As a business owner or people leader, your job is to make a change to the lives of your customers and clients. But what about making a change to your local community? Even the smallest changes can have the biggest impact, and can really boost your company’s success.In this episode we chat to Carrie Harris, president of Aspire Worldwide. Her team builds customised Give Back programs and teaches businesses how to increase their success using their resources to make a positive change, both near and...
Apr 16, 2019•24 min•Ep. 74
Does trust in business need to be difficult?In this episode, Richard Nedov shares his simple secrets to building successful relationships in business, based on trust, transparency, and leadership commitment. Richard is an experienced senior executive and director, with strong knowledge of the energy, renewables, and logistics industries, and a proven track record in business turnaround. He is currently a non-executive director and leadership consultant. He also works with Indigenous Land Corpora...
Apr 15, 2019•28 min•Ep. 73
When we talk about people leadership, we’re also talking about leading yourself through your career and in areas of influence.No one knows this better than Vicki Bryce, Engagement Advisor for Melbourne Water. Prior to that, she worked as Office Manager to the Managing Director, a position she held and redefined for four years. We think there’s a lot to learn from Vicki, when it comes to the role of the Executive Assistants and Office Managers.In this episode, we chat about the challenges of bein...
Apr 04, 2019•35 min•Ep. 72
One of our most popular downloads for people leaders is the High Performing Team Assessment Tool. We developed it to give managers a practical way to have open and honest discussions with their team. In this episode we chat to Jayden Cardinal, a user of the tool, about his experience. While it’s designed to help leaders better understand their team, he tells us it has just as many personal benefits for the individual too. Episode Highlights: A brief background of the High Performing Team Tool, w...
Mar 19, 2019•13 min•Ep. 70
When we do our Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) workshops with people, we’re often asked how team members can be the same type but be so different in so many areas, and vice versa.Not everything can be explained using the Myers-Briggs framework, but the answer is: they may have a different MBTI Step II result. There’s a lot of depth to the MBTI and that’s what we love about it. A lot of our people in our community have done Myers-Briggs Step I so we’re going to look at taking it to the next le...
Mar 07, 2019•18 min•Ep. 71
Do you have what it takes to be a good people leader? We’ve thought long and hard about what makes good leadership. We’ve narrowed it down to what we believe are the top three skills based on our experience working with people leaders over the years. They are feedback, coaching and delegation. In this episode, we discuss the models we use for each skill, and the benefits of each skill for you as a people leader, and your team. Episode Highlights: Top three skills - feedback, coaching and delegat...
Feb 13, 2019•22 min•Ep. 69
We all know what makes a good people leader, but have you ever thought about what people leaders might do that could hinder their leadership skillsGeoff McDonald, a speaker, author and prolific writer, speaks to us in this podcast about the common mistakes managers make too often. The journey for Geoff began with a degree in architecture. He has also owned his own website design business, a coaching business, and presented training programs. Nowadays, he concentrates on speaking at conferences a...
Jan 29, 2019•25 min•Ep. 68
As the year draws to a close, we’re reflecting on the strategies and habits of the most effective managers and people leaders we have come across.We’ve worked with hundreds of people over the last year, so we’ve gathered a lot of insights into the most effective management and leadership skills in action. Today we’re going to share these with you so you can be the best people leader. Episode highlights: Making your wellbeing a priority - develop habits that promote solid mental, emotional and ph...
Dec 21, 2018•15 min•Ep. 66
For some, being a perfectionist is seen as a good thing. For others, it’s a bad trait to have. We all have some understanding of what it means to be a perfectionist, but there’s more to it than meets the eye.Perfectionism is on our radar because we’re seeing a lot of it when it comes to people management and the impact it has on those with a tendency to strive for perfection and their ability to manage others.In this episode, we chat about what perfectionism actually means and what you can do to...
Nov 28, 2018•19 min•Ep. 65
We’re big believers in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and its benefits for the corporate world. But we also love using the Enneagram, and have done for over 20 years.A dynamic personality system, the Enneagram describes nine fundamentally different ways of operating in the world. It reveals how our patterns of attention and focus create our core beliefs, our preoccupations, our behaviours, and our personalities. While it’s not as widespread as Myers-Briggs, there are many benefits from d...
