the word is leadership

In episode 25 of ‘The Word is Leadership’ the random word ‘amiss’ helps us tackle a fundamental area of leadership - vision. While there is an abundance of literature on the importance of having a vision and how to communicate it, there is a real scarcity of resources on how to formulate it. In the context of leadership, a vision is essentially about hope, defined as goal + will + way. To find a v...

This week, for episode 24 of ‘The Word is Leadership’ our random word is ‘palm’. We focus on the symbolism of the palm tree, drawing parallels between its resilience and ability to thrive in adverse conditions to the potential for leadership growth in any context. Building on previous episodes, I emphasise the importance of a strong core (trunk) in leadership, supported by flexible roots and flour...

In this 23rd episode of ‘The Word is Leadership’ our random word is ‘grain’. Associating the notion of seed with change and the notion of the grain of the wood with resistance (as in going against the grin) Emmanuel focuses on unveiling why people resist change and what leaders can do about it. Introducing the notion that not all change is resisted, using the mnemonic HURT, we discussed the elemen...

In this episode of ‘The Word is Leadership’ our random word of the week is dumb (lacking the power of human speech). Delving into its leadership implications of the word, Emmanuel introduces the concept of leaders having the power to facilitate or impede speech. He identifies three crucial areas of impact: giving people a voice, a platform, and a mic. Giving a voice highlights the importance of le...

In this episode of ‘The Word is Leadership’, Emmanuel has to draw a leadership lesson from the random word: nectar. Highlighting the association between the word nectar and value, level he poses the question, ‘How do we find our nectar?’ emphasising the uniqueness that attracts others. He looks at how listeners can uncover the core value (CV) that lies in their or their organization's unique story...

Another milestone as we reach episode 20 of ‘The Word is Leadership’. Our random word this week from which Emmanuel Gobillot derives leadership lessons is "eagle." Emmanuel delves into the symbolism of the eagle in various cultures and summarises the appeal of eagle as a symbol of leadership with the words power (strength and reassurance), vision (seeing the bigger picture and planning for the fut...

In Episode 19 of "The Word is Leadership," Emmanuel unveils the randomly selected word for the week: presume. He draws a distinction between assuming and presuming, emphasising that presumption involves more confidence and evidence. Illustrating with a story from his latest book ‘This is Not a Leadership Book’ he recounts a scenario where a high-performance leadership team faced a divergence of op...

Episode 18 of ‘The Word is Leadership’ sees Emmanuel once again open his new dictionary (but this time accompanied by a new jingle) to select the random word dismast. Despite his acknowledged limited knowledge of sailing, he draws parallels between avoiding dismasting in sailing and crisis management in leadership. He emphasizes the importance of meticulous planning, team coordination, and prepara...

In Episode 17 of "The Word is Leadership," we look at what the random word "prelogical" can teach us about leadership. Using personal anecdotes from France and Sweden backed by psychological research into why we do what we from the US, I delve into the intricate relationship between logic and emotions. We discuss the human tendency to simplify complex concepts by dividing logic and emotions and sh...

For this Episode 16 of ‘The Word is Leadership’, we keep our format but change our dictionary! However, the hope that this would lead to selecting new words was short lived as our random word is mace. Contrasting the spiked club and the ceremonial staff of office, we explore the various forms of assertive power in leadership. By distinguishing between power that makes others feel smaller (spiky cl...

In this 15th episode of ‘The Word is Leadership’ the random word of the week is broil. Emmanuel uses the definition of broil, to make a link between the uncontrolled/controlled use of fire and the responses leaders have to unexpected events and crises. He emphasises the need for leaders to master the skill of broiling (the dynamics of controlling and directing high heat) instead of engaging in aim...

In Episode 14 of ‘The Word is Leadership’ our random word is ‘parish’ prompting Emmanuel to highlight the dichotomy between the organisation (a formal structure such as a parish council) and the company (a social structure such as a religious parish), reminiscent of last week’s distinction between employees and companions. The episode delves into the organisational challenges faced by leaders, emp...

In Episode 13 of ‘The Word is Leadership’, our random word of the week is ‘companion’, defined as one who accompanies another. Recounting the story of Jacques and the medieval "compagnonnage" guild, Emmanuel uses this movement, with its rites of passage and communal journeys, as a metaphor for the intertwined nature of organisational accountabilities and individual social identities. The episode d...

