Blog

You’ve got responsibility for producing impressive results—yet zero positional power and minimal authority. That’s the struggle of dotted line leadership, isn’t it? Dotted line reporting has become common these days—but it often gets a bad rap because of its bureaucratic twist. Nonetheless, when you’re managing across the line, you don’t need a pity party. YouRead more

Every year, the Great Place To Work Institute researches, you guessed it, the Best Places to Work. Here’s one of their stats: “The best added $1.07B to the Australian economy with an average revenue growth of 39.6%.” Those numbers talk, don’t they! Some Organisations Have A Reputation For Being Downright Compelling To Work With AlsoRead 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 Sitting Behind The Eight-Ball… …because they haven’t gotten authentic, granular feedback about their leadership practices and behaviours from their boss, peers and team members. Their self-perception is thus atRead more

Whether you’re a leader who’s currently being coached or not, I’m confident that you’ll find checking out these often asked questions—and my responses—a valuable way to spend the next 3 or 4 minutes. I have a quick disclaimer first though. Without being aware of: a) your personal circumstances b) your natural leadership style, and c) the environmentalRead more

This snippet’s intention is to lift your awareness of two subtle yet crucial behaviours. When you focus on them, I mean really focus on them, you’ll be an awesome leader… Whether you succeed or fail isn’t because you’ve pushed-to-get-the-numbers.   The Key to Your Success is Whether Your Team Members Are On-side or Off-side. AndRead more

You want a promotion. You want to meet targets. You want acknowledgement for your work. Because you think it’ll make you feel happy.And it will, but only fleetingly.So before you know it, you’re chasing your next goal in the hope that it’ll have you feeling happy and positive!Again it will, but only fleetingly—and then you’reRead more

In a 360-feedback interview a team member described his leader as being inconsiderate and unreasonable. He went on to say that when his leader was overwhelmed and overstressed, the leader had a “very short fuse”. Further investigations with other team members told a similar story: They felt devalued and disrespected because their leader was sometimesRead more

Just quickly, before we get to 2015’s hot topics, I want to say… Whether you’re a person I coach, a sponsor of a person I coach, a business associate or a friend, I appreciate you being in my 2015. Thank you! It’s been a valuable year and I’m glad you were a part of itRead more

“How am I going?” That’s the question great leaders ask those around them—their direct reports, peers and boss. It’s their opinions that count as you rejuvenate your leadership. They know. They’re the people who’re watching you.   What Motivates Great Leaders To Ask The Question? Great leaders: Care about being an exceptional leader. Good enoughRead more

95% of leaders find difficult conversations stressful. Many leaders admit their apprehension about having a difficult discussion is enough to put it off for days, even sometimes for months—regardless of the huge costs of doing so. But there is a way to ease the stress…   How’s It Going to Be When You Get aRead more

Highly zealous team member are: —Highly productive team members. They focus on achieving brilliant outcomes, faster. Their personal commitment positively impacts the way they approach problems. —The hub of high performing teams. They support and encourage one-another. They share their talents with their peers, for the greater good of the team. The team is knownRead more

One of the traps you and I both fall into, when we’re not eagle-eyed about it, is to blame others when something goes off-track. We either physically, verbally or attitudinally point our finger at someone else. We think, talk and behave as if another person is the cause of the trouble. The problem is, whenRead more

I’m going to cut to the chase in this bulletin. Please forgive me if I offend you. And please know that I am well-intended and here to help… There are lots of disturbing things about poor performance. And the most disturbing aspect by far is how common it is for leaders to tolerate poor performance!Read more

Trying to change a behaviour can be exasperating, can’t it? Many, many attempted behavioural changes get derailed. Unless something special happens, it’s way too easy to, wittingly or unwittingly, resurrect the old habit. We’re very reluctant to change our behaviours. But I have a treat for you, courtesy of best-selling author, Marshall Goldsmith. (The toolRead more

To be frank, most leaders spend too much time drilling down into the details of their team members’ jobs. It’s the leaders job to create an environment that has team members accepting real accountability for meeting their objectives! How much drilling down, micro-managing, are you doing? Hold your head high if you’re focusing on theRead more

I appreciate you taking the time to read this bulletin  Some leaders have it embedded in their DNA to let others know that they appreciate them—and for other leaders it’s a learned skill. Regardless of your genetics, let’s look at why thanking a team member, or anyone really, is a hugely impactful habit to develop.Read more

Follow Your Natural Tendency At Your Peril It’s not that tough is more effective than tender, or that tender is more effective than tough… It’s that some leaders automatically take a tough stanceyou know, those firm leaders whose decisions are based on a detached logic, who take a no-compromise position, whose judgment disregards sentiment orRead more

Oh my gosh, occasionally circumstances seem to line up against us, don’t they? You know those days, when the traffic made you late for a meeting, then the content of the meeting had you feeling hot under the collar, and then, on the way back to your desk, one of your team members, Mike, informsRead more

Seth Godin, whom I must say is the most consistently stimulating and highly creative author I’ve ever encountered, strikes again in my Leadership Bulletin this month . This time it’s with a reminder of a pivotal insight into a setting that we each encounter day-by-day, even minute-by-minute… Seth said: “The batter has already hit twoRead more

Let’s cut to the chase: Good leaders ask good questions—starting with the questions that they ask of themselves. Good questions create a productive mindset… That productive mindset determines what questions the leader asks of others—and those questions help others foster their productive mindsets.   Examples Of Good Questions Are… “What can we do to getRead more