Blog
The office Christmas party: loathe it or love it? It is a universal principle that end of year celebrations are done to foster good company culture.
This is mostly true. Our workplaces are modern tribes, and a tribe needs a sense of purpose and moments in time to know that we are progressing towards that purpose. End of year parties provide an opportunity to pause, reflect, and celebrate.
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Read MoreWith all the fresh snow from the ‘Blizzard of Oz’, it seemed every man and their dog was out on the slopes, taking advantage of the extraordinary conditions. This meant long queues for the lifts. If you’ve never skied at a resort before, imagine this: it’s like sheep being squeezed through little channels to funnel towards a shearing shed. At the ski lifts, the action point is where people line up to get on the chair or tow-bar. There is a sheep-dip like turnstile that reads your pass electronically, before you shuffle forward towards the chair. For a four-person lift, there are four turnstiles, the idea being that you go through in a line, all ready for the chair.
Sounds good in theory. In practice, mayhem.
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Read MoreI think it's every leader’s dream that staff show up excited to be at work, play hard all day, produce amazing results, and pledge undying loyalty to the company. Then reality hits.
Leaders get disillusioned when staff don't seem to care as much as they do. They don't put in as many hours or see the bigger picture like they do. Then the complaints start: Staff have a sense of entitlement! They're not performing at the right level! They’re not the right fit!
Some of this may be true.
And yet, blaming the symptom won't fix the cause.
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Read MoreOn a three week canoe trip in 1985 it rained every single day. Even with moments of sunshine there was always a sprinkle. We lived in our raincoats! It was a smelly and soggy time. Lighting a fire was the daily challenge. If we came across some particularly good kindling, we tucked in our jacket pocket to keep it dry and warm, hoping body heat would dry it out a little. Otherwise it was peanut butter and jam on crackers for dinner – again.
Fire is important for its warmth and for cooking. It feeds body and soul! Culture is the same: it warms and keeps our soul fed.
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Read MoreHave you ever started your work day by sitting in the car park crying, dreading to go in the office? I have. It is a dark and miserable feeling to steel oneself against the work day.
I'm reading the book Culture 101 by my friend, Penny Nesbitt. In it she describes the common experience of people driving to work Monday in tears. It’s the feeling of being trapped, stuck.
How does it get this way? How do workplaces become prisons?
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Read MoreWikipedia defines employee engagement as, “a property of the relationship between an organisation and its employees. An "engaged employee" is defined as one who is fully absorbed by and enthusiastic about their work and so takes positive action to further the organisation's reputation and interests.
There are over 1795 results on Amazon for book titles on the topic. They talk about ‘pillars’, ‘fundamentals’, ‘frameworks’, ‘strategies’ , ‘rules’ and ‘guides’ for getting people to like their work and therefore get better results for the company.
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Read MoreIf you’ve ever worked somewhere with culture problems, you know the telltale signs of cracks: closed door conversations increase, hushed conversations that end abruptly when someone walks by, a few more staff departures, long lunches, early clock-offs at the end of the day, and a revolving door of staff bringing problem after problem to your attention. Then there’s the general vibe. People seem stressed out, bummed out, weighed down.
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Read More“The staff don’t think outside of their own departments. They don’t think strategically about what is best for the organisation, just for what is best for their group. They have a real turf mentality. I really want to break the silos and get them being more collaborative, entrepreneurial, innovative!”
Geoff grimaced. This was a key frustration for him and the leadership team since the major re-structure last year. He thought that with new leadership, new direction, and new organisation that the teams would gel and jump in to the future, gleefully holding hands. Likely he was not that naïve, just hopeful.
Here’s the thing:
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Read MoreWhen I go to work, I leave my balls in a jar. I feel neutered all day. When I go home, I take them out again, and fall on the couch to watch TV.
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Read MoreKevin thinks he is a great boss. He loves his work, is a passionate advocate for staff, cares deeply for them, and is known for his ability to smooth over the toughest issues… Kevin drives his staff crazy and no one will tell him!
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Read MoreIt has felt like Christmas all week as I handed out copies of my new book to workshop participants, book launch attendees and clients. There is a huge surge of oxytocin in being generous and giving. Peter Munday of Lennock Volkswagen calls it the Feel Good Factor.
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Read MoreYou know how it goes. Someone said or did something that has got you annoyed. Or upset. Or angry. Or bitter.
There’s great opportunity here, if we handle the feedback delivery well. The opportunity is to clear frustrations, clarify expectations, or mend relationships.
Many leaders miss the opportunity with the following feedback mistakes.
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Read MoreGetting people to do things as a leader is trickier than most of us imagine. It’s not simply a question of telling people what to do and considering it done. The days of one-way leadership are gone in this age of hyper-connectivity. People don’t work for us, they work with us.
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Read MoreI have a google alert that notifies me of any news article that mentions ‘speaking up’. I get at least two articles per day that mention the obstacles, consequences, and the outcomes of speaking up. This is usually against an injustice. From afar, we give a head nod to those who put themselves in the crossfire for a higher cause. We deem them noble and brave.
And we like to think we would do the same.
But would we?
Here are some common reasons clients have told me about why they don’t speak up:
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Read More"How do I recognise ‘blokey’ behaviour and what do I do about it in the culture?”
I love this question from a male CEO who wants to create an inclusive, welcoming culture.
It’s great because it acknowledges blind spots and seeks to troubleshoot them. I find this often: male leaders want to be better leaders, and they are sometimes shocked to discover that their behaviour, or that of their team, is not always representative of what they want to create and experience.
So what is ‘blokey’ behaviour, why does it occur, and what should we do about it, if anything?
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