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.

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 different cities).

This is something that many leaders are now facing. During the lockdown staff had to work virtually and get creative. Most staff got very active as they had more time to focus on work (not to mention all the Zoom meetings that everyone had!) Now there is a bit of fatigue and many leaders are looking for a way to reconnect their people with something different.

I was fortunate to be involved in the Hands Group virtual ‘Ride to Provide’ over the month of June. It was an incredible event that allowed over 250 people across 9 countries to participate. Many of them jumped on an exercise bike or walked whilst listening to a series of interviews with a range of incredible business leaders and inspirational people. Although the main focus was to raise money for charity (over $290k was raised!) it was very apparent that the benefit went far beyond.  

Are you looking for something to help connect your people in a unique way? Something that gives them a shared experience and can unify them as a cohesive team? Then you should consider a Team Virtual Experience. It allows you to engage all of your staff in a fun way that will help provide a connection, share leadership insights as well as get them to participate in staying fit.

Imagine a Team Event that provides a common focus that pulls people together, without taking a lot of time out of the business or spending a large budget. This can occur via 45 minute sessions every morning for 1, 2 or 4 weeks and provide a range of speakers (both internal and external) that share insights whilst your people participate in some form of exercise, be it riding on an exercise bike or walking. The Hands Group has successfully run this event and can also help you to get the benefits for your people. You can also link it into a charity project as well if you wish to help provide an extra dimension and create a deeper sense of community.

If you would like to find out more, please reach out and let me know. As a Hands Board member, I can help you understand the benefits and how you could use it to create an incredible shared experience for your people. I think with the uncertainty of COVID19 leaders need to create meaningful ways that enable people to connect and feel supported. 

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 house!  

I had a very good discussion with a Senior Leader about how they were going to lead their people out of lockdown.  It was great to hear that he had mapped a plan on what he was going to say and do as he transitioned himself and his team from working at home to starting to commute back to the office.

This got me thinking about how many leaders have not thought about how they are going to lead out of lockdown.  The last thing you want to do is try to appear that everything is back to normal!  Many organisations have split their staff into different groups and others cannot have all their staff working in the same office at the same time due to the requirements to maintain social distancing.

So what is your plan to lead your people out of lockdown? Here are a couple of ideas to consider:  

Take the Time to Meet with Others Face to Face.  We have had a lot of time looking at people over Zoom, MS Teams and GotoMeeting, but now is when many staff will want to see and talk to their leaders in person.  Take the time to check in with your staff individually (and face to face) to see how they are going with the transition.  I spoke to one person earlier this week and they were really struggling with the move back to the city and just needed someone to listen to them as they readjusted.

Provide Updates on the Way Forward.  For many businesses and staff there is still a large cloud of uncertainty about what the future may bring.  In Australia the JobKeeper program has saved hundreds of thousands of jobs, however when it ends this will create some anxiety for many people.  As a leader, share your vision of the way forward and how you will keep staff informed as your organisation starts to gain more momentum.

Skill Up Staff in Strategies to Get More Done in Less Time. For some organisations that have had to reduce headcount, the remaining staff have had to continue with tasks that were potentially being done by someone else before COVID19.  As we transition out of lockdown it is important to provide strategies and skills to help your staff get more things done in less time.  Look for ways to do this in virtual online sessions or in small face to face sessions.  

Later this month I will be launching my new Leadership Academy which includes a 30 day or 12 month online program that will enable leaders to access a number of courses and modules that include videos, downloadable resources and activity checklists that you can use to help navigate and stay effective as a leader. Many of the concepts are based on my recent book Leadership Hacks: Clever strategies to boost your impact and results. 

If you would like to find out more, please click here and we will reach out to you with more information.

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 captured on video has created an outpouring of anger, grief and frustration. This event has opened up the fractures that have been lingering in the background across society and created a moment in history that could have been used as a catalyst to change and start moving forward in a united way.

Unfortunately, when there is a void of leadership, chaos and emotion often create a larger divide, which helps explain what is occurring right now across America.

I also see this too often in business. A crisis occurs that puts all the focus and attention internally and externally onto the business. It creates a moment for the leader to step up and shift the fear and uncertainty to hope and clarity. I also observed this with COVID19. Some leaders will retreat into their office and start slashing budgets, projects and people. Whilst others share the challenge with their staff and ask for their ideas, as well as listen to the fears and uncertainty that they have.

