Episode #78 // In our quest to build harmonious teams where everyone works together and collaborates for the common good of the organisation, we sometimes forget how important it is to foster the natural and constructive tensions that are ever present in business. Having said that, we don’t want the pendulum to swing too far the other way. So what is the right amount of constructive tension to build into your team? This episode examines how leaders can strike the balance between constructive ten...
Feb 25, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 78
Episode #77 // A lot of people spend a lot of time talking about resilience. Interestingly, real resilience can be difficult to acquire for an individual, and even harder for a leader to build it into a team. This episode focuses on creating the right culture in your team to build the resilience that will enable it to handle any eventuality. What is it that builds resilience for an individual, so that they can roll with the punches in both their careers and their lives? Why is avoidance the grea...
Feb 18, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Episode #76 // There are lots of different ownership structures that we come across in the world of business, and family owned businesses are extremely common. Some of these are relatively small, and some are massive enterprises. One of our listeners, Owen asked "Do you have any advice for a CEO going into a family-run company?" This episode touches on the different dynamics that can exist under the various ownership structures, and how they can affect the management team. If you, like Owen, are...
Feb 11, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Episode #75 // This episode shifts a little from the leadership, culture, and human performance elements of business, to a technique-based expose on negotiation. Negotiation is one of the elements of business (and life) that is fundamental to your ultimate success. After a barrage of listener requests, I’m finally relenting to uncover the core skills required to be a great negotiator! In this episode, we uncover the critical elements of negotiation, and recommend some sources to help you develop...
Feb 04, 2020•21 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Episode #74 // Middle management roles are sometimes the toughest of any role in an organisation. However, if you have the right mindset and perspective, it is also the place where your leadership career is forged. If you have already passed through middle management ranks, this is an opportunity to once again put yourself in a middle managers’ shoes. If you are living the middle management dream right now, I have some tips that will hopefully help you to navigate the choppy waters ahead. In thi...
Jan 28, 2020•20 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Episode #73 // How do you stop people from mindlessly carrying out non-value adding activity for its own sake? This problem is extremely common, and addressing it can be incredibly challenging. As a leader, you will most likely need to do more than just work with your people on an individual basis. You will actually need to cut through your organisation’s well established cultural norms. But busy work is hard to see, hard to challenge, and hard to replace with higher value work. In this episode,...
Jan 21, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 73
Episode #72 // This week we take on one of the biggest, most complex topics in society and business today - climate change. With bushfires ravaging Australia on the back of one of the longest droughts in our history, the evidence for climate change is mounting. So too is the awareness and anger of the Australian people. This has driven media commentators, celebrities, and politicians alike to decry the sorry state of the planet. The vast majority of these are looking for someone to blame. Howeve...
Jan 14, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Episode #71 // Thinking about how to transition to a new company or industry when you don’t have the technical expertise? For all our listeners who are changing roles (company, industry, or job function), this episode addresses some of the key challenges. We look at the role of diversity and inclusion, how to recognise and leverage your generic skillset, and why your technical expertise becomes less critical as you move up the ladder. I also give you a guided tour of my multiple successful caree...
Jan 07, 2020•17 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Episode #70 // Happy New Year everyone! Today we take a step back to think about what we need to do to make 2020 our best year yet! Now is the time to press pause, and work out what you're actually going to do in the next 12 months. Since we started this podcast, I've had a lot of people ask me about my rituals and habits as a CEO. How did I set myself up for success at the start of each year? What are the exact tools and strategies that I use to stay on track? So to help you nail your goals thi...
Dec 31, 2019•6 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Episode #69 // As 2019 draws to a close, Em and I thought we’d take a look back on the year of podcasts, and pick out our favourites for you to go back and listen to while you are enjoying some downtime in the New Year. Leaders, don’t just stay inside and eat pies this Christmas (and you’ll need to listen to the episode to work out what I mean)… Take a little time to improve yourselves, and get into some of these episodes from our back catalogue that we think are the pick of the bunch. All the l...
