Leadership can be tricky. It can be hard. Doing the right thing is not always the popular thing. But nice guys do sometimes finish first, even when they should finish last. I…
The myth of motivation
Managers and leaders often ask us “how can I improve employee engagement?” We know why – motivated employees are more committed, effective, productive and creative. It makes smart business sense to have…
Diversity – Lean In Tune In
The biggest leadership challenge and opportunity facing organisations, and New Zealand itself, is harnessing our ever-increasing diversity. That’s the view of the majority of leaders we interviewed for our book Leaders Like You.…
Creating an effective senior team
Many senior leadership teams struggle to be cohesive and high performing. While some actively work to lift their game there are thousands and thousands of New Zealand organisations being “led” be dysfunctional…
The shaky shift to strategic leadership
It’s not uncommon for us to work with team or technical leaders who are struggling to make the shift to a strategic leadership role. It’s also not uncommon for us to hear…
The art and science of great meetings—part three
In the last of our three articles on the Art and Science of Great Meetings, we look at how to end meetings with clarity. Does this sound familiar? The meeting is running…
The art and science of great meetings—part two
In Part One we looked at what to do to prepare for a great meeting. Now we look at what to do to make the meeting effective once underway. The focus is…
The art and science of great meetings—part one
You’ve called a meeting. Eight people are giving up two hours of their precious time. Do you: Fire off a quick agenda email the evening before the meeting Wing it and make…
Three Practical Insights for Leading Remote Teams
I’ve noticed tons of articles going around on how to lead remote teams. Most seem to be based on theory rather than practice. With eight team members working from homes across the…
A Leadership Call to All Kiwis
It seems no workplace in New Zealand is exempt from poor behaviour – not even our Parliament, which in the words of Jacinda Adern, should be an exemplar of a safe workplace.…