How can leaders save their team from constant firefighting and challenge them to start thinking about how they can prevent the fires from starting in the first place?

At work, we may not know what to do and clearly would benefit from some help, yet we’re reluctant to ask for it. Instead, we spend hours trying to solve it all by ourselves and eventually suffer in silence. We fear that people would judge us as stupid, weak, needy and incompetent, especially in a competitive work environment - when really, there’s no shame in asking for help when we need it.

My friend once told me off for rehashing an incident that happened years ago, “Stop it! How many years have you held on to this? If you want to be known as a reliable leader of your community, stop blaming and start taking responsibility for your decisions. Holding on to this grudge is your choice.”

It was a much-needed slap in the face.

A single person, armed with a thin baton, who makes no sound of their own, draws out an unforgettable audiovisual performance from a hundred instrument-brandishing people.

Leading an organization isn’t so different from conducting an orchestra.

Here’s why.

Whenever I am asked this question, I’m unable to give a clear, simple and inspiring answer. Because everything seems important - to provide a vision, to be the strategist, to coach, to network, to innovate, to motivate and the list goes on.

But I received a revelation recently froma podcast sermon I was listening to. It came out of a clear blue sky:

I live in an increasingly complex world. The industry I work in, influencer marketing, is fast paced, ever changing and has a high degree of uncertainty because we’re dealing with people. Adding to this are the increasing demands from clients and emerging new competitors every other day.

We need Catalyst Leaders more than ever today. What defines one?

Because our feelings are never a good gauge for reality. Our emotions can easily cloud our judgement.

Here’s a framework to sort out your emotions.

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea.

This is probably one of the best advice I’ve received from one of my former bosses. And I want to share this with you and hope you find it helpful.

“As a leader of a department (or an organization), there are 3 buckets you need to pay attention to. They are Operations, The Future and People. The trick is to find a balance in all three. There will be seasons where one bucket will demand more focus, but ultimately, you need to find that balance.”