Moment #117 // Short-term focus is one of the biggest problems in business today. And it’s also one of the most intractable. In this moment, we explain why companies that don’t balance the short-term and long-term implications of their decisions often end up destroying incalculable value… If you want to take a deeper dive into how you can avoid making decisions that deliver today’s results at the expense of long-term value, have a listen to Ep.246: The Curse of Short-Term Focus . ———————— 🔥 1,8...
Apr 20, 2025•5 min
Leading a team in a unionised business is different. It’s hard enough to lead when you have direct line of sight to your people, but when there’s a third party running interference between you, it can be super tricky. I had the opportunity to work for a number of industrial businesses that had a heavy union influence, and I learned an incredible amount about leadership because of the inherent degree of difficulty. My goal in this episode is not to demonise or disparage the unions. But, no matter...
Apr 15, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 346
Moment #116 // Leadership power can be dangerous, if you use it thoughtlessly. But if you take the time to understand it, and use your power deliberately, rather than unconsciously, you will see a world of difference. If you want to take a deeper dive into how you can understand and develop your performance, have a listen to Ep.5: Using Power Wisely ———————— 🔥 1,800+ Leaders Are Already Inside… Why Aren’t You? 🔥 Get the unfair advantage with the No Bullsh!t Leadership Hub on Skool - 100% FREE....
Apr 13, 2025•5 min
Work-related mental health issues are on the rise - and this increase seems to be fuelled by an entitlement culture that’s holding many companies captive. Leading is becoming more and more complicated, as the separation between our work and personal lives is almost impossible to distinguish. We hear a lot about work-related anxiety, bullying, and harassment, and many well-intentioned leaders are being demonised as a result. But what happens when the shoe is on the other foot? When a team member ...
Apr 08, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 345
Moment #115 // Written communication in business is pretty poor, for the most part. People put countless hours into writing, and it may or may not surprise you to hear that most of it never gets read. If you start with the premise that most people don’t read what you write, it will liberate you to write less… and that’s better for everyone! If you want to take a deeper dive into how you can improve your written communication, have a listen to Ep.38: Communicating With Impact ———————— 🔥 1,800+ L...
Apr 06, 2025•5 min
In the high stakes world of Formula 1 motor racing, the difference between the fastest cars and the slowest cars can be measured in fractions of a second. What is it that separates the genuine contenders for world championship glory, from those that are destined to just make up the numbers on the starting grid? I came across a recent interview in Fortune Magazine with Zac Brown, the CEO of McLaren Racing: How a ‘no-blame’ work culture helped McLaren win its first major racing championship in mor...
Apr 01, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 344
Moment #114 // Although we like to create neat definitions for different leadership approaches, every individual has a different style. Any style can be effective, but some leadership behaviors are not negotiable, if you’re serious about performance. Once you’re exposed to these simple principles, you’ll realize how valuable it would be to take a leaf out of the strong leaders’ success playbook. If you want to take a deeper dive into how you can adapt your style to lift team performance, have a ...
Mar 30, 2025•5 min
I was preparing a resource for a group of CEOs who are currently in our Business Accelerator Program , and one part of the content jumped out at me— how do you improve your odds of bringing outstanding talent into your team? You’ve probably heard me say that high-performing teams start with high-performing individuals… and that is absolutely true . It’s almost impossible to take a team of mediocre people, and try to drag them kicking and screaming to high performance. It would be like me lining ...
Mar 25, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 343
Moment #113 // Many company strategies look good on face value, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re effective. There are many reasons for this, and in this Moment, I look at four of the more common ones. Once you see all the places where strategy can go wrong, you’ll understand why delivering value is sometimes so difficult. If you want to go deeper on how to improve execution by working on the highest-value work, have a listen to Ep.318: 5 Reasons Why Your Strategy Is Failing . ———————— �...
Mar 23, 2025•5 min
In this episode of No Bullsh!t Leadership , we’re tackling one of the biggest, most complex issues in the workplace - gender equality. Joining me for this discussion is Helen Conway , one of Australia’s foremost experts on the topic. With an impressive career spanning executive leadership, law, and corporate governance, Helen has spent decades driving change at the highest levels. She served as the CEO of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency , solidifying her reputation as a credible and influen...
