Author: Kevin Gaskell
You don’t have to be a genius to be a leader of genius! – my earliest challenges were to rebuild a broken Porsche brand and then to inspire the team at BMW GB to achieve a 500% improvement in profit while transforming the service levels of an industry. Since then, Kevin Gaskell has founded start-ups, […]
You don’t have to be a genius to be a leader of genius! – my earliest challenges were to rebuild a broken Porsche brand and then to inspire the team at BMW GB to achieve a 500% improvement in profit while transforming the service levels of an industry.
Since then, Kevin Gaskell has founded start-ups, driven turnarounds and built companies in numerous sectors. Our teams have won awards and been recognised as some of the best in the world. They have also created over GBP 3 billion in shareholder value.
Now that the immediate shock of the pandemic is receding, we need to lead our teams in a way which encourages agility and dynamic growth. My view is that people are incredible. Ordinary people, led well, can achieve extraordinary results.
I believe that people can be inspired to stop chasing immediate rewards but rather think about building something that lasts, creating something of which they are proud. The principles and techniques of inspirational leadership are transferable to be a leader of genius.
I help leaders and teams to deliver them:
1. High performance begins and ends with engagement. The leader’s role is to establish a clear vision of success. Everyone needs to understand what success will look like, what it will sound like and what it will feel like. What will it mean for the customer when we get there? Everyone in the team has a role to play so we give them the opportunity to get excited and engaged.
2. Challenges are opportunities for growth. Address the fear of change by discussing the new status we are striving for. Evaluate carefully the opportunities and the marketplace and deal only in facts. Get excited together by being enthusiastic about the freedom to make real and substantial change. Invite team members to move quickly and to be a leader of genius.
3. Make it easy for the team to contribute. Build a clear, but simple, plan. Share it. Invite comments and ideas. Excite the high performers to become leaders at every level in the organisation. Be totally inclusive of talent and ideas – let people dream! Communicate the successes of individual’s ideas and improvements.
4. Praise first, challenge later. Provide regular feedback. Make heroes of the high performing teams by praising their approach to a challenge. A positive approach can be transferable to other areas. Leadership is about creating a positive culture and letting the team run. It is not the end of the world if it goes wrong.
5. Recognise that people are amazing. Leading teams to high performance is about creating the belief that ideas and challenge are progress. Set a positive example, be approachable, consistent, and make champions visible. Positive belief is an energy which transfers to be a leader of genius.
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Twitter
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
One morning when I was on my way to school, my life changed for the better with The Power of a Vision. I was 14 years old and an eighth grader at the time, and my school was on the other side of Matlala River in Limpopo. It was quite a long walk through the […]
The Role of a Virtual Emcee, a guide is the one steering you on the right course – a firm hand halting you from treading where you shouldn’t, and it’s the instructions researched and tested to provide you with the best results too. Therefore, a guide is also intrinsically necessary for the optimization of an […]
It is difficult to conceive that 11 months on from National Lock down on 26 March 2020, our tiny business survives and feels strongly that the tide is turning. What a significant time and mighty relief for us, acutely mindful that so many are struggling desperately just to survive. Despite it not being my natural […]
If we are going to do new things to survive in the Industrial Age, we are going to meet uncertainty. If we are going to meet uncertainty, we are going to discover risk. A show of hands… How many people, when you were 12, 13, 14 years of age, had a mother or a father […]
I had a recent team meeting where I brought our Caring Inclusive Listening Leadership coaches together to discuss an idea regarding the community. The call ended up going in an entirely different direction, but ended up in an amazing place. As the conversation grew, many strong opinions came forth on all sides, but I trusted each of them […]
One evening in December 1994 a life-threatening situation with a friend of mine was getting her washing off the passenger seat of her car when the door opened, a man put a knife to her throat and said, “Move over or I’ll kill you.” She moved over into the passenger seat, and even helped him […]
How to Craft Powerful Stories that Can Drive Culture Change There is an old adage that says: If you want to learn about a culture, listen to the stories. If you want to change a culture, change the stories. I had a first-hand experience with this very early on in my career. The MD […]
My mind jumped from one random thought to the next, my heart raced, and my mouth went dry, Using Are Eustressed to fuel performance. Radio calls were being made, but I wasn’t processing what was being said. I was behind the aircraft. I was experiencing a helmet fire. In reality, I was sitting securely in […]
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
