Blogs
Bringing Focus to What You Do
Reading one of James Clear’s newsletters filled with wisdom, I had to share this piece of insight and challenge your thinking and doing about bringing focus to what we do. He began the last section of his newsletter by sharing this quote from inventor and businessman...
Bring human kindness into the workplace
When asked for my one piece of leadership advice it was easy for me to quickly respond with bring your “human kindness” into the workplace when leading others. What's the story behind this choice? For years business leaders have been told how important it is to be...
Returning to work or rebooting?
Re-imagining my work People are beginning to make their way back into their offices or consider what working life is going to be like now that restrictions have eased. Some may have just completed their first or second week back in the office - what has it been like...
Navigating COVID-19: Isolating physically while connecting emotionally
Every time we turn on the TV or read social media we are confronted by another COVID-19 update. We are experiencing firsthand the impact of VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) on our working and personal lives. What’s currently happening? We are...
Self belief in the value you unleash
Working with a team of people last week we engaged In a fabulous conversation about wanting to play off the strengths of each person in the team so they shifted into the high-performance stage of team development. This is the space where people are totally real with...
What are the most critical leadership attributes?
Over the last month I’ve been asked to volunteer what I believe the 2 or 3 most critical leadership attributes are from my experience. It didn’t take me long to say: courage kindness authenticity COURAGE What exactly do you mean when you say courage they asked me?...
Why we are bringing a focus on habits
In developing the leadership capability of both emerging/future and existing leaders over the last 20 years we have observed many trends impacting on successful outcomes. Surprisingly, successful outcomes are not assured by the content of the programs - the content...
Be AI ready – capitalise on humanness
At a recent conference, I listened to many speakers tell a room full of CEOs not to worry about AI (artificial intelligence) and robots and other technological advances - it was making space for us to be more human. Now, this proposal posed an interesting thought for...
Why Leadership Visibility is Important
From the Public Health Performance Management System we grab this definition: “Visible Leadership is the commitment of senior management to a culture of quality that aligns performance management practices with the organisation’s mission, regularly takes into account...
Leadership is all about Leverage
“Leverage is all about the power of using less to create more.” When it comes to mechanical things we understand this - think of a flat tyre, you don’t try to lift the car and put the new tyre on using just your energy and muscles, you use the jack - a very small...
The Criticality of Agilty
On the way back from the gym this morning I heard the presenter share some "Oprah Pearls of Wisdom" and it went like this - just BE in the now (in the present moment) because you can't do anything to change the past and you cannot control the future. Much better to...
Managing performance with real conversations
I recently had the pleasure of hearing a CEO of a listed company offer advice about managing the performance of people while maintaining accountability for leading business performance so it provides the anticipated and expected results for shareholders. His words of...
Emotional Resilience: choosing to respond rather than reacting
"There will always be factors and people that we cannot control; how we respond can determine the quality of our lives and the effectiveness of our leadership" At the very essence of this statement is the acknowledgement that emotional resilience is at the heart of...
Putting a Process around Work Conversations
“Tribes used to have a process, we need one too.” Uncertainty about content and context The more senior leaders become, the more “removed” they are from engaging in real ways with the people in their teams. They have increased feelings of uncertainty about what to...
What holds us back from having better work conversations?
Intellectually leaders “get it” - have better work conversations and business performance improves. The reality is that attitudes, emotions, time, ego, job titles, perceived risks, fear of failure, comfort with status quo all get in the way and hold these same leaders...
Become a better leader by having better conversations
Become a better leader by recognising not only are you human but so are the people you lead. A critical part of the human condition is our desire to feel significant, to belong, to feel like we are making a difference. When these basic tribal needs are fuelled people...
Better Conversations mean better Better Relationships
Conversations connect people, they engage people, they inform people, they ignite action and they ultimately develop or damage the culture of the business. Better conversations result in better relationships. Better, because they are inspiring, engaging and based on...
Leadership – are you a professional or an amateur?
“An amateur practices until he can play it correctly, a professional practices until he can’t play it incorrectly”. This greeted me as an inspirational quote on my computer and instantly triggered my thinking about the frustrations I feel when working with business...
High Performance Leadership
Expressing high performance leadership consistently everyday is essential for any leader serious about developing, maintaining and retaining high performing: Individuals Teams Business units Whole of business cultures. Such high performance leadership is expressed in:...
Now is the time for leaders to identify the activities and behaviours that will position their business to shift, ready for recovery and the future.