“How do you like the Queen?”
Those familiar with Alice in Wonderland will recognise these words spoken by the Cat to Alice.
And of course we know that Alice began to say “Not at all, she’s so extremely …” before she noticed that the Queen was listening.
Those in key leadership roles may well reflect on what we would have done next.

Do we go on to say what we mean because we mean what we say?
Or, do we mask our true meaning and offer up some nice platitudes instead?
Getting that right as a leader is a big deal.

So what did Alice say? Alice added the following words: “— likely to win, that it’s hardly worth while finishing the game.”
This is an excellent example of a missed opportunity for the leader to receive honest feedback.
Alice may have feared the consequences of offering up the truth to the Queen.
A true leader would welcome feedback.
Leaders use every opportunity to model saying what they mean and meaning what they say.
This re-enforces the confidence of others to do the same.
The winner is the organisation and its success in achieving its purpose.

Futurist and businessman Alvin Toffler’s book, ‘Future Shock’, published in 1970 seems accurate in describing the central challenge of today.
Each day offers further examples of ‘our collective inability to deal with ever-faster change’.

Alvin Toffler described what is a real psychological malady, the ‘dizzying disorientation brought on by the premature arrival of the future’.

And ‘unless intelligent steps are taken to combat it’, Toffler warned, ‘millions of human beings will find themselves increasingly disoriented, and progressively incompetent to deal rationally with their environments’.

Toffler seems to have most accurately articulated the organisational leadership challenge best when he stated: ‘Change is avalanching upon our heads and most people are grotesquely unprepared to cope with it.’

Our leaders need to provide us with the right environment to enable us to go forth into the future and embrace it with confidence.

Sometimes it is easy to feel that professionally you are flying solo. There is a sense that a bigger game of cat and mouse operates and somehow, you’re the cheese.
It’s easy to observe that governments pass more or stricter regulations to plug loopholes, and employees then find new loopholes which exploit those new regulations; so, Groundhog Day is revisited.
When will enough people say that the fault is not in our laws but with us?

For is not Justice Neville Owen’s question raised in the HIH Insurance Royal Commission of 2003 still valid: – Did anyone stand back and ask themselves the simple question — is this right?”

Importantly if something is to really happen then the hearts and minds of an organisation’s leadership need to be aligned and committed. This is a fundamental start to sound governance, yet we know more must follow. For sound corporate governance is truly about what is done, accepted, ignored, rewarded, not tolerated, and lived with day-to-day by our leaders.

This does not need a written code of ethics; but it does need a lived experience. If leaders live the values, then an organisation’s culture is positively nurtured. This in turn will successfully and effectively regulate the individual’s behaviour and reflect what is the approved culture of the organisation.

Ultimately as a part of a collective this re-enforces all individuals to redouble their efforts as they can see it potentially makes a valued difference.

Many of us relate to a feeling of unease at work.
It’s not because our work mates aren’t friendly. It’s more about having to face the unpredictable and inexplicable random surprises and demands for change and quick response times.

In a nutshell our world is spinning out of control and help is not on offer.

We are experiencing a sense of anxiety or discontent that is like “an unpleasant smell”. Knowing it’s there doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.

The best approach though is to accept the inevitability of change. The real challenge is to gain a position where you have a sense of being in control over some of the change.

So, over the next few months why not try to work with some of the changes and create positive opportunities for yourself and for others in your workplace.

You will notice a sense of confidence will emerge resulting in greater enjoyment coming to work.