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 of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Death.  This is the final movie instalment with Harrison Ford in the lead role.  It has plenty of plot twists, action and suspense and brought back memories of the ‘old school’ classic movie.

It also got me thinking about why leaders should lead like Indiana Jones.  I think today many leaders are becoming overwhelmed with too much information, too many options and not enough certainty.  What I am noticing is that many leaders have become complacent and are waiting too long to take action.

Here are a few things that Indiana Jones would do to lead the way forward:

Driven to Lead to Make a Difference. In all of the movies Indiana Jones is not one to sit back and let others take charge.  He actively steps up and takes action on the things that he believes in.  I believe leaders have ‘windows of time’ that require them to step up and make a difference to others, or they get left behind.

Trust His People.  In all of the films Indiana Jones has colleagues that he needs to count on to achieve his goals. This requires him to trust his people, regardless of where it may take him.  Too often leaders do not trust their people and try to do everything themselves.  

Is Afraid, but Takes Action Anyway.  For anyone who has seen one of the movies, you know that Indiana Jones hates snakes!  The writers find a way to put some snakes into each movie to show his vulnerability (after 25 years he still has a fear of them!)  I think that leaders are the same.  Many have fears and this often stops them from sharing a great idea, holding a person accountable or taking bold action that could make a massive difference.

So the next time you face some challenges as a leader, remember to ask yourself, ‘What would Indiana Jones do?’ This will give you a few practical things to help you overcome your next adventure (especially if you like the classic movies!).  

If you would like to discuss how I can work with you to take your business and people to the next level, reach out.  I would love to share some ideas or even reminisce about some great movies!

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 focus, their activity and their impact on those around them. 

I believe that there are 3 key roles that a Leader needs to embody and build:

1. Simplify:  Leaders Must Simplify the Way Forward.  We now live in a world that is becoming overly complex with information and options attacking people from multiple directions.  This is encouraging people to mix up their priorities and often not focus on the things that really matter. Leaders need to capture the essence of what everyone needs to focus towards and continually build and amplify this throughout all areas of the business.  When a Leader simplifies the way forward, staff know what to focus on.  
2. Connect:  Leaders Need to Truly Connect with Staff.  Leaders need to take the time to connect with their people.  They need to be visible and interact with their staff to let them know that they are not on their own.  Too often when I’ve asked a staff member when was the last time their leader took the time to have a conversation and truly connect, they respond with two words: not enough. When people connect they become committed, which builds a key foundation in any workforce. 
3. Empower:  Leaders Have to Empower People into Action.  Without action nothing happens.  Leaders need to mobilise their people toward results.  They have to help identify the opportunities that are available and encourage staff to take action.  Leaders need to take the time to mentor and work individually with people to guide, support and build their people. 

The Hands Group is running the Future of Leadership 1 Day Event in Sydney, Brisbane & Melbourne over the next couple months.  This attracts some of the best speakers in the country, who all waiver their fees to help support the charity Hands Across the Water.  

To receive 20% off this incredible event, just click on the link below and type in SCOTTFOL20 when you book your tickets.  Please click here to book and find out more.  I will be attending the Sydney event.

Take the time to BUILD your skills and your people’s skills to be prepared for the Future of Leadership.  Feel free to reach out if I can help!

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 and analyse it.  We’ve watched some great films, had some great discussions and ate a bunch of popcorn!

A movie is a story.  The director is the story teller and they are using film to tell the story in a way that moves the audience.  The budgets for many big films can be as big as $150million, all to help someone bring an idea to life.

This has made me start thinking more about leaders and their ability to tell stories and paint the picture for their people.  Some leaders do this really well, whilst others completely miss the mark.

So how can you become a great story teller?  Here are a few ideas:

Make it Personal.  Too many times I sit in client meetings and they present a series of PowerPoint slides that show results from the previous year.  Whilst this is OK, the challenge is that they take about 30 minutes to talk about this.  The problem is they don’t make it personal.  They don’t share or reflect on some of the challenges and some of the things that are needed to allow this to happen.  They keep it clinical – not personal.

Make Sure Your Story Has a Point.  How many times have you sat in a business meeting and someone told a story, but you did not know why?  Whenever you share a story, make sure that people understand the point that you are trying to share with them.  This may require you to be more specific about the point you are trying to make and relate it to your audience.  Just a side note, if your people can’t remember it the next day, it did not have a point! 

Share Your Story with Passion & Movement.  Some of the best leaders that I have seen tell a story are the ones that you can see are passionate about what they are sharing. They don’t just stand behind a lectern and talk at people.  They physically embody the story that they are sharing and have a way of bringing it to life to the people they are sharing it to.  Remember enthusiasm and authenticity is contagious!

So the next time you need to share an idea, remember to tell a story like a movie director.  Make sure that it engages your audience, provides insights and is memorable.   Click here to find out more about my EOFY Programs that enable you and your people to improve their communication and storytelling.

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 level manager or a CEO, managing time seems to be a common theme. The question that I ask often surprises them, ‘How much time are you wasting?’  To which I often get the response that they don’t have any time to waste because they are too busy, which we all know is an excuse. 

All of us have opportunities to be more effective with our time, we just need to look for them.  I remember working with a CEO of a large multinational company who was incredible with his use of time. Whether it be at head office or out on a site visit he always managed to make things happen.  He never seemed to be stressed or complaining that he was too busy. His view was ‘All people have the same amount of time, I just make sure that I find shortcuts to maximise mine.

