The Latin word for new is nova, you know, as in innovation. So, to innovate means to do something new. Doing something new means stopping doing the old. Stopping doing something means changing. Change is one of the most challenging concepts that organisations face. Effective change only comes about when leaders drive it. You simply …
A recent survey of leaders that I am working with revealed two important facts. 1. They are time poor. 2. They have trouble letting go. Trying to do everything, in turn, leaves them with less time and they end up feeling even more frustrated and inadequate as leaders. Effective delegation is, almost universally in my …
I first heard this over 30 years ago when I was listening to cassette tapes by the personal development guru, Zig Ziglar. The words spoke to me then and they speak to me now. Ten years ago, someone told me about something that had “literally, changed their life.” It was a video called ‘The Secret’. …
American author and speaker, Jim Rohn is known for his motivational quotes. I am a fan of many of them, but this one is my favourite. “You are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.” Let’s unpack that a bit as it has implications for all of us, particularly …
I’m not much of an historian, and certainly not a military historian, but the name of Field Marshall William Slim keeps coming up in my leadership reading. Slim commanded a British field army in Burma fighting the Japanese in the ’40s. Here are some things that Slim did that made him highly effective as a leader, despite …
One of the best stories to come out of the Rio Olympics was the gold medal won by 24 year old Sydney woman, Chloe Esposito in the Women’s Modern Pentathlon. I must admit I didn’t know much about the event until I saw a video about Chloe’s miraculous win. Click hereto see the 4 minute video. …
Leadership is about positively influencing others. In order to influence others, you need to have a good relationship with them. One of the best ways to establish and strengthen relationships is for there to be trust between the parties. Trust comes from reliability. Ultimately, being reliable means that you do what you say you are going to …
Last week I made a presentation to a group about increasing employee engagement and improving culture. At the end I opened up for questions. “A couple of us are first time managers – what advice would you give us?” Great question! Here are five things that I think first time managers would benefit from knowing. 1. …
As someone who provides leadership development programs and advice, I sometimes experience resistance to the time, cost or effort associated with building leadership capability. I was once asked by a senior executive who was considering a training proposal I had provided “What happens if I train them and they leave?” I replied “What happens if you …
The new financial year might just be the reason that you decide to invest in your team. I’d love to be a part of that. I’m calling July ‘Free Speech Month’ and I am offering a limited number of organisations the opportunity to book me to come along to your place for a team chat. I’m …