Blog

Go the Matilda’s – Til Its Done!

Last night my family attended the FIFA Women’s World Cup Opening Football (or soccer for the Americans) match between Australia and Ireland, wow what a night.   If you have ever been to a big sporting event you can feel the excitement and anticipation in the air. We were lucky enough to get tickets to…...
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Why You Should Lead Like Indiana Jones

I have a confession to make, I love movies.  I think it is something about being able to take time away from the fast pace and stress in the everyday world and just escape for an hour or two (and gotta love movie popcorn!) I recently attended the Sydney Film Festival and watched the premier…...
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Are Your Leaders Building the Future of Leadership?

Too many things to do and not enough time.  This is a common theme that I  hear from many leaders from all areas.  With things moving faster we are looking at how to prepare for their people in the future.  Now more than ever, it is important for a Leader to be aware of their…...
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How do you become a great story teller?

My daughter Isabella is currently attending University in the US on a soccer scholarship where she is also studying film. She is currently on her summer break, so we have been spending time together attending the Sydney Film Festival. Watching a movie with a film student provides a greater depth of understanding as we discuss…...
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Why Is Being a Good Time Maker Important?

Recently a client came to me feeling overwhelmed and spread thin. In the midst of all their stress and worry they uttered to me something that I am sure we have all heard many times before: ‘There is never enough time to fit everything in.’   Regardless if they are a front-line staff person, a middle…...
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Do You Give them a Reason to Come to Work?

Recently I was working with a group of managers that were commenting about the struggle that they were having with their staff.  About half of the group complained that the younger generation were lacking the ‘work ethic’ that previous generations had.  The other half of the group were complaining that many of their older generation…...
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What’s Holding You Back?

I had an interesting client coaching session.  In discussion with a leader they were talking about how they have been struggling to find their rhythm since the pandemic changed things.  He was reflecting on how he felt it was harder for him to get motivated and get his staff (and himself) to keep a positive…...
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Are you too busy or could you get more done?

I have a question for you.  What would you do with an extra hour a day?  Would you get the exercise in?  Spend an extra hour with the kids?  Or would you make a dent in the backlog of work projects that have been piling up? I was working with a client yesterday who said…...
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Do You Need to Hack your Leadership?

I have a question for you.  Are you getting everything done in a fast and efficient way?  Are you using Clever Shortcuts that allow you to get better results in less time?  I believe that most people are on the autopilot treadmill and they are taking the same approach they did 5 years ago today…...
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How do your people graduate?

Last night my eldest daughter, Jasmine, graduated with her bachelors degree in Industrial Design from University of NSW.  For anyone that has attended a University graduation ceremony it is easy to see the traditions that have been carried forward.  The gown, the graduation caps and the procession of the individual students, their degree, awards and…...
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How Did You Learn to Drive?

My youngest, Luca, has completed his 120 hours of learning driving and successfully passed his driving test to get his driver's license.  Wow, it has been a big journey over the past year with a lot of time, a lot of teaching, and a bit of patience. It has me thinking about how we teach…...
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What Are You Selling?

I was recently walking to the shops and 2 children had set up a stand to sell lemonade.  As I walked by, one of them asked “Would you like to buy some lemonade?”  I smiled and rather than just saying yes I asked her a question “Is it any good?”  The little boy sitting next…...
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What is your next step?

“I know that I need to do something, I’m just not sure what to do?” This statement came from a business owner that I recently started working with.  They explained the challenge that they have been trying to identify what the next step forward was for them.  They knew that they were a bit stuck…...
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Are You a Trusted Advisor?

I was recently working with a group of Account Managers and discussing how the world of selling has changed, especially past the pandemic.  In the past most of the time things were very transactional, or the relationship was not valued long term.  This is one of the reasons why many in sales may not have…...
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Do you have a Champion Team?

I have been attending the Aussies, Australian National Surf Lifesaving Championships in Perth.  This is a great event with 5000 competitors and a massive number of support crew including coaches, managers, first aid, officials and more.   I happen to be the Team Manager for the South Curl Curl Champion Lifesavers.  This is a group of…...
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Is Your Workplace Hybrid Flexible?

Well, the pandemic is truly in our rear view mirror and people are back into a more normal work routine, with everyone being very busy again!  I was speaking with a Senior Leader about their workforce and how many were working remotely versus going into the office.  She mentioned that they were still struggling to…...
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Are you leading so your people will stay?

I had an interesting conversation with a younger employee recently.  She was talking about the massive workload and hours that she had been working and how exhausted her and her entire team were.  Over the past 24 months she had weathered the uncertainty of lockdowns, virtual working, increased workloads and stress.  She had reached her…...
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Do Your People Know How to Sell?

I was recently talking with a client in the professional services industry about the shift in the market and how her team was needing to pitch and sell for business.  She had the shock realisation that her staff were really good technically in their roles, however they seriously lacked the ability to sell and influence.…...
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Is Uncertainty Slowing Your Leadership?

We see the news with war in Ukraine, interest rates rising and the cost of bread and milk increasing to new heights.  With all the uncertainty in today’s world I am noticing a worrying trend.  Leaders are hesitating.  Rather than assessing the current environment and developing a strategy to move forward, many are freezing.  It…...
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What reason do your staff have to come to work?

