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 believe that the youth of today need challenges that stretch them to new heights (pardon the pun!), we fully supported his quest.

In my younger days I had spent many years as an Adventure Guide leading trips across the US, Australia, Europe and Vietnam.  Throwing on a very heavy pack that included extra food, clothing and supplies for clients that I was taking into the bush was something I did with ease.  However, that was quite a few years ago (actually numerous decades ago!)

Watching my son summit the 15 highest peaks was wonderful.  Helping him to look at the topo map and identify the best route forward and then talking about some of the decisions he made afterward (including a bit of bush bashing!), allowed us to create a wonderful shared experience that we will not forget any time soon.

I am often amazed watching how much the youth of today want to learn and experience new things.  I notice this all the time in many client workplaces I visit to help leaders get higher engaged performance from their people.  Once a leader has something that they can teach—and knows how to share it with  the younger generation of staff, magic things happen.

Watching the newly created energy that can be created and the momentum that follows is invigorating.  I recently observed this when working with a call centre in how the leaders took the time to help stretch and teach the newer staff, including sharing some of the mistakes that they made when they started.  The interesting thing I also noticed was how the vibe or culture lifted to a higher level of performance afterward.

So I ask you, what are you doing to inspire and teach your newer staff? Or when was the last time you actively learned something new?  I may be able to help you and your team climb to new heights, email me and I would love to share a few ideas.

Remember many staff are looking to their leaders to help set the vision and empower them at the start of the year.

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 highest peaks in the Snowy Mountains of Australia.  To help him achieve this goal we agreed to go with him and spent 4 days backpacking in the mountains.  It was if he crossed a new threshold and reached a new level of maturity, something special to experience.

It started me thinking about Rites of Passage.  Throughout time native people would have ceremonies to celebrate when someone moved from one phase of their life to the next.  A few years ago I was fortunate enough to spend time with the Navajo people in Arizona and was reminded of how important it is in hearing about some of their customs and traditions that they still hold dear for their people.  I think sometimes we get so busy in the modern world that we forget to reflect on our past and make time to plan for our life moving forward.

As we are at the start of a new year, what do you have planned for your Rites of Passage?  Have you planned a chance to learn new skills or hacks to do things faster?  Researched a new hobby or club to get involved in? Or scheduled a holiday with the important people in your life in the not too distant future?

Regardless of the specific activity you want to take or achieve by making it a goal and starting a Rite of Passage you will get yourself closer to it.  Here are 3 things you can do to start your 2023 Rites of Passage:

Map Your 2023 Rites of Passage

1. For Work.  Start by identifying what activity you need to focus on this year to help you achieve the outcomes you want.  Capture the 3-5 work achievements you want to accomplish and then identify the Critical Path that you need to take to reach these goals.  Make sure that you identify a goal that will stretch you to the next level.
2. Team Goals.  If you are in a position of leadership with other people, identify what it is that you are going to do to empower, stretch and develop them.  Share this with them and commit time and energy to making sure it happens.  Ideally you would have a check in session with your people that allows them to get actively involved in identifying the goals or the activities that need to be taken to achieve these goals.
3. You at Home.  Be careful not to get sucked into the world of work and forget the things that are important to you at home.  Schedule time to attend your children’s school activities—even during the day (everyone can get 1-2 hours off of work—just plan ahead).  Identify the touch-points and time that you are going to spend with your partner or significant others to make sure that work does not consume all of your time.

When people take action they create their Rite of Passage and can achieve great things throughout the year.  Don’t just think about it, commit to it by writing it down and focusing on it throughout the year.  The people that achieve great things are not just lucky, they’ve just stayed focused on what they really wanted!

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 a little ritual at this time of year, I go back through my photos and my calendar and take a look at what I have been up to.  I also update my personal financial snapshot to look at our financials and assets/liabilities.  After this I start looking at the next 12 months.

So what are your goals for 2023?  Will you just go through the motions as in the past, or are you going to take the time to identify what you want to achieve at work and at home?  Have you taken the time to write them out and commit them to paper?  I find that a few random thoughts and ideas in the mind is not the same as writing them down and publishing them as a way to ensure that you take action toward them.

