Blog

You’ve been in one of those awkward conversations where an idea is put on the table but it goes nowhere, haven’t you? You know, when the conversation becomes stilted or there are embarrassed mumbles or a stony silence. Kerrie, the Australian Sales Manager, has an idea and she needs buy-in from her boss, the GlobalRead more

I actually thought the leader I was coaching was exaggerating when he said “I’d be happy to forgo an amount of my salary for a pat on the back”. But then, a couple of days later, another leader disclosed that he still feels thrilled when he remembers a time, many years ago, when his bossRead more

THE number one thing at the top of most leaders’ minds these days is that they don’t have sufficient time to get done what they need to do. The sense of overwhelm they experience because of the sheer number of critical-to-get-done things on their plate is—OK, it’s overwhelming! 90% plus of the leaders I speakRead more

I’ve noticed that “trust” isn’t generally something that’s formally assessed in organisations—and yet “when it’s good it’s very, very good, but when it’s bad it’s horrid.” Simply put, you wouldn’t be a very useful leader if your peers and your team members didn’t trust you implicitly!   Why Is It A Big Deal If There’sRead more

Roger Enrico, the Vice President of Pepsi Co, said, “The soft stuff is always harder than the hard stuff.” Nevertheless exemplary leaders put a hefty focus on how they behave as a leader—the soft-stuff. Apart from any humanistic motivation, they know that the quality of their relationships and the levels of trust they generate withRead more

Much has been written over the years, even by me, about how to influence another person… After examining a few bucket-loads of literature, asking lots of questions, observing behaviours, and personally checking it out in practice, there is no doubt in my mind that the sure-fire way to influencing someone is to—here it is—be committedRead more

Are you one of those leaders who spends so much time and energy on the day-to-day, tactical aspects of your business that you neglect the strategic perspective? If so, you’re not alone. Lots of the leaders I work with want to be more strategic—regardless of whether they head up their organisation, manage a part ofRead more

I don’t know about you but my last year was pretty damned good—however that’s not stopping me from figuring out what I can do to make this year even better. What exactly will I do? I need to shift something—a behaviour, or a habit, or an attitude I have towards something or someone—if I’m toRead more

You continue to let me know how useful you’re finding my Leadership Bulletins. Thank you . This time last year readers of the “2011 Greatest Hits” bulletin found it really worthwhile, so I’m repeating the process this year. I’ve listed the seven 2012 bulletins that elicited the highest number of positive comments about how theyRead more

A few weeks ago a team member disclosed, “My boss lays low and tries to stay under the radar. He doesn’t care much about what we achieve.” Whether or not that statement is true of his boss or not doesn’t really matter. After all, perception is reality. And it was certainly this team member’s realityRead more

Some leaders are getting into trouble because they aren’t giving enough attention to the big picture. They’re not standing back and looking strategically at where they need to drive their business (or their part of the business). And some leaders are so creative and big-picture focused that they’re not getting things done. They’re getting intoRead more

Have you ever seen a musical conductor put his baton down, climb into the orchestra pit and go and chat with the violinist about how they should hold their bow, or talk with those in the woodwind section about how they need to use circular breathing techniques? As far as I can tell that’s notRead more

How would it be if you always felt exceedingly proud of your team—proud because you absolutely knew that every team member constantly focused on the team’s shared goals—and therefore maximised the contribution the team made to productivity and profits? In my work I get to see lots of teams in action. Some of them humRead more

When you bring out the best in your team members you put yourself in a robust position to surpass your own goals and reach your own critical milestones. And the way that you treat your team members has a humongous impact on the way that they behave. Often it’s the primary determinant. So that youRead more

Eliminating 99% of your confilcts isn’t as radical as it sounds. I think you’ll agree with this when we dig into what causes conflict and what you can do to inhibit it.   What Causes You To Be In Conflict? Aren’t 99% of your conflicts caused by your expectations and the other person’s expectations notRead more

You’ve heard the saying “People join an organisation—and leave their boss”? The major reason (not the second or third reason but THE major reason) people leave their jobs is because of dissatisfaction with their immediate leader/manager. My boss was the motivator for me to resign at least once in my career. Let’s make sure thatRead more

Recently a leader (we’ll call him John) revealed that he’d just had a one-on-one meeting with his boss. But this one-on-one was different to all those previous one-on-ones… This time he felt truly heard. Previously not only had John struggled to get time in his boss’ calendar, he perceived that he’d been talked at, talkedRead more

  “The belief that one’s own view of reality is the only reality is the most dangerous of all delusions.” Paul Watzlawick (Austrian-American psychologist and philosopher)   Way too many leaders are hindered because they haven’t received useful, succinct, granular feedback about their leadership behaviours from their boss, their peers and/or their team members. AndRead more

Way too many leaders aren’t having regular one-on-one meetings with each of their team members. And there’s a powerful cost when you sidestep having these interactions…   Why Is It Vital That You Have Regular Meetings With Each Team Member? Let’s think about the key positive outcomes that flow from you hosting good, one-on-one teamRead more

A telltale sign of a great leader is that they have “behavioural flexibility”… Great leaders aren’t always tough, or always friendly, or always futuristic in their thinking. They have the capacity to be all those things, plus some—depending on what sort of situation they’re confronting. They have many arrows in their quiver, many tools inRead more