One great example of this is what Hands Across the Water did. Being in the charity space, Hands typically raises over 70% of their money by organising charity bike rides in Thailand by providing experiences for donors to get on the ground and see firsthand the people and projects that they are helping. With COVID19 the charity sector saw donations stop and without international travel this source of funding disappeared. Hands Leadership worked tirelessly to explore the alternatives to see what could be done. Staff were included in discussions and budgets were looked at. As the founder of Hands, Peter Baines also started looking beyond the negative outlook and started looking at how to move forward. Rather than reacting in fear, the plan was to push towards what could be possible.

The Ride to Provide Virtual Challenge was conceived 4 weeks ago and allows people to pledge to raise $500 over the month of June and commit to riding 800km in their lounge room, or walking, running or any other way to help the Thai children and their communities. Although I admit I am biased being involved with Hands, the results have been great. There are over 200 people signed up around the world and they are all working together to do something to help. I would not be surprised if the event raises over $150,000.    

This is a great example of what leaders can do in times of chaos and fear. If you would like to find out and experience it firsthand. Please join me on the Virtual Challenge or if you can spare a few bucks click here.

In these days of uncertainty we need leaders that are moving forward and uniting people rather than staying distant and blaming.

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.

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 client yesterday who had fallen into a panic loop. With the loss of income in business, learning how to work from home (with the entire family doing the same!) and trying to get used to this new routine, she was overwhelmed by fear.  

It is very easy to let fear take over. The news headlines are dominated by the negative headlines, job losses, drops in sales, uncertainty. This makes it easy for us to get caught up in this fear as well (I am always amazed how fast fear can spread). The challenge when fear takes over is that we find it hard to look for alternatives or other opportunities. Fear can also make us an unpleasant person to be around because of the negative filter that we put on everything.

We can choose to focus on the positives and look for the subtle benefits of our new situation. Imagine what it would be like if we started focusing on the positive side of this new normal. Here are a couple of things that you may notice:  

More quality time with your immediate family. I have been truly enjoying the time at home with my wife and kids. We have been able to do things that we’d normally not be able to. Playing basketball between school and meetings during the day, playing board games, making lunch (and eating together as a family) and our extended family Zoom baking competitions have provided wonderful new experiences. When things get back to normal I will miss them.

More Time to Think & Create. With the normal fast pace of life we often get stuck on mental autopilot. We go through the motions rushing from one place to the next and don’t have time to think. Now we do! We have time to think and create and dream about how we can do things in new ways. There are plenty of online courses that you can take to learn a new skill and from home (and skip if you don’t like it!)

More Time to Support Others. My neighbour next door bought their house 5 months ago. We have seen each other a few times but we had never really talked. About a month ago he knocked on the door and said he was just checking in as a friendly neighbour and asked if we needed anything. Wow, what a nice thing to do, in fact we now do the same thing every couple weeks. I think we all have good intentions of doing the same thing and supporting others, but sometimes we get too busy and we don’t take the time. Good news is now we can.

Later this month I will be launching my new Leadership Academy which is a 12 month online program that will enable leaders to access a number of courses and modules that include videos, downloadable resources and activity checklists that you can use to help navigate and stay effective as a leader. If you would like to find out more, please click here and we will reach out to you with more information.

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 pandemic have started to plateau and reduce, which is a very positive sign.

When people are in insolation, many of them will experience emotional highs and lows.  One minute you will be enjoying a bit of extra time at home in the yard or with the kids and the next you will be thinking (and worrying) about the impact on your income and your finances.  This creates an emotional roller coaster that can be difficult for people to stay productive due to the impact of fear that can become a bit overwhelming.

So what are you doing as a leader to help flatten the emotional curve that many of your people will be experiencing?  There are a number of ways you can do this to provide some stability to your people, even in the virtual world. 

Connect Regularly:  As a leader it can be easy to stay busy and assume that everyone else is also staying busy (and productive).  The better approach is to reach out and connect regularly with your people.  I did this with a colleague this week and as soon as we started talking over the phone I could hear the relief in her voice.  It was as if she needed a little boost and a 20 minute talk and refocus helped her to rise above some of the challenging emotions that she was experiencing.

Share Stories & Have a Real Conversation.  When something that is large enough to change the patterns and normal behaviours of the entire population occurs it is a massive moment in time.  Rather than having the typical surface conversations, ensure that you are having some REAL conversations with people.  Ask them about how they are going, what they are doing to pass the time, and share some of your frustrations and challenges that you are having.  Some of the most admired leaders share past stories of what they did to overcome obstacles, which is needed now more than ever! This creates a stronger bond as people can relate more to the leader that is real.

