The test of a great leader is when things are tough. Anybody can lead especially when there is no problem. The need for a leader comes when the business is collapsing, people are not happy or the organization is under threat due to legal battles. Carlos Ghosn was nicknamed Mr Fixer after spearheading the turnaround of Nissan from its near-bankruptcy in 1999. By the early 2000s, the company had emerged from the crisis. Overcoming challenges is what makes one become a leader. When you hear or read about Nelson Mandela’s name that has been written in world history, it is…
Understanding cybersecurity and computer forensics
Security is a human right. It gives you peace of mind to focus and thrive. Everyone feels safer at their home. This is because of a special feeling of being in control of the environment. You are so familiar with your home and neighbourhood that you feel safe and confident. Depending on your income level, at home, you have implemented basic physical security in terms of access control. In addition to the doors on each room in your house, you have implemented burglar proof in all windows and doors. And that is not enough, you have a tall perimeter wall,…
Spyware on the rise – be careful of mobile gadget gifts
We like to gift or be gifted. Sometimes, such devices have installed spyware that monitors all your activities on the phone. Marriages have broken up as a result of one of the partners spying on the other. We have had many cases of marriage partners complaining about spying on them. One of the most outstanding cases is a woman who met a fiancée online via a Facebook networking app. The man happened to be from Uganda but had travelled to Canada for work and studies. After some good years of online dating while abroad, he returned to Uganda for an…
The future of work is integrating a hybrid approach to maximize staff potential
The era of rigid policies and procedures is long gone. It is now about self-drive, understanding the people you have on your team, creating clarity of the vision and expectations to win. Once this clarity is well cascaded to the entire team, it becomes the leader’s role to challenge the team on how to deliver. What do you bring to the table and how do you deliver the outcome? Traditionally, companies relied on policies and procedures because the environment required that setting. The workers on a factory floor, for example, for one to deliver value, must be physically present at…
Becoming the right-hand person of your boss
To become a close ally of your boss, follow the rules of trust: rule number 1 is never to surprise the boss. Most leaders have what is called the inner circle. The inner-circle rule states that every leader has a close-knit group of people who s/he confides in for the most key secrets of the job. These are the people who do the errands of the boss for the success of the organization and the “close knit-group”. In politics, it is called the ruling team. These are people privy and close to top secrets. The next course of action. The…
You can’t buy trust — you have to earn it
Most of the time when leaders invite me to facilitate their strategic retreats, the first thing to do is to encourage self-discovery, break the boundaries to create team cohesion. To achieve this quickly, we do a simple exercise called the ‘trust game.’ In 2019, I was invited to facilitate a strategy retreat for the Board and EXCO. The CEO had earlier briefed me about one of the challenges the company was facing; poor board relationship due to trust issues. As part of the retreat, the CEO asked me to help deepen bonding and trust among members for team cohesion. At…