally, is an interesting one. The LEGO Company, despite being in the business of creativity, decided that the manner in which it developed its own strategy was decidedly uncreative. In addition, the company was facing huge pressures as video gamesContinue reading “The story of Lego Serious Play”