I was recently working with a client looking at the performance across a number of their departments. As we were discussing some of the dynamics of work, one of them started complaining about their younger staff.  “They just don’t want to work, in fact most of them are lazy.” …...
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Could You Summit the 15 Highest Peaks?

Although the Snowy Mountains of Australia are not as high as mountains in other countries, they are incredibly beautiful and not for the inexperienced.  My 16 year old son, Luca, decided last year that for his Duke of Ed Award that he wanted to summit all of the 15 highest peaks in Australia.  As we…...
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What will be your Rites of Passage in 2023?

My son (the youngest member in our family) started year 11 of High School this week.  It is a very interesting thing to see when your kids start to gain maturity at new levels.  Earlier in the year he said he wanted to complete his Duke of Ed Gold Award by backpacking the top 15…...
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Are You Preparing for 2023?

We are about to head into a new year (gotta love the time between Christmas & New Year!)  I always enjoy the beginning as it is a great time to reflect on the past year as well as start thinking (& dreaming) about what you want to do over the next 12 months. I have…...
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Leadership Hacks to Improve Performance

It’s difficult to keep up with the speed at which information and decisions are moving in our technology-driven world. This has created a new range of challenges for us when trying to execute strategic plans in these fast-paced environments. This has intensified the dilemma of having too much to do in too little time, with many people…...
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How to Get Your Priorities Right

For centuries Native people around the world had to prioritise what was important for them to survive. Many of them followed a Sacred Order, sequence followed to ensure survival in any given environment. If you look around our world today, many of us are having a more difficult time to identify what is important in our…...
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Hacking the 5 Distractions to Productivity

Research shows up to 65% of future leaders feel busy all the time. When this happens, productivity starts to suffer, and you can get distracted. The trick is finding easy ways to keep track of these distractions and limit them. Here I share five common distractions you need to hack to ensure you don’t get…...
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Are Team Meetings a Waste of Time?

One of the biggest workplace challenges is finding time to complete your work and attend meetings.  With the increase in digital technology, email and video meetings you’d expect that the number of meetings have decreased. Unfortunately research shows the opposite with a recent Harvard Business Review article showing that many executives are spending 23 hours per week…...
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Here are 5 things that put high achievers ahead of the rest of us

Microsoft 2022 Work Trend Report showed that 52% of generation Z and millennials are likely to change their employers this year, which for many may mean it is time to step up into a new role.  So how do we stand out as someone that is ready to progress in our career into the next…...
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Struggling to Stay Focused at Work?

Do you ever find yourself drifting off during the work day? Losing your focus during certain hours of the workday? If so here are 3 great hacks that can help you stay focused and productive. Hack #1 Work on Challenging Tasks During Peak Energy Times We have all had a task or project that we had to…...
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Productivity for Working Remotely

How do we keep staff productive whilst working remotely?   Research during the pandemic lockdowns showed that large amounts of staff felt burnout and isolated when they worked nonstop with their eyes glued to a computer monitor for eight to ten hours a day. To ensure productivity for working remotely we need to safeguard staff…...
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Building Future Leaders

“We’re trying to get things back to normal, but it feels like a lot of my staff feel a bit stuck at the moment.  They have a massive workload, and we are trying to make the hybrid workplace work and still not where we need to be yet.” This came from a conversation I had…...
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Will You Make Pasta for Mothers Day?

I am very lucky to live in a wonderful place that is close to the beach and has incredible places to eat.  One of our family’s favourite places to eat is Pilu/Acquafresca because of the authentic Italian food.  I have known Giovanni Pilu for over 15 years, we met when our daughter started school together. …...
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The World Needs more Thinkers

A very close friend of mine, Bud Matkowski, passed away this week.  He was a friend that I met whilst studying Native American survival and philosophy 30 years ago in the US.  Over the years we stayed in touch with me traveling to visit him (including doing a Vision Quest on his property) and him…...
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How Many In Office Days vs Remote Days?

As the Easter break finishes many people are starting to go back into the office.  The fear of COVID and isolation is becoming a distant memory as Australia and many parts of the world have high vaccination rates and we head into herd immunity into the future. I spoke with a supervisor who mentioned her…...
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Is your workplace fixed or flexible?

I was speaking with a leader who commented about how difficult it was to retain and attract good staff.  When I asked him what their approach was to flexible work policy, he hesitated and mentioned, ‘We have not yet decided what our approach will be, but some of the executives are pushing to have everyone…...
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Are you leveraging remote work to help your customers?

As many of you know I am a very loyal Qantas frequent flyer.  I normally spend many days flying around Australia, Asia-Pacific and the world speaking at conferences and working with leading companies to help leaders mobilise their people faster.   I had a very interesting thing happen last week.  A Qantas flight that I was…...
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Choosing to work in the office or remotely

I had a great conversation with a leader last week who was struggling with how to balance their staff working in the office or remotely.  Her challenge was she had many customer-facing roles that required them to be available to clients in person whilst having other staff that were in roles that did not require…...
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Navigating your way back to the office & hybrid?

