Leaders are being challenged to be more authentic. But what does authenticity mean and how can you find and nurture it?

Human leadership creates the space for inclusive cultures. Inclusive cultures; require human leadership where we think with curiosity, feel with compassion and act with courage.

Namaste as a greeting serves as a reminder that we are made of the same stuff.

Hindus often greet with the phrase- Namaste- it is a phrase that you certainly might have heard at the end of a yoga class, but I wanted to share the significance of that meaning for human leadership. (It is also Diwali today so I am feel especially spiritual)

The session is the essence of some of the best work I have done with leaders and teams, it has helped them to pause and think about how they lead and communicate and I hope it helps you too. The session is designed for leaders, communication professionals and coaches who are all seeking the inner human.

Ubuntu means that, 'what I am is a result of who we are as humans - I am not much without others'. In other words, what I am and what I do impacts you and many others. In turn, what you do has implications for me and for others too. We must therefore care about what the other does. Learn more and join the workshop…

What if we could lead and communicate in a way that goes with human nature and not against it. I was realising the potential of this purpose, but at the same time, I realised that I couldn't nor would I want to be doing this alone. I know that we humans can do more when we work together, no leader, no organisation, no coach or consultant will crack this global human issue alone, but maybe a small collective of people who are like minded can make some steps towards learning together and sharing together…and that is why I built this collective.

If you can’t find it and you need it, they you better get on and build it! The Human Leadership Collective is a group that is just forming and growing, which aims to gather so that we can create more connections and progress towards more human leadership. Is this your challenge too? Are you working towards or in a way that contributes to this goal? If so, then I warmly invite you to come, share and learn together.

Reflecting on this question and the exploration of what our own experiences are, helps up to be able to translate what kind of lead we want to be. Human connection not disconnection. Empathy and Compassion. It is not only what they show of themselves but also how they listen and support us to see ourselves better.

To change cultures, we need to change habits. For organisations to create inclusive cultures we need to look at our habits, habits that are invisibly fuelling our cultures. Our habits are formed in reaction to the culture, the context, the environment, the ‘smell of the place’, but the culture lives inside every person who adopts the habits of that culture.

To me, work cultures are no different to social cultures because we are humans interacting for a shared purpose. We may not notice the cultures we exist in until something is different.

The culture can be felt, ‘the smell of the place’ and it can make the difference to whether we feel accepted and a sense of belonging or not.

Authenticity doesn't mean you need to show everything but it does mean that you show- what is really you.

Authenticity by definition can not be faked. When a leader is authentic, you can see that there is an alignment between how they present themselves and how they naturally are. This is sometimes hard to get to because the role of a leader over the course of their career can be built up of expectations and judgements about how the 'should' be. What does the real you sound like?

The key to asking good questions. I believe that curiosity is the key to asking questions and quality listening.

When you are curious, you are in the space between what you used to know and what you are about to learn. You have the desire to learn something new and to do that you are willing to give up what you might have believed before. If you can hold your own beliefs and ideas very lightly, curiosity becomes a whole lot easier.

This month I have been working with clients to help them get unstuck and get talking about bias, it has been fun and I have had great feedback about the value of these sessions. They are a great warm up to the group coaching that I am running in September. I finished the second of three sessions all about taming those bias gremlins. There is still one more to join, and here is why…

They say change is good, but sometimes we have become creatures of habit. My house, my desk, my job… in this case, my sofa! We assign our ownership to them and attach to them, that is why it becomes difficult when things change.

I sometimes introduce myself as a failed psychiatrist, So I wanted to share my story about why I say that. I hope it gives some context and inspiration.

This is a story about taking risks and following a dream, I with you three things I learned in that class and want to share with you.