Welcome to Caroline Kennedy's Blog
Seizing your leadership moments. Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about “carpe diem” which means “pluck the day.” As I said in my earlier post, pluck those big, juicy opportunities when you see them. This led me to thinking about moments of leadership opportunity and how often we miss them. Leadership moments are often gone…
Leadership choices: When carpe diem is not really carpe diem. Carpe diem. Seize the day. If you’re like me, the phrase really entered my consciousness after watching Dead Poet’s Society. Seize the day. Do it now (whatever it is) because the moment will soon pass and then it will be too late. Smart leadership choices…
What is situational leadership? Does it Lead to Success? I think it has become clear in recent times that there’s no single right way to lead. What works in one situation or with one person doesn’t seem to go so well with others. It reminds me why Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership theory is so…
Why: a lesson in leadership and influence from Telstra. While watching TV recently I noticed the new Telstra ad, “Australia is why.” Have you seen it? It’s a perfect example of the importance of your ‘why’ or ‘purpose.’ By now you’re probably familiar with Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” and Telstra has obviously been paying…
How the Best Leaders Inspire Trust – it starts at the top Trust in the workplace; it’s a two-way street. Trust is critically important not only on a personal level but in our workplaces. When we have it, we can climb mountains. When we don’t, it can erode our self-confidence and our ability to…
How to Become a More Influential Leader by Asking Questions. The secret to mastering Influence when leading people is finding the sweet spot. There you can point them towards your preferred action by guiding their thinking. Notice I said, ‘guiding their thinking,’ not ‘telling them what to do.’ The usual scenario… Here’s a scenario for…
How to wire your brain for leadership success. You’ve done all the training courses and produced some great successes, but you’ve been unable to inspire the high levels of performance you know your team could achieve. The team doesn’t deliver what you ask for. Could the problem stem from miscommunication? Research from Smarp shows “3…
Beware – Is hubris syndrome limiting your leadership Impact? “The power has gone to his head!” That thought might have run through your mind at some stage. It’s not uncommon to come across leaders who seem to be blinded by their own power. They seem to act irrationally but with total confidence. Your diagnosis is…
What happened to ethical leadership? I’ve noticed that ethical leadership has become a hot topic lately and I’m not surprised. There is a systemic tolerance for unethical practices in our largest organisations. Watch the nightly news to see what’s going on. Look at the banking Royal Commission. It found a culture of greed running rampant…
Simon Sinek human skills are missing nowadays. Connection – a challenge for you. Richard Branson interviewed Simon Sinek recently. He asked, “if you were starting a business right now – what problem would you solve?” Simon’s response, “The problem I would like to help solve these days is how we relate to each other.” He went…