Are you a leader who would love your team to be more proactive? I'm sure you're not alone! Having proactive team members is great because it reduces the "fire-fighting" reactive mentality that often builds up in our teams and workplaces. In this episode, I share some of my tips for cultivating a more proactive team, that you can try for yourself. They aren't rocket science, but you do need to be consistent to get results. Try them out and let me know what happens! If you like this episode, I'd b...
Jun 22, 2020•10 min
Stress is a common part of every workplace, and leaders experience it more than most. In one particularly stressful part of my leadership career, I started to notice myself getting more frustrated and upset at situations in my workplace. I decided that I wanted to make sure I was calm and composed and able to take on stressful work environments without flying off the handle. After receiving some advice from a senior colleague, I decided to give mindfulness exercises a try. Mindfulness takes a li...
Jun 15, 2020•11 min
Thoughtful leaders show empathy, are introspective, perceptive but they also push back when they need to. Contrary to popular belief, being a thoughtful leader is not all about being soft and fluffy when leading your team. Being a thoughtful leader doesn't mean you're a pushover or you don't stand up for yourself. Thoughtful leadership is all about intention. Thoughtful leaders (like you) think about how you are leading and the impact your leadership is having on the people around you. Listen to...
Jun 08, 2020•10 min
Team Motivation is an ongoing challenge for many leaders, because work isn't the only thing many team members want to be doing. Some team members are very motivated and career-focused, but I've found this isn't necessarily the norm. That doesn't mean we give up on the other team members. Leaders have a responsibility to try to bring out the best in their teams, and we can do this by working with our people and understanding their goals and aspirations. You can see the simple Team Motivation Mode...
Jun 01, 2020•12 min
If you feel like your team isn't operating as well as it could be, it might be that you aren't all pulling in the same direction. Confusion, frustration and conflict are often symptoms that people aren't on the same page. In other words, you need to get your team aligned so you're all speaking the same language. In this episode, I talk about some simple ways to make sure you and your team members are "singing from the same hymn sheet". In simple terms, we can do this by choosing a direction, set...
May 24, 2020•11 min
When you're trying to implement a change in your team, it can be tempting to just push it through. After all, you're the boss, right? Unfortunately this is the attitude taken by many organisations who fail to plan changes adequately and consider the different aspects of change. However, taking a "It's my way or the highway" approach can lead to long-term damage to your team and organisation as resentment grows for the leadership team. In this episode I cover some of the questions to consider whe...
May 17, 2020•13 min
In this episode, I answer some reader and listener questions that recently came through regarding how to manage a micromanaging boss and what happens when you fail to delegate. I'm sure these are applicable to many of you leaders out there so I thought this would be a good opportunity to give my guidance on these often trick situations! If you'd like to have the chance to have a question addressed in a future episode, simply sign up (for free) and post your query in the Thoughtful Leader forum !...
May 10, 2020•14 min
Effective leadership is all about getting your important work done while being able to support and improve your team at the same time. I have seen so many examples of wasted effort in my career and I feel that a focus on greater effectiveness is the solution. It's not all about money - when people are working on things that don't matter or doing boring manual work that could be done more easily, it is demotivating and soul-destroying. We don't want that in our teams, so in this episode we focus ...
May 03, 2020•10 min
Leadership can be uncomfortable, especially when you're worried that your team might not be able to deliver what you need. Unfortunately, some leaders start to resort to controlling leadership, where they get deep into the detail of every aspect and start to want to know everything that's happening, all of the time. Leaders in this situation might not delegate, instead trying to keep hold of the key aspects of the work for themselves. This controlling approach doesn't lead to a very good outcome...
Apr 26, 2020•14 min
Working "In the Grey" is a term used to describe a situation where we don't have all the answers. We might be embarking on a project that we've never tried before or trying to solve a problem we're just not that familiar with. This is a fairly common situation as the business landscape is changing rapidly, with technology advances giving rise to new forms of competition and disruption. The recent pandemic is another good example of working in the grey as many organisations suddenly needed to fin...
