A chosen path to respect

Can you think of anything more insulting than being called 'incompetent'?

It is a brutal term. When regarding one's profession it would be nothing short of offensive to most of us. Yet, competence may need a reframe when it comes to our modern workplace teams and leadership.

Unfold performance by stepping back

When I was a sales rep, a friend of mine graduated into a regional management position before I did. He was a charming fellow and generally did quite well. At a conference we were having a drink and chatting away about the brand, how each of us are going and some things we had in the pipeline. At one point we discussed the mountain of emails we have to wade through and even more so for him. I asked how he gets through it all. His response stayed with me. He said, "I have found that if I give problems enough time they take care of themselves".

Unfold performance by stepping back

When I was a sales rep, a friend of mine graduated into a regional management position before I did. He was a charming fellow and generally did quite well. At a conference we were having a drink and chatting away about the brand, how each of us are going and some things we had in the pipeline. At one point we discussed the mountain of emails we have to wade through and even more so for him. I asked how he gets through it all. His response stayed with me. He said, "I have found that if I give problems enough time they take care of themselves".

Grounding the team with pure attention.

It can be waring. Being the person called in to clean up the mess. The one to sort out problems. To make good of the messy.

Getting caught sleeping behind the wheel

What is the best movie of all time? The most common answer is The Shawshank Redemption, which IMDb publishes as it's number one. But, I think there are three or four others in the mix. One of my faves is another American movie full of fun, is fast paced and has big characters. Its also based on a true story (which I always love). The Big Short, describes the events leading to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC, 2007-2008) in the USA through the eyes of the few whom saw it coming.

Brewing resentment and revolving doors

What is the one thing a baby is interested in? Predominantly food. This is the simple idea that drove us to believe people are motivated by individual needs such as food, shelter, money, and sex. The motto of 'give me what I want and I'll be happy' still rings true today. But in the 1960's when researcher Harry Harlow took a baby monkey and gave it the option of two 'fake mothers' the results opened another theory.

The Antagonist of Team Culture

Push... Push... Push...

It may sound like the final stages of child birth. But it is also the incessant unrelenting mentality of sales. In my years of sales and sales management the mentality to push for every sale you can get was relentless. As I graduated through the ranks of business I realised this is not unique to a sales environment. Project Managers need to push to hit seemingly endless deadlines.

Driving Exasperation And Needless Panic

I am in Year 2 or 3 at my local primary school in the Adelaide Hills and our teacher, Mrs Ward brings out these stacks of cards. They are organised in categories from easy challenges to difficult challenges. I don't remember if there were five stacks or ten, but the idea was each card had a challenge on it to test comprehension. We were going to work on this exercise individually for a few hours a day for the school term. Everyone was to start with the easiest challenge, and at their own pace, were to graduate to harder and harder challenges.

From destructive conflict to resolution

Many years ago I attended a company conference where the key note speaker was Jim Steele. He was memorable because lets face it, what a name! But, he was also a great storyteller and took the whole room through some inspiring content around mindset. One story he shared was the idea of below-the-line and above-the-line thinking. The idea goes that when we are 'below the line' we tend to cop out or cover up. We use phrases like...

The art of un-interjecting

How do you know who the most powerful and influential person is in a discussion? I would love to know what people's instinctual answer is to this. What are the key factors? What are the signals? What are the indications?

The feedback craving in a disconnected environment

Almost 100% of professional conversations include some form of feedback. High performers crave validation, low performers need guidance, and leaders consistently require perspectives and insights for good decision making. But, if we dig deeper, there is a finer level of feedback we rely on in our daily lives. The micro expressions and real time feedback we give/get when we enter a room, have a conversation, or attend a meeting occurs innately everyday.

"Hey Paul, do you know anyone good?"

This is the most asked question I've had over the last 15 years. Finding good people is difficult. Keeping them is no easy either. In a McKinsey study, 82% of companies felt they recruited poor talent, and only 7% thought they were able to keep their best! (McKinsey, 2017)

Not knowing undermines our position

"I am a fast learner"

The words you'll never hear me say.

It took me a while to figure it out (🤔), but in general it takes me longer than most to learn stuff. It is one of the main reasons why I wasn't great at school and why I was a slow burn on the sporting field.

Turning theory into outcomes

My heart is beating, fist and jaw clenched, with shallow breathe and a red mist in my eyes so dense it is almost literal. It has taken decades of learning, practice, reflection, and experience to instill methods to tame feelings of anger and rage over my journey. Yet, on this particular day last week I was fuming. A culmination of events led to this feeling, and I know all too well what the cascade looks like.

Leading towards extinction

As I sit in my home office writing this article, my wife, and next door neighbours on both sides are all doing the same. Not writing an article! They are working from home (WFH). In different industries, capacities, and environments. Statistically, approximately 41% of you reading this article will be too (ABS, 2021). The blended workforce is now a firm part of our current reality and it will be fascinating to see how this unfolds in the coming decade.

The art of not understanding

Every day brings mystery, jeopardy, and surprises. Anyone that has been in business for more than a decade would know that these are the elements we try and reduce. Forecasting, predictability, and steadiness have tremendous equity in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world. From this acronyms start taking over our world.... KRA's (Key Results Areas), KPI's (Key Performance Indicators), SWOT Analysis (Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat), and so on...

The subtext behind leadership behaviours

What is the point of a captain? How much influence do they have anyway?

In different sports there is a debate over the relevance of a team's captain. When done right, I feel they are the linchpin holding all other factors together. Much like a Project Manager, Team Leader, or Manager of any team in our organisations.

Finding the better metric

There is one thing men in their 40's tend to do. When we catch up with each other our conversations will touch on one subject almost without fail - our health regime. We'll share our latest finding or practice when it comes to food, drink, fitness, or mindfulness. Usually this is driven by the realisation that we are not bulletproof and our bodies are creaking and cracking more than we'd like to admit.

Our default interpretation

As a guest at the SA Budget Briefing Breakfast held at the Adelaide Oval last week, I joined a room of investors and financial experts for the enthusiastic and passionate presentation by Michael Wood, the Head of Institutional Research & Asset Allocation for Ord Minnett. It was a fascinating and insightful look at the Australian Federal Budget (released the night before). In a side discussion I spoke with Alex (the financial planner hosting our table) about the talk and the role he and his team play in the game of personal and private investment.

Where positive intention turns to red mist

"I am not where I should be"

"I should be better than what I am"

"I should be so much further ahead, but I am behind"