Nov 16, 2018•20 min•Ep. 64
This post is about one of the most impactful behavioural models we've come across in the last 18 years. It’s called ‘above the line and below the line’ where the line represents choice. We can choose to operate either above the line or below it. If it sounds simple, that’s because it is. But in its simplicity, lies its strength,One of the reasons this tool is so impactful is that it brings values to life in a tangible way. For the teams we’ve worked with, it’s absolutely galvanised the language ...
Nov 01, 2018•22 min•Ep. 63
We’ve been using the success wheel for many years, and every time we use it with a leadership client or team we get great feedback and they get great results. The beauty of this activity is that it’s ridiculously simple and yet super effective. In this post we’re going to share why and how we use the success wheel – and why it brings such successful results. Episode Highlights: What is the success wheel? The personal success wheel The team success wheel Success wheel for a leader Why is this too...
Oct 17, 2018•12 min•Ep. 62
At People Leaders, we’re always happy to hear from our readers and listeners. But today, we’re getting really interactive. If there are things you really want and you’re willing to try and make them happen, we want you to get in touch and tell us all about it. Why? Well, what we really want is to put all our knowledge and experience, tools and resources at your fingertips to help you get what you really want. There are just five simple steps to this process and, if you take us up on the offer, t...
Oct 04, 2018•9 min•Ep. 61
Many of our coaching clients ask us for book recommendations, especially about the leadership journey. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is probably the book that we recommend most often - and it’s one of our all-time favourites. It’s powerful, profound, and gives you a framework to operate at your best. So we thought we’d talk about what the Four Agreements are and give you some examples of how you can apply them in your teams, as a people leader, and even just in everyday life. Episode Hi...
Sep 18, 2018•17 min•Ep. 60
You may remember from recent pods and posts that we went on holiday to Vanuatu to do some business planning. Since we were discussing people and leadership, we thought we’d chat with a very special someone we met while we were there – Chief Sam. Chief Sam is an actual Chief of Futuna, a small island in the south of Vanuatu with around 300 people living across four villages. Because we’re always fascinated to learn how different types of leaders work, we were excited to hear all about his role as...
Sep 06, 2018•16 min•Ep. 59
In many of our workshops lately, energy, or rather the lack of it, has been a big issue. In this podcast, we share our top five energy boosting tips. They’re all super easy and there’s not a piece of gym equipment in sight! As a people leader, you really do need to be at your best if you're expecting the best from your team. And to be as effective as you can be, you need to be optimised mentally, physically, and emotionally. If you can get all of these areas humming along - or even just improve ...
Aug 22, 2018•10 min•Ep. 58
Today, as part of our leadership series, we’re sitting down with David Ryan, managing director of City West Water, a government owned retail water company, to hear his thoughts on leadership and running a large organisation. The background is that People Leaders ran a six-month leadership programme for David’s team at City West Water in Melbourne. Based on the feedback and the shift in behaviour we've seen, it’s been very successful. David explains:“Leadership is a journey of continuous improvem...
Aug 08, 2018•32 min•Ep. 57
The High Performing Team Assessment Tool (HPT) is one of our most downloaded resources. It’s so popular because it’s simple to use and benchmarks your team across eight critical areas, enabling you to easily measure improvements over time. At People Leaders, we’re also all about continuous improvement. That’s why we’ve revamped the HPT in line with feedback received and our own new learnings. In this podcast, we talk you through the tool and changes we’ve made to it, explaining why it’s so valua...
Jul 25, 2018•22 min•Ep. 56
We recently went on holiday with the extended family to Vanuatu and it was fascinating to observe how different we all were in our ways of being. For example, some of us were crazy organised with an agenda full of activities. Others were very present, focusing only on what was in front of them in that moment. Inspired by the family dynamics, we decided to look at personality types in this podcast because, as a people leader, understanding the different ways people perceive and organise informati...
Jul 04, 2018•20 min•Ep. 55
When we talk about diversity in the workplace, we usually think in terms of age and gender. But what about the important differences in personalities, communication styles and approaches? All too often, people don’t speak up at work because it doesn’t feel safe – and the consequences can be far reaching. In this podcast we look at the idea of ‘psychological safety’, and how we can create a framework that really honours the differences people bring to a team. Episode Highlight: Psychological safe...
