Sometimes life throws you a curveball; something that knocks you for six, that makes you wonder whether life will ever be the same again… Exposure to traumatic events can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. (There's been quite a lot in the press about that lately). Several recent developments in the trauma field have led to significant changes in how PTSD is diagnosed and treated. Martin Seligman has done some significant work in this area and has found from his research that people who had ...
Nov 16, 2020•6 min•Ep. 29
Having Virtual or Remote staff is not a new concept. Many organisations have had teams working remotely for a very long time. But today, this is no longer just a trend, it’s a necessity! As a leader, it is vital you adapt quickly to this change and take advantage of its benefits… whilst mitigating its risks and challenges. When the topic of remote work comes up, it’s quite common for people to be doubtful about how to get it to work best, particularly those with newly remote workers. One of the ...
May 19, 2020•10 min•Ep. 28
Keeping up with the relentless pace of change is part of our world and organisational life today… and it’s not going to slow down any time soon. This fast pace can take its toll on everyone, so it makes good business sense to develop yourself and your people in a way which strengthens them from the inside out. This preview of a recent Great Managers MasterClass will strengthen you so that you don’t just cope with our fast-paced world, you FLOURISH! Flourishing is about wellbeing, heightened deve...
Dec 20, 2019•5 min•Ep. 27
Sometimes the hardest thing about managing people, particularly in relation to performance conversations and providing feedback, is dealing with defensiveness… the other person’s and your own! While defensiveness is a ‘normal’ human behaviour it can get in the way of our ability to communicate with others and achieve our desired outcome. It can feel like we’re going around in circles… or backwards even. It can be incredibly frustrating! However, if you know how to identify Defensiveness, underst...
Oct 30, 2019•6 min•Ep. 26
What tough decisions do you need to make right now at work or in your life? How are you going to make them? Every day, whether we like it or not, we have to make many decisions. We have to make choices that can impact ourselves, our organisations and others. Our choices have consequences. Self-knowledge is critical for making the right decisions. Some people know they are indecisive – they agonise about making decisions and can get paralysed in the grocery store due to the amount of choice. Othe...
Sep 03, 2019•4 min•Ep. 24
Starting from today, you can be significantly more effective as a manager by asking the right coaching questions to your team members. Great Coaching is one of the best ways in which leaders can increase the capacity and capability in their team, and help individuals and organisations reach their goals. Developing manager’s coaching skills has become even more important in these fast-paced times because organisations are increasingly calling on people to deliver more with fewer resources. In thi...
May 03, 2019•9 min•Ep. 23
Successful teams are not formed overnight, nor are they achieved in a seminar or weekend retreat. Teams that are pieced together with little planning, few resources, and little support are going to be high-maintenance rather than high-performing and will not result in any organisational advantage. Dysfunctional teams drain time, money and energy away from you, and your organisation. In this extract from a recent Great Managers MasterClass we look at: - The benefits of a High Performing Team - Pr...
Nov 02, 2018•4 min•Ep. 21
It’s likely that you, or someone you know has experienced grief and loss. Death, illness and challenging times are a part of life, but many of us are not equipped to communicate skilfully with others at these times, particularly in the workplace. Let’s face it, having conversations about death, tragedy, illness and challenging times are not easy or comfortable, but at some point, we’ll all face a situation when we’re going to need to do so. In this extract from a recent Great Managers MasterClas...
Aug 31, 2018•8 min•Ep. 22
Leadership is not a place for the timid. Leaders must summon their will to deal with a whole range of complexity and unknowns, and create workplaces that are motivating and safe for others, even in changing and turbulent times. They must summon their will to take risks, and face things the average person shies away from. Leadership requires Courage, in fact, it could even be described as Courage in Action . We know that a lack of Courage can derail a leader’s success. Courage is one of those big...
May 18, 2018•5 min•Ep. 20
Many people have great difficulty saying NO to others. Even people who are quite assertive, in some situations might find themselves saying yes to things that they really don't want to do! Listen to this MasterClass for 2 techniques to be more confident saying NO.
May 18, 2018•5 min•Ep. 18
The goal of Assertion Messages is to change behaviour which is intruding on or upsetting you. Learn these 3 key components of Assertion Messages and instantly become more Assertive as a leader.
Oct 17, 2017•4 min•Ep. 17
Perfectionism can lead to physical and emotional stress, both personally AND organisationally. If you want to move from the STRUGGLE of Perfectionism to STRIVING for excellence, here's how to disrupt your damaging thinking, language and behaviour patterns.
Jul 27, 2017•7 min•Ep. 16
How would you like a breathing technique that allows you to stay in positive performance mode, with the 'clever' part of your brain working for you, even under intense pressure?
Jun 09, 2017•7 min
The ABCDE Model is a method for building Optimism by recognising and disputing pessimistic thoughts. This model is a proven method of upgrading your Thinking System and if you practise it, will not only make you a more inspiring leader but will significantly improve your personal life too!
May 11, 2017•8 min
In our super busy world, it’s all too easy to focus on the next task at hand, rather than to stop and acknowledge what has been achieved. This MasterClass will give you a Winning Formula to avoid making that mistake!
Apr 10, 2017•5 min
Great Managers founder, Sandra Wood, conducted an interview with top Australian CEO who reveals her fundamental MUST-DO's for every successful leader. In this extract of the interview, Kim Anson shares these two invaluable tips.
