My Blog

My last article “Power Blindness” pointed to how easy it is for us to be blind to the impact we can have on those with less power than us. In organisations, we tend to think of the power dynamics in terms of positional power and hierarchies, but there is so much more.Read more...

Not only can we be poisoned by power (see my recent article “Power Poisoning”) we can be blind to the impact we have on others who have less power, rank and privilege relative to ourselves.Read more...

I heard Kimberly Wiefling speak at the PMI Melbourne Symposium this week and learned a new phrase – Power Poisoning.Read more...

There is increasing dissatisfaction about performance rating and review systems in organisations, with lots of articles and perspectives on why they don’t work, what some companies (like Deloitte, Accenture, SEEK, Adobe etc.) are adopting instead, what might actually work.Read more...

Building on my articles such as “Let’s stop the war for talent” I have written a book that explores how much dormant potential lies within teams and organisations and what leaders can do differently to tap into them. It’s called “Start Inspiring, Stop Driving: Unlock your team’s potential to outperform and grow” and below is an excerpt from it.Read more...

Generally, harmony has a positive connotation. It feels good to be with a group where there’s harmony. However, when too much emphasis is on harmony in a group, it can be costly. It can kill innovation, quality and excellence, performance and growth. It can also damage relationships.Read more...

High achievers in organisations are proactive, focused on outcomes and deliver. They are valuable contributors. As with most things, though, there are downsides to an overused strength.Read more...

So we just finished FY2015 (at least in Australia). Many of us in organisations may have just had, are about to have or are preparing for performance conversations. Whatever performance management system our organisation has, as leaders, the conversation we have is the piece we can control. While old performance management systems can be an issue, there have been and always will be leaders who are able to lift performance of team members regardless of the system in which they operate.Read more...

There are many leadership theories, many leadership programs and executive programs and yet there is still a leadership gap, according to research from all over the world.Read more...

Some people in the workplace still use fear and threat to make people to do things. In the short term this may be fine and things do get done. Unfortunately, the fear based approach is unsustainable and unproductive. It kills performance over time. Fear in the workplace:Read more...

So often we hear leaders and ourselves complain in frustration, when they have someone who is not performing or behaving to expectations. "He just doesn't have what it takes" "She doesn't take accountability" "He is not focused on outcomes" "She doesn't have the capability" "He has a negative attitude" “I’ve tried everything and she’s not improving”… It is usually about blaming them and their problems. I've done it, too.Read more...

I had the privilege of hearing a presentation by sports psychologist, Dr Sean Richardson recently. One of the biggest insights I got was that confidence is great if we have it, but we don’t need confidence to make progress or get results. In fact, we have been mis-guided around the whole confidence thing, at least for people without major traumas and mental illnesses.Read more...