Dec 24, 2019•19 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Episode #68 // Strong leadership is rare, but incredibly valuable to people and organisations. Unfortunately, with the amount of superficial, feel-good leadership content being peddled these days, you could be forgiven for thinking quite the opposite. For many, leadership has deteriorated into a quest to ‘make people happy’. Many leaders then begin to believe their own bullish!t. They misinterpret superficial contentment as productivity, and limited achievement in an undemanding environment as h...
Dec 17, 2019•18 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Episode #67 // The reality of life in modern organisations is that resource constraints are ever present. For this reason we have to make choices, but we typically aren’t good at this. We simply try to do way too much. And if we DO manage to get good at it, there is often a Nike boss above us who says “Just do it”. The type of boss who doesn’t want to listen to why something can’t be done. Excellence in performance is generally underpinned by a philosophy of simplicity and focus. Don’t try to do...
Dec 10, 2019•17 min•Season 1Ep. 67
Episode #66 // It is almost expected that when you take on a new role, you are going to find ways to do things differently, and improve the team you have. Enter the “change program”. It is easy to get caught up in the hype… Consultants running around everywhere telling you what needs to be done, people drowning in PowerPoint decks that explain the change, and a whole facade of indicators to prove that what you are doing is working. But how do you know if you are really getting traction? Often we...
Dec 03, 2019•18 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Episode #65 // As leaders, we often feel as though it is our obligation to ensure that everyone in our team is happy, motivated, and succeeding. Although that would be nice, it is also incredibly unrealistic. This episode explores the line between accountabilities for the leader and their people (many of whom may also be leaders, of course). How far does your obligation extend to help someone change? And how much rope should you give them if they are clearly not turning the corner? We get really...
Nov 26, 2019•20 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Episode #64 // Restructures in large organisations are commonplace, and quite often imply that the organisation is seeking greater efficiency, which results in a number of roles being made redundant. These decisions, from the front line perspective, may seem to lack rationality and create a lot of angst, as sometimes very good people are moved on. How do you handle this emotionally and psychologically if you are caught in the firing line and, in your role as a leader, how can you help to make a ...
Nov 19, 2019•18 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Episode #63 // Sometimes we focus so much on developing our own leadership style that we forget to read the play. One of the most useful leadership models that I have encountered is Situational Leadership Theory. It basically states that, since every individual is different, and they often find themselves in different situations, the style of the leader should vary according to this in order to optimise results. In this episode we look at when it is appropriate to push harder, when it is appropr...
Nov 12, 2019•17 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Episode #62 // In today's episode, Em and I are chatting through two really great listener questions! The first question we tackle is from Alison, who asked: “ I’d be interested in a topic covering how to lead and influence people that are smarter than you! How do you keep them engaged and motivated without being permissive?" We all know that hiring people who are smarter than us is actually the object of the exercise, but being smart isn't everything, it’s just a really good start! The second q...
Nov 05, 2019•15 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Episode #61 // As leaders, we are often cast in situations where we have to say “no” to people. In this episode I give you some practical techniques for having the confidence to say “no” to virtually anyone - your team, customers, suppliers, and peers. I’ll even touch on how to say “no” to your boss without risking the relationship, or making her or him feel as though you are being insubordinate. Understanding how to say “no” without feeling as though you have let the other person down, and with...
Oct 29, 2019•18 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Episode #60 // Leading when you don’t have physical proximity to your people can be tricky. The good news is that doing this well is no different from leading any team well. However, any cracks in your leadership will be more obvious in this scenario. In this episode I explore the nuances of leading remote teams (or remote employees, as flexible working arrangements become more prevalent). I'll talk about why world leading safety organisation, DuPont, always put one of their own leaders into a n...
Oct 22, 2019•19 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Episode #59 // Great leaders are great communicators - and for the most part, they are also excellent presenters. Although it has never been easier to put together a great presentation to win over and influence an audience, many leaders still miss the mark. You don’t want to be the presenter whose audience has only one thought: “ How do I get out of this room? ". In this episode, we explore why presentations are so often excruciatingly painful to sit through, and how to avoid the common pitfalls...
