Picture this: A leadership development consultancy visiting an organisation for a workshop with the senior leaders. Except the first part of the process of developing leaders is to administer microdoses of psychedelics (amounts too small to incur hallucinations) to the whole team. Next, we wait a little while, perhaps engaging in a group meditation. Once everyone starts to feel an increased sense of awareness and openness to emotional connection, the workshop begins, focused on an out-of-the-box topic that would otherwise be off the table or not considered. Now, with a slightly altered state of mind, incredible new conversations and explorations can be had.

Here’s the problem with trying to measure someone’s entire future based on their past: you can’t possibly know what’s coming. Especially if a lot of existing factors and variables are going to change too. Elements such as working environment, employee demands, desired leadership skills, company culture, learning and development paths (all of which either already are or should be evolving inside of every set of walls). It’s a sure-fire way to underestimate, undervalue and underserve your people.

It’s always painful to admit when things have gone out of date. Whether it’s your hairstyle, those blueberries you literally bought yesterday, or the values of your organisation. It’s why I often find that there's a certain resistance around recognising that values might be a little bit dated, or that they need to change. Change can be frightening, but it’s about stepping up. To the hero’s plate.

Sustainability doesn’t just mean looking after the environment. Those skills gaps are threatening our development as individuals, as businesses, and as a species. Enough time has been wasted. Start 2022 right, by nurturing a highly skilled talent base that can future-proof your business.

They’re not secrets at all, actually. They’re all listed right here on my website. They’re my values, and I love sharing them with people in the hope they’ll change their life like they did mine. Because the fact that I live and breathe them has meant the success of my own personal development, my business and my work as a leadership development consultant and HR thought leader, and my entire life. They’re why I am who I am; why I do what I do; and why I love it all so much and keep smashing it out of the park.