Punks in Suits by Blaire Palmer
Our June book of the month is “Punks in Suits” How to Lead the Workplace Reformation” by Blaire Palmer – a leading authority on disrupting the future of leadership
ABOUT THE BOOK
In the age of AI, you can’t run companies on Victorian principles.
The current tech transformation – more dramatic than the Industrial Revolution – combined with changing expectations of work, and continual disruption and uncertainty, will force senior leaders to adopt new approaches to stay relevant in the 21st century. This book argues for innovative, ‘Punk’ leadership that liberates the rampant talent of your most important asset – your people. Understand how:
- AI will affect the nature of human work in the future
- Radical empowerment will enable you to capitalise on the opportunities ahead
- Unpicking the myths of change will successfully create a ‘change-ready’ organisation
- People and their ideas can thrive under your leadership
- You can leave behind an organisation that’s fit for the future
Future of Leadership expert and speaker, Blaire Palmer, draws on more than 20 years of experience challenging, provoking and guiding senior leaders as they try to figure out how their people and their organisations can thrive in these fast-changing times. Our relationship with work is on the verge of a disruption the likes of which we haven’t seen since the industrial revolution. That means the expectations of our people, the environment which brings out their best, and even the role that business plays in the wider world is up for reinvention.
Covering hybrid working, empowerment and engagement, diversity and equity, leadership and motivation, and anticipating future work trends, Blaire busts myths about leadership and change, and stimulates audiences with real-life stories and fresh ideas to rethink what it means to lead in the 21st Century.
Speaking topics include –
Busting the Myths of Leadership – Punks in Suits
In such a competitive, fast-changing environment, you need everyone in your business to be able to do their best work, and yet the rules of work seem to have changed – We’ve got Gen Z now, inflation, the great resignation, mental health concerns, the need for a more diverse, inclusive environment, change fatigue (even though we need more change not less), ever more demanding customers and the targets just get more and more ambitious. You hired your people because they were talented, enthusiastic, motivated, and ambitious and you need them to bring ALL of that to the organisation so that the business can thrive. Inevitably you’re asking “In these fast-changing and uncertain times, how do we do that?”
Bottom line, it’s not the kind of leadership most of us experienced earlier in our careers. That old-style parent-child, tell-and-sell, hierarchical, siloed approach won’t work. We know that. But what should we do instead? And why, despite our best efforts, does it feel so hard?
In this keynote Blaire busts Industrial Age myths about leadership that prevent us from bringing out the very best in the people we employ. She presents an alternative model focused on authentic human connection, trust, radical collaboration, diversity, and creativity, driven by a sense of shared purpose.
Busting the Myths of Change – Brilliant Gamble
The conventional wisdom was that, to bring about change, the best leaders create followers. Then they paint a picture of a glorious destination, explain WHY this is the best or only option and, once everyone ‘gets it’ change occurs. If it doesn’t it’s either a communication problem – people didn’t understand – or they did understand but people are resistant to change and are too afraid to take the leap. Leaders are left frustrated, asking “How many times do we have to tell them before they overcome their innate fear of change and buy-in to the plan?”.
But what if none of that is true?
In this keynote, Blaire explains how conventional wisdom about change leads to frustration, organisational tension, disengagement, and low levels of trust. In a world where we don’t trust authority figures (and with good reason), where Gen Z employees will not turn a blind eye to unethical or intolerant behaviour, where change fatigue set in many months or years ago, and where you are rarely in the same room as the people you work with, she explains how to create an environment where people become enthusiasts for change, taking responsibility for it themselves and acting as if the business was their own.
For more information on Blaire please visit her webpage and to order a copy of her book please visit the Amazon website.