With people back in the full swing at work, many leaders have had their staff start coming back to the office.  This has created a bit of a buzz and people are starting to enjoy the company of other people and the collaboration that it brings. I spoke with an Executive Leader who was surprised…...
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March Madness

I had an interesting session with a Senior Leader this past week.  She was talking about the challenge that she has dealing with a lot of issues across her organisation.  Her staff are pushing to get more flexible work from home time, some of the younger staff have resigned because they were offered jobs with…...
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International Women’s Day: From feminism to removing bias

With the rain was pelting down this morning across Sydney, we braved the weather to head to the International Women’s Day Breakfast sponsored by Hands Group. I was looking forward to being back at a live event that had people in the audience and speakers on the stage, which was wonderful to be at! With Peter Baines…...
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How do you get new staff to perform faster?

My eldest daughter is in her 3rd year of University and just recently started an internship.  It has been wonderful to watch her excitement and joy about taking what she has been learning and apply it in the workforce.  One of the challenges that she faced in her first week was having to work remotely. …...
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It’s the Little things that Count

I recently was working with the staff at a car dealership when the temperature soared to almost 40 degrees (104 degrees F to the Americans reading).   It was hot, damn hot.  As I walked from the front office to the workshop where the mechanics were sweating as they worked on repairing cars, something caught my…...
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Can you create Olympic moments?

The Winter Olympics have started and I’m always interested to watch the athletes that are stepping on to the world stage to compete.  I’m amazed at their abilities and often find myself watching on and cheering loudly at the tv. The interesting thing that I keep coming back to is, what did the Olympic athletes…...
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Do you have a 2022 vision yet?

So we are into February and everyone has hit the ground running.  For most people the holiday season is well and truly over and now the treadmill of activity has turned up to full speed. I was talking with a Senior Leader and asked her what her plan was for the year.  Her response was…...
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Are you spreading the Christmas Spirit?

As we approach the week of Christmas, the excitement starts to increase as people look forward to spending time with family, friends and away from work.  It is as if we all breathe a collective sigh of relief that we have once again made it through another working year, whilst dodging the uncertainty of lockdowns,…...
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Don’t buckle under the End of Year Pressure

We have finally reached the back half of December.  The last month of the year and everyone is busily trying to get everything completed before the holiday season and some time off.  The number of meeting requests has increased and the number of projects that need to be completed has now reached breakneck speed.   People…...
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Do you want a Christmas Deal?

I had a really interesting conversation with a colleague about the Black Friday sales.  It seems to be something that has really gathered momentum here in Australia with many businesses even offering the deals until the week after!  She had jumped on the sales with gusto and secured a range of gifts for the family…...
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The Race to Christmas – Are You Ready?

The race towards Christmas has started.  Many people that I have spoken to have noticed the increase in pace at work as well as the end of school year activities and the massive need for people to go out for Christmas functions, which is probably going to be bigger now that people have been out…...
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Who Are You Thankful For?

In the US Thanksgiving is a massive holiday.  Yes it has the common American commercialisation (who doesn’t love a Black Friday Sales!), but at its core it is about something much deeper. When I was raised Thanksgiving was about spending time with family and the people you loved and taking the time to reflect about…...
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Fatherly Wisdom Remembered

Given the very challenging year that we have had with the global pandemic and the rolling lockdowns that have increased uncertainty and fear, I thought it would be good to revisit some wisdom from my father. My father, Larry Stein, passed away almost exactly 2 years ago.  After battling liver cancer for a number of…...
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Have You Started the New Leadership Journey?

With the COVID19 pandemic, leaders have been stretched to the next level.  Initially they needed to find out how they were going to function remotely, whilst keeping cash-flow occurring, navigate government requirements and find a way to keep results above water.  Now, many leaders are trying to navigate how to keep their people focused with…...
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Are You Leading So Your People Will Stay?

I had an interesting conversation with a younger employee recently. She was talking about the massive workload and hours that she had been working and how exhausted her and her entire team were. Over the past 18 months she had weathered the storm of the pandemic, lockdowns, virtual working, increased workloads and stress. She had reached her limit…...
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Will You Be Impacted By the Great Resignation?

Recent research reported by Smart Company and Microsoft has shown that up to 40% of employees are looking at resigning due to the pressure and burnout from the COVID19 pandemic.  Many staff are feeling unappreciated and unloved.   The frightening thing that I am noticing is that many top executives are not aware of this.  Some are so old school…...
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Are you a brave leader?

So what kind of leader are you?  Innovative, visionary, traditional, consultative, open minded?  What about brave?  I think the massive changes and uncertainty that we have had over the past 18months have tested many leaders.  Some have held true to their values, whilst others let fear get the better of them. I was talking to…...
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Are You Winning the End of Year Race?

I was working with a leader this week who mentioned they’d noticed their workload has gone up a notch.  As we discussed the multiple projects and deadlines that she was juggling she made an interesting observation, “I have started my race toward the end of the year.” This is a common thing that I see…...
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Are you Leading or Following?

It looks like this time next week the Australian state of NSW will be lifting restrictions and starting to move toward normal, with Victoria not far behind.  In speaking with many leaders that have become quite exhausted with all the virtual working as well as the uncertainty that they have been facing.   The challenge with…...
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Are You Sharing Lockdown Love?

So Sydney is now approaching the 9th week of lockdown with no end in sight to us being able to get back to normal.  Melbourne is also in lockdown as well as the entire state of NSW and ACT.  And in looking at the numbers of COVID cases continuing to climb, it does not look…...
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Are 1/3 of Your Staff About to Leave?