Feb 08, 2017•4 min
This is the second in our 3-part "Building a Great Place to Work" culture series. In this MasterClass we are going to delve into the principles and “how to’s” of “Tribal Leadership” and how to use them to upgrade your team culture. Everybody loves an upgrade, right? A tribal leader is someone who: is actively upgrading the culture in their tribe. knows that culture is what makes the different and figures out their tribe's current culture. knows how to nudge their tribe from one stage to the next...
Nov 02, 2016•7 min
Improving your culture can deliver huge benefits to your business: • Financial – the better the culture and employee engagement the better the bottom line results • You’re more likely to attract and retain talented staff • Morale is higher – staff are more energetic & enthusiastic • Responsiveness to change is better • There is more co-operation and teamwork • Productivity is higher • Physical and emotional safety improves – there tends to be fewer workers compensation claims and less grieva...
Oct 05, 2016•4 min
Emotions play a big role in stress management. So, let's talk about the skill of emotional agility. Emotional agility is about knowing yourself and developing a greater level of control over your feelings and reactions. With greater emotional agility, you can maximise your confidence. You can turn negative emotions into positive thoughts, and respond resourcefully in a way that you may not even know that you're capable of right now, but you are. Emotional agility is one of the most valuable busi...
Sep 02, 2016•7 min
Performance conversations aren’t easy. They are probably one of the most challenging parts of your role as a manager. Our third and final installment of the Painless Performance Conversations series is a 6 Step Performance Conversation Model to build your tool kit of skills and put them into action.
Jul 20, 2016•8 min
Part two in our Painless Performance Conversations series is about taking your conversation skills to the next level... Self-awareness is your key to growth. You need to know your style when it comes to performance conversations and be honest with yourself. There are 2 very common patterns when it comes to performance conversations… AVOIDANCE & CONTROL. So are you an AVOIDER or a CONTROLLER? Tune in and find out!
Jul 15, 2016•4 min
We all know that quality conversations about work performance lead to better results; however, far too often, things like our emotions or procrastination and getting tongue-tied or talking too much, all of these things get in the way of us having the type of skillful conversation that we really want to have. The fact is that managers need to be able to discuss performance issues and behavioral issues with confidence. This MasterClass extract is about building your critical conversation toolkit s...
Jul 07, 2016•6 min
Communicating sincere appreciation and encouragement to your staff and colleagues is a powerful way to create a positive work environment. Appreciation can increase loyalty and engagement and that's the topic of our latest Great Managers MasterClass! In this Masterclass Extract Sandra will share the 5 ways to build appreciation that can help you empower and encourage your staff in the way that works best for them.
Apr 15, 2016•8 min
Learning about and building a Growth Mindset will increase your level of achievement, increase your self-esteem and confidence, improve your relationships and lower your risk of depression. Would you like any of those things? I know I would! Well in this MasterClass Extract Sandra will: Take you through the characteristics of the Growth Mindset and the Fixed Mindset Take you through a process to build your Growth Mindset stronger and how to make the move away from a Fixed mindset Give you some t...
Apr 12, 2016•9 min
Have you ever been in a situation where you feel like you just can’t get through to your boss? One of the key challenges facing many leaders today — at all levels — is how to influence people more senior than themselves, including their bosses and boards! Being able to get your point across and communicate persuasively with people in more senior positions is a critical workplace skill that you have to develop. Apart from making your job easier, Influencing Upwards has many benefits such as bette...
Jan 11, 2016•7 min
In our previous MasterClass Extract we discussed how to Break Bad Habits that can kill your career as a Manager. This month we’ll extend our discussion to the habits in your team. That’s right, this month’s Masterclass is all about “The ‘A Team’ Formula – Breaking Bad Habits That Are Killing Results For Your Team” where Sandra; Unlocks the shortcuts to get changes in behaviour Shows you how to apply a 3-Step-Formula to help your team break their Bad Habits and get them on the path to ‘A-Team’ re...
Nov 09, 2015•5 min
Now I know our Star Wars fans might disagree :), but did you know that BAD is stronger than GOOD? You might do 99% of your role fabulously but your habits, your bad ones, can dilute your efforts and kill your career/reputation. Have you ever worked with someone who had a bad habit that overrode their good efforts? I’m sure we have all encountered this. It’s easier for us to spot bad habits in others than in ourselves. People have puzzled over habits for centuries, but it is only in the past 2 de...
Nov 09, 2015•12 min
“Have you ever wished you knew a better way to motivate staff ? You’ve tried lots of different things but just cant seem to nail a sustainable system of motivation that creates an engaged, high performing workplace? Then its time to get crafty with RECOGNITION! This Month’s Masterclass is all about “How Great Managers use Recognition to Engage their People” where I will show you how to increase staff productivity in 60 seconds with these three simple steps!” Want 15++ creative ways to Recognise ...
Oct 29, 2015•5 min
Have you ever worked with a person who was always in a bad mood or negative? What impact did that have on you? Can you describe the impact it had on the rest of your team…..and what about the impact it had on your results? Emotions play a huge role in our daily lives and they are so infectious that it is CRITICAL that you understand the impact of Low “Emotional Tone” in your organisation and most importantly, what you can do about it! This Month’s Great Managers® Masterclass Extract focuses on m...
Sep 03, 2015•8 min
Inner strength is what you need to stay resilient and resourceful and to bounce back if you get knocked over. How many times have you wished you had more inner strength, willpower or self-discipline How many times have you lacked the persistence and inner stamina to follow through on your goals and decisions? How often do you ‘cave in’ on yourself and not do what you know you should? Most people are not born with inner strength, but it can be developed like any other skill. It is inspiring to kn...
Jun 11, 2015•9 min
