In my earlier years I wanted to be in a leadership position so badly for so long and I was pretty forthright in pursuing it. Then when I got the opportunity I was delighted! Unfortunately a huge driver for me was ego; I wanted the title more than I understood what actual good leadership was. (more…)

When working with leaders I often run them through the Six Leadership Styles and use these as a basis to help them identify their Leadership Philosophy. One of the styles is the Commanding Leader and, unfortunately, this style is still all too common in our organisations. However, whenever I ask for examples of what this looks like people often say it’s the model of leadership the army employs. (more…)

As I write this I’m not long back in New Zealand after taking another unplanned trip back to Ireland. Although it was great to see family, sadly the circumstances weren’t what I would have wished for; however, in life we can’t always choose the outcomes we’re faced with. In these instances we can ask ourselves, “Why did this happen to me?” but, after working through the emotion that often comes with tough times, I prefer to ask, “What now?”

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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…)

If you’re feeling like a lot of my clients out there it’s likely the end of the year break seems very far away! I’ve been feeling it too – drained and difficult to feel motivated, just going through the motions – but this isn’t me and I had to pull it back just for my own sanity! It’s difficult to stay motivated all the time, especially when you’re running your own business and your only source of motivation is you. However, that’s the game and I wouldn’t (more…)

I first came across the circle of control/circle of influence model well over 20 years ago. It’s an interesting concept that is often suggested as useful during times of crisis or when trying to perform under pressure. You know how it goes… write down those things that are within your control, those things you can influence and those things that are outside of your control, now go and focus on those things within your control. The problem of course (more…)

Just the other day I bumped into a friend of mine who works as a scrum master, we’ll call him Eric (his real name is Simon) and he was beside himself with frustration. He needed a developer for about 2 weeks worth of work. The work itself wasn’t particularly difficult, was well spec’d out and the developer would have all the support she needed to complete her task. Conveniently, there were about three developers on another team who had (more…)