Apr 19, 2020•18 min
It's easy for leaders and their teams to become consumed with the day to day work, never finding the time to take a breath. There also seems to be a desire to fill up our entire schedule with work, leaving no room for downtime or working on other activities that will help our teams improve. However, when our teams are working flat out for 100% of the day, they are more likely to experience burnout, have less variety in their work and find no time to spend developing their own skills and careers....
Apr 13, 2020•9 min
We are all busy and have constraints on our time, but that doesn't mean that we need to be a victim of our circumstances. I hear it often - "I don't have time". What we're really saying is "That's not important right now". I'm asking all the leaders out there to change the narrative. We need to start taking back control and being intentional about where our focus lies, instead of hiding behind the "lack of time". We will always make time for the important things, so let's find out what they are,...
Apr 05, 2020•11 min
Often we dream of being "the boss" and having the authority to make any changes we like. The reality of our workplaces is much different. So much of leadership is about influencing and building rapport with your team and other managers, and formal authority really only gets you part of the way. Being the boss gets your team to listen to you, but they won't willingly follow your lead unless you build rapport, respect and credibility as well. In this episode I talk about formal authority and some ...
Mar 29, 2020•9 min
The working world has been changing over recent years, with more flexible working arrangements and the ability to work remotely. Some online software businesses already operate with an entirely remote workforce and without a head office! With the rise of the Coronavirus pandemic this year, we're now seeing a shift to remote working at a rapid rate. So in this episode, I talk about some of my tips and factors to consider when leading remote teams, so that you can stay productive and keep people i...
Mar 23, 2020•10 min
As leaders we need to be reinforcing the right behaviours in our teams. We do this by praising or rewarding people for good behaviour and making sure there are consequences for bad behaviours. Likewise, we need to be doing this for performance, too. This means it is really important for us to be aware of what good performance is, and what it isn't. Too often people are rewarded for showing superficial high performance. So in this episode, I cover some of the signs that might show that your peopl...
Mar 15, 2020•12 min
Middle Managers sometimes have a pretty tough role. They need to ensure their teams are performing well, while also pleasing their senior management and carrying out their direction. This can be really hard if you disagree with the direction coming from the top, because you need to balance "following orders" with maintaining respect and credibility in front of your team. In this episode, I discuss this tricky situation and talk about some potential options for how to move forward and get a posit...
Mar 08, 2020•14 min
Planning is an often underrated skill. The reason many people don't care about planning is because when you spend time planning, you don't feel like you're doing anything. When you've got a big project to do, it feels like you should be getting on and delivering things, rather than wasting time planning. However, there is a reason why people say "Measure twice, cut once" and "Failing to plan is planning to fail". In this episode, we cover the key benefits of planning, and why leaders should be d...
Mar 01, 2020•11 min
It's clear that there has been an increase in employee wellbeing programs in our workplaces in recent years. This is a positive step, because a focus on mental health is definitely required, especially where we spend much of our time - at work! However, I've also noticed that these programs will be introduced without the necessarily changes in behaviour that need to go with them. Everything else stays the same - the stress, deadlines and micromanagement. In this episode I discuss what is require...
Feb 25, 2020•14 min
I believe that Thoughtful Leaders (the ones who lead intentionally and think about the impact of their behaviour on their people) actually need to focus more on building confidence than other leaders. Why? Because Thoughtful Leaders like you have greater empathy for and awareness of the people around them, so they tend to notice the signs if things aren't quite right. And when your team is going through a tough time, highly empathic leaders can feel like turning back, when really they need to ke...
Feb 17, 2020•12 min
In this episode, I talk about the importance of consequences in the workplace. Sounds scary? It isn't really. Consequences don't have to be all bad, and it's not always about firing people or yelling at them. Sometimes all you need is to show the people in your team that you care, and you're watching. Listen to find out more about how positive and negative consequences can push and pull your people to higher levels of performance. Audiobook: If you would like some help improving the performance ...
