What I witnessed when attending an AI Collaborative Lab, (AI CoLab) was something more than just technology, it was instructive — a living example of how human capability develops when people are given permission to think, learn, and work together under uncertainty.

Drawing on a year-in-review session, this reflection explores why the CoLab works: diversity of perspective, shared experience, low ego, and a values-driven focus on public purpose. The deeper lesson is not about AI itself, but about collaboration — and what becomes possible when learning, trust, and purpose come first in complex public systems.

Most leadership development assumes that exposure equals learning and insight equals change. It doesn’t.

Real learning requires humility—the willingness to be changed by practice, feedback, and failure. Drawing on mastery, Aikido, contemplative practice, and leadership theory, this essay explores why what matters most in leadership cannot be taught, only learned. If we are serious about developing leaders who can collaborate and act wisely in complexity, we must design experiences that cultivate humility, not just competence.

As AI enters the writing process, questions of craft, authorship, and responsibility matter more than ever. This essay explores the practical realities of using AI as a writing tool, and what conscious writers and editors can do to preserve voice, agency, and meaning.

Communities of Practice thrive when practitioners are trusted to learn together. Drawing on facilitation experience, theory, and APS practice, this piece explores why CoPs succeed only when they are lightly held, not tightly governed.

Most organisations assume that reaching more people creates more impact. The evidence says otherwise. Real capability grows through trust, reflection, discomfort and practice, not mass exposure. This piece explores why depth outpaces scale and how leaders can design learning that genuinely shifts behaviour.

Thanksgiving isn’t just a story about the past… it’s a living practice of welcome. This reflection weaves art, ancestry, and a hand-carved wooden bowl into a reminder that our greatest inheritance is the choice to share what we have. It’s an invitation to honour the generosity that once shaped America by offering it forward, one small act of welcome at a time.

True leadership and connection begin with listening. Reaching Across Difference reflects on how courage, humility, and daily acts of service help us dissolve fear, build trust, and foster community.

Drawing inspiration from lived experience, a variety of traditions, and servant leaders like Zohran Mamdani, it invites readers to practice empathy and bridge divides.

Effective policy and leadership depend on genuine connection… not just consultation.

Spending a day with the Corroboree Group reminded me that listening to community isn’t a courtesy; it’s the foundation of systems that work. When we slow down to learn from Indigenous colleagues and communities, we rediscover that trust is the hidden infrastructure of good governance.

When a man forgets who he is, he often mistakes exhaustion for weakness. But it’s not weakness… it’s disconnection.

Years ago, I spent a week paddling a canoe with poet Robert Bly. One night, he recited Rilke’s lines about a man who leaves his table and keeps walking east - searching for something sacred he can not name.

I’ve come to believe men’s mental health is like that. A Journey of Remembering… a Return to something ancient, noble, and deeply human.

Behind every complaint lies a hidden commitment. Through carving a cantankerous magpie, I reflect on how leaders often silence their own frustrations (mistaking commitment for complaint) and what it means to listen to ourselves with the same compassion we offer others.

Drawing from Robert Bly, Steve Biddulph, and lessons learned through Aikido, this reflection explores the paradox of assertive peace — how true strength blends courage with compassion, and how leaders can learn to stand firm without hardening… how they can maintain an assertive position without being arrogantly aggressive.

From Orwell to Rush, from Pink Floyd’s wall to the glass towers of today, our dystopias have always warned us about control, conformity, and the quiet surrender of the self. But what if the path that leads away from disaster isn’t out there (in politics or systems) but within us? Through awareness, reflection, and the daily practice of insight, we can begin to dismantle the walls we’ve built inside ourselves.

When a charred piece of firewood caught my attention, I sensed it held something more than fuel for the flames. What emerged became (The Fiery Weight of the Crown of Responsibility) a reflection on leadership, transformation, and the courage to carry light without being consumed by it.

What does it take to speak truthfully when the stakes are high?

In this reflection, I share what I’ve been learning from coaching leaders around the world… about the cost of staying silent, the courage it takes to name what’s true, and the moments that remind us to live vividly.

Fatherhood isn’t just about showing up, it’s about shaping who we want to be, day by day. In this post, I draw on my perspective as both a professional coach and a dad to explore how health, presence, and legacy intersect. Through personal stories, reflections, and practical insights, I offer inspiration and tools for fathers who want to step into their own sense of agency… to build the identity they want to embody, and to find the grit needed to take charge of their health, their relationships, and the moments that matter most.

This Father’s Day reflection blends myth, sculpture, and the realities of fatherhood. Carving Daedalus became a meditation on love, fear, and growth — reminding us that the strength we build in ourselves becomes the greatest gift we can offer our children. A message of compassion and hope for every parent on the path.

Being a dad isn’t about ownership… it’s about stewardship. Inspired by Kahlil Gibran’s timeless words, I reflect this Father’s Day on what it means to let our children step forward into lives that are truly their own.

Fatherhood doesn’t come with a map. It’s a long walk full of unknowns, where presence matters more than certainty. Along the way, our children don’t need us to have all the answers… they need us to keep walking beside them, steady and loving, no matter what.

This week, around Father’s Day, I reflect on what it means to be a Dad… not as a title, but as a daily practice of presence, listening, and growth. Join me in exploring reflections that invite questions, awareness, and intentional action in fatherhood.

Doubt, disillusionment, and the pressure to perform can make writing (and leading) feel impossible. This post explores how showing up authentically, stepping into your own voice, and embracing disciplined vulnerability can help you create influence, leave a trail, and lead with impact.