Our traditional obsessions—success, taking action, fitting in, and relying on experts—undermine continuous improvement. As we, the leaders, deal with tomorrow, our task is not to try to make perfect plans. Our task is to create organisations that are sufficiently flexible and versatile that they can take our imperfect plans and make them work in execution….
One-on-one meetings between managers and employees are essential for building strong working relationships, fostering productivity, and supporting employee development. However, without a clear structure and purpose, these meetings can easily devolve into unproductive venting sessions or missed opportunities. I thought it would be useful to put together some ideas and strategies I often suggest to…
Who doesn’t love a Simon Sinek soundbite? I really enjoyed this 3-minute video, which identifies introverts and extroverts NOT on how big their personality is, but instead how they gain and lose energy. Do you gain energy from others and interactions, or do they deplete you? I love the idea that it really doesn’t matter…
I loved the below thought about interrupting unconscious bias. It was a post from Oxford Leadership, but based on a longer article from Harvard Business Review, which is also worth a read. – Although unconscious bias is hard to eliminate, it is not as challenging to interrupt. Managers can be natural leaders by interrupting their…
This article and checklist are based on many, many conversations I’ve had with my clients. Most frequently when they’ve found themselves upset or angered by a team member’s behaviour or remarks. Recognising that we create stories about other people before we’ve had a conversation with them is so useful. It’s particularly important in teams, because…
I have quite a lot of conversations with clients about trusting their teams. In my upcoming book, Emotional Overdraft, ‘Trust’ is one of the ten key drivers I identify as having a detrimental impact on how successfully leaders are able to healthily build and grow their businesses. There are lots of reasons you might not…
When I ran agencies, there was one recruitment idea that changed the game. It was so incredibly obvious, and yet it took quite the tussle with members of the SLT to get it approved. It was around internal recruitment referrals. “Not a new idea.” I hear you say. Whilst that might be the case, the…
“When you set a budget, you’re taking control of your future.” This quote really struck me when I saw it on one of the social media channels. It’s the kind of thing I’m talking to my clients about all the time. The thing people find difficult to grasp is that setting a budget is not…
Over the years, I’ve seen performance punishment (and the fallout) in action countless times, so this article felt important. Performance punishment, what is it? Performance punishment is a phenomenon whereby high performing employees are given additional tasks, subjected to increased scrutiny or criticism, and/or expected to work longer hours because of their extreme efficiency and…
An enlightening TedX talk from a comedian and performer, Jordan Raskopolous about the dichotomy between being supremely confident in one area of life and cripplingly anxious in another. I wanted to share this as a reminder that ‘ShyLoud’ is a real thing, to highlight this specific anxiety disorder to anyone who might find themselves resonating,…