2 min read
Ask better questions, get better answers
Last week, I wrote about the time and place for a more directive leadership style. In the last decade or two, the leadership pendulum has swung...
2 min read
Ask better questions, get better answers.
Last week, I wrote about the time and place for a more directive leadership style. In the last decade or two, the leadership pendulum has swung...
2 min read
Time to tell: when to be a more directive leader
How we understand strong leadership has undergone a fundamental transformation over the last decade or two. Traditional ideas about a military-like...
3 min read
People want to connect
Last week, I wrote about how to get people interested in your strategy and change initiatives and the importance of being real and using plain...
3 min read
People want to connect
Last week, I wrote about how to get people interested in your strategy and change initiatives and the importance of being real and using plain...
2 min read
Strategy is simple
If I met anyone from your senior leadership team in the lift, and asked what your strategy is – how many different answers would I get? It’s hard to...
1 min read
Public time is public money
What do you do for work?” Gulp. When you work for the government, sometimes it’s tempting not to tell people. Primarily if you work in local...
1 min read
Design and delivery: better together
Collaboration that actually SAVES time and money?! Some years ago, I had a job writing tender responses for large construction and infrastructure...
1 min read
You have plenty of time - it's space you need
Have you ever achieved more in an hour than you managed the rest of the week? I have. I get a serious case of what I call “travel clarity” – I can...
2 min read
Strategic leadership: 3 ways to be less operational
Fire fighters have a demanding job. On the one hand, they do all the stuff that we expect in a crisis – like turning up and fighting a roaring blaze...
2 min read
How to focus more clearly
I’ve always been close with my Nanna. I’ve turned to her a lot over the years as I’ve juggled kids, work, study, friends, relationships and...
3 min read
Only that which can change can continue
Remember Pokemon Go? What a sensation! Blowing up from what felt like nowhere, Pokemon Go was the third most popular app download in 2016, behind...
2 min read
How to get people interested in change
Every time I walk into a workshop with a new group, I have a job to get out of the way: establish credibility and generate interest. Is this partly...
2 min read
Should the public sector have customers?
I ran a programme with the senior leadership team at Christchurch City Council about five years ago. One thing I noticed about how GMs communicated...
1 min read
Public sector leadership: connect to outcomes
Have you ever caught the show Undercover Boss? It’s just the kind of brilliant mind-numbing reality TV you need for a sick day in bed – which is how...
2 min read
Public sector leadership: Navigating the layer of crazy
I worked with a team late last year who were struggling to reconcile what they saw as the right way forward for their agency, with the fickle demands...
2 min read
New Years Resolution Hack: Aim for habits
Man, do I love the smell of a fresh year. Crispy new stationery, damp summer evenings, long days and warm nights. It’s hard not to feel excited about...
2 min read
New years resolution hack: aim for habits
Man, do I love the smell of a fresh year. Crispy new stationery, damp summer evenings, long days and warm nights. It’s hard not to feel excited about...
3 min read
The importance of timing
I had dinner with a colleague in Melbourne last month, who proclaimed at one point that “time is meaningless. It’s simply a human construct to...
2 min read
Strategy needs space
Strategy needs space. Time, headspace, and physical space. I’ve just returned to New Zealand after a few days of professional development in...
2 min read
6 tips for leading through uncertainty
Have you ever heard that old saying: “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t”? I’ve had a jampacked few weeks facilitating strategy...
2 min read
Embrace your journey
I received a great message over the weekend that made my day. I’d just had a total fail of an attempted trail run, and I was feeling all dark and...
3 min read
Make changes, not excuses
I used to work with this chick that drove me mental. Let’s call her Vicki. She was the perennial victim – you know the type, had something new to...
3 min read
How to make space when bau won't quit
You know that feeling when you go and do some offsite training or attend a conference and get all inspired and energised? You’re all fired up on good...