Stew Darling

NZ Business readers are often small to medium-sized enterprises. That’s where we need to start growing robust leadership cultures, so that as these businesses grow they have the understanding of good leadership to support their growth and success. It’s too late to think you can ‘learn’ leadership once you have hundreds of people looking to […]

Hello, everyone! Today, I want to discuss a topic that’s deeply meaningful to me—conflict. More specifically, I’ll share insights from my life experiences and how I’ve come to view conflict as a powerful opportunity for personal growth and transformation. The Fear of Conflict Let’s be honest; most of us have an inherent fear of conflict.

Leadership is an act of love with service at its centre. Unfortunately, and to the detriment of us all, leadership is often mistakenly thought of as being about the exercise of power and control.  We’ve all seen how damaging that kind of leadership can be. Most disturbingly, it’s the kind of leadership we sometimes see

It was a dark rainy night, and I was in a call box waiting for my line to connect to Germany. I was failing, and I needed someone to talk to. That someone was Liz, who reminded me of my why. She reminded me that the 24 places on this course were the most coveted.

Unstoppable Leaders in Kilts: Stay Disciplined – Happy St Andrew’s Week “Don’t die until you’re Dead” Billy Connolly In the grand Unstoppable tapestry, discipline is the warp and weft that weaves success into every thread. As any Scotsman worth his salt will tell you (and being one I should know), a well-placed bit of discipline

In this blog, you may find yourself pondering whether what we discuss borders on manipulation. And indeed, it does. But let’s be clear – as Unstoppable Forces, we manipulate the environment, not the individual. Perhaps it’s more palatable to use the word “shape” instead of “manipulate,” but at its core, it’s still about exerting influence.

Throughout my life and career, I’ve come to realise that effective leadership transcends traditional management strategies. Instead, it hinges on two fundamental elements: presence and energy. In this narrative, I will share my personal journey in mastering these concepts and how they’ve transformed me into an unstoppable force in the world of leadership. Discovering the

The Essence of Persistence: Blistered Thumbs and Rounds Fired Blistered thumbs and 1,000s of rounds: Embracing Failure “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games; 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And

Hello, everyone! Today, I’m excited to delve into the topic of leadership. But not just any leadership—heart-centred leadership. I’ll draw upon some of my personal experiences to explain why it challenges conventional wisdom and why it’s such a vital catalyst for positive change. The Traditional Leadership Mould Leadership, as we’ve come to know it conventionally,

The Genesis of ‘Unstoppable: Living Beyond our Limits‘ Writing a book – Staying Persistent: “Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.” – Napoleon Hill The book was 25,000 words long – in other words, not a book. The focus was unfocused; until I committed – to be honest, until my