Apr 2Keeping hope aliveIn the besieged city of Mariupol, the one remaining mobile phone operator restores the mobile phone network that was damaged by bombing the day before. A few hours later, bombing takes the network out again. But for a precious few hours, vital connection with the outside world is possible. The…Freedom2 min read
Mar 5Hearing what we cannot bearA friend and experienced journalist, writing about the war in Ukraine, yesterday shared a Russian woman’s emotional response to one of my friend’s posts. …Stand With Ukraine3 min read
Feb 28The very model of a modern leaderIn Kyiv’s Sophia square the statue of the fierce 17th century Cossack chieftain, Bogdan Khmelnytsky, sitting astride his fearless horse, commands immediate attention. Raised up against the backdrop of St Michael’s golden-domed monastery, the monument is a fantastic memorial to the brave and inspiring leader who in 1654 freed Ukrainian…Leadership2 min read
Feb 24So he actually did it. And it’s heartbreaking.The inevitable has happened. We hoped it wouldn’t. But it has. Russia has invaded Ukraine. The distant wave has just drawn uncomfortably close. Now the question none of us wants to contemplate. How far will it sweep? 23rd January 2005. I’m standing with my husband and two 11-year old sons…Ukraine3 min read
Dec 4, 2021When your plans get kiboshed, how do you respond?Four years ago this Christmas, I realised something helpful. We’d planned Christmas to be great, and then it was horrible. But whether it was actually great or horrible was entirely up to me. I wrote about it here. Last weekend, when full-on winter arrived without fair warning, I realised it…Change2 min read
Nov 15, 2021Am I on or am I off? That is the questionEarlier this week I caught up with a start-up co-founder I hadn’t spoken to for a while. He’s British, lives abroad, and was back in the UK with his young family for three weeks — their first visit since before the COVID pandemic. …Leadership2 min read
Oct 5, 2021When going home means coming homeOne day, 13 years ago, my 14-year old twin sons asked me “where’s home?” It was a sobering moment. In their short lifetime, we’d moved six times and lived in three different countries. The previous year they’d started boarding school in the UK. One more move for them. …Home2 min read
Nov 8, 2020On This Day (of all days)…I woke up early this morning with a song in my heart. A song of joy? Of hope? Surprisingly not. It was Mr Horrible complaining that ‘Someone Keeps Moving My Chair’ (From TMBG’s iconic 1990 album, Flood.) What??!! I got up. Put on my favourite Sunday morning music — Vivaldi’s…Compassion2 min read
Dec 8, 2019Evolving LeadershipBring together a diverse group of eight experienced leaders and take them on a 9-month journey into the heart and soul of who they are. Give them space to tune into how they think, feel, act. Help them (re)discover how to be the leader they want to be. That was…Leadership4 min read
Aug 14, 2019Navigating stormy watersand other leadership lessons — It’s years since I left the Royal Navy. Since then I’ve mainly been helping other leaders develop their own leadership. And yet every time I board a ship I have a goosebump moment. As if my body is simultaneously remembering and anticipating the feeling of being at sea. …Leadership3 min read