This is even more important if you are a manager or leader of a team.  This is the time to get your people together and work with them to clearly identify the goals and the activities that collectively you will take to achieve these goals.  So what are you doing with your team to empower and engage them in the goals for the year?

Map Your Goals for 2023:

1. You at Home.  Be careful not to get sucked into the world of work and forget the things that are important to you at home.  Schedule time to attend your children’s school activities, even during the day (everyone can get 1-2 hours off of work, just plan ahead).  Identify the touch-points and time that you are going to spend with your partner or significant others to make sure that work does not consume all of your time.
2. Your Work Goals.  Start by identifying what activity you need to focus on this year to help you achieve the outcomes you want.  Capture the 3-5 work goals you want to accomplish and then identify the Critical Path that you need to take to reach these goals.  Make sure that you identify a goal that will stretch you to the next level.
3. Team Goals.  If you are in a position of leadership with other people, identify what it is that you are going to do to empower, stretch and develop them.  Share this with them and commit time and energy to making sure it happens.  Ideally you would have a planning session with your people that allows them to get actively involved in identifying the goals or the activities that need to be taken to achieve these goals.  Given how quickly the world is changing, this is an important process to use on a regular basis to keep them focused and motivated.

When you look at people you know that have achieved great things throughout the year, the majority of them did not just “get lucky.”  They had a number of goals and worked a plan to achieve these goals.  I have found a direct correlation between writing goals and achieving them.  There seems to be something that occurs when we commit our goals onto paper and use this as a reminder of the things we want to do.

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 feeling a sense of overwhelming as they look for new ways of doing things.

Leadership Hacks: A faster approach for a faster world

A leadership hack is anything that helps you (or your people) accomplish more in less time. This can include:

·      Shortcuts that many not be commonly known

·      Simplified steps to make a task easier to do

·      Fast-track processes that speed things up

·      Any approach that simplifies and speeds up a task

To accomplish more you need to hack your current approach with new ways of thinking and influencing that will enable you to do more in less time.

Individual Leadership Hacks maximise your performance

A common pattern for many people is to constantly check and recheck their inbox, which fragments focus and can also interfere with decision making. Resist this temptation.

Take the time to turn off notifications and if you really need to focus on completing a task, put the mobile phone in the drawer, you can check it when you are finished. Increase the speed of going through your inbox by using these 4 steps. 1) Quickly scan through your inbox to get a quick understanding of the emails, 2) Delete the emails that are not necessary, 3) Sort the remaining emails by importance, and 3) Respond accordingly. This is a simple hack that can allow you to clear your inbox in less time and help you stay focused. 

One on one Leadership Hacks empower direct report performance

Let’s be honest there are tasks that you should delegate that you hold onto. 

Many of us don’t delegate because we do not want to take the time or don’t trust the abilities of that person. A Harvard Business Review article titled ‘Why aren’t you delegating?’ found that almost 50% of companies were concerned about the delegation abilities of their people and most did not offer any training on how to delegate.  A delegation hack could change this dynamic into one that empowers an individual and frees up time for the leader.

Invest 10-15 minutes to work with the individual to create a 1 page plan. Rather than tell them what you want them to do, start by asking them what they think the steps should be and guide them. Capture what they share on an ipad or piece of paper to ensure understanding. Once the steps are identified, ask them what order should be taken in executing the steps and mentor them toward the most efficient method. To finalise the delegation hack schedule a couple of check-ins where they will update you and show you their progress. 

By implementing a number of leadership hacks, you can fast-track your performance and accomplish more in less time.

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 lives and how to prioritise where we put our energy and focus into.  Even some of the research is showing how many people are feeling unfulfilled or a bit lost and start to question what is important.

We can however learn from the ancient wisdom that was passed down from these native people. Here are 3 strategies to help us get our priorities right.

Strategy #1: Track the Signs

To get back on path and ensure that you are doing the things that matter, you need to be aware of what you are currently putting your time and energy into. This is more than just taking a minute to look up from your computer screen and think about your ‘to do’ task list for the day. It is about taking an objective view of what you have been actually doing and checking to see if it is right or not.

