Development

“Bring your whole self to work” is one of those phrases that sounds plausible until you stop and really think about it.

The answer isn’t more energy, more communication, or even better ideas. Instead, it’s a shift in how we think about change itself.

When an organisation implements changes, people don’t go back to their old ways because of a lack of effort – change fails to stick because organisations have a natural resting state or equilibrium which is harder to shift.

Managers are busy and calendars are full, so it’s easy to rely on the structure that already exists and have people just work towards their formal review or appraisal. There is a well-developed process in place, and goals can be discussed in detail during that time. But there is a major hiccup there; performance doesn’t happen quarterly or annually, it happens every day.

The final blog in our three-part series looking at what leaders put off, often to their detriment, looks at something that sounds almost ironic for senior leaders: thinking time.

This is the second blog in our three-part series exploring what ends up on leaders’ ‘to avoid’ lists. Saying “I don’t know” is high on that list, but ironically it can also be the most powerful three words a leader uses.

An uncomfortable truth we see repeatedly in coaching conversations is that what leadership avoids shapes company culture. Avoidance isn’t neutral; it creates an ‘under-the-surface’ contribution to team norms, psychological safety, performance, and trust.

There’s an assumption within the workplace that teams will inevitably gel over time, and that cohesion, alignment and mutual trust will simply emerge as part of the working process. But imagine hearing in a board meeting that there are major issues with finances, cash flow, or strategy, and the recommendation being that the issue will ‘probably’ resolve itself, rather than rolling out meticulous planning and reviews.

HR professionals sit at the emotional centre of organisations. They hold confidential conversations, absorb uncertainty, manage conflict, and often carry the worries of others long after the meeting has ended. It all culminates in a particular tension I see again and again when working with HR and people leaders; having little or no space to process, recover or reflect, even though these should be non-negotiables in the workplace.

When it comes to leadership growth, reflection is the one skill that consistently separates those who evolve and those who repeat old patterns.

I recently wrote about being aligned in leadership, and how our values can direct us when the pressure is on to make a decision or we feel uncertain.