It has been a while that I have been wanting to write about conflict management and negotiation. And after a coaching session I had with a client last week, I felt encouraged to finally put my thoughts into words. Horizontal vs Vertical Development In leadership development we often distinguish between horizontal development, which is building skills, models, and techniques, and vertical...
This is the third and final article in my series exploring the stages of the CIO journey. In the first piece, we looked at the Emerging or Aspiring CIO stepping from expert to confident leader. In the second, we explored the Established CIO sustaining performance and expanding influence. Now we turn to the Evolving CIO, the legacy builders, those...
This article is for the Established CIO, the experienced technology leader who has already proven themselves many times over, yet still faces new pressures and expectations in today’s environment. The Reality for Established CIOs If you are an established CIO, you know the pressures well. You are delivering transformation, keeping operations secure, managing budgets, and holding together a talented but stretched...
This article is for the Emerging or Aspiring CIO, whether you are newly promoted and finding your footing, or preparing to step into the role in the near future. Acknowledging Today’s CIO Landscape CIOs in 2025 are under enormous pressure. Gartner’s latest CIO Report shows that leaders are expected to scale AI initiatives beyond pilots, strengthen data foundations, and defend against...
AI is transforming business. But leadership is still human work. Emotional intelligence, ethical decision making, and communication skills are what set great CIOs apart. Technology has always been about acceleration, faster processing, faster connections, faster change. But the velocity of artificial intelligence has introduced a new kind of challenge for CIOs: how to remain deeply human while stewarding organisations into...
The Mindful CIO is more than a technology leader. They are a navigator of complexity, a strategic thinker, and a human-centred decision-maker. 🧭 You are a navigator of complexity In a world of rapid transformation, AI disruption, and ethical crossroads, the Mindful CIO doesn’t just react. They lead with clarity. Complexity isn’t something to fear. It’s something to thoughtfully navigate. With awareness and...
The dilemma How can we position Australia well in the global AI landscape, encourage AI adoption and leverage its benefits for greater innovation/productivity while protecting citizens and minimizing risks? AIIA (Australian Information Industry Association). I felt honoured to join such an important discussion and to learn about the latest efforts from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources in that space. Hats off to Simon...
Feedback is hard to give and it's hard to receive. I'm referring to constructive or developmental feedback. Based on my experience coaching C-Suite executives and running leadership workshops for emerging-senior leaders at AIM (Australian Institute of Management) I can say that giving constructive feedback is seen as a daunting task for many. Even seasoned leaders will often postpone having that...
Last year I conducted a short market research with friends and former colleagues to refine my executive coaching offerings and the results confirmed what I suspected. In some organisations the more senior you are the fewer opportunities for leadership development you will receive. Often, the assumption is that senior leaders don't need help or further development after all they have...
An Essential Trait for Successful Tech Leaders Being gritty, along with adopting sound self-care strategies, is now more than ever a must-have requirement for successful tech leaders. In a post-pandemic world where the VUCA reality (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) has been taken to a whole new level, GRIT has become an indispensable leadership trait. Tech teams are in the spotlight...
The industrial age is over; the digital age is here. Our work is less physical and more mentally demanding than ever before, so we must be mentally fit. Forward-thinking organisations and leaders have realised this and are doing something about it. Are you one of them? Corporate mindfulness has been adopted by a range of industries for different reasons. From law...
Mindful Leadership encompasses concepts from more mature leadership models such as situational leadership, servant leadership, and authentic leadership. Although Mindful Leadership is a relatively new model, in relation to predecessors, its roots are grounded on ancient and time-tested leadership Asian and Greek philosophies. Below is a compilation of the 20 Traits of Mindful Leaders: Acceptance – They are able to accept...
Could mindfulness save humanity from sick-dysfunctional AI? Last week I watched a video from the Global Mindfulness and Compassion Summit where Jamie Bristow shared the initiative created to provide UK politicians mindfulness training - Mindful Nation UK. According to research ethical decision making, focus, clarity and compassion can be significantly improved with mindfulness training and I believe a boost in those qualities would be...
By: Nathalie Heynderickx and Leonard Hoon, PhD WHY About 3 years ago I watched a TED Talk on AI and the one thing I can recall vividly was the statement made by this mature and grounded scientist saying "time is running out and we must develop a greater sense of urgency in embedding human values into AI before it is too late!". His concern was...
The cheetah is the fastest animal on earth and a great illustration of a favourite mantra: "Speed Up By Slowing Down." If you are wondering what the cheetah has to do with a Mindful-Agile Mindset, the answer is EVERYTHING. But let me get back to that later... Earlier this year I co-facilitated a workshop at 1st Conference, a non-orthodox conference dedicated to the...
Last week I caught up with a former colleague who is now a Managing Director in one of the Big 5 management consulting firms. They shared with me that their #1 challenge these days is, in their own words, "the daily battle for talent". "There is a lot of movement, with people moving elsewhere, every day, both onshore and...
Millennials dont respond well to the old command and control leadership paradigm. Additionally, the principles of Servant Leadership complement the Agile Ways of Working really well; therefore I believe the Servant Leadership model is here to stay. The background Servant Leadership is a philosophy. It is a way of looking at Leadership that has been embraced by companies across the globe,...
Authentic leadership can be defined as an approach to leadership that emphasizes building leaders legitimacy on an ethical foundation, through honest relationships with followers who value their input. While Authentic Leadership is still a growing area of academic research, the concept of authenticity can be traced back to Ancient Greece. Ancient Greek philosophers stressed authenticity as an important state...
Back in 2007, in my first large project in Australia, I was assigned to lead the business intelligence component of a complex multi-million project for a high profile client. It was a pioneer SAP implementation in Asia Pacific and we had SMEs joining us from our Canadian firm which had successfully implemented a similar solution previously. I was up...
I recently published the articles WHAT IS MINDSET and WHY MINDSET MATTERS. In this piece Id like to explore the Fixed and Growth Mindset theory developed by Dr. Carol Dweck, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. The initial focus of Dweck’s research was to explore her students ability to cope with failure and to develop intelligence and talent. Over the years she...