Oct 15, 2019•18 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Episode #58 // This week, Em and I take on a few great questions that appear to keep coming up regularly for our listeners! (0:55) The first question we tackle is from Stephanie, who is about to inherit a team member that is known company wide as an under performer (and quite frankly, pisses a lot of people off!), but her boss really likes this team member and doesn’t seem to see her faults. We help Stephanie work out what to do and how to manage both the under performer AND her boss. (6:35) Sec...
Oct 08, 2019•20 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Episode #57 // I often talk about the hard work of leadership as being the process of challenging, coaching and confronting your people. I had quite a few questions from our last Leadership Beyond the Theory cohort asking to explore this in more depth, so this episode takes a closer look at how it works. If you want to learn how to set up each phase, and use this approach to get the best results possible from your people, you need to understand a few of the basic concepts in this framework. The ...
Oct 01, 2019•17 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Episode #56 // For a leader, trying to shift a culture, improve performance, or lift the standard of a team is fraught with danger. Ideally, everyone would recognise the necessity for change, the benefits to be gained, and the logic of the plan. They would then get behind you with their unequivocal support. In reality, this is not how the world works. So what do you do when the change management frameworks and theories cease to work, due to the entrenched change resistance of a handful of your p...
Sep 24, 2019•18 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Episode #55 // We often take for granted that when people join our team, they will intuitively know what to do, and will seamlessly assimilate into the culture, becoming productive almost immediately. This, of course, builds on the burgeoning love affair that developed during the recruitment and selection process. And then, reality sets in… This week we take a look at some of the myths around bringing new people on board, and talk about the psychological contract you have with your people. How d...
Sep 17, 2019•18 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Episode #54 // There are many different types and structures (and levels of involvement) of boards but there are also some universal rules of thumb that should help you to work with your board, no matter what type it is. In this episode we explore the differences and the common elements of boards, and I’ll let you in on a little known secret. Of course, we have practical tips for how to manage the board, which are available for download at www.yourceomentor.com/episode54 . If you are a CEO or ex...
Sep 10, 2019•18 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Episode #53 // The focus on collaboration in large organisations remains as trendy now as it was 10 years ago. By that measure at least, it has become one of the longer standing “fads” to come out in the last few decades. This wouldn’t have happened unless there was something to it. Collaboration has the potential to unlock value by harnessing diversity and innovation, bringing together people with differing views and perspectives, and overcoming groupthink. But despite these positives, collabor...
Sep 03, 2019•17 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Episode #52 // Today is our first birthday! Episode 52 marks one year of weekly No Bullsh!t Leadership podcasts. So Em and I wanted to take the opportunity this week to reflect on the year, and give our listeners a little insight into the origins of the podcast, and where we are taking it. In this episode we have an informal chat to expose some of the key decisions that led to the establishment of Your CEO Mentor, and the creation of the podcast. In lessons for any business, big or small, we tal...
Aug 27, 2019•19 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Episode #51 // Last week marked International Youth Day, so to celebrate we’ve put together this long-awaited episode on how to lead Millennials, a pretty common question from listeners. Marty was recently quoted in an article for The CEO Magazine ( Generations X and Y: leadership ready? ) written by Adam Courtenay), which explored the future of leadership when Millennials take the baton from the current generation of leaders. Millennials get a bad rap for lots of things, but they have some dist...
Aug 20, 2019•17 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Episode #50 // Many of you will have heard of “The Peter Principle”; the concept that every employee in a hierarchy rises to their level of incompetence. If you believe this, then anyone who has been in the same role for an extended period of time is, by definition , incompetent. We look at the Peter Principle, take a recent perspective from The Economist called “Bartleby’s Curse”, and blend it all with Elliott Jaques’ stratum theory, to arrive at a “ No Bullsh!t Leadership ” view of career ambi...
Aug 13, 2019•17 min•Season 1Ep. 50
Episode #49 // When a new boss comes into an organisation and identifies that there is a need to make major changes, should she listen to her people, or push ahead regardless? Changing fundamentals like the organisational values can be tricky, but sometimes necessary. The so-called ‘ Captain’s Call’ is used to at least some extent by all leaders, with varying degrees of success. This episode explores the question from one of our listeners Greg: when is it OK to make a decision without the suppor...
Aug 06, 2019•16 min•Season 1Ep. 49
