Thierry_G

10 reflective questions for mid year

The summer holidays are always a good time to take stock of the year so far. Here are 10 reflective questions worth pondering: Happy holidays ☀️

Leadership development is about the medium, not the method

I spent the last week with a senior leadership team in beautiful South Wales to deliver a client-centred development programme. By the end, the leaders hadn’t just become more mindful and skilled in holding powerful conversations, they had become a team where people look out for each other. On these programmes we see time andContinue reading “Leadership development is about the medium, not the method”

What’s the value of a PhD in the geospatial job market?

This morning I had a lengthy conversation with a geospatial PhD graduate whose first job, a 12 month contract, is coming to an end. The job hunt is not easy. Of course it isn’t – the graduate job market is the worst it has been in decades. But this raises another question: are PhDs ‘graduates’Continue reading “What’s the value of a PhD in the geospatial job market?”

Less effort, more impact

On 26 September 1983, the world was saved by one man whose heroic action was to… do nothing. Stanislav Petrov was on duty in a Russian bunker. He was monitoring the nuclear early warning system when it detected five US missiles flying towards the Soviet Union. Instead of immediately relaying this up the chain ofContinue reading “Less effort, more impact”

The next generation of geospatial is human

I felt sad to wrap up my 5-year engagement with the Geospatial Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) last week. All five PhD cohorts have shown great engagement, creativity and appreciation for the value of human skills. In today’s world the positive approach of their generation is a cause for optimism. Thank you to everyone atContinue reading “The next generation of geospatial is human”

Life as a coach workshop

Yesterday I ran this free workshop for early stage coaches and we all had a great time! If you’re interested in a future edition, drop me a line. It was just nice to sit together and openly talk about the things that occupy us as coaches – things we love, things that drive us nuts,Continue reading “Life as a coach workshop”

What makes a good career?

What does a good career look like today? When graduates struggle to find work and midlife professionals dream of quitting, is that even the right question? As a seventies child I was part of Gen X, the first cohort to see cracks appearing in the promise of endless growth, predictable careers and secure retirement. TodayContinue reading “What makes a good career?”

Calling early-stage coaches

Something I’ve been thinking about. As an antidote to the online sharks who promise to “10x your coaching income” and other bullshit. The early years as a self-employed coach can be exciting as well as daunting and isolating. You’re figuring things out as you go along – your confidence, purpose, offering, clients, business, process, philosophy,Continue reading “Calling early-stage coaches”

On geospatial human-centredness

At the recent Esri UK conference I was reminded of my time in the Libyan desert many years ago – a geospatial career highlight with surprising parallels to my work as a coach today. I loved travelling with seismic survey crews across the Sahara. Endless space, a clear task, and daily progress visible on aContinue reading “On geospatial human-centredness”

On flying solo and the symmetry of mutual learning

How do you keep a group of leaders engaged in learning for a full week without a single slide? Today I’m wrapping up my first ever client-centred programme run on my own. Normally we have two facilitators but with a smaller group than usual I was offered a new learning opportunity: to fly solo. HowContinue reading “On flying solo and the symmetry of mutual learning”