My perspectives on leadership for a changing planet
Articles & Blogs
The onward drive for gender equity
By Alison Maitland As this is the last column I’ll write for the IWE community, I want first to thank and pay a personal tribute to Peta Payne as she steps down. Those who know the driving force behind IWE (International Women of Excellence) will know how modest she…
Taking collective action for inclusion
27 July 2021 THERE’S something extraordinary about taking part in a collective challenge with a group of people who have a unifying purpose. We feel connected, even to near-strangers. We achieve more than we thought we were capable of. We transcend boundaries…
What men can do to advance gender equity
19 July ’21 By Alison Maitland Some of us have been saying it for years: achieving gender equity should not be the job of women alone. Indeed, it’s unlikely to happen unless men are deeply involved in driving the change, especially the men who are still the…
INdivisible a ‘top pick’ for HBS Faculty Summer Reads
LinkedIn post, 6 July 2021 Exciting to see ‘INdivisible’ feature as a top pick in The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2021. Our book, which radically rethinks inclusion for sustainable business results, is one of the choices of Professor…
Connecting to nature, one insect bite at a time
LinkedIn post, 21 June 2021 Ouch, and ouch again! A hungry horsefly threatened to spoil a glorious day out with friends in the countryside. Nursing my bites, I wondered what would happen if I switched from feeling sorry for myself and tried on a different perspective….
How to give ‘networking’ a better reputation
LinkedIn Post, 7 June How could we reframe networking to give it a better name? It’s an incredibly important skill. Yet I’ve noticed how often people, especially women, say they feel deeply uncomfortable about it. Networking may be negatively viewed as: · Asking…
How can coaching support climate action?
LinkedIn post, 1 June 2021 How can coaching support people’s actions on climate change? There are so many ways, as I’ve learned from the excellent 12-week Climate Change Coaches course I’ve just completed alongside an inspiring international cohort. Here are six…
Designing organisations that welcome everyone
25 May 2021 How do we design organisations that inspire, connect and welcome everyone? Community initiatives can teach us a lot. Colinton Tunnel, a former railway tunnel on the outskirts of Edinburgh, used to be grim, dark and scary for the walkers and cyclists who…
What will matter most after the crisis?
10 May 2021 By Alison Maitland How do you want life to be when we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis? It’s a big question. You may have been too busy juggling work and home-schooling to give it much thought, or too overwhelmed by sadness and exhaustion to focus on…
Seven ways to find joy in climate action
LinkedIn post 4 May Is there room for joy in climate action? Anxiety, anger and anguish are often dominant as people face up to the enormity and seriousness of climate change. These are powerful emotions that must be recognised, acknowledged, expressed. But as humans…
Creating excitement about the power of inclusion at work
LinkedIn post, 27 April How do you excite people about the power and potential of inclusion at work? Using everyday analogi es is helpful. In our book INdivisible, Rebekah Steele and I describe a truly inclusive work environment as being like a well-functioning…
Sustaining motivation in the face of setbacks
LinkedIn post 13 April Are you a change-maker? Do you get disheartened when progress is slow, when you see hard-won gains reversed, when the path ahead is blocked? Setbacks can be tough to bear, especially tackling urgent challenges like climate change, racial equity…
Podcast: Radically rethinking inclusion
30 March As part of Workplace Forum 2021, my co-author Rebekah Steele and I were interviewed by Ben Rue for this podcast on overcoming barriers to inclusion with a bold new approach. Drawing on our book INdivisible , we discussed: Our expansive vision of inclusion to…
What do we need from ourselves to bring ease to others?
LinkedIn post 23 March 2021. I was sent a gift last weekend. A link to a raw but uplifting poem for our times: ‘For One Who Is Exhausted, a Blessing’ by John O’Donohue. It describes how we can lose our sense of self and the choices we have as we travel fast through…
Embarking on climate change coaching
LinkedIn post, 16 March 2021 What changes have you made over this past difficult year? What’s precipitated those shifts? Last May I attended my first online coaching conference as UK ICF responded to the ‘New Reality’. I heard Charly Cox, Climate Change Coach,…
Getting to equity: time to celebrate or worry?
8 March 2021 By Alison Maitland It’s apt that this year’s International Women’s Day theme is #ChooseToChallenge. Even though there are some milestones to celebrate, the journey towards gender and other forms of equity faces troublesome obstacles…
What’s your intention for 2021?
By Alison Maitland, 11 January 2021 Did you make a New Year’s resolution? Have you managed to stick to it? If it’s already seeming like hard work, you’re not alone. Studies indicate that resolutions are often broken and that they’re an…
Racism and ‘allyship’
16 Nov 2020 By Alison Maitland ALONGSIDE the Covid-19 crisis, the police killing of George Floyd and the resurgence of the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the US and many other countries have been defining events of 2020. They have focused attention on the persistence…
Inclusion in the new era of work
13 Sept 2020 By Alison Maitland BY MOST ACCOUNTS, we are moving into a new era of work. For those who typically worked in an office, the Covid-19 crisis has tipped the balance decisively in favour of workplace flexibility. The knowledge workforce of the future…
Systemic inequities need radical responses
13 July 2020 By Alison Maitland The economic crisis caused by the global pandemic risks reinforcing inequalities around the world. What needs to be done to prevent this and to stop the pockets of progress of recent decades from being reversed? It is an urgent…
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