I met Diana in Autumn 2018 when she organised the winter 2018 Moscow Toastmasters conference. She later moved to London and served as conference director for the Toastmasters District 91 spring conference. There, she spearheaded the transition from a world-class in person event to a world-class online event. Last year she launched Skillsme Academy and I recently … Read more
Over the last few weeks, I have heard from many people and quarters – “the future of Toastmasters is hybrid” or “the post-pandemic new normal will be one of hybrid meetings and events.” Yet just like the assertion that the future of public speaking is online. I believe that the actual mechanics of and what … Read more
In the first article of this series, we explored the video game origins of tall vs wide leadership strategies to grow an organisation. The objective of both strategies is the same, growing an organisation, and obtaining more resources to gain a decisive advantage over the competition. However, both strategies use different means. Tall growth will … Read more
Back in 2019, I explored how playing strategy games taught me about strategic leadership. I would even go as far as saying that spending hundreds of hours on them when I was younger, proved instrumental in making it easier for me to design high-level strategic plans during my leadership journey. Recently, I spent some time … Read more
When reflecting on the leadership roles I held in the past few years. I discovered that nearly everything I did as a leader could be split between short-range and long-range tasks or items. Neither was exclusive with the other, and both were necessary elements of my role as a leader. Nevertheless, juggling between both sets … Read more
You’ve perhaps been asked to “say a few words” and deliver a short speech at very short notice, and with only a limited amount of time to prepare. This will be especially the case if you are in a position of responsibility or a leadership position. In my leadership journey, this happened so many times … Read more
Once upon a time, when I was a child in primary school, I distinctly remember our teacher telling us – “Your notes must be neat, tidy and most importantly, understandable to anyone visiting the school that may want to look at them.’ This sentence stayed with me ever since and often comes back to my … Read more
It feels strange to realise that it will soon be one year since we moved online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our post-pandemic world will be far more attuned to the idea of working remotely and attending remote meetings with team members, friends and colleagues from all over the world. Meanwhile, new services make it … Read more
Ever since I was young, I have always been interested in history. I love studying history as it provides clues as to how and why the present world came to be. History more than anything can also tell us why some individuals, organisations or even civilisations ended-up becoming more successful than others. In the words … Read more
The festive season provided me with a perfect opportunity to think and reflect of my leadership journey so far. As for most people, 2020 was a strange year for me and I found myself leading a major organisation during a global pandemic. Additionally, this year marks a new phase in my leadership journey as my … Read more