What is the Art of Modern Leadership?

I hope you are managing to keep safe and well during these highly unusual and challenging times.?

I am so grateful to the more than 12,000 people who subscribe to this newsletter. It is wonderful to have a community of leaders who care deeply about leadership and who are committed to being modern leaders who understand how to balance leading with the head and heart.

Never has it been more important for leaders to understand how to lead with humility, insight, courage and empathy which is balanced alongside curiosity, analysis, strategy and expertise.

Next month's newsletter will be going into more detail about this concept and will also be sharing leadership resources for you to devour from some of the leading thinkers in the field working in the world today.

But for this month, I wanted to take the opportunity to give you a personal update on the work I have been doing and to make the offer that if there is anything you believe I can assist you with, please don't hesitate to get in touch. I would love to hear from you.

A personal update

I have always been passionate about writing, speaking and coaching in leadership. I have a long history in the field with both a PhD in leadership and culture as well as other academic work and publications in the area.?In fact, if I think right back to when I was 21 and graduated with my first degree in History, my honours thesis was also focused on leadership.

Even more importantly, I am privileged to have had a 30 year career?as a leader myself in both the corporate sector and also in the military, and so I am thrilled to now be working more directly in helping other leaders become the best leaders they can be.

This year I have shifted my work to focus where I can make the greatest difference. I have re-balanced some of my board commitments and I have taken on more executive coaching clients which I absolutely love. I am also working on my next book (to be published by Penguin Random House), I am writing a weekly column in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on leadership, work and careers and also keep busy with public speaking engagements where I focus on leadership, emotional intelligence and what it means to be a modern leader. I don't think I have ever been happier; I have narrowed down my Ikigai.

Leadership Coaching for Senior Executives?

What began simply enough as an enquiry for me to coach a senior executive has become a significant and highly rewarding part of the work I do with leaders. I feel so privileged to work with leaders from multinational organisations such as?Salesforce, Rio Tinto, PWC?and?BDO, amongst others.

Every coaching engagement is designed specifically for the needs of the leader I am working with. I am particularly focused on helping leaders build their emotional intelligence and self-awareness, to establish and maintain an executive presence, to build psychologically safe teams and to develop effective relationships with boards, colleagues and other stakeholders. My background as a CEO and company director who has worked in a range of industries makes these engagements particularly meaningful.?

You can find more about my coaching work here so please also don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like further information. I would love to work with you.

Public Speaking

Public speaking has always been a busy part of my work and that has continued in 2021. While nothing replaces the buzz of a live event, I have also become a fan of virtual events given there are so many terrific tools to make these events truly engaging and even more interactive than a traditional event.

Earlier this month I had the great pleasure to speak with best-selling author and organisational psychologist, Adam Grant, in front of an audience of more than 2000 people from 32 countries around the world in an event hosted by The Growth Faculty.

You can find out more on my keynote speeches on?leadership, trust, emotional intelligence?and?psychological safety here.?If I can be of assistance for a future event, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

International Recognition?

In some personal news, this year I have been extremely humbled to be recognised internationally for my work in leadership including –?

·??Named as one of the?Top 30 Leadership Thinkers in the world to watch?by London based Thinkers50; and

·??Shortlisted for the international?Distinguished Award for Leadership?by Thinkers50?which recognises "exceptional contribution to leadership and having shed powerful and original new light on this perennial and yet classic subject".

New Book??

I have recently signed a publishing deal with Penguin Random House to write my next book,?Head & Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership, and I look forward to sharing it with you once it is published.

Women Kind: Unlocking the Power of Women Supporting Women

This week my first book,?Women Kind, co-written with Catherine Fox, was listed in Vogue Australia's list of "11 books guaranteed to get you ahead in your career". Such a thrill!

You can obtain a signed copy of Women Kind?here, a book that remains a practical guide for amplifying and supporting women in your life and workplace.

Staying in touch

You can email me any time using contact@kirstinferguson.

For those on social media, you will find me on all the usual platforms using @kirstinferguson. You might also like to take a look at my new website,?www.kirstinferguson.com

My newsletter, The Art of Modern Leadership, comes out every month and are intended to be resources for every leader - full of articles I recommend, leadership books that are worth reading and further ideas and discussions for the modern leader. I would love you to subscribe.

If you would like to receive this newsletter direct to your inbox - please visit www.kirstinferguson.com

I look forward to staying in touch and connecting further.?