How I made friends with the idea of working from home
It used to make me anxious. Would I lose focus? Get lonely? Eat the contents of the fridge? Do housework instead of paid work? As a leader, I sometimes had the same thoughts about my team when they were WFH too (sorry…). Fast forward a year and a half and here’s a few tips I’ve […]
Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
Spotting this Qantas livery when I was flying to Sydney a few weeks ago gave me quite a jolt! Were we really flying in a 60yo plane? Of course not – but she sure looked like one. Qantas, what a fun way to celebrate your rich history. Apparently she’s been doing the rounds across Australia […]
5 ways to stand out in #HRTech
The HR Tech market continues to be ablaze; with People-related products emerging at an incredible pace. It’s like Tiffanys at Xmas – a dazzling array of bright, shiny, desirable things. You want them all. You can’t wear them all at once and you probably don’t actually need even one of them, but the allure is […]
Getting the most out of tomorrow
It’s a leap year this year, so tomorrow – Feb 29 – feels like a ‘free’ day to me. I’ll be making the most of it – education in the morning, beach in the afternoon. But of course if it’s your birthday tomorrow – then it’s a very special day indeed. >>I need to ask: […]
No-one likes a surprise at work
People don’t like surprises; research into emotional neuroscience shows that almost all reactions to surprise are negative. And yet we have traditionally kept org change plans a secret until the last minute – thus by design creating a ‘surprise!’ moment when our plans are revealed. There are loads of reasons for this, ranging from industrial […]
The surprising truth about an all-female executive
Last week it was my privilege to facilitate at City West Water. It’s the first time that my stakeholder group has been exclusively female – from the MD down. I’ve often wondered what an all-female leadership team would really feel like, but I haven’t experienced it first hand – till now. This is what I saw: ► […]
Is this the scariest question in the world?
John Maltby says that the scariest question in the world is “So tell me about yourself……” And he’s right – we all fumble that one when asked, don’t we? You know how easy it is to talk at length about what you KNOW, but it’s really hard to talk at length about YOU? It’s literally […]
How to tackle the horrible middle
No, I’m not spruiking a new diet – I’m talking about change! The ‘horrible middle’ is a phrase coined by Harvard’s Rosabeth Kantor, who says that change is “90% perspiration and 10% inspiration” Everything looks like a failure in the middle. Everyone loves inspiring beginnings and happy endings; it is the middle that requires you […]
Just do this 1 thing and avoid becoming a statistic
As a leader, everything you do is visible, watched and judged. Yet so many of us go about our daily work with much thought of our reputation. My client had put in very little thought, and less effort, into crafting his reputation. He believed his work should speak for itself He hated ‘tacky’ self-promotion He […]
The surprising truth about levelling up your career
When I was running the Talent Acquisition Team at Australia Post, I was in pretty much in charge of HOW the work got done. I thought this was great – top of my game – but I was still frustrated. As I expanded my remit to include Careers, Onboarding, People Change and People Experience I […]
