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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...

Blindspots! We all have them.

It is Officially Spring!  I am writing this on the first day of spring, 1 September.  It is also Father's day here in New Zealand, hope you had a fabulous Fathers day if you are a dad.  May you lead strong and true in that very important leadership role. There is nothing like the role of parent that gives you the opportunity to face that most dreaded thing that can make any courageous leader's blood run cold.  The fact that we may be less than perfect. And even worst, that we...

In The Thick Of Thin Things.

Do you every get caught up in the thick of thin things?  When life gets so "busy" that you are running, balancing, rushing, pulling, getting, hustling, texting... you get the idea.   All this is celebrated and honoured in the culture we live in today.  So we keep doing it, filling our lives up with endless,  meetings, activities and lists.  Oh the lists, the long glorious lists.  Do you know that some studies have showed that just making the list can give us such a...

Why wait for a new season?

I woke up this morning with the realisation that it was a new season, the temperature has well and truly dipped as I walked in the dark this morning.  It is also a new financial year.  My brain immediately did the proverbial "wipe that slate clean, let's start afresh". Why is it we are so primed for waiting for new starts?  We start our diets on a Monday, the start of the week, we hang on until New Year's day to chalk up our wins and losses and then set our intentions for the new ...

Trust. Simple, not easy.

I recently found a questionnaire in a book I was reading on Self trust.  I have always found things that increase my self awareness interesting and valuable.  The more we understand ourselves the more the world around us makes sense.  It exposes how we see our world.  Sometimes how we see the world isn’t necessarily how the world is. I am coming to realise more and more as I work with Leaders and their teams how vital a seemingly simple thing like trust is.  I have al...

What riding pillion taught me about Leadership.

My husband and I have recently gone on a few motorbike trips with some friends.  I have always enjoyed Motorbikes, in fact, I first fell in love with my husband’s bike before I actually met him, when I moved in across the road from him.  I love riding pillion with my husband. We went for a quick ride with our “biker" friends this last weekend. One of the reasons I love riding a motorbike so much is the fact that you are part of your environment, you smell the trees and bushes, and ...

Be You Always!

Authentic! This is another word that is bandied about these days because it sounds sexy and cool.  Words like this often lose their real meaning because when it gets “branded” we start to associated the word with whatever has made it popular.  And that is all fine, but it is good to sometimes look up the word and to see what it is about the word that is stirring us. So what does Authenticity mean?  And more importantly what does it mean to you and your business, team or life?...

Actions Speak Louder than Words

Who you are speaks so loudly, I can’t hear a word you’re saying.  Ralph Waldo Emerson. The word Integrity is one of those words which is largely misunderstood.  It is often assumed it means someone who acts a certain way.  An honest person.  And that is part of it.  This is the word that is the first to be thrown around when I run a facilitation on Values and it is the one value I push back on the most. Firstly because most people don’t really understand what it me...

Why I have given up on Budgeting!

I have giving up on budgeting!  All the accountants and bookkeepers stopped breathing right there.  Breathe!!!  Now let me explain.  Actually if I am totally honest I have never really budgeted. Most of my life it has been an area that I have carried a lot of shame around, as a coach and business person I have felt that I should have known better.  The longer I left it the harder it was to ask for help.   My first introduction to budgeting came when my husband and I...

Does your Leadership leave people with a lift or a limp?

This is a question I have been pondering lately. I get to experience different kinds of leaders in the work that I do. All leaders are inspiring, some inspire me for the wrong reasons. Some leaders inspire me to continue the work that I do so that I can coach up-and-coming leaders to not be like them. This week I got to work with some great leaders who inspired me for all the right reasons and when I see leaders like that it fills me with hope and joy, it reminds me why great leadership is so im...