Mar 18, 2025•40 min•Season 1Ep. 342
Moment #112 // Are Your Stakeholders Your Biggest Blind Spot? Too many leaders throw around the word stakeholders without actually knowing who they are or what they expect. And that’s a dangerous game. If you don’t have a strategy to manage them, you’ll get blindsided...fast. In Ep.290: Stakeholder Mastery , we break down exactly how to identify, manage, and get your diverse stakeholders onside, so you can lead with confidence (and avoid nasty surprises). 🎧 Tune in now and take control. ———————...
Mar 16, 2025•4 min
In this episode, I address a question from Virginie Hoareau , one of our dedicated listeners and Leadership Beyond the Theory alumna. Virginie asked if I could discuss the different stages of a business, and whether a different type of leadership is required for each. How critical is it to match a leader’s style to a business phase? And can any leader be successful in any stage of an organization’s lifecycle? Even though I often talk about different leadership styles, and how they affect your ab...
Mar 11, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 341
Moment #111 // There are many schools of thought on which competencies are most useful to help you achieve your career ambitions. So, which key areas should you focus on, in order to build the bulletproof competencies that underpin a stellar career? In this Moment, I give you a strategic map of the playing field, which you can then use to focus your professional development efforts at any point of your journey. If you want to go deeper on how to build a bulletproof foundation of career skills, h...
Mar 09, 2025•5 min
Every day, you’ll find countless opportunities to get distracted, which could potentially compromise your ability to deliver on the main game. Many years ago, when I was CIO of an insurance company, I used a simple but powerful mantra: whenever someone came up with a bright idea that would potentially add a task to our work program, I brought some perspective by asking the simple question: “ Will it make the boat go faster? ” Of course, that expression’s not original, and I begin the episode by ...
Mar 04, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 340
Moment #110 // We talk a lot about resilience. These days, just mustering the capacity to cope with the pressures of everyday life is difficult. For leaders though, the challenge is even tougher. You not only need to manage your own physical and mental state – you also have to model self-mastery for your team. In this moment, I give you a couple of high-value hacks to develop Grace Under Pressure, so that you can become completely unflappable! If you want to go deeper on how to build unshakeable...
Mar 02, 2025•5 min
I’m often asked, “ Marty, how did you manage your career to get to where you are today? ” Like everyone else, I had to start at the bottom and work my way up. My journey isn’t particularly remarkable but, like your path, it’s absolutely unique. In my usual No Bullsh!t style, I dedicate this episode to giving you a warts-and-all look behind the glossy headlines of my career – the stuff that podcast interviewers don’t typically ask. I want to give you inspiration and hope: even if your career isn’...
Feb 25, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 339
Moment #109 // One of the most important principles of great leadership is to let go of perfectionism, and instead drive towards excellence… it’s the ultimate application of the 80/20 rule! This implies that failure will be an integral part of your career, so it’s important to work out how to accept failure, without allowing it to dent your confidence. If you want to go deeper on how to use your biggest mistakes to your advantage, have a listen to Ep.301: Bouncing Back From Major Failures . ————...
Feb 23, 2025•5 min
Many leaders find it difficult to keep up with the pace of change. And you may be feeling as though that the world is changing faster than it ever has… If you pay attention to mainstream leadership theory, you’ll often hear that, if you want to have any hope of keeping up in our rapidly evolving world, you need to change the way you lead. But, do you? The more I see, the more I’m convinced that the fundamental principles of leadership are timeless. Sometimes, though, it’s hard not to get distrac...
Feb 18, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 338
Moment #108 // We often kid ourselves that someone is a high performer when, in reality, they’re just good at one particular aspect of their job. How do you identify your true high performers? And how do you get the most out of them, once you know who they are? If you want to go deeper on how to lead high potential talent, have a listen to Ep.293: Leading High Performers . ———————— Get the insider edge with the No Bullsh!t Leadership Hub on Skool - completely FREE! Join like-minded leaders who l...
Feb 16, 2025•5 min
If you’re like most people, there’s probably a key area of leadership that you’ve been struggling with – or even worse, not struggling with, because you’ve decided to avoid it, and convinced yourself of all the reasons you didn’t need to do it in the first place! Success in anything relies on your ability to develop the habits and disciplines that enable you to perform at your best. And, often, the most difficult step is the very first. Breaking through the inertia, and pushing yourself to do so...