It is an interesting question isn’t it. According to the latest salary guide by Hays Recruiting, 38% of Australian employees plan on looking for a new job in the next 12 months. This is a shocking statistic that shows the fear of keeping a job in the pandemic is now a bit of a distant memory, and now…...
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Are you being decisive?

I have a question for you, are you a decisive leader? Do you gather the information, check with your people and then make a decision? Or are you one of those leaders that seems to sit or put off making a decision? In a coaching session I had with a senior leader this week we…...
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Are your people keeping up?

I was speaking to a number of CEO’s & mid-level managers about the current pace of business and on the back of the pandemic (with a few rolling restrictions predicted to continue over the next 6-12 months), the pace of activity has gone up. If you think back to a little over a year ago,…...
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Are you ready to be inspired?

If you think back over the past 12 months it has been a real roller coaster.  The uncertainty of the pandemic, lockdown and toilet paper shortages have rocked our world.  For some industries things are going great and full speed ahead (electronics and bitcoin millionaires are smiling), whilst other industries are still struggling and in…...
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Are you ready for the Future of Leadership?

Too many things to do and not enough time. This is a common theme that I am hearing from many leaders from all areas. With things moving faster we are looking for how to prepare for the future and what to do about it now. Now more than ever, it is important for a Leader to be…...
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What kind of person are you?

So what kind of person are you? As I look around I often see people fall into three distinct categories when it comes to making a difference to others or taking the time to give to others (not just family but the greater community as well). The first group are the TAKERS. These are the people that…...
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Are You Focusing on the Activity or the Result?

In a meeting with a CEO last week, we were discussing some of the challenges he was noticing around his people achieving targets.  He was frustrated that the results were not where they should be given all the opportunity that they have had this year.  The question I asked him was “what activity targets do…...
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Are you a leader others would follow?

I have a question for you, do your staff follow you because they want to or they have to?  It is a good question to ask when looking in the mirror and seeing what others see.  With the pressure to perform and make things happen with tighter and tighter deadlines (and with less staff), many…...
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The Leadership Race

As we head into May I have been hearing a common theme from most of my clients, the pace of business is frantic.  There are too many tasks to complete, too many emails to send and respond to and not enough staff to keep up!  This is creating what I call a leadership race.   The…...
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Are you a champion?

My son Luca is heading to the Sunshine Coast, to compete in the Australian National Surf Lifesaving Championships.  He was fortunate to win the State Championships and will now compete at the next level.  It has been great to watch the hard work that he’s put in and to see him achieve some pretty incredible…...
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Are you an Old School Leader?

Internal politics often stop forward progress and isolate staff. I recently spoke with a client who described how a number of managers in her organisation had been playing the ‘old school’ game of trying to keep information from others.   This was one approach that a manager could get away with in the 1980’s and 1990’s…...
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Do You Need a Break? 

Well, we made it to the Easter Long weekend and I noticed from my recent Leadership Coaching sessions almost everyone needs a break.  The beginning of the year has been a sprint with people trying to get back to a sense of normal with the threat of COVID lockdowns. I have noticed the pressure that…...
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Are You Hands On?

“Can I help Dad?”  said Luca, my fourteen year old son.  I was just about to mow the lawn when he noticed what I was up to.  As we worked together with the weed trimmer and mower I noticed a big smile across my son’s face.  We were spending time together in a “hands on''…...
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Are You Letting Internal Disruption Take You Off Path?

Everything is going too fast, times are changing and things are getting more complex.  We are being bombarded by more and more information and technology and it often feels like we are barely able to keep our heads above water.  This is leading many staff to hesitate and question what they are doing and this…...
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Could You Get More Done?

I have some questions for you, “what would you do with an extra hour a day? Would you get the exercise in? Spend an extra hour with the kids? Or would you make a dent in the backlog of work projects that have been piling up?” Regardless of how you would spend your time, what…...
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Are Your Virtual Meetings Working?

With the COVID pandemic everyone has shifted to virtual meetings to help keep communication lines open and stay connected.  The challenge that I am finding is that many leaders do not know how to make these virtual meetings work.  ​Now that we are almost a year into this new way of connecting online, people are starting…...
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What Reason Do Your Staff Have to Come to Work?

I was recently working with a client looking at the performance across a number of departments. As we were discussing some of the dynamics of work, one of them started complaining about their younger staff.  “They just don’t want to work, in fact most of them are lazy.”  I could hear his frustration as he…...
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So how is the start to your year going?  If you are like many of us the year is now at a sprint and the workload and inbox is starting to overflow.  For many leaders they are struggling to stay on top of everything, but they have not found a way to work smarter.A Harvard…...
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Are You Creating Customer ‘WOWS’?

What are you doing that is absolutely incredible to customers?  This is a common question that I ask business owners as well as managers.  Unfortunately the response that I usually get are the common things that were considered leading - 10 years ago! Everyone knows that customer expectations continue to increase, this is human nature. …...
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It’s Only February & Workloads Are Crazy!

“It’s only February and I can’t believe how busy we are, I find there is just no time to plan because there’s too much to do!”  Have you said this recently?  I have been speaking with a number of clients and almost all of them have repeated the same thing, the new year sprint has…...
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What is Your Plan for the Year?

