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Where do leaders go to find refuge?

Over the last few weeks I have sensed a battle weariness in leaders that I have come into contact with.  It has stirred a huge compassion in me. A lot of focus has been on making sure your employees are okay and it is super important, but who is looking out for the leader's who have had to carry not only their worries but the concern of their people too. It is easy to get grumpy about those who lead us when things are feeling hard, to demand care and concern from them, but wh...

Naked Leadership

Brené Brown frames a leader as "anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes and has the courage to develop that potential. Leadership is not about titles or the corner office. It's about the willingness to step up, put yourself out there, and lean into courage."  In her book Dare to Lead, she adds, "we desperately need more leaders who are committed to courageous, wholehearted leadership and who are self-aware enough to lead from their hearts, rather t...

Listen, tell, repeat!

This year is turning out to be a very interesting and rewarding year.  A few years ago, I paused to take some time to get clear on what type of work I wanted to do and what kinds of people and organisations I wanted to work with and how I wanted to work. I wasn't even sure if it was possible. I am starting to see the fruits of my labour and intentionand I love the people and companies I get to work with. Vision is so important, without one we lack clarity and this l...

Is Artificial Harmony slowing you down?

Conflict! There are very few people in the world that can honestly say they love conflict and spend their days seeking it out. Most of us just want to get along with others. In fact, we are trained by our parents and teachers to "just get along". Growing up, I had the odd "clip around the ear" for having a spat with my brother within earshot of my mum. I don't like to upset or hurt people and you don't need to if you do it right. I think it is because the word conflict for us has very negative...

The gift of the restart.

And just like that, we have just a few days to Christmas. Oh my goodness, what a year? To say we live in interesting times seems like an understatement. I am sure you are looking forward to downing tools and getting some much-needed downtime as the end of the year leaps towards us. I know I am.This year I did something different, I took a week at the end of November to take some time out to get my head around what 2022 will look like for me. I normally take a half-day to...

Is the Great Resignation really a thing in NZ?

There is a phrase being bandied about on LinkedIn and on global business platforms at the moment. So, I did some intense research, I asked Google, “Is the great resignation happening in…" well it seems that I am not the only one interested in that question. Apparently, people in Canada, UK and Australia have been asking the same question.What I do know from years of coaching and consultancy is that what people cite as reasons on paper are often only half the story. A...

Owning Your Superpower.

Every now and then, I bump up against that old Tall poppy syndrome. Knowing what I bring to the table helps me to stand strong. It also helps to have people in your life who don't let you play small and that call the greatness out of you. You know who you are ;-) I was on a call with a great leader yesterday and he pointed out something I do well, I followed it up with a very apologetic comment that it was"kinda my superpower". He called me out for not owning it. I so appreciated it. I repeated ...

Creativity as a Strategy!

I love what I do! I know, I am incredibly blessed, because lots of people don’t. They go to work and do a job, for some it  is just a way to pay the bills, for some it’s an awful experience they must endure. I feel like mine is an assignment, a calling. I love it so much, I don’t have an off button.  I have to force myself to switch off on the weekends. We do need to rest and when we don’t no matter how much fun we are having, our bodies have a way of letting u...

The Cost of Growth.

I was reminded of an interview this morning as I went for a walk to clear my head because I was feeling overwhelmed. It was with TD Jakes at the Global Leadership Summit. I remembered the conversation andI knew there would be something in there I would have probably missed before so I pulled it out to watch again when I got back from my walk.  In the interview, he is asked about a time he was speaking at a conference with the interviewer and came off the stage and apologise knowin...

The 3 Biases against Organisational Health.

Although I have used the models and tools for Organisational health for many more years than I have been a *CapaPro member, I have only recently been using them from “*soup to nuts” as The Table Group like to say.  Each model and tool, i.e. The 5 dysfunctions of a team or The Ideal Team player which are from books with the same names can be used as stand alone interventions with great success, but it has only been in the last two years that I have seen the power of using them as they we...

Is your organisation healthy?

So what exactly is a healthy organisation? Does it conjure up mental pictures of lean, muscular athletic people in an organisation?  Well, that is not what I am talking about.  I am talking about an organisation or business that is simply awesome to work at.  Where there is very little politicking, confusion and silo building going on, where there is a very low turnover and high productivity.  Where everyone in the organisation is super clear on what the mission of the busine...

Necessary Endings

Necessary endings. In a world that shouts with RA-RA music blaring, “Never give up!” It takes a lot of courage to end things. So we continue to beat the proverbial dead horse and continue to pour our most valuable resources into deep hungry holes in the insanity cycle. You know, doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result. My most dominant theme in CliftonStrengths is Positivity, which for me plays out in being the Hope bearer or the champion of hope. I ha...

The Scorpion's sting

What we don't conquer conquers us! You would have to be wrapped in cotton wool not have some bumps and bruises from life. If we don't deal with those hurts and offences, we land up carrying the venom of them through life. I remember sitting in a community gathering where someone was sharing with great passion what they had learned from a recent conference they had attended. What they said was inspiring they had obviously been inspired by this conference and their words were stirring us up. My ...

