Not for Girls
A few weeks ago I wrote a short post calling *BS* on 2 things – the phrase ‘don’t mix business with pleasure’, and the existence of a ‘Men’s (or women’s) Downhill’ both struck me as outmoded and contrary to how many of us live our life. I loved the responses it provoked, and in particular […]
Financial Year’s End or New Year’s Eve?
This year we celebrated the winter solstice – sacrificing virgin-white marshmallows and discovering the joys of a mug of mulled wine huddled around the fire. There’s something about a bit of celebration and reflection at this time of year that I find quite reinvigorating: The punctuation of the end of another financial year, pausing to […]
Sometimes not one thing works
Sometimes there is not one thing that solves a problem. These days problems are so complex and systems are so precariously interwoven that you may never know what one intervention actually made the difference. This can mean you throw everything at it and you’ll never know what worked or it can mean you do nothing […]
You can’t just do nothing – can you?
I’ve been working with a number of leaders, and a number of leadership teams, this month – and one pattern keeps popping up: Notifications, emails, messaging is all out of control “Have you got a minute?’-ism is out of control More results, more quickly pressure is mounting from the top More ideas (orders?) are coming […]
I like it hard
This week I got very excited. I received a Fedex from Wiley at the University of Pittsburgh, sending me a hard copy of my article taking up several pages of their brilliant Leader to Leader magazine. Now, I already knew the article was out online, but there really is something magical about seeing it in […]
What is this sign really telling you…
I walk around my neighbourhood every morning, as fast as feet will go (without breaking into a hated jog), with Lilly Allen blasting her London lyrics into my ears to make me laugh. And although I do the same circuit every day, I notice something different each time. Last week I spotted this sign. On […]
Can I say Happy New Year still?
Happy new year! As a Brit, I flinch every time I say HNY beyond January 3rd – up in the cold, dark half of the planet the HNY window is pretty short. But thanks to the glorious summer we’ve had in Melbourne, I’m eking out my HNYs for as long as I can, so you […]
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. […]