Welcome to Episode 12 of "The Word is Leadership." Where this week’s random word is ‘pride’. Instead of simply focusing on pride as an emotion, Emmanuel explores the word itself to demonstrate how, given the words we chose impact our emotions, whether you see pride as an underused or overused word, the truth is that it is, too often, simply the wrong word to use. After exploring both the positive...

This week, for episode 11 of ‘The Word is Leadership’, the random word is ‘GRAFT’ (inserting a shoot or scion into another stock to receive sap). Emmanuel draws parallels between biological grafting and organizational grafting, emphasizing the challenge of integrating new elements without rejection. To address this Emmanuel introduces the ABC of grafting: Analyse, Be clear, and Clean-up. Analysing...

For this 10th episode of "The Word is Leadership." Our random word is "MYXOMA," a term related to a rabbit virus. Using the example of rabbits in Australia, Emmanuel decides to focus on what he calls the action, reaction, adaptation cycle and its implications for leaders. He explains how the introduction of rabbits led to unforeseen consequences, triggering the need for actions and adaptations. Th...

Welcome to Episode 9 of "The Word is Leadership," this week, Emmanuel is faced with the word ‘archaic’ as his random word to improvise a leadership lesson with. Highlighting the negative connotation of the word archaic (i.e. seeing the past as outmoded and irrelevant) Emmanuel discusses the need for leaders to be objective about their relationship with time and illustrates this with two stories. T...

In this 8th episode of ‘The Word is Leadership’, our host, Emmanuel Gobillot has to work with the random word ‘which’ to build a leadership lesson. He begins with Rudyard Kipling's ‘six honest serving men’ - what, why, when, where, who, and how in order to emphasize their importance in studying and reporting on situations, but also to show that for leaders, an additional W is crucial to making cho...

Episode 7 of ‘The Word is Leadership’ focuses on the word liability. Whilst there is clearly an association between with finance, Emmanuel steers away from this conventional focus preferring instead to explore the mindset attached to the word liability and its implications for leadership. The central question posed is why does the word liability have a negative connotation when, in reality, it goe...

In this sixth episode of ‘The Word is Leadership’ we once again find ourselves with a word starting with the letter C as our random word this week is crayon. Emmanuel explores the concept of drawing with crayons as a metaphor for expressing one's true colours and personality in leadership and focuses on how we can draw our personal leadership brand with a crayon, showcasing authenticity and indivi...

Welcome to Episode 5 of ‘The Word is Leadership.’ Another week, another jingle, and another random word. This week, using the word ‘common’ we delve into a leadership challenge related to the definition provided in our previous episode. How can leaders ensure that autonomous employees choose the organization’s goal over their own? We contrast the default strategy of finding a compromise which leav...

Welcome to Episode 4 of ‘The Word is Leadership’ where, once again, Emmanuel Gobillot picks a random word to improvise a leadership lesson. With a new jingle in place, the random word this week is tug. A word which finally presents an opportunity to define what leadership is. Using tug of war and tug boats to illustrate McGregor's Theory X and Y of management and motivation, Emmanuel challenges ou...

In episode 3 of ‘The Word is Leadership’ Emmanuel Gobillot continues to build leadership lessons inspired by random words. The chosen word this week is squeak (and there's even a jingle to introduce it). This episode takes a personal turn as Emmanuel recalls a joke from his uncle Roger which becomes a metaphor to discuss the dangers of becoming over sensitized or desensitized to organisational squ...

Welcome back to another episode of "The Word is Leadership." In this second instalment, global leadership speaker, author and consultant, Emmanuel Gobillot continues the unique approach of selecting a random word and deriving leadership lessons from it. This time, the chosen word is gentry. Drawing parallels between the social structure of royalty, court, and gentry and the organizational structur...

Welcome to the first episode of ‘The Word is Leadership’ podcast, where each week, our host, global leadership speaker, author and consultant, Emmanuel Gobillot, embarks on a unique journey by selecting a random word to extract valuable leadership lessons from it. In this inaugural episode, our word is surprisingly simple yet profound – SOCK. We reflect on the unnoticed habits in our organizations...