So let me ask you a question  “What is your plan for the year?”  I recently asked this question to a business leader, her response really surprised me.  She mentioned that because of the lingering pandemic, the leadership team had decided to wait on developing their strategy until after the first quarter of the year.  …...
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What will you achieve in 2021?

So we are now into 2021 and it’s good-bye 2020!  The beginning of a new year is always a great way to recalibrate your path forward.  I know that for most of us 2020 was exhausting and full of unexpected turns and it would be easy to just try to erase it from memory.  However…...
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Spreading Cheer the Week Before Christmas

With only a week before Christmas, I always notice the excitement starts to increase as people look forward to spending time with family, friends and a break away from work.  Given the challenges of 2020 and the COVID 19 Pandemic, I’m sure that this year will be an even bigger need for people to take…...
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Are You Ready for the Pre-Christmas Dash?

Yes, it’s that time of year once again.  Christmas lights are starting to go up, the kids are asking for the Christmas tree and many of us are looking forward to a break over the holidays. This year has been hard.  It’s been a range of unexpected turns that has stretched us in ways that…...
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Who Are You Thankful For?

With a roller coaster year full of COVID pandemic, travel bans, uncertainty and economic disruption, sometimes it is hard to be thankful.  In the US Thanksgiving is a massive holiday.  Yes it has the common American commercialisation (who doesn’t love Black Friday Sales!), but at its core it’s about something much deeper. When I was…...
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Remembering Fatherly Wisdom

A year has gone by since my father passed away.  I was fortunate enough to be in the US by his side with my mother during his last few days.  When someone is facing death you never know how they will be. Although he loved life, as he neared the end my father was incredible. …...
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Are You Proficient?

Given we live only 400m from one of the biggest wave and rip currents in Sydney, we immediately started our kids in the weekend ocean nippers beach and surf safety program.  It has been a great experience and now that all of our kids are older we know that they can keep themselves and their…...
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Would They Vote for You?

The world is currently holding its breath for the outcome of the US Presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.  It has been a roller coaster of a year full of pandemics, ravaged economies, lockdowns and protests.  On top of this the US Election day has finished and the votes are still being counted…...
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The Power of Enthusiasm

This year has been challenging. Regardless if it was the COVID19 pandemic, lockdowns, economic challenges or the uncertainty, most of us would agree that 2020 has been a bit of a roller coaster. In talking with different leaders, I am finding a range of mindsets. At one end some leaders are still struggling with the changes…...
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Do You Believe?

I was running a strategic planning session for an incredible organisation last week when I realised that some of the people attending had stopped dreaming. We were looking at what could be possible in the next 2-3 years and a few of them were really stuck in the current COVID environment. They had a hard time looking beyond…...
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Are Your Leaders Frozen or Leading?

I had a fascinating discussion with a Senior Executive this week. She mentioned to me that she had noticed that many of their leaders had stalled. “It’s as if they are frozen in time.” she remarked. As we discussed their behaviour it was very clear that many of them had stopped leading. They were so…...
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What activity should you be doing to keep growing?

Are you stuck? Still trying to get your head around what to do next? I admit that there have been some days where I’ve been a bit demotivated and rather than being productive, have procrastinated. With all the change and uncertainty I have noticed that people are falling into 3 groups. The first are those that…...
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Are You Able to Debate Like a President?

The US had their first presidential election debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden this week. When I think of a ‘Presidential debate’ I have quite high expectations of what that would look like. The President (and the candidate running for President) is a revered role and for many people is…...
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Do you have the Courage of Ruth Bader Ginsberg?

You may have seen in the news this week that the US Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsberg passed away from cancer at the age of 87. She was one of only 2 women on the US Supreme Court, but more importantly she was an incredible person. When she started Harvard Law School in 1955…...
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Please Join me for the Hands Big Night In

Imagine creating a charity and growing it to take care of 350 Thai Children at 6 different locations. Better yet growing the success of the charity to raise over $20million (without any government assistance!) to not only provide for the kids but enable over 50 of them to go to University to better their opportunities in…...
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Remembering 9/11….A Time that United People

It has been 19 years since America was attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001, this was a day that most of us remember. I still remember where I was and watching the horror on the news programs and the sense of shock that quickly grabbed the world’s attention. In comparing that day many years…...
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audentes Fortuna iuvat: The Opportunity in Recession

With all of the negative media and the uncertain economic conditions it’s not surprising that Australia had slid into recession for the first time in 28 years (and the US was already officially in recession in June this year). You can anticipate what the news and media outlets will be doing, spreading the fear that…...
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Are You Operating in a Two Speed Office?

With the lingering COVID19 pandemic and the lockdown in Melbourne, I’m noticing many offices operating on two different levels. When the pandemic first occurred, everyone had to get creative and change the way that they operated. The rise of the work from home dynamic and the massive increase in Zoom meetings to keep the communication…...
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What Should You be Delegating to Others?

We all know the strength of a collective group of people is always stronger than just one.  I find when I get really busy sometimes it is easy to forget this.  Recently I was working with a Senior Leader who was talking about the massive hours that she was putting in.  She had been working…...
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Leadership Learning or Netflix Binge

What are you doing to keep learning and mentally active? I have found that the COVID19 pandemic has impacted people in very different ways. Some of my friends have focused on getting fit and have been doing a lot of running and now back at the gym. Others have spent a lot more time on…...
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Are You Letting Fear Lead You?

