Blog
Have you ever been so entrenched in an argument you just cannot budge? Maybe you’re absolutely convinced you’re right, and they’re wrong. Nothing they say will convince you otherwise. And frustratingly, they feel the same way. So you’ve had to pull in outside help to settle the argument. Is this the point of no return? Or is it possible to mend the divide?
Perspective is powerful
Why the amygdala is a no-go zone
Mending bridges or burning them?
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Read MoreLeadership is hard and lonely. It’s very easy to get caught up in trying to solve challenges all on our own. This is the fast-track to getting stuck! As leaders we need teams we can trust, who’ve got our back, with whom we can share the trials and tribulations of our calling. Here’s how to build bonds in your team beyond cocktails and canapes.
Leadership is not a solo activity.
Beware of culture by default.
5 principles for designing shared experiences.
Confidence is overrated. It’s an elusive horizon that keeps us from the real work we need to do now. What we need instead is COURAGE. Focus on that and confidence comes, eventually. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Why confidence is the wrong thing to focus on
The building blocks of activity that results in confidence
Three principles to help us build courage as a practice
The Haynes report is a call for better leadership. If this Royal Commission has taught us anything, it’s that leadership is a hefty responsibility, and we need to do our best to be our best. It’s too easy to miss the important stuff, or to be dragged down, distracted. If you have the courage to lead, make sure you give yourself the best shot at doing it well, starting with the fundamentals of deep rest, so often overlooked.
The need to steer our senses, and not be led by bad habits
How we can revamp the boardroom to promote better thinking
Apps and resources for stimulating, controlling and depriving the senses for better rest.
Are you engaged and at risk of burnout? Apparently 1 in 5 engaged employees are. That’s bad news as the research also shows how few of us are actually engaged in the first place! It seems that if you want something done ask a busy person is a default that works, and to our detriment. If you are a keener, like my client ‘Karen’, and is excited by everything, then chances are you need to learn how to say yes better, not just less frequently. Filter what does not fit!
Boundless Leaders need boundaries
Saying yes to avoid saying no is a common trap
Use a strainer to make better choices
The biggest difference I see between an Achiever (someone who is driven by results) and an Amplifier (someone who is inspired by purpose beyond themselves) is how they manage their calendar. Our calendar habits are like our supermarket shopping: we either jam it full of junk for quick hits, or we take our time around the outsides, carefully choosing food that will fuel and heal. Here are three ‘nutritious’ habits that will move you towards amplifier.
Check your calendar and your bank statement to show your real priorities
Create a fluid diary
Mark out 40% of your time for strategy.
Cricket Australia has been outed as “oriented to winning, without properly counting the cost.” A short-term focus on winning without due consideration for the bigger picture and the value of the game itself. So how do we avoid the pitfalls of a competitive winning mindset while still achieving results for the greater good?
Results are signals of quality execution of purpose, not an end in themselves
How Finite and Infinite Games focus our work as leaders
How to play the game to win and for the joy of playing
Do you consider your legacy? What will be left of you once you’re gone? Most leaders dismiss this as ego-driven. Legacy with ego is vanity; legacy without ego is contribution. When you’re done achieving goal after goal and are sitting in, ‘what really matters’, then this article is for you. There is more for you to be, think, and do.
What the Pharaohs teach us about legacy
What will last 1000 years? TED curator Chris Anderson reveals what
How to focus your legacy
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Read MoreAre you caught up in the day to day? Do you find yourself at the end of the week not having tackled the big issues that will make the longest impact? How are your energy levels? Most leaders struggle through the week with substandard sleep, nutrition, and productivity strategies. These are the basics that need to be OPTIMISED before getting on the AMPLIFY strategies that will make the biggest long-term benefit. Don’t let yourself be the biggest block to massive impact!
Four key areas to optimise first
Why you need to OPTIMISE before your AMPLIFY
Seven leverage points to amplify leadership
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Read MoreHabits build routines and routines drive results. There’s been a lot of effort to make these habits automatic and mindless. Ironically, it has not helped with the deep stress that comes from trying to do more in less time. It’s like we are trying to shove ourselves through the day in spite of ourselves. What if we took a different approach? Where we brought attention instead of automation to our actions? This is the power of ritual.
How habits turn us into mindless automations
How awareness trumps habits
Why rituals are the gateway to a glorious life.
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Read MoreDoes work creep into all your daily thoughts - cooking, in the shower, while talking to family? Does work creep up the priority chain to the exclusion of all else? Where do you get your sense of success? Is it serving you or sending you to toil endlessly, never fully satisfied? There is another way. We need to re-define success.
How Achiever Disease takes hold of us
Our addiction to dopamine
The antidote that is deceptively simple
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Read MoreAre you addicted to kicking goals? Do you get a high each time you nail a project, sale, or milestone? Do you reach a new level at work and wonder, “what’s next?” ever hungry for the next thing? These are healthy appetites of an ambitious achiever. There is a point however when they go decidedly unhealthy. Here’s what to look out for and what to do about it.
The two danger points at the height of the Achiever stage
How to avoid fading out after reaching great goals
Become an Amplifier and make an even better impact.
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Read MoreDo you feel guilty for loving your work or working late? Have you ever had to make a career choice that meant moving the family, and this was something they didn’t like? How do we make peace with the career versus family choice? Explore this with me!
Are you being selfish or self-first?
What stories are you telling about the choice, and are these helpful?
Do you know what fulfills you and do you let this guide your choices?
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Read MoreWhat are you creating right now? Or better yet, who are you creating? What version of your future self are you crafting right now? Use a quest to focus your attention.
Start with who you wish to become.
Set the scene.
Negotiate, troubleshoot, launch and play!
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Read MoreLeaders are tough nuts. They’ve got the courage to step up and be accountable, to take on responsibility, and to venture on new paths. But what do they really need? What is the thing that will make all the difference? In my work with leaders I have found that having a good sounding board and a community of peers is the biggest safe haven for CEOs, GMs, and senior executives. My latest adventure on the Larapinta reveals a few of their insights.
Time out with strangers in the desert is the place to develop fast friends.
Inspiration comes from others as much as from the views
Connection deepens in wild places.
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Read MoreCould you run your work from the ski slopes? (or beach) What would it take to turn a holiday destination into a work destination? I’ve just spent four weeks skiing and working from the skifields. There are some key lessons to be mindful of.
Preparation and considerations
Expectations can be a killer - be mindful of yours
Boundaries and the value of Deep Play
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Read MoreBeing comfortable breeds complacency. And complacency kills in leadership! What it kills first is courage. Getting uncomfortable through little aventures is the cure.
Beware the false promise that good times will last.
Beware that bad times will too.
Implement little adventures - and big ones - to exercise your courage muscle.
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Read MoreKofi Annan spoke to truth to power. He was unerring in his commitment and advocacy for peace and well-being for all human beings. We may not stand on a world stage as he did, but we can bring the essence of his leadership to life in the actions we take every day, and by so doing, also lead for the world.
Inherent human dignity.
Speaking truth to power.
Keep going.
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Read MoreMuch has been made of the transition from expert to manager. In Rising to Power by Eric Hansen and Ron Carucci, the authors shed light on the hazards and adaptations leaders need to undertake as they assume the mantle of authority.
Ideas on power
Ideas on focus and change
The four superpowers for executives
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Read MoreAdventure has driven some of the most amazing discoveries in human history. We are hard-wired for it. But apart from the yearning fed by curiosity, is there a science to it?
Yes, the brain likes adventure
Yes, there are risks when we get the brain hooked on adventure
Yes, we can get adventure back in our life
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