Insightful Path

Regardless of your political affiliation, there are behaviours which I think every leader should aspire to. These behaviours apply, in my opinion, to all leaders regardless if they are in the political world, private industry, not-for-profit, or the public sector. And best of all, you can develop your skills and practice of these behaviours. If you are a leader, or an aspiring leader, this insightful path is the key to unlocking your ability to develop these, and other important skills which are required to survive and thrive in your service to a greater good. #InsightfulPath; #LeadershipDevelopment; #InsightfulProfessionalCoaching; #InnovativeLearningDesign; #EngagingFacilitation

Why do we need leaders who can bring a more mindful presence to their work? Because the life of a leader (especially a political or public service leader) involves high levels of stress, long working hours, and the working with complex multi-faceted issues where people's lives and values are challenged. In short, it is difficult but extremely important work. This post covers some of the relevant research I've applied from across my career to help political and public sector leaders to bring a more mindful presence to their work for greater efficacy and the ability to thrive! If you are interested in building a more mindful leadership presence in your organisational culture, I strongly recommend you read this post, and look up the many, many links within to the research and it's applications across politics, public service, the private sector, and beyond. I'd love to hear from you if you are a mindfulness practitioner and using this to enhance the work of the public service or political service! I'm wanting to develop my network of like minded practitioners wherever you are in this world! #InsightfulPath; #Mindfulness;

Do you agree with the following metrics on what makes a good leader? 1: 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲: Demonstrated ability to identify and resolve important public policy problems? 2: 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: Demonstrated ability to build collations to achieve positive outcomes across partisan divides? 3: 𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥: Demonstrated ability to be honest, respectful, compassionate and have behaviour that inspires public confidence? 4: 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬: Demonstrated ability to stand up for the greater good, regardless of risk to their own career advancement 5: 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭: Demonstrated ability to advance the public Good. If you are a leader, or think of a leader you support, do you, or they meet these criteria on which Good leaders are measured? The post linked comes from my lifelong study of leadership and leadership development. The best news is that the skills to build in each of the five criteria can be taught. I'd love to hear your insights on how to develop these five important leadership characteristics! #InsightfulPath; #ImportantLeadershipTraits

This post is my message to my country of origin, America. It is my hope that it may help people, regardless of where, on the political spectrum they consider themselves, that it might help them to find the insights in the next step on their path. #InsightfulPath; #Hope

As a professional coach, many of my clients wish for more time for professional development. They, like me, also grow weary of the polarisation of issues across the political and leadership landscape. And, they often times want to bring more of their authentic self to help build a better world. One easy solution to these situations, is to listen to the short (35 min) recent interview I did with an amazing peace mediator and facilitator, Suzanne Ghais, Ph.D.. You can listen while commuting, or while going for a walk, fuel your development, as the conversation grows from initial topics around the profession of facilitation, to dealing with complex facilitation, to lessons from Suzanne's peace mediation, to finally looking at ways to help connect with and de-escalate the polarisation that is occurring across our world. (There is even an enjoyable 'after credits' scene)! If you do resonate, you won't be alone! I've been receiving comments like the one below! Please take the time to watch, and don't forget to 'like', comment, and repost to help spread the messages within. Together we can spread Good news, and skilful stories to help change the world. https://lnkd.in/gbCpsqdx #InsightfulPath;

If you are passionate about making the world better, about 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐢𝐥, and of 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 and more skilled in collaboration... then you should be interested in t̳h̳i̳s̳ ̳v̳i̳d̳e̳o̳. Suzanne Ghais, Ph.D. (pronounced like the word 'place') is one of my heroes. Her work in mediation, in peace building, and in facilitation - not to mention her book, "Extreme facilitation: Guiding groups through controversy and complexity" have been an instrumental touchpoint for my own journey, and continue to help me use facilitation as a service to my clients. While only 35 minutes in length, the video is full of distilled insights from Suzanne and her experiences. The conversation builds from opening questions on facilitation to more advanced skills in helping facilitate difficult groups, to ending with a discussion on ideas about how to help build collaboration even within the current polarised environment. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to get the chance to talk with Suzanne directly - and hope that her insights benefit you too. #Pathfinders4Peace; #SGhaisMediation; #InsightfulPath; #Facilitation;

