by chriscurnow | May 22, 2023 | Courage, Courageous Conversations, Leadership, Work
This is the last instalment in the ‘Telling the Truth’ series. In this piece, I am going to quote a story that shows the power that can come from breaking free from the constraints of what can and can’t be said in organisations. But first, let me...
by chriscurnow | May 8, 2023 | Courage, Courageous Conversations, Leadership, Relationship, Work
It’s possible you recognise that phrase from John 8:32. However, I’m not about to get into a biblical exegesis here. I want to discuss truth and freedom in a more general sense. Some years ago, I was working with a small group on a project. We had found we...
by chriscurnow | Apr 27, 2023 | Courage, Courageous Conversations, Deep work, Leadership
Telling the truth is like waking up and finding yourself naked in a room of fully clothed people. People are shocked. The room falls silent. All eyes are on you. It is more than embarrassing. How will you look anyone in the eye again? What do you do next? Everyone...
by chriscurnow | Apr 4, 2023 | Courage, Courageous Conversations, Deep work, Leadership
The history of the world is replete with stories of those who suffered (sometimes with their lives) for telling the truth and the disasters that have occurred when the truth, even though told, was ignored. The 1986 Challenger disaster is an example of both. After...
by chriscurnow | Mar 6, 2023 | Courage, Deep work, Leadership, Relationship
In my last post, I discussed how politeness so often gets in the way of effective work. Today, I want to talk about what’s behind this (false) politeness – avoiding the truth. In fact, what often presents as politeness is the exact opposite. A veneer of courtesy...
by chriscurnow | Feb 15, 2023 | Deep work, Relationship
One of the biggest barriers to effective work in organisations is politeness. We tiptoe around, trying not to offend those we work with even, or particularly when they have stuffed up or been impolite to us. I fell into the trap recently. I had a four-week stint...
by chriscurnow | Oct 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
This is something I wrote many years ago. But as I reread it, it is just as relevant today as it was then. In 1984, I transferred from the co-educational high school in which I began teaching (in 1977) to a girls’ high school nearby. The change was to revolutionize my...
by chriscurnow | Sep 1, 2021 | Uncategorized
This is part two of two articles dealing with conflict. In the previous article I discussed the importance of listening to conflicting views. In this piece I talk about how teams can use constructive conflict to become more effective. Well I don’t mean physically, but...
by chriscurnow | Aug 2, 2021 | Uncategorized
This is part one of two dealing with conflict. In this article I discuss the importance of listening to conflicting views. I just typed the term ‘conflict resolution’ into my search engine. I got 425,000,000 hits. It’s a hot topic alright. It’s hot because there’s so...
by chriscurnow | Aug 16, 2018 | Uncategorized
A few years back, I was on the leadership team of a small community organisation. We had decided to have a leadership retreat one weekend. The weekend came and we were ride sharing to get to the venue. The person who I was sharing with was a senior executive at the...
