2 min read
Playing the long game
With parenting, it’s what we do that counts, not what we say. When my two eldest girls reached 7 and 11, I decided to institute a more formal...
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...
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...
1 min read
Make Meaning by Letting Go
Making your thinking meaningful to others is one of the most important steps in driving new behaviours. A bit like election promises, strategy and...
2 min read
How to Stop Being So Reactive
One of the most common questions I’m asked in a strategy process – usually toward the end – is about what to do when things change. Because, they do,...
4 min read
Say No Nicely: Challenging Conversations
Last week I talked about the importance of putting first things first, to prioritise progress. But here’s the thing with priorities. Setting them is...
2 min read
First Things First: Prioritise Progress
I’ve been a productivity nerd since day one. So much so, that I spent the summer between my first and second year at university reading books about...
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...
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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...
2 min read
Move On From Project Failures
I ran a Strategic Focus workshop with a group last month, and one of the participants alerted me to the most beautiful quote: “The past is a foreign...
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The public service has citizens, not customers
I started a new programme with the senior leadership team at Christchurch City Council last week. One thing I noticed about how GMs communicated was...
1 min read
Public Sector Leadership: Connect to Outcomes
Ever caught the show Undercover Boss? It’s just the kind of brilliant mind-numbing reality TV that you need for a sick day in bed – which is how I’m...
1 min read
Get strategy off the shelf
What’s the name of your last Shelf Strategy? You know the one – where you did all those workshops and argued over semantics. The one where you wrote...
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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...
3 min read
How To Find Your Calm
“You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day, unless you are too busy, then you should sit for an hour.” -Old Zen saying I’ve talked a lot...
3 min read
The Importance of Timing
I had dinner with a colleague in Melbourne last month, who proclaimed at one point that “timing is meaningless. It’s simply a human construct to...
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...
2 min read
Respect Your Paygrade: Learn to Delegate
Last week, I wrote about the need for strategy to have space – timing, mental and physical space. One simple behaviour will free up 2/3, which...
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
People Aren't Afraid Of Change
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 sessions up...