Recently, I ran a two-day session helping a group of leaders build Conflict Resolution skills. One discussion we had at depth was the problem of being the ‘boss’, and then trying to maintain a social relationship with the team.

One minute you are disciplining a team member, and then you are all going to lunch together or having Friday night drinks. Is everyone meant to pretend that nothing happened and put on a fake smile and laugh? Sounds icky… and it can be.

Shaking up routine for engagement

No matter where you look these days, there is another good-news-story about women’s sport. One of my favourite humans in the world, Ash Barty, has completed a monumental year on the professional tennis circuit. The FFA have just announced that the Matilda’s (the Australian women’s national soccer team) will be on an equal pay model with their male counterparts (a first in the world I believe). But there was one story that really caught my eye.

Facing the obvious in front of us

A few years ago, I was coaching a gym manager that was desperate to learn how he could bring his team together to improve the business. He highlighted the need for better client orientations for new members with quality follow ups. We set a plan for the manager to communicate this, track it, and monitor progress.

Taking back control of the busy

Who loves a ‘hack’? The internet is full of mildly interesting and sometimes ridiculous hacks. Take this You Tube clip that leads with increasing breast size and goes onto using ketchup to clean metal objects amongst many other hacks. When it comes to productivity, there are 100’s of hacks to test and try.

Why we slog it out for little return

Most of us have worked in good and bad team environments, but few of us get the pleasure to work in a team of excellence. By definition, there is only room for the best at the top of any industry. But this is not the reason why many of us do not work in a high performance team.

The evolution of what we do continues

In the past five to six years I have delivered 100’s of days training. Now, I have found myself questioning – what is training? Traditionally, it is when a group of people sit in a room to learn a skillset that will help them do better in their work. Simple enough, and today this would still be close to many people’s opinion. But there is this new invention called Google. And following Google, there is a host of specialist Apps people use on their minicomputers they carry around in their pockets.

The small details and the signals they send

Fine dining. An industry full of big personalities, big talent, and elegantly interwoven stories. I can’t say that I have much experience dining in such places, but occasionally I am fortunate enough to enjoy beautifully prepared food in lovely places.

The first step in leading

You’ve just been promoted. You’ve obviously done well and got some runs on the board. You’ve got talent, charisma, and presence. Or maybe you are like me – pure hard graft.

Owning our own magnetism

I stand at six-foot-three-inches and find it hard to stretch out. There is never enough room! Given my back problems, I like to get down on the carpet when relaxing in front of the TV in the evening to do a range of stretches. But since we moved house recently, the configuration of our furniture hasn’t allowed this.

How a lot of sweat creates more sweat

On Sunday, my wife and I treated ourselves to a “date-lunch”. We chose a nice restaurant we had been eyeing off for a while, booked it up, and were looking forward to a wonderful afternoon together. It ended up being… okay. In fact, it was a little worse than okay as we were looking forward to it so much.

The default setting hurting progress

Recently I watched the documentary, Collingwood: From the inside out. It told the story of the AFL team’s recent journey under the coaching regime of Nathan Buckley. It depicts a club that has operated with a Siege Mentality for generations. A club that revels in the fact that “everyone hates us”. The club promotes Buckley, one of it’s favourite sons to the top job. What ensues is a tale of deepening decline as results get worse and worse over a few years while the morale of the squad nose dives.

Naughty kids don’t belong in the naughty corner

When I say Nick Kyrios, you probably want to stop reading. I know I have been judgemental of his behaviour at times myself. I have written previously on why he gets too much ‘column space’ in the newspapers for his poor behaviour. Sometimes, he has simply acted like a jerk!

The most important often get forgotten

This week the English Premier League (EPL) will begin its new season. This is a twenty-team competition where each team will play 38 matches. One of the title contenders, Liverpool, will not only battle it out to win the EPL – they will be competing for seven different trophies. This includes all sorts of world and inter-national cups as well as local ones. The schedule for most teams will be hectic.

Recognising the common denominator we can all tap into

Overnight, The Ashes (the biggest series in world cricket) will begin between England and Australia. As this series is being played in England, there will be a barrage of hostility thrown at the Australian team. This is standard, but this time it will have extra sharpness as Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft take the field after coming back from suspension due to their involvement in Sandpapergate Scandal that took place in South Africa in 2018.

Energising ourselves and our customers in the darkest time of the year

This week in the golfing world, we saw Shane Lowry win The Open in Northern Ireland. This is one of the most prestigious and important golf tournaments in the calendar year. Lowry, from the Republic of Ireland was cheered and celebrated by the locals as he maintained his lead during shocking weather while his rivals capitulated in the high winds, rain, and generally miserable conditions.

The wrong question we ask ourselves

I think it is frustration. There is a bit of anger, amazement, and a pinch of bewilderment. You know that moment, when you finish up an appointment with a client and you feel like you are more invested in their business than they are?

What the relationship really looks like

How many more times does this have to happen? You travel to see a client and they stiff ya! They bump you or give you five minutes instead of the agreed thirty. It can be frustrating, disrespectful, and simply bad for business. This also happens with internal customers across departments. It happens daily in shops, cafes, and all sorts of events.

Clarity and acceleration are on the other side

Competing priorities are a part of our lives. Time pressure from “other’s emergencies” seems to be a constant. Complexity of our working lives is increasing and does not look like stopping.

The practical approach to steep objectives

Growing up in the 90’s in the Adelaide Hills the rest of the world felt a long way away. New discoveries, geniuses, and game changing break throughs seemed to always happen in exotic places a long way away. Nothing of gravity seemed to come from anywhere near me. Layer with this the apathy that came with being a teenager during the Grunge movement and the result was an attitude of impossible.

The balance between safety and Orwellian dystopia

One of life’s joys in my world is going to watch live sport. I loved playing and intend to enjoy swinging a golf club for decades to come, but watching elite sport is special to me. In fact, I get a little angsty if I go too long without it. I love how I can be watching a sporting event anywhere in the world and turn a stranger next to me and discuss a topic on hand freely with complete openness and connection. Its great fun!