Blog

After examining bucket-loads of literature and observing behaviours, I have no doubt that the sure-fire way to influencing someone is to—here it is—be committed to their success! When I say “influence”, I don’t mean a self-centered manipulation that results in you getting what you want and the other party being screwed. I mean a positiveRead more

Seth Godin got me thinking, again, when he spoke about the choices we make. He said…… “Attitude is the most important choice any of us will make. We made it yesterday and we get another choice to make it today. And then again tomorrow. The choice to participate. To be optimistic. To intentionally bring outRead more

Here’s what Seth Godin said: “We spend a lot of time talking about celebrities and how attractive they are. Paul Newman’s blue eyes, how tall is Jake Gyllenhaal, how fast is Usain Bolt. Most of the time, though, our success is based on something we have far more control over: Our emotional attractiveness. People who areRead more

How would it be if you felt totally proud of who you are as a leader? I mean, imagine feeling totally proud! Doesn’t matter if you’re close now, or further away. Totally is a new story 🙂 . How amazing would that actually be? A Couple Of Months Ago… I realised that pretty much allRead more

It’s a challenge if you lead a team that’s been told their expense budget has been slashed and that their headcount is now frozen. To achieve your business goals, you’ll therefore need every team member to work smarter, faster, harder and longer, won’t you? Ah! That’ll mean they need be engaged, at a heart level,Read more

It doesn’t matter what you call it….. honesty—authenticity—candour—integrity—frankness—truthfulness—openness—sincerity—genuineness It’s a prerequisite if you’re to be trusted by people.   Honesty and Influence Here’s the thing… It’s essential that other people trust you if you plan to be influential. Influencing is damn hard if they don’t. They’ll spend their time looking at you through squinty eyes,Read more

I’m curious, how well do the leaders around you display the three tell-tale signs below? More importantly, how often would your team members, your peers and your boss see you displaying them? 1.    Great Leaders “Rock The Boat” They always: —Pass the “lean forward” test. They care about what’s going on. And so noticeRead more

Let’s face it—the better you are as a leader, the more productive your team is. And that increased productivity directly impacts the bottom line. Some leadership practices and behaviours are downright demotivating for their team members. In fact, Gallop’s research tells us that a leader has a whopping 70% impact on how motivated their team membersRead more

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

What Makes First–Rate Leaders, First–Rate? We’ll quickly answer this question—and then we’ll move to the really important bit… What can you immediately do to close the gap between where you sit now and where a first–rate leader sits?   What The Research Is Telling Us Talentsmart’s recent research backed up more than two decades of studiesRead more