Start tracking your past behaviour and where you have been spending your time. Think of yourself and an ancient tracker that is reviewing the ‘footprints’ that have been left behind. What would all of your tracks and activities show about where you invested your time and energy? Would these ‘prints’ show your spending time on the things that are important to you? With the people that are important to you? Or would it show that you have been too busy on other things? By tracking the signs you can look objectively around your current activity—and what you may need to start changing to getting you back on path.

Strategy #2: Seek the Wisdom of Elders

As we get older we gain more experience and insights into different situations, which often allows us to be more understanding or gain wisdom. Unfortunately our western society often does not value the wisdom and insights of the older generation.

Native people had a deep respect for their elders because of the vast array of knowledge they held and would often seek them out when faced with a major decision. We should do this more often. You should identify a number of elders that you respect and admire for their wisdom that could provide you with advice and guidance to help you get your priorities right. Often, they will allow you to see the things you don’t and help you get back on path after a 10-minute conversation.

 Strategy #3: Listen to Your Inner Vision 

Inner vision is the voice that comes from deep within our soul that communicates to us on a deeper level. It is not just a trivial voice in our head, it is our intuition, a gut feeling or a sixth sense that we can use to help us do the right thing.

Think back to a time when you knew something deep inside to be true. You may not have had the facts or evidence but you knew it to be correct and this came into reality.  As human beings were a wired to be guided by this, we may just need to retrain ourselves and start listing to our inner vision, which will show us what is important to us.

It is easy to get distracted and mix up what is important to us, however by using these simple strategies you can help get your priorities right.

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 diverted. 

Distraction #1 Lack of Energy

The flurry of constant activity and the need to be switched on all the time takes a lot of energy—and this is what limits many people from achieving as much as they could. The Huffington Post’s Anne Loehr reported in 2014 that the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute (HPI) found when you’re constantly physically and mentally taxed, your energy drains and your effectiveness diminishes, and you start to lose your edge—just like a professional athlete. To stay productive, you need to take the time to recharge your batteries. This includes managing sleep, diet and exercise to maintain your energy.

Distraction #2 Wrong Mindset and Self Doubt

Too often, self-doubt gets in the way and starts to stall forward progress. This can show up as an inner dialogue guiding you when you’re in your leadership role. If these voices start creating doubt, it’s easy to start second-guessing what needs to be done. This creates a distraction that can take you off track. By gathering feedback from those you trust you can ensure that you keep the right mindset. 

Distraction #3 Time Fillers and the Biological Need to Be Busy

We seem to be wired to believe that if we’re not constantly doing something we’re wasting our time. A famous experiment in the 1950’s by James Olds & Peter Milner placed small electrodes in the brains of rats to stimulate the part of the brain that released dopamine whenever the rat pressed a lever. The result was rats becoming addicted to pressing the lever up to 700 times an hour. We as humans have a similar response mechanism to dopamine. We’ve become so highly strung that we need to be busy all the time. And worse still, people get caught on a treadmill where it doesn’t matter what they’re doing if they’re busy at it.

For many of us we need to stop and think about why we are doing something and make sure it is not just to fulfil the need to feel busy. 

Distraction #4 Technology and how it Overwhelms

Focusing on what’s important is becoming harder due to the constant barrage of digital information and technological overload. People are being distracted by things that are not relevant or important. It’s estimated that, on average, we have 4000 thoughts per day flying in and out of our minds. This makes it extremely challenging to focus on any one thought for a period before technology introduces another random thought to distract you. Make sure that you control your use of technology and not the other way around. 

Distraction #5 Interruptions that Steal Your Time

Interruptions from staff, work colleagues, suppliers, customers and any other area that may distract your flow and use of time slow you down. If you analyse these external distractions, they fall into the common categories of what we can see, what we can hear and what we can touch or more accurately how the surrounding environment can impact us. Keep track of which interruptions are taking your time and develop strategies to limit them. 

Regardless of the distraction, identifying ways to reduce interference and increasing your effectiveness by implementing fast track strategies or hacks to accomplish more in less time are important solutions. Often just being aware of the distractions is half the battle.

