Are your relationships the secret weapon you're overlooking? In the demanding landscape for executive leadership teams, strategy, operations, and key performance indicators often dominate the agenda. However, what about the very foundation upon which success is built: the network of relationships within your team? When we neglect these connections, it is like constructing a skyscraper on a foundation of sand. Fragile relationships give rise to miscommunication, erode trust and psychological safety, and ignite conflicts, ultimately limiting innovation and progress.

Is your leadership team wrestling with decision fatigue? Do endless debates and risk aversion slow your progress, hindering agility and stifling innovation? In today's rapidly evolving landscape, the inability to make timely and effective decisions can be a significant roadblock to success.

I recently came across this quote:
"When we are forcing change, this will automatically create resistance.
This effort is keeping things in place and preventing things from flowing.
Instead, we want to create the conditions that allow things to change, based on their own flow."
- Headspace

And in a few simple words this quote is expressing what many people do wrong in managing change. And in many modern leadership concepts, I can observe the same mantra: let's move from competition and conflict towards cooperation and unity.

At Hive17, we believe that our strength lies not just in our collective skills, but in the diverse perspectives and experiences each member brings. By embracing diversity and fostering an inclusive environment, we can significantly enhance our collaboration, innovation, productivity, and overall motivation.

Diversity, in its essence, encompasses the wide array of backgrounds, cultures, viewpoints, and talents that make up our community. When we actively seek out and value these differences, we unlock a wealth of creativity and problem-solving capabilities. Inclusion goes a step further, ensuring that everyone feels welcomed, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique insights. It's about creating a space where everyone feels they belong and their voices are heard.

Where does power solely come from authority? In the pursuit of business success, leaders often find themselves grappling with the concept of power. How can power be wielded effectively, not just for personal gain but for the betterment of the entire organization and community? The book "The Art of Power" by Thich Nhat Hanh offers a Zen approach to leadership, suggesting that true power lies not in authority, but in mindfulness, compassion, and insight.
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Thich Nhat Hanh emphasizes that power is not derived from external factors, but from within. Self-confidence, diligence, awareness, concentration, and insight are all key sources of power. When leaders cultivate these qualities, they are better equipped to handle power skillfully and lead with patience, love, and wisdom.

Would you agree - it is so easy to lead and influence with authority. Your hierarchical position allows you to tell people what to do. And things are getting done. Easy, right?

In my experience, this leads to complacency and "dump followership". It hinders your productivity, agility and innovation. You want your teams to add their expertise, make fast decisions, and think out of the box. Let's look at leading without authority!

Change is not only needed when major external factors are transforming. Some teams are doing good and are well established. Yet, there is an itch: can we do better? Is our team enabled to give their best? Could it be that we are becoming complacent?

Last week we facilitated a workshop with a regional leadership team that was a great bunch of people. And they went exactly through these kinds of thoughts. And within a highly interactive day we laid the foundation for a highly effective leadership team. Let's see how!

One way I like to explain what change management practitioners are doing, is by making a distinction between Change Makers and Change Facilitators. The former being responsible that the change is happening; the latter being responsible that the change is happening as effective as possible.

We can find great synergy between these two roles, supporting each other in creating lasting success for organisations. Let me dive deeper into this dream team.

How do you bring a global strategy into the APAC region? You might have guessed, not with a push approach. Rather, based on a dialogue among equals.

That's what we did last week with Jungheinrich Singapore, bringing together the Racking business team to discuss how they can explore and accelerate in this market.

Feeling like your leadership team is pulling in different directions?  Unsure if everyone truly knows each other, let alone shares a common vision? A Leadership Team Retreat can be the spark you need to reignite collaboration and drive.

This week, we witnessed this firsthand while supporting the regional leadership team of an industrial solutions provider. Facing a newly formed organization, a shockwave of departures, and a distinct lack of cohesion, they needed a catalyst for change. Our solution? A ferry ride to Batam for an immersive retreat.

This year I took the journey to become a certified family business advisor in expanding Hive17's services into a new field. Based on our strength of fostering relationships and enabling leadership teams to give their best, we are now able to help families to define and build a long lasting future for their families and the business they are engaging in.

In helping business families, we are focusing on cohesion, clarity and entrepreneurship. Despite the inherent trust in families, open communication and shared goals are rather a rarity. Let's work together on this.

This week I am in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, facilitating a series of 2-day workshops. The topic? Change Management for the senior leadership teams of a large-scale organisation - in total about 100 people.
Why did the organisation choose change management as a topic? Despite the current legacy of the country, the organisation can only be successful in the long run, when they focus on the future! And the future will always bring a lot of new opportunities. Are you ready?