As a leadership development professional, I am constantly researching techniques, frameworks, and approaches to help our political and public service leaders to do their roles more effectively. I recently was introduced to the work of an amazing organisation that applies practical steps taken from decades of scientific research in order to help leaders to build a form of new politics that works with the public and for the common good. The work of this group, Compassion in Politics, is to build institutions based on compassion - on a commitment to care for ourselves, others, and our planet. If you are a leader that authentically wants to create positive change in the world, i strongly recommend the work of this organisation! #BeTheChange; #CompassionInPolitics; #InsightfulPath

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:  Leadership is hard work regardless of the context. I am heartened, however, to know that there are many who are working to help our political leaders to connect with their best selves and use this to enhance their ability to serve. The study of how to bring a more mindful presence to leadership has long fascinated me, and one of my heroes is a man who has done this within the UK's Parliament. His name: Chris Ruane. He was a UK Member of Parliament for 21 years, and the founder of the Mindfulness All-Party Parliamentary Group. Since 2013 this group has trained 350 UK Parliamentarians, and 800 members of their staff in using techniques that can: 1) help them to shift from reactive states to more responsive states; 2) build self-awareness in order to choose more skilful responses; 3) find perspective and balance within the tumult of political life; 4) build compassion for self and others enabling better collaboration; and 5) in general, transform adversity to growth. Chris is going to be giving a free one-hour talk where he discusses his work, and shares his insights on how mindfulness has been integrated into the UK's Civil Service. He will also explore the potential future of mindfulness in diplomacy, refugee support, and indigenous wisdom traditions. The talk concludes with a Q&A, giving you a chance to engage directly with Chris and expand on these global themes. The talk will be given in Melbourne's CBD on Friday, 25 October from 11am - 12pm. It is a Hybrid presentation, and is open to for both face-to-face attendees, or those Online, via a Zoom link. If you have an interest in leadership, in mindfulness, in using self-awareness to help make more effective leadership institutions, 𝑰 𝑺𝑻𝑹𝑶𝑵𝑮𝑳𝒀 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅. Register for tickets here:  https://lnkd.in/gyhkiZ_K #InsightfulPath

Waking at 2 am for the opportunity to spend time learning directly from a man I deeply admire, Adam Kahane. His book, 'Collaborating with the enemy: How to work with people you don't agree with, or like, or trust' was my introduction to his work and the deep power that facilitation can have for helping people. I've just finished one of his most recent books, 'Facilitating breakthrough: How to remove obstacles, bridge differences, and move forward together'. Both are critical thought pieces that are backed up with a depth of understanding from lived examples across the globe on issues that, from the surface, seemed un-workable. Through the art of facilitation, the people that Adam has worked with have been able to see possibility. They've been able to move between their viewpoints and the viewpoints of others... Adam's thoughts on this are incredibly relevant and needed in today's world. As a facilitator, I've found that helping people work together, even while they have different understandings of the reality that they are facing, is such an important role. Thank you International Association of Facilitators (IAF) for hosting this event. It was well worth the early rise to attend. (while I'm going back to bed now... I'll be writing a reflection on this in the morning to deepen my own understanding!) #InsightfulPath

This is a good news story... about good news stories. As a leader, it is so important that you are able to see the opportunities that might make a positive difference. Yet as a human, we are far more likely to see risks over opportunities. In fact, Nobel Laureates Tversky and Kahneman famously showed that we are 1.5 to 2.5 times more likely to see things as a potential loss, rather than a potential opportunity. And this can keep us from progressing and making the difference we want to make. Yet, this can be countered, and our ability to see opportunities can be strengthened consciously! Today, I had the privilege of sharing some time again with a man I admire, John Sautelle. We spoke of many things, but one of the things we talked about was that even in the face of so many stressful stories, there are many, many '𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬' stories out there. He shared with me an organisation that I now follow, Fix The News. Every week, they find good news stories, stories of progress, stories of people from across the globe who are actively working to make a difference for humanity... and they share them. Good news helps to offer a fuller picture of what is going on - when so often what we read is the very real bad news. Good news helps to counter the tendency to think that 'it is all bad', and provide an opportunity for hope. And hope, well, that can lead to a renewed engagement and ability to thrive. If you are a leader, working in highly pressurised environments, I encourage you to do the following: 1) Meet with people you admire who are doing GOOD things for the world; and 2) Consciously look for the GOOD NEWS, not to cancel out the bad, but to give you a fuller picture and enable hope to grow. With the hope that you find the insights that can help you thrive! #InsightfulPath; #GoodNews