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 in meetings, with 65% of managers saying that these meetings kept them from completing their work.

Most finance executives know the importance of having a meeting agenda that is created before the meeting to help ensure everyone knows the purpose of the meeting and the relevant meeting logistics such as timing, location and who will be in attendance.  One of the biggest challenges when it comes to meetings is identifying the true purpose of the meeting and selecting the correct meeting process to follow to enable you to achieve the outcomes desired.

Selecting the wrong type of meeting will result in a waste of time that will often frustrate most of the attendees.  The key is selecting the right type of meeting—especially when it comes to critical financial trends, challenges and decisions.  There are four types of meetings, and each of them has a different purpose and process:  Reporting/Check-in, Problem-Solving, Decision-Making, and Strategy-Development.

Reporting/Check-in Meeting

Reporting meetings are one of the most common meeting formats.  They often start with managers providing an update on their department.  They can be useful if the format is tight and those doing the reporting are clear and organised in what they communicate. Mike Azbell, former VP & Financial Controller for the Kimberly-Clark Corporation found taking financial data from over 175 countries with 100 manufacturing locations needed to be done accurately and within tight timeframes.  Together with his team, he did not run a typical boring meeting, instead they would have a 15 minute working meeting at the beginning and end of each day. 

To keep these meetings on track, ideally they follow a three step process.  Step 1:  Communicate Results/KPI’s, Step 2:  Share immediate plan or activity to be taken and Step 3:  Identify any issues or assistance needed (which would occur in a separate problem-solving meeting).  To streamline time, they also used visual management systems and dashboards showing current performance and next steps.

Problem-Solving Meeting

Problem-solving meetings  are held to bring together a team of people to share ideas for solving a particular problem or challenge.  These meetings involve more than just someone asking for assistance with something and are effective as long as everyone stays focused on the problem.

There are many ways to run a problem-solving meeting, but there are five common steps that can hack any problem-solving meeting.  Step 1:  Identify the problem, Step 2: Identify possible solutions, Step 3: Discuss and rank solutions, Step 4: Agree on a solution and Step 5:  Identify who will take what action by when.  Although these are often common sense, in many meetings some of these steps are missed, leading to further complications.

Decision-Making Meeting

Decision-making meetings take place after the facts and figures about a particular issue have been circulated and people have had time to understand and identify the decision they are being asked to make.  To be successful, it needs to be clear what the topic is that a decision has to be made about and every team member has to communicate whether they agree or disagree with a potential decision.

For senior executives and finance directors, this method is often used when passing corporation bylaws, which require a formal decision-making meeting with minutes recorded for compliance and legal requirements.

Strategy-Development Meeting

These are usually complex types of meetings because they involve the setting of a company or department’s future direction, as well as the strategy or initiatives required to achieve these desired objectives.  Because of this complexity, these meetings are usually held over several days and many executives dread attending them.  If there is no efficient process in place the meeting can turn into a massive talkfest with those who are the loudest getting their ideas pushed forward.  

A great strategy development methodology is Compression Planning™ which uses visual storyboards and index cards which allows everyone to contribute ideas that are captured on cards.  These ideas are pinned to the boards and then voted on by the group.  It also uses timed topic exploration using a timer and often a neutral facilitator to keep the group on track. What normally takes 4-5 days of strategic planning can be condensed into 1-2 days using Compression Planning™. For those that are tech-savvy, the Miro online program can allow people to share ideas on virtual cards and organise them in a similar methodology.

Everyone knows that meetings are important, the challenge is selecting the right type of meeting and the right meeting process to ensure that your finance meeting does not fall into the ‘waste of time’ category.  Given the importance that financials have on the success of most businesses, CFO’s will need to lead the charge in running meetings that work.

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 leadership role? Here are 5 key things that High achievers do that separate them from the pack.

#1 Ability to Be Productive Anywhere

Regardless of if they are in the office or working remotely, high achievers know how to get more things done in less time.  During pandemic lockdowns research reported that 94% of employees surveyed kept their productivity the same or higher as before. 

