Author Archives: welcome@okavangoleadershipacademy.com

Over the years, I have been part of many teams. I have led teams, built teams, and trained teams. Some worked incredibly well. Others struggled. A few completely fell apart. When I look back at all of them, one thing stands out clearly. It wasn’t the smartest team that performed best. It wasn’t the most […]

“Failing to plan is planning to fail. Hope is not a plan.” — Harrison Jones A surprising number of management problems have a very simple cause: poor planning and weak organization. Over the years I have sometimes been tempted to say something quite direct: if planning and organizing are things you simply cannot do, management […]

A few years ago, someone said to me, “You should have seen this place ten years ago.” They didn’t say it with pride. They said it with a mix of nostalgia and disappointment. The beach was still there. The buildings were newer. The prices, noticeably higher. But the service felt rushed, the food less memorable, […]

Almost everything written about communication sounds like a cliché. And yet, most of it is true. Many conflicts do not start because people disagree, but because they misunderstand each other. Or better said: because communication goes wrong. This happens even more today, when a large part of our communication takes place through email, WhatsApp, Messenger, […]

“When you become the master of your mind, you are the master of everything”

MANAGERS DON’T HAVE MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS… RIGHT? I don’t think anybody would really believe that. Yet, somehow, the topic remains a kind of taboo in the world of managers. I was reminded of this recently when I read that it was World Mental Health Day. These days, it seems there’s a day for almost everything […]

In the world of management, we often hear that it’s our job to “look after the team.” Managers are seen as pillars of support and guidance, responsible for creating a stable, thriving work environment. But the reality of leadership, particularly in high-pressure roles, is that it’s as mentally and emotionally demanding as it is rewarding. […]

When I left the army, I believed that my extensive leadership training would enable me to manage effectively in various situations. After all, I had been educated and trained in leadership, and I had quickly secured management positions in the civilian world. However, reality taught me that the military approach to leadership does not always […]

I sometimes think that being busy all the time is the only speed people know nowadays. People are busy with being busy. And if it was with things they like, but that is not many time the case. Look around you or at yourself. Do you really like all the things you are busy with […]