Feb 09, 2020•9 min
In this episode, I look at some situations where leaders are actually hurting their teams... when they might actually think they are helping . Sometimes it can be a fine line between being a valuable leader who helps your team achieve better levels of performance, and just being overhead, actually causing greater problems for your team than you solve. Don't let this happen to you! Come and listen to some of the situations where I've seen leadership go bad, even with the best of intentions. Show ...
Feb 02, 2020•9 min
Trust is a huge factor in improving engagement and motivation in your teams. Imagine, your team members feeling like you believe in them ... wouldn't that be nice? In this episode, I talk about why trusting your people is not only a nice thing to do, it also gets better results and builds better relationships with your team members. In other words, you can't afford not to be doing it! And below is the 2 x 2 trust matrix which shows the possible outcomes of choosing to trust and believe in your t...
Jan 27, 2020•11 min
I'm a big believer that effective time management and productivity is one of the foundations of good leadership. Leaders who manage their time poorly have less time for their teams and are not able to focus effectively, resorting to constant fire-fighting. A lot of good productivity comes down to mindset and what you will accept. In this episode, I look at 4 common symptoms which may indicate you have a productivity problem which is hurting your team. Online Course: If you feel as if you could b...
Jan 20, 2020•14 min
In this episode, I share 5 leadership lessons from my career, with the hope that you can use some of them to help you in 2020 (or any year really...). But the new year is always a good time to take stock, give ourselves a kick and do things differently! Leave a comment below about the lessons, or simply comment on my new podcast graphic or the new intro music! Links: eBook: Difficult Conversations eBook . Online Course: Time Management For Leaders Online Course . Article: 5 Leadership Lessons Yo...
Jan 11, 2020•11 min
Difficult conversations are unavoidable in leadership if you want to be effective. These conversations could be about performance, behaviour or many other subjects. Without being able to have these conversations, you'll be stuck with conflicts and unmanaged expectations. In this episode, I introduce 3 questions that can help you to spur yourself into action to tackle that hard conversation. Let's face it, you probably already know you should be having the conversation... you just need some help ...
Jan 07, 2020•11 min
When it comes to retaining people, all you need to do is to stop them from leaving, right? No, not really. If all you do is try to keep people from leaving, it's not that hard. But then you run the risk of leading a team of people who are unhappy and unmotivated... but not unhappy enough to leave. I call this the motivation dead zone - you can see the zones pictured below. In this episode, we look at how to get people out of the Quitting Zone, through the Motivation Dead Zone and into the Satisf...
Dec 15, 2019•12 min
Passive leadership happens when leaders fail to take action, and it can be a huge problem for teams and workplaces. In this episode, I look at some key examples of passive leadership as well as ways that you can start taking action to avoid them. Passive leaders will make their teams feel like their situation is hopeless, so don't let this happen in your team! Resource: If you feel like you could benefit from greater leadership confidence to start taking the action you know you should be, sign u...
Dec 08, 2019•9 min
Leading a confident team has several important benefits. In this episode, I talk about these benefits and some of the simple things you can do to help grow the confidence of your team members and put your team in a better place. If you feel like you could benefit from greater leadership confidence or you are leading other managers who could use a boost, be sure to sign up for the Leadership Confidence Coaching Program from Thoughtful Leader. Links: Article: Why Building Team Confidence Should Be...
Dec 03, 2019•12 min
In this episode I talk about a question I received from someone asking advice about having an insecure boss. Many of us have bad bosses at one time or another, so it's an important question for both leaders and team members alike! I give my thoughts on what to do in this situation and how you can try to make a shift in your manager's behaviour by putting on your "scientist hat" and experimenting with different approaches. The original question was: "My manager is extremely insecure, and he has g...
Nov 24, 2019•8 min
When I have been the most stressed in my career, it was because I felt like I wasn't supported by my manager. We want to avoid this happening in your team, so in this episode, I cover 6 good ways that you can support your team to stop them from feeling exposed. Listen now and see whether you can do more to support your team, or whether you're on the right track. And leave a comment below with the things you do to support your team! Links: Article: 6 Great Ways to Support Your Team . Resource: Le...
Nov 16, 2019•8 min