What are the key topics for High Performance Leadership? This week I was attending a masterclass organised by IMD presenting their signature program: High Performance Leadership. And you will be surprised what their key topics are...

Collaboration, relationships, emotions, purpose, self-discovery, psychological safety, etc. At Hive17, we believe that transformational business success is based on highly effective teamwork. It is great to get this confirmation from the big guys.

"It is lonely on the top..." We hear this often about senior leadership teams; they are rather a group of successful individuals and are competing with each other.
Though, effectiveness for the top teams is essential for two reasons:

• The leadership team is not able to give their best
• They set an example of low effectiveness across the wider organisation

​Let's have a deeper look at this.

This is not the first time, I share about self-managed organisations (check here) and I admit, the concept is fascinating. It is fully aligned with successful leadership principles like shared goals, transparency, autonomy, etc.

Hey wait - this is not a concept! Self-managed organisations have been implemented in the real world and the results are in! 50% revenue increase; doubling of profit. Do you want to learn more?

What are the top three people challenges in Singapore?

• Fast to quit: 60%
• Burnt out: 67%
• Disengaged: 80%

​This week I attended an event by the Association for SME and the speakers and panel were very insightful. The title: Stronger People - Stronger Business. Which leads directly into Organisational Health.

Have you encountered that before? Your organisation has clear values around trust and agility. And then you compare this with internal processes like your expense reporting which manifest the opposite: expected fraud and bureaucracy.

This year I have developed an additional pillar for organisational health. In order to reduce confusion, increase productivity and address attrition, developing the right skills, mindsets and behaviours might not be enough. Adapting the organisational structure to the goals and values of the organisation is vital.

How many people do you observe around you that are at ease in their job, feel that they are under control and are confident to deliver great results without pressure. I would guess, not many...

​Gallup reports a global rise in workplace unhappiness. Everyone is pushed harder and harder. Targets are spiralling up and resources are scrapped left and right. How can this be healthy?

In today's world, we are rushing for more and more deliverables. And in this environment we keep pushing our people. As a result, they (and we ourselves) are feeling exhausted, drained of energy and are getting close to burning out.

What is a better, alternative approach? Delegate decision-making, give more autonomy and let go of control. This means, establishing a Self-Managed Organisation. This sounds difficult, how are we actually supposed to go about this?

As a leader, do you sometimes feel stuck and despite the best efforts, you don't see progress? You might focus too much on being smart. Successful organisation focus on being smart and healthy.

I like to illustrate this as a train representing the delivery to the customers (smartness). And the tracks (healthiness) are supporting the train to run smoothly.

According to Patrick Lencioni it is easy to be smart; and many companies struggle to become healthy.

What is the easiest way to deflate engagement and motivation? Behave in a toxic way! This is a topic that has gotten increasingly more attention recently. The business world is experiencing more tension and more leaders understand that a positive work atmosphere is leading to better results.

Recently, I have read Michael Jenkin's new book Toxic Humans. Very insightful and I want to share my thoughts here. Overall a great read, also because it has a refreshingly engaging writing style.

Recently, a good number of people share with me that they are frustrated that people at work are not greeting each other, that they only focus on the minimum, are not sharing their opinion, and are simply waiting for the next instructions.

Did we hire the wrong people? Or rather, do our leadership styles have blindspots that indirectly encourage such behaviour?

I definitely think, your leadership style has a strong impact on the behaviour above. Aren't we spending too much time at work that it can be boring and a slog? Let's create a work environment that is fun, exciting and fulfilling. And, we achieve better results.

Sustainability initiatives often face a hurdle: cost concerns. Many believe decarbonisation is simply too expensive. But what if we re-framed the conversation?

This case study showcases how a seemingly daunting cost-cutting target became a springboard for a successful sustainability initiative. Here's how a headquarter's request for a 200 million US dollar savings in energy cost became a catalyst for positive change.

Sustainability and cost savings can be a powerful combination!

There are mentorship programs and mentorship programs... Sometimes you walk into the client's office and you feel a different culture - a strong, positive dedication to deliver great results. How can you maintain and improve this culture while scaling up fast?

VISEO - the Positive Digital Makers - launched a mentorship program exactly with this in mind: selecting and enabling a group of custodians for the VISEO way of working. And I am very grateful to have an instrumental role in this endeavour, initiating the change in the Asia-Pacific region.