Bullying is in the news, again. There’s a difference between conscious and unconscious…

…bullying because the latter is mindless and the former is the wrong sort of mindfulness. We encounter both and many of us are guilty of both. The victim doesn’t care which type is employed. Pain is pain. Conscious bullying in organisations is a bigger problem than many people acknowledge. This is because they feel powerless to do anything about it. But they can, although it’s not easy. It takes courage. Unconscious bullying is a different mater but it also takes courage to face the fact that your personal history maybe causing you to behave in a bullying manner, albeit unconsciously. Self awareness can be the first step in changing this.  One way or another, bullying is truly a scourge in organisations and it  never serves organisational purpose,  in the long run.  But it is remedial. 

Ciaran

helping leaders change 

.@Jonathan_Moules @ftreports Are you concerned that #GeneralCounsel did not feature much in your #InnovativeLawSchools Report…

…or do you feel as I do that there won’t be much innovation in-house unless and until lawyer leaders, who lead internal and external legal services businesses, and subject field lawyers are separated at all career stages in terms of education, development and incentives? 

Ciaran

Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness taught us a lesson at @cooperationirl dinner last night by…

…demonstrating that it is possible that extreme differences of opinion on the one hand and personal engagement or even friendship on the other, are not mutually exclusive in politics, business or indeed family life. My Dad (1925 – 1986), having witnessed the Birth of a Nation, a World War and The Troubles would be stunned to hear, if by some magic he could, that I sat at a dinner in The Dorchester Hotel last night listening to two people from opposite ends of the political divide speak warmly of each other, if not of each others views. That Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley, before he died, became friends would for my Dad, and indeed for many, have beggared belief. That these changes are possible is in part testimony to the dogged work the Co-Operation Ireland Charity has done over the last thirty years to help build peace. With The Queen and The President of Ireland as Joint Patrons, the Charity has played a crucial role in creating an environment for dialogue. If you feel a sudden impulse to donate to Co-Operation Ireland, of which I’ve been a junior rank and file local member for a number of years, please feel reassured that you can yield to that temptation safe in the knowledge that your money will make a difference and you can do so now, and do so HERE. The other part of this story is that leaders of all organisations can learn that they too can build “peace” within their boards and their teams by applying some of the principles that these two leaders used in a different context, albeit an extreme one. If Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness can find a way of working together, anyone can.

 

En route to facilitate a two day workshop for a leader and global matrix team. Done lots of these but each is different….

…because each member of the matrix is an individual with their own unique “signature presence” (Mary Beth O’Neill). The sum of these amounts to an unique group experience. I use my Purpose, Strategy and Behaviour (PSB) model but the outcome is always different, because it is shaped by the unique personalities involved. I find that, invariably,  personal purpose trumps organisational purpose. The trick, and it isn’t easy, is to align these. 

Ciaran

En route to facilitate one of several tables @radiantlaw GC Workshop in London…

…mine is on change: “Feeling the fear and doing it anyway”; Alex Hamilton, Jason McQuillan, John Michaelis and Inderpall Lall are the other table facilitators. Andrew Giverin and Paul Gilbert are main speakers. Should be interesting. Copies of my pamphlet The GC-CEO Relationship post Global Financial Crash: Flourish or Flounder? will be available if not read…

Ciaran

En route to London to co-chair @GCFutures summit with Charles Ehrlich…

…As well as co-chairing with Chuck (wish I’d been called Chuck – cool name)  I’m moderating a session on board dynamics with panel members Miriam Murphy GC Inmarsat, Carmel Mulhern GC Telstra and, a lesser spotted CEO, Martin Cruddace CEO Arena Racing Company. Lesser spotted because we rarely see CEOs at these events and my hobby horse du jour is the GC-CEO Relationship  – see my recently published pamphlet. The one-day programme is packed with short meaty break out  sessions including one on bringing business discipline to running Inhouse functions. They need it. Looking forward to the speakers dinner tonight. Hope there’s lots of spuds. I’m starving…

Ciaran

Looking forward to Co-Operation Ireland Gala dinner in London tonite; a peace building charity worthy of support…

….because it has worked tirelessly over the last thirty years to help build peace in Northern Ireland.The Queen and The President of Ireland are Joint Patrons. You can donate HERE.

Ciaran