Here are a few strategies and shortcuts that you can use to be a time maker:

Track Your Activity and Your Time.  For 1 week, track your time.  Capture what you spend your time doing and on which task.  You will often start seeing a large amount of unproductive time.  Although this seems like a simple task, it is incredible to see how much time people waste. By focusing on this, I am able to be more productive with my activities rather than wasting time, as I can pinpoint where time has not been used effectively.

Separate Time Wasters from Time-Outs.  Many of us waste time through a range of things from checking and re-reading e-mails, to recovering conversations that don’t need to be rehashed, to getting lost on Facebook.  There are however many benefits of making time for ‘Time Outs’.  These are the small activities that may not be completely work related, however they recharge our mind and our energy.  Sometimes going on a 15-minute walk in the middle of the day can be an incredible ‘Time Out’ that recharges your battery and allows you to be more productive afterwards.  Take time for these ‘Time Outs’ that give you a boost. 

Stack Your Activity.  I recently had to travel to another city for a client meeting.  Rather than just travel down for one meeting, I focused on ‘stacking’ my day to maximise my time.  I used Google Maps to identify distances between locations and then set up meetings to allow me to minimise any down time between.  The result?  A total of 6 effective meetings in the same day (and still home for a late dinner with the family!)

So the next time you hear yourself saying that you are really busy, take a moment to reflect on the activity that you have been doing.  Ask yourself if you have been wasting your time or if you have been maximising it.  Click here if you’d like to have a chat about my EOFY Programs that enables your staff to become time makers not time wasters!

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 staff still did not want to come into the office as they wanted the flexibility to work more from home.  The consensus was that staff were now more ‘lazy’ than in the past.

The question that I asked caught them off guard, ‘When they first started were they lazy and did not want to be there, or did they show up at the beginning motivated and excited to do a good job and make a difference?’  The Senior Partner did not take long to think about it and replied, “When they first started they were totally motivated and would go above and beyond to get the job done.”  As I thought about his response, I asked him and the other managers one simple question, “What did you do or not do to them over time that has made them lose their motivation and desire to make a difference?”

Too often I hear managers complain about staff not living up to their expectations.  Managers set the tone for the entire team (and for the organisation as a whole) and often forget how important it is to create an environment to keep staff learning, stretching and growing.  Managers have the responsibility to create a culture that gives their staff a reason to come to work because they want to not because they feel they have to.

There are a range of touch-points and activities that managers can do to keep things interesting, keep staff engaged and keep them performing:  

1. Get Personal:  1 on 1.  One of the best strategies is to make time to be ‘hands on’ with staff.  This can be a planned activity or it can be spontaneous.  Take the time to check in with them and ask them questions about their personal life and their interests (If I think about my Mentors and some of our incredible conversations, many of them were unplanned).  
2. Make Little Things Count.  Look for the opportunities to make small gestures of your appreciation for the efforts that your staff put in.  You can use plenty of gestures from making them a cup of tea, to leaving them a sticky note on their desk that says ‘thanks’ or providing them with a copy of a book that they may enjoy.  These small gestures add up, with proactive managers getting better performance from more of their staff. 
3. Create Shared Experiences.  Another powerful way to keep your staff engaged and get them to want to come to work is to create shared experiences.  By participating in a learning activity you can provide insights and skills in addition to support and connection.  This allows them to have a ‘break’ from the day to day busyness of their role and work ‘on’ the business and themselves.

Review your last week.  Did you do something to give your staff a reason to come to work?  Did you actively find a way to connect with them in a meaningful way?  If you are interested in my EOFY Team Programs to help recognise and boost your teams performance and get special pricing before July please reach out for a free 20 minute chat.

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 mindset and keep innovating.

This made me start thinking about what holds us back from doing the things we know we should be doing.  Have you ever had a great idea that you know would be great to implement at work, but just did not follow it through?  Why?  There are a range of reasons, often it is because we are afraid of failing, don’t believe others will support us or we just feel a bit stuck when we are trying to do things on our own.

Here are a few ideas to help you keep the forward momentum:

1. Share Your Ideas.  One reason why we don’t implement some of the great things that we could, is that we do not share the ideas with others.  Often when we share an idea with someone else the energy around the idea picks up, which starts to create some momentum and makes it easier.
2. Map Your Idea – Get it out of your head.  Given how busy everyone is, it can be easy to keep doing what we have been doing and not push the boundaries of what is possible.  A great idea is to capture these great ideas down on paper, tablet or laptop so we do not forget about them.  I remember working with a very, very successful 85 year old business person.  I noticed in discussions throughout the day he would take a small notebook out of his back pocket and write a few things down.  I asked him later on what he was capturing and he said ‘great ideas.’  When he explained why he attributed his success from his ability to capture and implement good ideas.  Pretty impressive given he was worth around $250million!
3. Work with a Leadership Mentor.  Sometimes we just get stuck and need someone that will help support and challenge us to step up to the next level.  This could be a trusted friend, advisor or mentor that has wisdom to share, and the relationship to guide you in implementing your ideas.

Because so many of my clients have been struggling to get their rhythm and approach back on track, I have developed a new Leadership Efficiency Program (LEP) that is designed to help you get more things done and mobilise your people in a 90 day Format.  If you would like to find out more in a free 20 minute consultation, please click on this link and I’ll be in touch.