I was watching the Last Dance documentary on the incredible basketball player Michael Jordan. It was very clear how much of a leader he was. One of the quotes that I remember was from when he was asked by a reporter about missing the last shot of a previous game and if he was nervous…...
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Do You Want a Leadership Byte?

If you are like me you enjoy a bit of a special deal. You know something that rewards you for doing something early and allows you to share the benefit with your team. Many of you would know about my relationship as a Board member of Hands Across the Water. Due to COVID19 we have had…...
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Are You Building Your Future Leaders?

“How can I improve my future leaders when our business and operations have been knocked around in COVID19? I know that I need to do something, but finding the time and the method to do it is challenging right now.”  This question came from a conversation I had with a Senior Leader this week. She knew…...
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Are You Leading with Purpose?

It feels like every day we hear about increases in COVID19 cases in both the US and the Australian state of Victoria. This has led to feelings of a second wave of the pandemic that has many people afraid. There is fear around the economic impact and how it may slow down business activity as…...
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Creating Shared Experiences in the COVID World

I was talking to a business owner about how disjointed and challenging it has been for his workforce to come back together in the new COVID world. He’s still facing challenges as one third of his staff are working virtually and it's been a bit more difficult to get everyone connected (especially with offices in…...
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Leading Out of Lockdown

Depending on what part of the world you are living in you may be experiencing the end of the lockdown period and the reduction in COVID19 restrictions. If you are like us, our kids are back at school and we now are not tripping over each other whilst working virtually from different parts of the…...
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Leadership in the face of uncertainty

The current protests and riots that are happening in the US have captured headlines around the world. Although I have lived in Australia for 25 years, growing up in America provided me with first hand insight to observe the good and the bad.   The tragic death of George Floyd whilst being arrested by police and…...
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Join a Virtual Shared Experience

Many leaders are looking for a way to get their people to connect with one another in a meaningful way.  This has been more challenging for some with people in isolation and businesses just starting to open up. We know that when people have a shared experience they create a deeper bond or connection.  I…...
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Are You Up for a Virtual Challenge?

Many of us have been social distancing (or in isolation) for around 6 week, it’s been a large block of time that has changed the way we interact and connect with others. So what are you doing to keep up your connection with others while you are social distancing? I have been talking to a number…...
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Are You Spreading Fear or Hope?

If you’re following the news headlines it looks like things are absolutely terrible. Unemployment is starting to reach unprecedented highs, economic losses in stock exchanges and many people are lost about what to do next. Sound familiar? So the question I want to ask is are you spreading fear or hope? I had a conversation with a…...
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Are You Flattening the Curve for Your People?

So most of the world has been in some form of social distancing or isolation for over the past month.  Depending on the country (and more importantly the leaders of that country, some places have turned a corner and are ‘flattening the curve.’  Essentially what this means is that the number of infections from the…...
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Don’t Let Social Distancing Numb Your Brain!

In speaking with a number of leaders over the past week I'm noticing a common theme. Without the normal routine, interaction and activity things are starting to shift and it can be difficult to create a new normal. Social distancing is pushing some people that are working from home (or not working at all) to…...
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Are You Starting the Year With A Performance Mindset?

This is the time of year when people start focusing on the new year. Often I have discussions with people around performance and how to shift up to the next level of being.   One of my mentoring clients pleaded with me as to how they could get themselves to operate at the next level? They are…...
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What will you achieve in 2020?

Ahh, the start of a new year. I always enjoy the beginning of the year as it is a great time to reflect on the past year as well as start thinking (& dreaming) about what you want to do over the next 12 months. I have a little ritual at this time of year.…...
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Are You Spreading Christmas Spirit?

As we approach the week of Christmas, the excitement starts to increase as people look forward to spending time with family, friends and away from work. It’s as if we heave a collective sigh of relief that we have once again made it through another working year. So are you spreading the Christmas spirit? As we…...
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Resist The End of Year Pressure

We have finally reached the middle of December. The last month of the year and everyone is busily trying to get everything completed before the holiday season and some time off. The number of meeting requests has increased and the number of projects that need to be completed has now reached…...
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Starting the Race to Christmas – Get Ready!

It’s started... the race towards Christmas. This is the time of year when you try to cram every little thing in before the holiday break. Home is usually busy with school events (end of year dance concerts, Christmas carols and everything in between!) and the mad rush to get a tree…...
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Who Are You Thankful For?

In the US Thanksgiving is a massive holiday. Yes, it has the common American commercialisation (who doesn’t love a Black Friday Sales!) but at its core, it is about something much deeper. When I was growing up, Thanksgiving was about spending time with family and the people you loved and…...
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Fatherly Wisdom

Wow - another challenging week. I had finished some US client work and was visiting my parents when my father’s health significantly declined (he had been fighting liver cancer for 2 years). I was lucky to be with him and my mother to the end.   When someone is facing…...
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Do You Think About the Future?

