There is more than enough in the media currently, about vaccines, their respective qualities, efficacy and delivery mechanisms to occupy many fine minds and learned libraries. This comment focuses on a different aspect but is well illustrated by the successes and challenges of the Oxford Coronavirus vaccine. Somewhat unhelpfully, a…

No longer can we say that lockdowns are unprecedented. Whilst these events may be beyond the experience of many of us (though pandemics are not uncommon), the passage of time may well reveal this to be a discontinuity rather than a change to a complete new normal. The evolution of…

What can leaders do for themselves and their teams to help overcome feelings of fatigue as we face a pandemic winter? One idea is to make time to re-connect with one another by doing a ‘resilience check’. At Praesta we draw on decades of evidence to help focus on the areas that need attention for the challenges ahead. — Here are three of my favourite insights from a cross-section of that evidence:

If you want a lesson on effective and ineffective leadership, then look no further than how some nations leaders have tackled the pandemic… New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern described Covid as “Our problem.” She set levels of alert that everybody understood and could easily articulate to each other. She took personal…

I have recently been working with a leadership team who have had to manage themselves through a torrid Covid experience. All businesses have had to confront difficulty, even if their income streams have continued to flow. …

As restrictions lift locally and around the world, how do we move forwards and create new ways of operating? …

On my early morning cycle before work, which is now part of my daily routine, I cycle through Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park and often notice new things as I take in more of my surroundings and notice new things. This ritual has been a great way to start my day, get me out of the house and have some exercise before going to home office. — Today I cycled into Richmond Park through Robin Hood gate and noticed an old metal sign giving the distance in yards to the other gates in the park. I must have been through this gate 50 times but only today noticed the old sign, admittedly surrounded by flourishing wisteria. …

“One day an American scholar said to me, ‘Don’t waste your time gardening and growing lettuce. You should write more poems instead, anyone can grow lettuce.’ That is not my way of thinking. I know very well that if I do not grow lettuce, I cannot write poems.” …

First came the chaos with everyone scrabbling to move from the office to home, with an extra effort all round to keep things going or, for some, accepting that they would be out of the loop for a while as they were furloughed. Then came the routine, a kind of…