News

What kind of leader do you want to be?

I believe we have officially stopped saying ‘Happy New Year’ by now. Still, with this being our first newsletter after…

Bigger Team – Different Skills

Teams change all the time. People come and go, and organisations go through re-structures. We onboard, manage, lead and let…

I work with hundreds of department heads and people leaders all over the world and a common theme I am…

What people need and want – influencing through values

Influencing others to make a buying (or buy-in) decision has been part of my working life for almost three decades….

Emotions are Data

For the longest time, I thought that emotions happen to us and that they are our directive. I had been…

Millennials are on the rise. And what that means for leadership

The news headline ‘Millennials Match Boomers for Population Share’ caught my attention this week. In Australia, the government conducts a…

Our Big Plans for 2022

As we are nearing the half-year mark of 2022 (can you believe it?), I have started to look back and…

I did a thing…

I did a thing…. I started using the renowned DISC Assessment tools and reports in 2015, back when I lived…

Get Out of Your Head

Do you find yourself living in your head from time to time? Where your brain doesn’t switch off? Do you…

Adopt a Change Mindset

Gone are the times when change management is a once-in-a-while necessity pegged to a project we have taken on in…

Leadership Pillar 4: Lead the Future

I often think about the time Bill Gates changed the world. A computer on every desk in every home was…

Leadership Pillar 3: Lead Change

The world, particularly over the last 2 years, has been disrupted like never before and we are still experiencing rapid,…

Leadership Pillar 2: Lead-Others

Did you know that one in two employees leave their jobs because of their manager? I know you’ve heard it before and Gallup…

Leadership Pillar 1: Lead Self

Did you know that 30% of Fortune 500 CEOs last less than three years? Why? Because they are not good…

The 4 Pillars of Leadership

I was ruminating about the last 15 years or so of my career the other day. I have gone from…

Sympathy, Empathy or Compassion – What’s the best approach?

A lot of my work currently is helping leaders to manage mental health, deal with pressure and get through the…

Workplace Culture 2.0: Flexibility by way of autonomy

As we start returning to our offices, organisations are creating new workplace structures that fit the bill of hybrid working….

The Fear of Being Human

As the world of work is changing around us, with younger generations stepping into leadership roles and organisations focussing on…

Emotional Agility

‘The prevailing wisdom says that difficult thoughts and feelings have no place at the office: Executives, and particularly leaders, should…

The Great Resignation – we need a refocus on employee retention

Have you heard of ‘The Great Resignation’? It’s a term dubbed in the US where COVID-19 has led millions of…

Languishing – We Probably All Feel It. What Is It and What To Do About It

Work has been busy for me. It seems leaders and teams need my support more than ever before, which sees…

What I learned from writing a book

I NEVER thought I would write a book. But I have. And it’s being published this month. Today’s newsletter is…

How to stay optimistic – Flip the narrative and other strategies in uncertain times

I was on the phone with a friend from Europe for an hour the other day and after 50 minutes…

Compassion and Accountability can be two sides of the same coin

Can we agree that it has been a challenging 18 months for most people? Whilst everyone experiences what is happening…

Saying No more often and how to say ‘no’ without saying No.

That’s a lot of “no’s” right there. No is one of the most powerful words in the English language, yet…

Your Leadership Shadow – why it is important to create it with intention

Have you ever worked for a boss who was full of promises but never delivered on them? Or was always…

Effective Coaching Skills – A Must Have for Leaders

Having all the answers is a manager’s sentiment of the past. In a world of rapid, disruptive change and multi-generational…

Stop Being an Advice-Giving Maniac – Influence With a Coaching Approach

‘I know exactly what you should do.’; ‘Why don’t you do this?’; ‘I have been in your shoes, here is…

Critical Skills to Lead Change Effectively

Did you know that in most organisations, two out of three transformation initiatives fail? That’s what studies show and it…

Am I Spreading Myself Too Thin? The Generalist vs. Specialist Dilemma

Last night, I had a conversation with a fellow coach who coaches senior executives of Fortune 500 companies focused on…

Stepping Up – Why Successful Brand Positioning is Crucial for Your Career

‘I was overlooked by the executives and someone else from my team who doesn’t perform as well as me, got promoted…

Negotiating Starts with Mindset

When we hear the term ‘negotiation’ we often imagine a heated debate between executives around a board room table. Or…

Don’t Rely On Motivation

Have you ever found yourself putting off a project because you just couldn’t find the motivation to get started? Or…

It Always Starts With Trust

Did you know that 50% of CEOs worldwide consider lack of trust to be the major threat of their organisational…

Empower Your Team Members for Higher Engagement

Me: ‘I need some help around here’ Also me: ‘No, not like that…here, I’ll do it!’ I had to laugh…

Out of sight out of mind?

Part II: Are we doing hybrid right? With the human in mind? Imagine yourself on a Monday morning, staying in…

Are we doing hybrid right? With the human in mind? – Part I

Employees all around the world had been forced to work from home for at least some parts of the last…

The Multicultural Leadership Edge

Digitisation and a growing buy in from organisations to encourage remote work and hybrid work models offer even more opportunities…

Escaping the Urgency Trap

We are in such a rush these days. We quickly move from one meeting to another, speed-read through emails and…

How much empathy is too much empathy?

Lots of leaders have been telling me that applying empathy at work has been their main focus in the last…

Virtual Meeting Madness

Do you feel exhausted just looking at your daily calendar packed with Zoom or Teams Meetings? Does it feel like…

Critical Thinking for better Decision Making

Are you quick to make decisions by weighing up the pros and cons and get on with it? Or are…

The trap of the Unconscious Bias

We all have biases. If we like it or not. Some of them are unconscious or implicit. You know, when…

Switch off to switch on – focus without distraction

‘How are you?’ – ‘I’m good. So busy.’ This is the start of pretty much every conversation I have. But…

Leading with Vulnerability

What comes to your mind when you hear ‘vulnerability’? Being exposed to the possibility of being harmed or attacked? Feeling…

Mobilise your teams to Lead the Future

‘A computer on every desk in every home’ was Microsoft’s early mission. It was bold, ambitious and life changing. Microsoft…

Conquering Fear as a Leader

Did you know that 30% of Fortune 500 leaders last less than three years, because they are not good at…

Courage – heroic impulsiveness or calculated risk?

What comes to your mind when you hear the word COURAGE? A cartoon version of Super(wo)man saving the world? Someone…

The Agile Mindset

Do you hear people say ‘we are working agile’ or ‘we are applying agile at our organisation’. I certainly do…

Psychological Safety for High Performance Teams

Have you ever worked in an environment where you or others held back from speaking up? Held back from sharing…

Productive Conflict – help your team grow by engaging in conflict

Are you working in a team where everyone gets along but you feel that real issues are being avoided? Or…