Glancing back as I go forward.

Racing car drivers have a saying, "you have to slow down to go fast", I like this advice and it is true in our lives and businesses as well. I wrote this article last year in my last newsletter and I had no intention of it turning out the way that it did, but as I glanced back so much made sense and it has given me the courage to face this year with a fresh perspective, hope and excitement. I hope it encourages you.Every year I do this thing where I name the year. 2020 was to be my year o...

Where, oh, where has the time gone?

It matters not how you start, but how you finish... I don't even know if that is a quote, something I heard or just something I made up. ;-) Despite the year starting off well and having a big bump in the road, personally, it is turning out to be a year of growth and consolidation. There is no getting around it, 2020 has been a year to remember. For some, it's been hard and negative and for others, it's been easy and positive despite COVID. I'd say it's been both. It's ...

Thriving in the Wilderness

When I was writing my book, I wondered if there was anyway to avoid wilderness.  I spent a lot of time trying to figure out ways, but then I looked back at every catalytic time in my life and realised it was because of a wilderness.  As painful as wilderness is, it is necessary.  The trick is to enter without delay and to figure the stuff out and then leave when we have.  That sounds so obvious, but it's not when you in the midst of it. The two most crucial times of wildernes...

The Valley of Insight Builds Confidence

In my first book, I wrote about the cycle of growth and the four stages you go through.  I used the analogy of a journey to explain the stages we go though as we grow and gave some tools to navigate them well. Stage 1:  Disharmony Stage 2:  Awareness and Hope Stage 3:  The Valley of Insight. Stage 4:  Victory and Mastery I have covered stage 1 and 2 in my last blogs, you can click on the links above to read them. The valley of insight is a term I heard from an old schoo...

Leaning Towards Hope.

The second stage leaders can lead their people through right now, is Awareness and Hope. This stage is all about facing the situation head on, looking at what the landscape is with absolute honesty, no sugar coating, no panic, no rose-tinted glasses, just the naked truth of what is going on, but doing that leaning toward hope. I have heard from clients already where they have sat in their boardroom and had some real, hard honest conversations of where things are at right now, where they will be ...

Moving through Crisis

I woke up this morning with the word Crisis banging around in my head, and my heart beating wildly with excitement. The one thing that can bring the best out of people is a crisis, yes, I know it can also bring the worst out of people too, but not if they have great leadership. I find writing a great way to process, so I thought I would share some of my thoughts over the next few days, to help us navigate through this crisis, it would be a shame to waste this opportunity to not only lead y...

Here To There And Navigating The Land Inbetween.

Pat Lencioni, in his book The Advantage: Why Organisation Health Trumps Everything Else in Business, makes an undeniable case that organisational health surpasses all other disciplines in business as the greatest opportunity for improvement and gives organisations a truly competitive edge.  He writes about four actionable steps in achieving long-term, sustainable success. And he has continuous and repeated success in this area, so it really works. BUT, and yes there is a BIG LOUD BUT&helli...

The Power of A Challenge

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  I love this photo. Not because I am in a once in a lifetime moment standing on a stage with one of my hero's, but this exact moment caught on camera captures a catalytic moment. I can't even remember exactly what we were saying, but I do remember that Craig challenged me and if I had to caption this it would be with a speak bubble over Craig "Really?!"  and a thought bubble over me  "Busted".  And this in front of a few hundred ...

It's Officially Autumn. Change is in the air.

Autumn is my favourite time of the year.  I love the physical signs of change that start to happen all around us.  First the "wee nip in the air" and then the darker mornings and evenings and of course the beautiful display as the leaves change colour and then rain down making thick carpets that are almost impossible to not to kick as you walk. We have all heard the saying "Change is inevitable, growth is optional" by John Maxwell.  I see this play out time and time again, when wo...

Communication is a two way street

We have all heard the phrase "Communication is a two way street."  But is it?  It should be, but in reality, it can be a little more complicated than that. If it were that simple we wouldn't have so many misunderstandings in the workplace (and at home).  HR practitioners will tell you it isn't because they spend a lot of time picking up the pieces of broken down relationship that are mostly misunderstandings.  Communication is a funny complex thing.  It is not just a two...

The Uncomfortable Truth

In my pursuit for growth I have often had moments when I have had a realisation of some of my dark sides, these moments are sometimes breathtakingly painful.  If you are serious about developing yourself and the art of self leadership you would have had these moments too.  It might be a random conversation, an article, a post or a friend calling you out. In that moment you have a choice.  What do you do with that stinging truth as you feel the shame of it wash over you?  Do y...

What was intended for evil turned to good...

There is a sentence in the story of Joseph of Egypt that has always gripped me when things go sideways and then turn out good in the end.  It’s when Joseph confronts his brothers who had thrown him in a pit and sold him to slavery, he stands before them as the second most powerful man in Eqypt with the power to devastate them with one command, but he choses forgiveness and he says, As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result...