I have had a very interesting (actually challenging and stretching) last couple of weeks. I was fortunate enough to be present when my brother in law passed away and I am currently in the US delivering a few workshops and visiting my parents. My father has stage 3 liver cancer and…...
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Reflections of a Good Man

 Have you ever had a tough week? You know one of those weeks that just fully drains and exhausts you and you find your self tossing and turning whilst you are trying to sleep at night?  I recently had a tough week. My brother in law, Michael, after 11 years of…...
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Do You Love Where You Are?

Sometimes I get so busy that I forget to look up and appreciate the things around me. This can be my family, my friends, my work or even the city that I live in. I just finished a Leadership Efficiency Coaching session and decided to take the Sydney Ferry from…...
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Could you be more efficient?

I have a question for you. What would you do if you had an extra hour a day? Would you get the exercise in? Spend an extra hour with the kids? Or would you make a dent in the backlog of work projects that have been piling up? Regardless of how you…...
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What Do You Want To Do When You Grow Up?

My eldest daughter is in her last year of high school and we have been talking about what she wants to do with her future. It is an interesting discussion with her having the entire world at her feet and endless possibilities and opportunities. It made me start thinking about…...
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Is Uncertainty Hindering Your Leadership?

With all the volatility and uncertainty in today’s business world, I am noticing a worrying trend. Leaders are hesitating. Rather than assessing the current environment and developing a strategy to move forward, many are freezing. It is almost as if because things are so chaotic and moving so fast that many…...
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Who is your Mentor?

I was speaking with a successful CEO about their journey from an early manager to leading a national company with offices in capital cities and thousands of staff. As he was reflecting back to when he first became a manager I noticed that it put a massive smile on his…...
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Are the Voices in your Head Positive or Negative?

I was recently asked to work with a very interesting group, they were automotive mechanics across Australia that had won their state competition and were in Sydney to compete for the Australian title. As they were very skilled in diagnosing and fixing vehicles, the National Manager wanted me to work with…...
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What Should Your Be Delegating?

So I have a question for you. What are you not delegating? We all know that we should be delegating tasks to our staff, unfortunately we often hang onto tasks for too long. So why don’t we delegate? What is it that keeps us hanging onto tasks…...
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Do You Ask or Tell?

I was asked to observe a leadership team meeting to watch the dynamics and provide some insights as to why a number of people on the team did not actively get involved in the meetings.  As I watched from the back of the room I noticed…...
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Do you have a Champion Team?

My over 35 soccer team played in the Grand Final. We were playing a team that had won almost every game and we had previously lost to them - twice. With most of us playing on this team for the past 5-8 years we all knew that…...
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Why You Need to Be at Fathers Day Breakfast

My daughter is in her last year of high school.  Last week as I was about to step out the door to go to a client meeting and she asked, “Can you make Father’s Day breakfast at school?  It will be my last one.” Of course,…...
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Where Are Your Priorities?

Our soccer team made it into the Semi-finals, which is so exciting.  I have played with the same group of players for the past 8 years and this is the goal that we have had from the beginning to become Grand Champions. I had a busy…...
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Leaders Need to Mobilise People

This week has seen the final of the Australian Future of Leadership series for 2019 finish in Melbourne with my last presentation on Why Leaders Need to Delegate (and how most stuff it up!) During the break, a senior level leader was buying a copy of my book…...
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Do You Believe?

I spoke to a smaller group in Newcastle at the Future of Leadership Conference.  I always enjoy meeting and working with people that live in regional areas away from the big cities.  Often they have this deep work ethic and are very curious to learn new…...
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Inspiration or Implementation?

I was fortunate to present at the Future of Leadership Conference in Brisbane yesterday.  It was a great event with over 400 attendees that included Future Leaders, Frontline Supervisors, Middle Managers, and Executive Leaders. The speakers on the day were incredible.  Mykal Dixon’s presentation (and musical performance)…...
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How Are You Getting Your New Staff Performing Faster?

Recently I asked a Senior Manager about their new staff member and what they’d done to get them up to speed.  His response was very interesting because he had been so busy the previous 2 weeks he had not had time to work with his new…...
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Email Hacks to Save You Time

I have a question for you - how often do you check your email inbox each day, including on your phone? Not sure? Let’s play a little game. Every time you check your inbox write it down because by the end of the day you will be…...
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How Many Books Did You Read This Week?

It has been shown that many successful people continue to take the time to read books to build their knowledge and skills.  In a New York Times interview, Bill Gates said that he reads 50 books per year, which equates to 1 book per week (not…...
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Are You a Giver or a Taker?

Over the past year, I have been spending a lot of time traveling on planes (thank goodness for Qantas frequent flyer benefits!)  Airports are a fascinating place, full of hustle and bustle as people go about their lives trying to get from point A to point…...
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The Myth of Work-Life Balance

I attended a conference this week and one of the presenters was talking about the need for their employees to have a ‘work-life balance’.  They spoke about how we need to try to spend as much time at home as at work. Seriously? What a load…...
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What Staff Want

I was talking with a CEO about their challenge around keeping staff engaged.  The questions we were discussing was “What do they want?” He had been focusing on the multiple surveys as well as the salary benchmarking for their industry.  I remember asking him “Have you…...
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Are You Upgrading Your Customers to Business Class?