 Now that many people have moved back to the office, many managers are noticing productivity has started to slip as people get distracted trying to work in blended environments.  High achievers are productive by allocating time to two types of activity. 1) Work Activity that is about focusing on completing tasks required in the role, and 2) Recharge Activity that enables them to recharge their mindset and energy and continue being productive throughout the day. This can include going for a brisk walk to get some fresh air or taking 20 minutes for stretching, yoga or meditation.

#2 Focus on the Future

When starting to work on projects, high achievers continue to focus on the future. They allocate time to both immediate tasks as well as look for future opportunities. This allows them to allocate time for the urgent tasks as well as regularly invest the necessary time developing skills and innovative thinking with an eye on the future.

Rather than making limited short-term decisions for quick wins, they take a longer commercially smart approach by identifying and communicating the future ROI of the projects that they are leading and how this can help better position their company (and themselves) for the future.

#3 Delegate Effectively

Many people can effectively complete a task on their own unfortunately the trick comes when they need someone else to do this task for them. A high achiever has the ability to delegate to other people, so they understand what to do and are motivated to take action. Delegation is more than just telling people what to do and hoping for the best outcome. 

High achievers work with their people to identify the plan forward and empower them to complete these tasks without micromanaging them. The use delegation hacks to ensure that they delegate the right task at the right level to the right person in the right way at the right time.

#4 Communicate Clearly

Communication can be a challenging task when you are working in a hybrid workplace with some people in the office and some working remotely. Many people are struggling with the transition to the new workplace with too much, too little or inconsistent information being communicated via email.

 To help adjust to this shift, high achievers focus on communicating clearly with others. When communicating via email they make it easier for the recipient. They use an email send hack that informs the recipient of one of 5 actions to take: FYI, Need information, Decision, Action to Take, or Meeting required.

#5 Collaborate Quickly

Everyone knows that a team is stronger than the individual and high achievers are no exception. They find ways to collaborate with others and share the responsibility as well as the success when things are achieved. 

When starting a project high achievers take an open approach with others working in a collective way to identify the way forward. They often capture ideas visually to allow everyone involved with the opportunity to see and fully understand what needs to be done. By taking the role of a facilitator they allow a collective group of people to move faster toward completing a task.

Currently there is a tremendous opportunity for high achievers to advance to the next level. The key is implementing leadership hacks that can fast track your performance and your career.

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 complete, but procrastinated starting it. One of the common patterns that people fall into is that they just do not feel like they have the energy or mindset to work on this challenging task. One key technique or hack you can use is to prioritise tasks that require more thought or focus to times when energy is working in your favour. As human beings we have different metabolisms where our energy is highest–and it is easier to focus. These natural energy peaks can be early morning, mid morning, middle of the day, early afternoon, later afternoon or evening. One hack to being more focused at work is to prioritise tasks that are more challenging during your peak energy time. This makes it easier to start, easier to think and easier to complete the things that we procrastinate.

Hack #2 Control Technology & How You Use It

Have you ever just quickly checked your Facebook page and got distracted looking at posts and realised you just lost 20 minutes of time? Yes, me too. One of the challenges of smartphones and digital technology is that we can easily become distracted from something that we need to focus on at work. This can be the automatic notification of the next email that has arrived in our inbox to the vibration of our phone from the last voicemail message. Every time we get distracted by this technology, we are losing valuable time and focus. Control your digital technology by turning off those notifications and reducing the number of times you check your email and social media. 

Hack #3: Send Emails that Are Easy for Others to Action

For most of us we need to send emails as part of our role. The challenge is that many of us have not been trained on how to write an email that is easy to read and easy for others to follow. When you type an email make sure that it is not just a bunch of words that look bland and force the recipient to take the time to read everything. How can you do this? By adding visual texture to your emails. Use bold, bullets and headers to make it easier for people to read–and understand your message. If you want to focus even further, you can put in the subject line one of the five outcomes that we are trying to achieve by sending the email which includes: FYI, Need Information, Decision, Action to Take or Meeting required. By focusing on these hacks you can make it easier for them to take action.

 If you’d like further Leadership Hacks, for yourself or your team, I’d be happy to give you a hand.