Alicia McKay

Based in Wellington, New Zealand. Writes on strategy, change, leadership, consulting, public sector and local government.

5 min read

How to lead when you're worried

It’s a worrying time to be in charge. How can you be a successful leader when you're worried about the future? We live in a time of unprecedented...

2 min read

Obsessions: The perfect way to avoid things

I'm kind of intense, once I get *into* something. This time last year, I got into houseplants. It started with 6, and just a few weeks later, I had...

1 min read

How to become a CEO

We caught up on some of our Google analytics last week, and there was a surprising nugget in there. One of the most common search terms that brought...

1 min read

How to become a CEO

We caught up on some of our Google analytics last week, and there was a surprising nugget in there. One of the most common search terms that brought...

8 min read

5 secrets of successful CEOs

Want to become a CEO but can’t keep up with your current workload, much less anything else? Wondering how they do it, how you can get there, and how...

1 min read

Learning in Lockdown: Use crisis to develop new skills

I always have my best ideas on a plane. It's not great in lockdown, I'll admit, but there's something about putting myself in a different situation...

2 min read

The benefits of getting bored: get unstuck

I like making and discovering new things. It's a bit of a problem because as soon as I've made something, I'm bored with it and looking for something...

2 min read

The Benefits of Getting Bored: Get unstuck

I really like making and discovering new things. It's a bit of a problem, because as soon as I've made something, I'm bored with it and looking for...

3 min read

Leading through change: the power of language

“Words create worlds” - JONATHAN FRANZEN Two years ago, I conducted a personal experiment after reading James Clear's Atomic Habits. To be more...

4 min read

8 things people get wrong about strategy

Strategy is the Emperor’s New Clothes of the working world. It’s one of those buzzwords that lost much of it’s meaning in the 1980s, but people need...

2 min read

My Top Leadership Reads 2021

I love to read - ever since I was a kid, I’ve spent as much of my free time as possible engrossed in a book. Childhood me would be pretty stoked I...

2 min read

Stop Telling Yourself Old Stories

Welcome to another Wednesday Wisdom, Friend. Every week, I share with you what I'm thinking about life, work, and leadership. This week we're talking...

2 min read

Find your purpose: upgrade your inner google

GET YOUR FREE PLAY THE LONG GAME PACK Get perspective It feels like our experiences are factual because they’re tangible. If you can see, smell, hear...

End like you mean to continue

Welcome to another Wednesday Wisdom. Every week, I share with you what I'm thinking about life, work, and leadership. This week we're talking about...

2 min read

Obsessions: the perfect way to avoid things

I'm kind of intense, once I get *into* something. This time last year, I got into houseplants. It started with 6, and just a few weeks later, I had...

3 min read

The 5 most important (untaught) leadership skills

The world of work is different As the nature of work changes, new technology is introduced, and social norms evolve, we need different skills from...

4 min read

How to break down: a word from the pupae

When it came time to share this week’s What’s On Your Mind episode, I had a complicated reaction. The episode was recorded a little while ago,...

2 min read

Are you flexible?

Do you know that saying that courage isn't an absence of fear; it's feeling fear and doing it anyway? I had a dose of that this week. A couple of...

2 min read

Are you flexible?

You know that saying that courage isn't an absence of fear, it's feeling fear and doing it anyway? I had a dose of that this week. I had a couple of...

2 min read

Treat yourself how you treat others

FREE GET YOUR SH*T TOGETHER WORKBOOK One of the nicest things about lockdown was the feeling that you could relax a little. Be yourself. Let a few...

2 min read

How to Be Kinder: A Learner's Perspective

I'm not always a very kind person. Not because I'm not good or generous, or because I don't care about others, but because my natural style is pretty...

1 min read

Do, then decide

What are you tangled up in knots about right now? I bet you've got a decision weighing on you. Whether it's a job offer, a location change, a...

5 min read

Could covid-19 change relationships forever?

When I receive grateful emails and messages from readers and fans, I sometimes feel uneasy. I received one such email last week, which went as far as...