It's hard to survive in the jungle if all you know is the zoo

Complexity and adaptive leadership, culture, Engagement, Healthy organizations, Leadership, Metaphor

I recently posted a tweet that created an unexpected enthusiastic response. It read: “It’s hard to survive in the jungle if you were trained in a zoo” I love using metaphors and analogies to explain the concepts I work with, like the difference between complex (jungle) and complicated or obvious (zoo) contexts. This is one […]

The soft stuff has become the hard stuff

Boundaries, Engagement, Healthy organizations, Leadership, Meaning and purpose

The Gallup State of the Global Workplace report was released recently, containing employee engagement results per country. The results are generally pretty dismal, an indictment on the prevailing cultures in our organisations. For sub-Saharan Africa, the report states: In most sub-Saharan African countries, formal employment for an employer is still relatively rare; many residents work at subsistence […]

The restorative power of meaning

Engagement, Healthy organizations, Meaning and purpose

In an article in the Time magazine (26 June ed), Joe Klein writes poignantly about how regaining a sense of purpose through public service is helping US military veterans and returning troops to find their way again. Some of these men and women suffer from severe PTSD, others are simply struggling to cope with the […]

Work and meaning

Engagement, Healthy organizations, Meaning and purpose

In The Upside of Irrationality, Dan Ariely reflects on work and meaning. Can human beings find satisfaction and be engaged in work that pays well, but offers no meaning? He defines two "types" of meaning: "m"eaning - a feeling of being challenged by our work, and completing it to our own satisfaction vs "M"eaning - a hope […]

Courage

Engagement, General musings, Healthy organizations, Leadership, Strengths

“The original definition of ‘courage’ . . . is from the Latin word ‘cor,’ meaning ‘heart.’ And the original definition was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart. And so these folks had, very simply, the courage to be imperfect. They had the compassion to be kind to themselves first, and then to others, because, as it turns out, we can’t […]

If you think your people are motivated by money, you are wrong!

Engagement, Healthy organizations, Leadership, Meaning and purpose

What really motivates us in life and work? Most companies and leaders seem to believe that money is the main thing that motivates people to give their best. Research is proving that assumption to be incorrect. In a recent HBR post, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic cites several research studies that proved that there is a very low […]

Why another blog?

Engagement, General musings

Although I've been actively blogging on www.narrativelab.co.za for several years, I've never felt the need for a personal blog. Now that I have decided to spread my wings and explore the world beyond TNL, I find that I have quite a bit to say. I've been a business consultant now for for more than 12 […]

Blog - Category: Engagement