Jun 20, 2018•14 min•Ep. 54
People talk about team meetings like they’re a dirty word, and it’s true that without the right preparation they can often feel like a waste of time and energy. Minds wander, focus is lost and before you know it your meeting has missed its mark. Episode Highlights: An effective meeting has a clear purpose Before calling a meeting, think about what you want to get out of it When you’re clear on the meeting’s purpose, don’t forget to share it with participants before the event An effective meeting...
Jun 03, 2018•14 min•Ep. 53
How to motivate my team? It’s a common but elusive question that many people leaders struggle with. Your team's drive and desire to perform well is key to their productivity and success. Yet the truth is, you can't really motivate people unless they want to do it themselves. So where does that leave you? In this podcast we discuss four focus areas to consider when thinking about how to motivate your team. Episode Highlights: The importance of asking yourself questions A motivated team starts wit...
May 23, 2018•11 min•Ep. 52
Today we’re sharing a simple yet powerful model we’ve been using to help our clients work through the process of change. It’s called the Awareness Acceptance Action Model, and it’s a framework or continuum with three stages. Moving through each stage will help you experience a different response in any given situation so that you can create real change. Episode Highlights: What is awareness? There can be no change without awareness Different ways to develop awareness How to accept who you are in...
May 03, 2018•11 min•Ep. 51
Recently, we’ve coached a number of people leaders who’ve received feedback from their upline managers around the importance of building their personal brand. We thought it would be interesting to talk about how to build your reputation from a perspective of building relationships. Episode Highlights: How to grow stronger relationships across your networks Stakeholder relationships Template activity Focus on relationships with real potential Remember that you can't be everyone's cup of tea Actio...
Apr 26, 2018•13 min•Ep. 50
When we think of a playbook, we think of a strategy or plan used in a team sport. In this podcast, we're talking about how you can create your own personal playbook. It's a useful tool that helps purposeful leaders focus their efforts when they’re going into or have come out of a project or task. It prompts you to address the who, what, where, when and how of your development. Episode Highlights: The importance of knowing your top three priorities It’s useful to know what your manager's top thre...
Apr 05, 2018•20 min•Ep. 49
If you’ve been following People Leaders a while, you’ll know we’re all about optimising your team’s performance and effectiveness. We like to explore ways in which we can help you, and we love hearing what leading-edge thinkers have to say. This week, we’re looking at the work of organisational health expert Patrick Lencioni and the ideas raised in his book ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team - A Leadership Fable’. Episode Highlights: The five basic dysfunctions that teams commonly struggle with Th...
Mar 28, 2018•13 min•Ep. 48
Values are at our very core. They guide our behaviour and what we stand for. But how often do we really focus on them? We recently re-read The Power of Full Engagement (see below for details), and it reconfirmed to us just how important values are. The message we’re sharing today in this post and podcast, is that living your values is the key to being your best self, and the route to higher performance and effectiveness. The Values Based Personal Development Plan is a seven step process that bec...
Mar 16, 2018•18 min•Ep. 47
Performance conversations are extremely important in your job as a manager. A fundamental part of your role is giving feedback to improve your teams’ effectiveness as well as helping each member develop their skills and career. In this podcast we're looking at the four broad performance categories: Underperformers, Average to good performers, High performers and High potential and the things you need to be mindful of when you’re discussing with your team members where they sit on the scale. We’v...
Mar 08, 2018•16 min•Ep. 46
These days a lot of people, particularly high performers and senior leaders, enjoy the benefits that coaching and mentoring provide. This podcast and post looks at a resource we offer our clients that delivers a framework to help mentors and coaches direct session discussions. Though you don’t have to follow it to the word, just having these questions in your back pocket, and following the structure loosely, gives you a pathway and will really help you make the most of your time together. Let’s ...
Mar 01, 2018•8 min•Ep. 45
At the beginning of the year, our clients all share a keen interest in putting their plans into place, identifying objectives and rolling out the strategic plan. One of the key steps in this strategic planning process is a stakeholder analysis. We're going to step you through a very simple - yet very effective - customer/stakeholder engagement plan. Episode Highlights: Who are your stakeholders? Identify individual external stakeholders Identify the stakeholder’s role Identify the stakeholder’s ...
Feb 19, 2018•12 min•Ep. 44
