Insights shared in conversation with Simon Hall, teacher of storytelling and compelling communication at the University of Cambridge and consultant for leaders and organisations worldwide. He is also the author of Secrets of Storytelling, and a former BBC broadcaster. There is a moment in almost every leadership career when facts stop being enough. You have the data, the slides, the well-rehearsed bullet points and, still, the room doesn't move. The board doesn't lean in. Yo

In today’s operating environment, leaders are under constant pressure to make decisions faster, better, and with greater confidence. Yet, across organisations, a familiar frustration persists: decisions are either too slow, too rushed, or lack the follow-through required to deliver results. This is where the concept of decision velocity becomes a strategic necessity. It’s not about making decisions quickly for the sake of it. It’s about making the right decisions, at the rig

Most strategies do not fail at board level. They fail in translation. Between strategic intent and frontline execution sits the middle layer. In large organisations, that layer carries the operational weight of transformation. It turns ambiguity into action, absorbs pressure from above and below, and is expected to deliver performance while reshaping culture and embedding change. Yet, in most cases, it was never structurally designed for that role. That’s the risk. Translatio

Why supporting your middle managers is the most powerful investment your organisation can make Middle managers carry one of the most demanding roles in any organisation. They hold strategy and operations together, filter pressure from above and below, and are expected to lead culture, develop people, and deliver results, often with little of the support that leaders at the top receive as standard. Here, we explore why managers are not an organisational problem to fix. They ar

There’s a pattern we see repeatedly in large organisations. A senior leader sets expectations. They communicate that they want stronger leadership from their managers. They step back. And then not much changes. The frustration is real. But the diagnosis is often wrong. When people don’t step into authority, leaders tend to question capability. Occasionally commitment. Rarely do they question the system itself. That’s the mistake. Delegation Is Not About Offloading Work In our

Today's most effective leaders possess a crucial skill that's often overlooked: knowing when to step in and when to step out. This isn't about abdication or micromanagement. It's about developing the agility to read situations accurately and respond with the right level of involvement. It's a delicate dance that can make the difference between a team that flourishes and one that flounders. The Fixed Model Trap Many leaders operate from a fixed mental model of what leadership

The workplace is undergoing a fundamental shift. Organisations are moving away from rigid job titles and hierarchical structures toward a more fluid, skills-based approach. With the fast-paced changes that AI is bringing, it might seem that this transformation is about implementing new technology, but it’s so much more than that - it's about reimagining how we lead, learn, and work together. This is where shaping a skills-powered organisation comes into play. A skills-powere

As we step into a new year, leaders across organisations are facing familiar challenges in unfamiliar contexts. The pace is ever faster and the stakes are ever higher, but time is finite. What if the answer isn't doing more, but leading differently? The Busyness Trap: When More Isn't Better Walk into any executive meeting and you'll hear the same refrain: "I'm swamped." Busyness has become a badge of honour, a signal that we're important, needed, indispensable. But here's the

As we approach the end of the year, there's a natural inclination to pause and reflect. For leaders, this season offers more than just rest - it presents a rare opportunity to step back from the operational tempo and consider the deeper questions: How has this year evolved? Where are the opportunities to do things differently? In this article, we explore two critical macro themes that emerged from a year of research and dialogue about high performance: strategic clarity and t

Far too often, leadership development programmes struggle to create real, lasting impact. Why is that? Typically, it’s because these initiatives address symptoms, not root causes. Off-the-shelf training and generic e-learning tend to focus on surface-level behaviours, overlooking the underlying capability gaps that truly determine performance. The result: investment without meaningful change, persistent turnover among high-potential leaders, and ongoing scrutiny over the valu

What can the military teach us about building high-performance culture in commercial settings? A lot more than hierarchy and discipline....