This week on my way to the US for work I received a pleasant surprise from Qantas when I checked in for my flight - they had upgraded me to Business Class. For anyone that's done the long 14-hour flight from Sydney to LA, having a…...
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Are You Losing Key Talent?

It is incredible how quickly an organisational culture can change from leading edge and attracting talented people to one that is in chaos and shedding staff. I was talking to a middle manager about the recent shifts within their business. Given anticipated competitive headwinds the Senior Leadership decided…...
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Why We Need More Rituals

Our family has a number of rituals that we follow based on the seasons. We just returned from our yearly Easter camping trip at The Basin - a wonderful outdoor spot on the water North of Sydney that enables us to reconnect as a family. We spent plenty…...
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Are You Creating a Political Divide?

It seems that everywhere you turn political debates are raging.  Wherever you look whether it's television ads, door knocking or flyer dropping it's in full swing. I had a very interesting conversation with my kids about what they noticed.  The common theme that they said…...
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Are You Providing Wisdom of Elders?

I was having a chat with a Senior Executive about how staff in today’s business world are very different from the past.  She was complaining a bit how the younger generation has a sense of ‘entitlement’ wanting to quickly move from new employee to running…...
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WHAT SHOULD I DO?

“I know that I need to do something, however, I’m just not sure what to do?” This statement came from a Senior Leader that I recently started working with. They knew that they were a bit stuck in no man's land and were afraid of…...
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When Was Your Last Strategy Retreat Recharge?

I have been at a Strategy Retreat in Queenstown New Zealand with a group of Thought Leader Black Belts (an amazing group of experts who work with organisations and individuals to help them achieve more).  Of course we enjoyed the Queenstown vibe with a bit…...
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Do You Have a Goal Scoring Mindset

All my 3 kids are very sporty.  My middle daughter, Isabella has a dream of becoming a professional soccer player after getting a scholarship to play University Soccer in the US.She has a lot of talent and is one of the most committed players that…...
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How Do You Delegate the Right Way?

A Harvard Business Review study titled ‘Why aren’t you delegating?’ found that almost 50% of the companies surveyed were concerned about their employees’ delegation skills—and most of them didn’t offer training on how to delegate.   The real concern is that many leaders won’t delegate. Why? Many believe…...
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Are You Communicating the Right Way?

I’ve recently been working with a Manager who had been promoted to a higher level with more responsibility.  In the past, she had been a peer to some of her fellow managers and now they were reporting to her. She has been in the position…...
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Are You a Trusted Advisor?

I was recently working with a group of Sales Account Managers and discussing with them how the world of selling has changed. In the past, it was all about a salesperson's ability to convince a customer to buy (even if it stretched the truth!)  However with…...
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It’s the Little Things that Count

I was recently working onsite with a car dealership when the temperature soared to almost 40 degrees (104 degrees F to the Americans reading). It was incredibly hot, damn hot. As I walked from the front office to the workshop where the mechanics were sweating as…...
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What will be your Rites of Passage for 2019

My son started High School this week and as a parent, it is a funny feeling when you realise that your kids are starting to grow up.  High school is a big milestone, in fact, it’s an important Rite of Passage. It started me thinking…...
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The Push to Christmas – Almost There!

It’s started....  the race towards Christmas.  This is the time of year when you try to cram everything in before the holiday break.  Home is usually busy with school events (end of year dance concerts, Christmas carols and everything in between!) and the mad rush to get a…...
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What Are You Thankful For?

What are you thankful for?  As we lead up to the last month of the year, it can be easy for us to get swamped with emails, distracted with technology, and busy trying to keep our heads above water.  You often hear people remind themselves, “If…...
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The More You Give – The More You Get

I live on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and as it is now spring, the beaches are open and I had my first day of surf life-saving patrol.  This involves getting the rescue equipment ready and in position to be used if a swimmer gets into trouble…...
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Did You Make Father’s Day Breakfast?

Our children’s school has a wonderful tradition every year of the kids and helpers making breakfast the Friday before Father’s (or Mother’s Day).  Yes, it meant getting up a little earlier to get the kids to the school by 7.30am however…...
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Action Speak Louder than Words

We have all heard this saying before so it is nothing new.  What I am always surprised to notice is how easy it is for leaders to forget about it.I remember attending a team meeting where the Manager was going through the results of the last quarter…...
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Are you an Old School Leader?

I recently was working with a client discussing an issue that they were having with internal politics inside their organisation.  When described what was occurring it was very clear that a number of the Senior Leaders were playing the “old school” game of trying to keep…...
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What Type of Learner Are You?

It has been school holidays and we have been focused on having some fun with the kids.  My eldest daughter, Jasmine has also been working on a school assignment during the holidays.  Last night as she was working away I…...
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So What’s the Next Big Thing?

I was involved in a series of webinars and the concern of disruption was one of the hot topics.  Everywhere you look you can see disruption that is coming from multiple industries as a constant barrage.  Many of my clients are looking around to see…...
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R U Focusing on Best Practice?

With all of the disruption that is occurring across numerous industries, a new race has been created.  The race is not just about running a successful business or organisation, it is about doing things in a faster and more effective way…...
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R U Ready for the Future of Leadership?

‘Too many things to do and not enough time.’ This is a common theme that I hear from many Leaders across all areas. With things moving faster we are looking for how to prepare for the future and what to do…...
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