The book in a paragraph The most successful individuals and organisations communicate and operate from their core purpose, cause or belief, inspiring others and achieving remarkable loyalty and engagement. They “start with why”. And then they align their how – processes and values – and…
70% of us suffer imposter syndrome. If you do, here’s 3 strategies for overcoming it… Harvard Business Review says that imposter syndrome usually involves: Most of us experience it. But it can be hard to shake. So, here’s four research-backed ways to overcome it, according…
Very polite leaders tend to be less effective. Whereas highly respectful leaders perform better. Here’s why… Imagine a situation where someone isn’t doing a good job. Now, imagine it was you. What would you want your manager to do? Be polite and say nothing, in…
Strong cultures flourish when organisations do three things. And weak ones prevail when they don’t. Values are a powerful tool for defining culture. Many organisations have them. But they can be little more than dusty, faded wall decorations. Here’s how to use your values to…
There are three kinds of feedback great leaders use every day. But good managers don’t. Here they are 👇 The best leaders create a psychologically safe environment where there is a lot feedback. In all directions. Between peers. To the boss. And from the boss.…
The best team members demonstrate these behaviours. But other people don’t. What are they? Have you ever noticed that some people are very good at what they do AND easy to work with at the same time? They’re a manager’s dream. Because we spend more…
What we learn at work about relationships often helps in our personal lives too. And vice versa. Leadership is fundamentally about developing strong and healthy relationships with other people. Because, organisations are social structures. At their core, they’re a collection of interpersonal relationships. Both in…
One of my favourite questions to ask in one-on-ones is: “What’s one thing I could do differently to better support you?”. Or you can unpack it further by asking, “What’s one thing I could stop or start doing? Or change how I do it?”. The…
Need a straightforward strategic plan for your team or organisation? All it takes is six simple questions… In @Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Advantage, he says that the best performing teams have extremely clear answers to six questions: We’ve developed a simple tool to capture and…
Have things gone M-A-D between your workers and management? (mutually assured demonisation) It’s a sad trend in many organisations. Workers assume the worst of management. Management assumes the worst of workers. If workers are unproductive, managers think they’re lazy. If they ask for better work…
The book in a paragraph ReWork makes the case that many of the traditional approaches to work and entrepreneurship are wrong. In traditional workplaces it is common to see overplanning, excessive meetings, growth for growth’s sake, and entrenched bureaucracy. This can all be avoided through…
If you must e-mail your team after hours, add this footnote. (Because e-mailing people after hours is a bad habit) A friend sent me this meme recently, which I thought was great. It’s an elegant Band Aid to a bad habit that many people have.…
The more senior we get, the quieter it gets. (so push people to yell and we just might hear them) In my last executive role, I said to someone trusted how little gossip there was in my group. She said I was crazy. There was…
Here’s a quick way to test your organisation/team strategic plan quality. (it takes less than 20 minutes) We’ve developed a free 20 point strategic plan audit, which you can download here. The audit allows you to quickly assess the completeness, quality and implementation of your…
Most of us wish to grow through life, standing ever taller and straighter as we go. Expressing ever more of our true selves. If we’re lucky, we have people who metaphorically crouch down, clasp their hands together and give us a leg up to new…
Everyone’s talking about employee engagement. (And here’s why you should too). Building employee engagement isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing. A study in Harvard Business Review showed that highly engaged employees are: Imagine what it would be like to double…
Do you ever feel like some people you work with must go out of their way to be painful? I do. (But, it’s almost never true) Hanlon’s razor is a rule of thumb that guides us to “never attribute to malice that which is adequately…
I don’t know your team, but I know they can’t read your mind. I often speak to managers who’re frustrated that their people aren’t doing what they need them to. Me: “Have you told them exactly what you need from them?” Them: “Well, I’ve spoken…
Decisions that go right aren’t always good ones. (And decisions that go wrong aren’t always bad ones) For example, imagine rolling a dice and choosing between two outcomes: We choose (b). The person rolls five. We win. But it was a bad decision. Because, if…
New executive comes in. Starts strong. Engages the frontline. Then gets busy. Buries themselves. Drops engagement. Loses trust. Workers say, “they’re just like everyone else, they don’t give a shit about us”. I’ve seen this repeatedly. And the sad thing is, the leader usually does…