Create Virtual Shared Experiences.  I am involved with a number of different work groups.  With one of them we have a 30-60minute zoom call every Friday for ‘virtual drinks.’  We spend the time sharing ideas and stories and laughing.  We are also doing this with my extended family.  We have weekly zoom family calls and have created a twist.  Last week we had a bake off with everyone baking things and dropping them off to others complete with a scoring sheet and a Baking Grand Champion.  These shared experiences will help you flatten the emotional curve for your people.

In May, I will be launching my new Leadership Academy which is a 12 month online program that will enable leaders to access a number of courses and modules that include videos, downloadable resources and activity checklists that you can use to help navigate and stay effective as a leader. 

If you would like to find out more, please click here and we will reach out to you with more information.

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 get mentally numb.

It is well known that we as human beings often have a natural biological and psychological reaction to radical changes in routine. If you want to find out more check out the brilliant new book ‘Brace for Impact’ by Dr Amy Silver & Alessandra Edwards. The important thing is to do something to keep you physically and psychologically moving. Here are a few strategies:

Social Connecting:  Rather than feeling isolated take the time to reconnect with others. This can be family and friends that you want to have a simple conversation with or a deep and meaningful conversation about life and how you may be struggling or overcoming in the current environment.  

It can also be with staff, work colleagues, and clients that may also be feeling the impact from COVID19. I had a great conversation with a client that I had not spoken to in the past year (although we sent a few text messages, both of us had been too busy to connect and now have a bit more time!)  As we caught up we reconnected on our family and also reassured one another by sharing a few ideas that each of us could use. Often by connecting with others we are reminded that we are not alone and that we are stronger with others than on our own.

Keep Your Brain Active. Ok be honest, how many movies and Netflix tv series have you been binge watching? Me too! I think it is good to take some time to switch off and escape for a while (I love going to the movies so I don’t have to think for awhile!), the flip side of this is when we just keep digital binging we don’t do any real thinking. So how can you keep your brain active? Here is a small list: read a new book, watch a TEDtalk, take an online course, create a white-paper, develop a new product idea, revisit your retirement strategy, create a ‘thinking of you’ card and post it to a friend, etc.

Be Physically Active-Move More. We know that when we physically exercise and move it releases chemicals called endorphins that make us feel more positive. With social distancing and people staying inside more (without the ability to go to gyms to exercise) we are starting to get a bit complacent. I have noticed it is a bit easier to stay in bed longer and not get out and be as active as easily as before. The impact this is having is massive. I normally would cover over 10,000 steps per day. Now I am lucky to do 2,000 steps. This results in less of these feel good chemicals that help us stay positive, not to mention putting on weight that makes us feel heavier!

So what are you going to do to keep your brain active and keep open to possibilities? In the next week I will be launching my new online learning platform that will enable leaders to access a number of courses and modules that include videos, downloadable resources and activity checklists that you can use to help navigate and stay effective as a leader.  If you would like to find out more, please click here and we will reach out to you with more information.

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 in an industry that is quickly changing with new technology and new business models creating chaos. Many leaders and individuals are looking at ways to lift performance to the next level and stay in front of these disruptions.

I find quite often it is not about learning a new skill or attending a one day training course on a specific task that is needed. Most of the people that I have worked with that have achieved incredible success, have done so by focusing on a Performance Mindset.

A Performance Mindset involves 3 key areas of focus, that when combined together allow you to rise above and beyond the normal routine. These include:

• Belief. This is one of the most important components of a high Performance Mindset. It is not simply saying to yourself that “you can do it.” It is a much deeper and stronger foundational mindset that cannot imagine a world in which you do not achieve your end goal. This conviction is what many high achievers have used as the fuel to keep them going when things were difficult or challenging.  
• Skill. You need to have some abilities that you can put in motion toward your end goal. I also believe that the people with the strongest Performance Mindsets are NOT the naturally gifted ones. Much of the research shows that the individuals that had to practice and work repeatedly to improve their skills are the ones who often achieve higher levels of success.  
• Vision. This is being very clear about what your end goal is. High performers are very specific about what they need to achieve. They do not have loose goals, but short concise visions that become a mantra that they focus on.  

So how strong is your Performance Mindset? Test your ability to capture how clear you are at the moment – which will be like holding up a mirror. Grab a sheet of paper and a pen and write down your vision. Is it short sharp and elevating?  

By capturing the skills that you have this will enable you to move towards this goal. Are there any skills that are missing? Identify what it is that is going to drive you. What do you need to do to have absolute conviction in achieving your goal. This can be the first step in lifting your performance to the next level.