One of the core tenets of the Indonesian Police Force is teamwork. I had the great privilege of seeing what that looks like when I facilitated a leadership development program with Outback Initiatives for a group of Indonesian United Nations Peacekeepers. They came over to Western Australia for an intensive leadership development program. For a very hierarchical organisation, the insights were surprising. #FutureOfLeadership #teamwork #culture

What’s with book banning? Reading is an essential life and work skill and reading expands our knowledge of the world. Why would anyone want to limit thinking? Find out why book banning is false logic.

Amongst readers, there is an existential dread of the TBR (to be read) pile. So many books, so little time. Depending on how many books you read per year, you’re facing a mountain whose summit you will never reach. So, get real with your TBR.

Ready to think big? Join me on Read To Lead as I unpack Nordic wisdom from three inspiring books that promise to expand your mind and heart.

From societal transformation to personal philosophy, get ready to elevate your leadership game!

Many leaders think they’re pretty good at strategic thinking. Then they get into a groove with strategic planning, putting all those good ideas into practice.

It’s strategic doing that brings them undone.

Here are some useful, non-obvious tips and principles to keep you focused on what matters most.

So you think you’re ethical? Most of us think we do a pretty good job of doing the ‘right’ thing at work. But we can get caught out, especially if we do not have an ethical decision-making process in place.

When it comes to making ethical choices as a leader, here are some common traps you need to be mindful of.

Olympus Bound just won Silver at the Readers' Favorites Awards! It's a great read on the power of collaboration its challenges and upsides.

This is a great test of your team: would they work effectively in an environment like the Moon? If not, maybe there's some work to do.

In podcast interviews, I often get asked, “where did you get the idea for the book?”

It doesn’t pop out fully formed, that’s for sure. 

It starts with a niggle, then grows from there. Here is my creative process.

As part of my research for my next nonfiction book, Power Games, a number of professionals answered a survey on their experiences of office politics. The results have been enlightening! 

Though the stories are also sobering, there are some key insights that leaders can embrace immediately to reduce power games in the workplace.

Books can change lives, including the author’s. That’s the journey I am setting out on for my next non-fiction book, Power Games. With a little help from AJ Harper’s own fabulous book, Write A Must Read, I am off to a good start.

Leadership is a lifelong calling, not a lifelong appointment. As leaders, we need to do our best, be at our best, in service to the greater purpose.

When we lose sight of that, our expiry date starts to flash red. Recognising when it's time to step aside and pass the baton to the next generation is a critical skill for any leader. But how do you know when that time has come? And does age really matter?

Leaders are readers. Did you know that reading literary fiction helps our ability to understand others' mental states (Theory of Mind). This increased understanding of others' perspectives can contribute to open-mindedness and greater tolerance for ambiguity in real-world situations.

Reading not only increases knowledge but also develops empathy, expands perspective, improves attention span, resists mental decline, and enhances strategic thinking.

With such compelling benefits, it's a smart move to start a book club at work.

Imagine the future: climate ravaged Earth, a desire to move past humanity’s competition for resources and political rivalries to build new communities. Can we do it or we will fall with all the old power traps?

How are you IMAGINING THE FUTURE? Too often we get caught up in the pressing say to day issues, we don't reserve enough time or energy to thinking about the future, and how we might lead now to contend with what's coming.

A shorthand way to do that is to read science fiction: science fiction authors think relentlessly about the future, imagining future worlds, and how we might respond and live through those experiences.

Have you thought about ‘retirement’?

If you’re like me, that sounds a lot like a huge life change. What does ‘retirement’ mean anyway? It sounds like retreat, shutting down, giving up.

And as an ‘older’ human about to have a birthday, I feel like I’m just getting started. It’s time to reinvent what being an older person, an Elder, is all about.

If you’re adept at managing up, making your boss look good, then chances are you are a valuable asset to the team, company, and to your boss. But what happens when you want a promotion? Sometimes it’s hard to get promoted because you are just too competent at your role. You are more valuable where you are to those around you, and some may want to stymie your progress, because that’s good for them. No one wants to lose a superstar. So what to do? Here’s how to play power games without playing office politics.

I’ve read over 150 books per year for the last couple of years. At first I thought it was a fluke, but then I realised I just read a lot. Most leaders I work with know they *should* read more, but just don’t. Lots of reasons why not.  So I thought I’d share how I do it so you can hack your reading too.

Do you consider yourself ethical? Of course you do. I’m sure you feel like you have a sense of what is right and wrong.

But what happens when things aren’t so clear? When doing the right thing feels wrong? Like saying ‘no’ to someone’s request you know will cause them pain for the sake of protecting your own interests?

Things get even murkier when we play with power. Here are some useful frameworks for you to consider.

Threats to our democratic freedoms are everywhere. And yet we seem to be asleep at the wheel. On the political stage through to the business arena, we are complicit in the erosion of decency and ethical leadership. It’s easy to feel helpless. We can feel it’s not our role, it’s outside our sphere of influence. Yet there are deliberate acts of resistance we can take to steer the ship of freedom back on track.

What will it cost when we speak truth to power? Short answer: a lot. When we speak up against injustice, those in power have a vested interest in shutting us down.  And if we don’t speak up? Even more is at stake. As leaders, here’s what we can do to build a culture of speaking truth to power, and creating a better world while we are at it.

Resolutions? Nah. Intentions - yes! Evolution - yes! Here are three key topics to help focus your leadership and life for 2024 and beyond.

When things are broken and struggling at work, who are you going to call? Job Breakers! (with apologies to Ghost Busters). The ‘creative destruction’ cycle needs a particular brand of courage and compassion. The Breaker may not win friends, but they may revitalise a failing organisation. As a ‘Breaker’, how does Alan Joyce measure up and what lessons can we take from his experience?