Blog
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
Starting a new role? Now leading your peers? Have you achieved a new milestone in your business with new demands and new expectations? It takes some getting used to. Boundless Leadership is about the relentless pursuit of a better future. Embracing new opportunities and roles should feel effortless and on track. The opposite is often the case! Our old inner world, setpoint, and paradigm can hold us back, dragging back from boundless edge of possibilities. New levels need new paradigms. We also need an acclimatisation process.
The invisible barrier that drops when we get promoted
Getting used to the new role: some things to consider
The three most important steps to take to handle the transition
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Read MoreSometimes life throws you a real rotten lemon. There’s not much chance of lemonade in it. Positive thinking does not change the sucky-ness part of what happened. Re-framing downplays the consequences. Finding a more useful belief only happens when we’ve dealt with the mess. So what do we do instead? Here are my suggestions on how to wade through tough times and come out stronger on the other side.
A Chinese parable that stands the test of time, that we can adapt for a more useful approach
A modern take of using beliefs and positive delusion
The three steps I used to get over a car accident.
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Read MoreThe 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.
How does your day finish? With a blur, a sigh, a cold drink? End of day habits drive the tone of the day. This simple, inexpensive, easy to do and easy to stick to habit can make the big difference in a day, and a year, well-led, and well-enjoyed.
We can craft peak experiences with focus on senses
Build your leadership success day by day through your yearly theme
Use a Moments Journal to keep you focused and on track, while building memory and attention
I work with high level leaders: big thinkers, with big hearts who want to make a big difference. We focus on Boundless Leadership which is the relentless pursuit of a better future so you can have more impact with less struggle.
If you are a CEO, MD, GM or senior executive I have a range of programs that might suit you and your team for your development of strategic thinking and deep self mastery.
Read MoreIt’s the end of the year! And we are on the threshold of a brand new one.
As is my tradition for the least 15 years, I have a brand new reflection and planning tool for you. I’ve opted for simple graphics (i.e. none) in favour of maximum usefulness and content.
Free downloadable resources (no opt-in required)
Read MoreAre 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
It’s pretty easy to get caught up in the day to day. It’s a major complaint and concern I hear from leaders: the urgent day to day gets in the way of the big picture thinking. We sacrifice what’s next for the sake of now. And this is no way to build impact or legacy! We may not want to leave a legacy as long-lasting as Julius Caesar, but our perspective can help shape positive influence for generations.
How Native American Iroquois shaped leadership with the 7 Generations Principle
Julius Caesar’s effect and downfall
It’s not about hubris but about stewardship
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 MoreSome people are best avoided! The emotional tirades, the grim simmering negativity, the nastiness. But what if we are the one bringing in the dark clouds? What if people are avoiding US?
What is lack of emotional intelligence
How technology can increase self awareness
Not letting other people ruin your day with this simple strategy
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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 MoreWant shortcuts for proven leadership strategies? Want quick ways to work with your team? Want a handbook to get this done? Scott Stein’s new book, Leadership Hacks, is just the ticket.
Personal hacks
One-on-one hacks
Team Hacks
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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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