Feb 11, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 337
Moment #107 // As you rise through the ranks of your organization, you’ll see that your peers are really smart too… increasingly so, the higher up you go. At the top of virtually every organization, being really smart is the norm – it’s no longer the differentiator that it might have been at lower levels. So how do you differentiate yourself? By delivering superior results that they can’t ignore! If you want to go deeper on how to stand out in a sea of competent people, have a listen to Ep.28: Y...
Feb 09, 2025•4 min
Last week, we produced a BUMPER episode on the pros and cons of an MBA qualification. I even gave you a framework to help you evaluate whether an MBA is right for you, at this particular point in your career. In this episode, I go a step further, as I take a look at the overabundance of leadership development options that you might choose (or your company might choose for you). How do you navigate the maze of leadership development options? It’s important to consider your Return on Investment (R...
Feb 04, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 336
Moment #106 // Most people would rather resign than raise issues with their boss…but before you push the big red button, it might be helpful to think about how you improve your relationship with your boss by giving them feedback. Giving feedback to the people below you is hard enough, but giving it to your boss can be downright intimidating! How do you earn the trust and respect of your boss, so that you’re able to give them feedback, and improve your outlook in your current role? If you want to...
Feb 02, 2025•5 min
If you’re considering the possibility of studying an MBA – or even if you have an MBA and want to work out how to maximize its value – this episode is your ultimate guide. We’ve developed a structured framework to guide your decision-making process, and determine whether it’s worth investing the time, money, and energy into pursuing an MBA. For many decades, the MBA has been the business leader’s qualification of choice. Things may be changing, though. These days, the knowledge that an MBA would...
Jan 28, 2025•26 min•Season 1Ep. 335
Moment #105 // With ready access to mountains of information, decision-making processes in many companies have become more and more about data analytics. But some of the things that should influence your decisions defy accurate measurement. Just because something isn’t quantifiable or measurable doesn’t necessarily mean you should ignore it. Judgment and experience play a part in all great decisions. If you want to go deeper on how to make your gut feel work for you, have a listen to Ep.112: Is ...
Jan 26, 2025•5 min
Performance management gets a bad rap these days. There’s a school of thought that formal performance management processes do more harm than good. And in the hands of an inept leader working in a poor culture, that’s probably true. But I’m a huge believer in the power of 1:1 meetings and, even though formal performance meetings are just one example, some leaders use the trend against performance management as an excuse for not conducting 1:1 meetings at all. There’s a host of compelling reasons ...
Jan 21, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 334
Moment #104 // Conventional wisdom tells us that “ happy workers are productive workers ”... but short-term, sugar-hits of happiness don’t lead to high performance! Team morale is elusive, and you don’t build it by being overly protective, or by mollycoddling your people. You build it by giving them an environment where they’re expected to stretch, grow, and achieve. This builds individual self esteem, and genuine long-term satisfaction… it’s also the foundation of high team morale and superior ...
Jan 19, 2025•5 min
For the last four years, we’ve run the Crush Your Career Challenge with thousands of ambitious leaders, who’ve not only set bold career goals but actually achieved them. The challenge isn’t just about planning, it’s about results. This year, we’re taking it to a whole new level. You’ll be joining over 1,000 other No Bullsh!t Leaders, all working towards their goals alongside me and Em, inside The No Bullsh!t Leadership Hub . Imagine the energy, the momentum, and the massive accountability boost ...
Jan 14, 2025•7 min•Season 1Ep. 333
Moment #103 // Virtually every company has natural tensions built into its DNA, and these tensions can deliver incredible value – if you know how to manage them ! Robust discussions and strong accountability are key to unlocking this rich source of value. It takes strong leadership to capture the upside of the tensions in your team, rather than just following the path of least resistance, and squandering the potential… If you want to go deeper on how to turn conflict into constructive tension, h...
Jan 13, 2025•4 min
Many leaders struggle every day with oppressive workloads and long hours. We all have busy periods – it comes with the territory – but if this pattern persists for more than a few months, that’s not just a busy period… that’s the way you live! To regain control of your time, you need to fundamentally shift the way you think about your leadership role. Over the course of many years, I was able to develop what eventually became my No Bullsh!t Leader’s Time Mastery System . Long before it had the c...
Jan 07, 2025•16 min•Season 1Ep. 332
