As leaders we often forget how important a feedback conversation is to one of our team. To you and me, giving feedback might seem like a simple straightforward conversation but that couldn’t be further from reality. Even the smallest, seemingly insignificant, feedback can be taken the wrong way.

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From catching up with my coaching colleagues a common theme that keeps coming up is that CEOs and senior leaders are struggling to build or maintain a sense of culture within their teams or across their organisation. While it is a new world, a lot of the skills leaders possess can be easily transferred to this new world. The problem is that in the majority of cases these skills are simply just tweaking the basics. (more…)

According to Wikipedia, “Let them eat cake” is the traditional translation of the French phrase “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”, said to have been spoken in the 17th or 18th century by “a great princess” upon being told that the peasants had no bread. The French phrase mentions brioche, a bread enriched with butter and eggs, considered a luxury food. The quote is taken to reflect either the princess’s frivolous disregard for the starving (more…)

Have you ever been brushed off, ignored, demeaned, silenced, or humiliated? These painful and memorable experiences trigger the self-censoring instinct that is within us all and effectively neutralises performance. When social friction exists in a team the predictable approach to our work is one of caution, preventing people from bringing their whole self to work. (more…)

The scene was set and the conditions were perfect. I woke up at 5am and went through my morning routine to prepare for the day ahead. My clothing for the morning was all laid out the night before and I filled my bag with water bottles and nutrition. My girls wandered around the rented accommodation sleepily as they got themselves ready. At the transition area I completed the set up with my bike and made my way to the swim start. There was the usual mix of nerves made easier by the friendly banter of the other athletes milling around. And then, before I knew it the Tauranga Half Ironman was underway! (more…)

Welcome to 2022! What a year it’s been! Indeed, the great thing about a new year is that it gives us the energy, the determination and the focus to do something new. Unfortunately, most of us, by the end of the month, will already have lost our will to continue with the changes we so fervently committed to only a few weeks before. We’re funny ol’ creatures, aren’t we?

The question in the title is a big one. Mostly we’re asked the question, who are you? (more…)

Towards the end of the year I always find my mind wandering back to the year gone by. I look back on those things that have gone well, the things I’ve accomplished – how have I moved my life and career forward? – who have I connected with, and what could I learn from or do better?

I find this exercise invaluable because (more…)

“When in a business setting always stay away from discussing religion and politics.” That’s the advice I got many years ago from an old leadership mentor of mine and it’s advice I pass onto my clients as well. It makes a lot of sense because these two subjects can often come packaged with emotion and the potential for divisiveness. However, how the National party faced into the election this year is ripe with so many lessons that we, as leaders, need to learn from it. (more…)

“The most important thing about leadership is your character and the values that guide your life.” ~ Brenda Barnes

The above quote really sums up what leadership is to me because a title alone does not make you a leader. A person can have a title and people can report into them (more…)

I started off my working life as a fitness instructor and breaking into IT was quite a challenge. As you can imagine I took every opportunity that presented itself. I started off working in a credit card software company (a start up/stay up) that had a great buzz about it. It wasn’t long before I was moved to a software development team and then that great buzz turned into an annoying din! My new boss had a unique management style… (more…)