Leading Responsibly with Integrity & Purpose

We want to do the best we can but at the same time we are facing more and more challenges. People are feeling the pressure to perform with many things calling us to action. The easier answer is to work harder and harder, but what we are increasingly seeing is that we are not able to cope anymore; our bodies are only capable of doing so much.  How do we recognise this burnout out? How do we de...

Catherine is a Master Humanistic Psychologist who helps successful entrepreneurs, executives and business owners master their full power and potential, leverage their opportunities and elevate their lives. Watch this interview with Thom Dennis, CEO of Serenity in Leadership as she explores her work with those CEOs who have a reputation of being the most difficult and challenging to support and gui...

My tribute, with particular reference to the traits of leadership that Her Majesty displayed so uniquely and so remarkably. Thank you Ma'am, may you rest in peace. 

The Bargain - Remote Employee Monitoring Software and their subjects, welcoming & resistant. Remote Employee Monitoring Software has proliferated. There are now eight of the top 10 US employers by number of employees, private employers - companies that hire huge numbers of people, doing some form of individual employee productivity monitoring, in many cases in real time. This is a controversia...

Thom Dennis spent 17 years as an officer in the Royal Marines. Here he reflects on three aspects of leadership he learnt and which are applicable in today's world of business, and society for that matter. What do you think? Please add your thoughts in the comments, and share your ideas about the skills of leadership that are needed today. #marine #marines #royalmarines #learning #learninglesso...

Organisations need rebels - they bring challenge, innovation, creativity. But they are often the most difficult to manage and because of that, they are often pushed out of the organisation when they were actually really needed. It pays to find ways to include these people - they bring the future with them. What do you think? Please add your thoughts in the comments. #rebel #rebellion #revolution #...

Taking a Stand for Rainforests, Indigenous People & Climate Change - Being a Leader & Taking Action. Leaders are under such enormous pressure to run their companies how they always have - there are so many priorities, indeed many more than there were before the pandemic, before Brexit, before the invasion of Ukraine. And at the same time, one of the largest carbon sinks on earth, which is...

Thoughts from Crom Castle on Networking & Nature 

They say People are our most important asset. Not everyone acts accordingly. Do we have to run organisations without Heart? We are entering difficult times, really difficult and challenging times, and organisations like Better.com and P&O are taking decisions which hurt and traumatise people. Some consultancies advise that quick and sharp cuts are best ... but for whom? I would suggest certain...

What is it about Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his style of leadership that makes it so resonant and admirable for so many people today. Could it be that it is a projection of how we want our leaders to be? He is a role model for us in our times of chaos, change and uncertainty. Courage, vulnerability, steadfastness in adversity, transparency are all traits we long for in our leaders, and seem to see so...

There are many examples of people in power doing things to suit their own needs, either to stay in favour with those with greater power, or to satisfy their own ego needs. There is much collateral damage which is caused as a result, and we are now seeing this style of disrespectful leadership being increasingly challenged. It's clear that what we need in order to be successful, in the widest but m...

The Great Awkward - Thom Dennis on hybrid working challenges and The Great Awkward Return to Work. It's a little early to tell about the success of hybrid working. It's a much more complex situation than at first appears, containing new issues that leadership have not encountered before.  What is important is for leaders to understand the various issues that are arising so they can make in...

Issues around trust abound today. Leaders who try to force their strategies and ideologies reduce their people's trust which tends to encourage them to force more. In order to create trust, you have to create a space in which people feel safe because when they feel safe, they can be vulnerable. Trust comes from vulnerability and vulnerability comes from trust. #trust #leadership #serenityinleaders...

How bias in business decision making has such a huge impact. Is your Diversity and Inclusion strategy working? Thom Dennis explores some of the key aspects of bias in business decision making in organisations and gives some pointers as to how to make your investment worth while - it may not be what you think but bias in organization has so much potential if tackled. #bias #biasinorganisation #bias...

The importance of rehearsal in leadership cannot be over-emphasised. Sometimes incredibly important decisions have to be made under duress, and impossible time constraints with massive potential consequences. If we have practised under similar situations, even if they are artificial, it equips leaders to be sharper, more decisive and less prone to allow stress to overcome them. It is beholden on t...

How is it that a rich, successful leader and owner of a large business can fire 900 of his employees on a 3-minute Zoom call? This shines a light on the clashing of the positive and negative traits of leadership, and Thom Dennis, in his Thought for the Week challenges the necessity for the negative traits, particularly because of their negative and traumatising effects on people. 

Why we can't hide from bias and colonialism and 'I'm Not Racist' is a self deception. Our colonial history has left us fundamentally biased and also unaware of our in-built sense of superiority. It's time for us to own up and name this and then move on from it. But we do have to own up first. __ Subscribe to our channel to watch interviews with some of the world's most este...

Part of the resistance to change is a willingness to take tentative steps; these can be slow and give a sense of safety. The trouble is they don't actually achieve anything when the need is urgent and major. Companies need to rethink the way they do business, especially examining their Purpose for validity and currency today. Small steps won't cut it for the companies that are going to be thriving...

When we make decisions, it's important to look at the wider ramifications and by-products of those decisions. This calls for an unbiased look at the situation and how it will change as a result. When we're keen on an idea it's quite easy to get into a 'wilful blindness' mindset which will prevent us from seeing what else will happen over and above what we intended. Unintended consequences - it's w...

People stay or go largely because of the culture of the organisation in which they work. Feeling respected is the single greatest influencer on their decisions, so it's beholden on senior management to ensure that people want to stay; it's very expensive to replace staff, particularly at the moment. Find out more about culture change and the solutions we offer here: https://www.serenityinl...

We are all role models for someone, and the greater our profile, or footprint, the larger the impact we have. So whatever we do people will emulate, and some will amplify, for good or for bad. It's therefore for us to be sensitive, and responsible, for our actions. Divisiveness leads to anger and frustration. Care, kindness and active listening lead to the defusing of tension. Serenity in Leadersh...

How could a man so decorated and loved for his courage, professionalism and leadership take his own life, leaving family and friends behind? I can’t even guess at the turmoil and desperation he must have felt in making such a tragic decision. However courageous we are, however resilient we’ve been, sometimes something happens that knocks through the veneer. It’s at that moment we all need support,...

Standing out for Right calls for the essential leadership ability of being vulnerable and that requires great courage. If we know something is going wrong we must stand up and call it for what it is - fraud, dishonesty, cruelty. We may become unpopular and be excoriated but in the long run lives may be saved, and that surely makes it worth while. -- Serenity in Leadership is a culture change consu...

Based on a conversation between Simon Sinek and Brené Brown, Thom highlights the difference between Finite and Infinite games and thinking. In finite games, like football or athletics, the players are known, the rules are fixed, and the endpoint is clear. Winners and losers are easily identified.   In infinite games, like business or politics or life itself, the players come and go, the rules...

The absolute need for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training to be a core of organisational thinking is slowly being accepted. And there's still a long way to go! CEO, Thom Dennis shares why EDI training is important in the workplace.  Serenity in Leadership is a culture change consultancy with outstanding skills in leadership development and conflict resolution strategies. Subscribe to our...