Nigel Cumberland Quotes

British author and leadership coach

Nigel Cumberland is a British author, leadership coach, and a founder of The Silk Road Partnership. He is the author of at least eight self-development and leadership skills books, a number of which have been translated into foreign languages, including into Arabic, Bulgarian, Slovakian, Dutch, Romanian, Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Brazilian Portuguese. His books include 100 Things Successful People Do: Little Exercises for Successful Living (2016).

From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Learn to become like Britain’s wartime Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, who found that those moments of having to be humble and having to ‘eat his own words’ were invaluable.

By trying to do what is right will often entail you having to disagree with others, and this is not easy. Once you start doing it more often, you will find it easier.

Humans do not seem to like changing and the majority of people with whom I have worked actually hate leaving the status quo of their comfort zones.

It is surprising how blind we can be to what we are communicating both verbally and non-verbally.

Mastering and navigating around office politics is never easy and there are times when you may simply be on the receiving end of some negative gossip or rumours.

The working culture in an organization is rarely spoken about and is often only discussed when someone is critical about where they are working. This is a shame as the working culture influences and affects everything around you.

The most successful people in the workplace are those who normally really like and ‘buy-into’ their employer’s mission and vision. In other words such people like what the company wishes to achieve and where it is heading. It is akin to being on a ship and liking what the ship is doing and liking where the ship is heading. Can you imagine being on a ship and not wishing to go where it is heading?

Unless you work in a cave as a solitary hermit, your entire working life will involve connecting with various people...Do not wait until you have a particular issue or problem before re-connecting with someone.

Successful people in the workplace like to recognise and to congratulate those around them. Too often we forget to thank and to recognize when someone else has done a great job.

Help others to explore the challenges and problems facing them through what is called coaching. This is not sports coaching where a coach would simply tell others what to do, but is a work-based form of coaching, sometimes called executive coaching.

The working world needs more empathic leaders, staff and colleagues. A person’s high level of empathy will make up for a wide array of other skills and attributes.

Life is too short to spend too long at work and also to waste your time while in the workplace.

Do not become someone who regrets leaving a job or resigning from a company when with hindsight you realize you should have stayed longer and stuck it out.

Remember above all to be true to yourself. It is ok to act and to pretend that something is ok, but admit the truth to yourself.

Being a person that others can trust is one of the most sought after qualities in the workplace today. So many leaders and their staff have shown in the recent global financial crisis a lack of trust and integrity amongst themselves and with their clients and other stakeholders.