Reflecting on 2024 & Looking Ahead to 2025
I won’t lie, I’m so looking forward to December I can almost taste it! I forgot to take a mid year holiday this year, and boy am I feeling it now. Imagine me forgetting that energy, as a leader, is the most important commodity you’ve got. I can literally hear 1000 middle managers growling in […]
Don’t worry, I’ve got a chainsaw
Now, Australia has been bashed about by some pretty hairy weather recently. Uncommonly cold in some states and uncommonly hot in others. Drought in one area and floods in others. Snow on the beaches but no snow on the ski-fields. Cyclone-force winds in typically temperate states. And the economy is just as weird as […]
Is the concept of balance a total con?
I can recall my boss once saying to me “you’re always lurching from one extreme to another”…. Geez, these wonderful feedback moments really stick with you don’t they? Luckily that same leader told the CEO that ‘pound for pound I was the most valuable player we have in HR’. So ON BALANCE I’m ok with […]
The Great Unbossing
Just another trend, or a real risk? And for whom? Another ‘Great’ trend – what a relief, we haven’t had a ‘Great’ since the Great Resignation – I was beginning to worry….. What exactly is the ‘Great Unbossing’? Companies are reportedly removing middle management and restructuring their hierarchies in favour of decentralised, autonomous teams. […]
How I transformed my relationship with the cold.
We clicked over into the first day of winter on Saturday. In Victoria (Australia) you can definitely feel it in the mornings now: crispy breath, crispy car, crispy washing (note to self: do not leave washing out overnight). I hate being cold. The cold makes me curl up and tense up. The curling up […]
I believe skimming stones holds the answer
I was skimming stones with my sons this weekend, down in Gippsland. Truly, no-one is worse at this than me. It’s sunny, and cold, and my kids are getting a minimum of 3 skips per pebble. Mine are all sinking. And creating a ripple. The bigger the stone, the bigger the ripple. I know for […]
Delegation: The Key to Team Performance
Delegating is like passing the baton in the relay race of leadership, where you hand off certain tasks to others. It sounds easy, but it’s easy to fumble that baton. And see that guy on the ground when he fumbles it? That’s what you’re afraid of. When delegation is done well, it’s a great way […]
HEY YOU STOP TALKING
Have you ever worked with a ‘spinner’, someone who labours the point, overexplains (maybe even mansplains?!). Whatever you call it, we all know a person at work who Talks.Too.Much. Maybe that person is you? You’ll know if it is you if: you’re always rushing to make your main point before your timeslot closes anyone has […]
Did your holiday work or did you work your holiday?
I was reflecting on how the return to work felt this year, and for the first time in a long time, I am hearing completely different experiences right across the board. Some of us are rested and invigorated, others are tired already. One person even told me that ‘Christmas feels like it was at […]
Dream Big in 2024: Goal-Setting Strategies for a Remarkable Year
According to S+P, 2024 is going to be characterised by productivity, efficiency and – you guessed it – headcount reductions. We know what this means to middle managers – more pressure, more burning out and more opting out. Right now, Gartner estimates that: 1 in 5 managers would prefer not being people managers, given a […]
