Articles

A moment to reflect, and move forward

People tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves at this time of year to get things done – finish that report, wind up the project, clean the windows, buy all the gifts, attend all the Christmas parties and prepare for the perfect holiday season. It is worth assessi…

Refresh, Re-energise and Renew

With the chaos of the year behind us, I think everyone is looking forward to the holiday break. Time with family, friends, and some much-needed relaxation. The past two years have been tough on many people. The surprising part is that some leaders have thrived through t…

Communicating in the digital era

While we either have or are contemplating a return to our offices, digital communication, whether that be email, messaging, Zoom or MS Teams is here to stay. Being effective in how we use these different communication tools will be critical to high performance and team…

Leading Hybrid Teams in a Flexible Environment

This is a subject that has almost come to rival talking about the weather… do you want to continue working from home and will your organisation allow it? Whilst working from home is not a new concept to some, organisations have generally been slow to embrace this poss…

Surprising conversations with senior leaders

I have coached senior leaders across the public sector for over ten years now. Over the years, these conversations have covered many, many subjects. The three recurring themes are establishing a network, managing a diary effectively and dealing with imposter syndrome.

Leadership in the Moment

2020 has been an amazing year. I had been stretched before, but this year has presented a whole new range of challenges. From the bushfires and hail of January through the initial wave of Covid-19 and home schooling… It is safe to say my skills as a Company Director, …

Leadership and Productivity

When considering the product of the pandemic on my team, it is not clear how it has affected them. The affects are deeper, more insidious and less obvious. The question I consider is, while it is easy to link the disengaged behaviours to the pandemic, why then can’t w…

Self Care: an attitude, not a to do list

Self-care is getting a lot of airplay right now. Society is recognising the toll that COVID-19 is taking on our mental wellbeing. Self-care is promoted as one of the ways we can manage and mitigate the impacts. It can look different for each individual, and may inclu…

Wellbeing in the workplace – authentic relationships

Wellbeing is more important than ever. Organisations have long recognised the importance of supporting employee wellbeing, and the resulting positive impact on engagement and team performance. How do leaders prioritise their own wellbeing, as well as the wellbeing of t…

Leadership in Challenging Times

My role as a leader is to help my team meet their objectives and thrive but I have a nagging thought in my brain… How do I lead my team when I am feeling overwhelmed and like I have had no break at all? How do we find the resilience to lead, teach, correct, influence …

Trust Me…

So, what is trust? The definition from the Oxford Dictionary is “Firm belief in reliability, honesty, veracity, justice, strength etc. of person or thing”. This could potentially mean that if we believe someone is not reliable, we also believe they are not honest, …

The power to influence: what does it take?

In the words of Barack Obama…“one voice can change a room”. In the world of management and leadership, the ability to successfully influence, in all directions, both internally and externally, is paramount. So what does one need to consider to become the ultimate…

Middle Managers: Key Change Agents

Organisational change is widespread in the public sector. Yet despite this, goals sought through change are often not met. This is often due to resistance to change. Whether you believe that resistance is good or bad, the likelihood of resistance is such that change pro…

Do you have trapped or devoted employees?

Organisational commitment is one of the most poorly understood aspects of human resource management and yet, it has a direct and powerful impact on employee performance. This blog explores how commitment can support or hinder organisational performance.

Finding your inner authentic leader

The Greek philosophy phrase ‘To thine own self be true’ captures the essence of authenticity. Authenticity is about being honest and true to yourself, and being aware of what motivates and drives you but how do you discover your inner authentic leader?