Over the weekend, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who is relatively new to people leadership. For quite a long period of time, he was an exceptional individual contributor for his organisation, was considered a ‘high potential future leader’, and hence was provided the opportunity to step up into a leadership role approximately 3 months ago. During our conversation, he was sharing with me that he was really struggling to have an impact within his team – it seemed that no matter what he tried, he could not get his team to deliver the results and outcomes he was looking for. He was constantly giving them instructions and direction, and yet the results were inconsistent. It was beginning to frustrate him, and it was certainly frustrating his team. As I was listening to him, I wondered about what he was actually doing on a daily basis, so I asked him the question – “John, what are you doing each day? How are you leading your team? You do know that your team is actually a reflection of you?”

This question came as quite a shock to John – he had been so focussed on trying to be the best leader he could possibly be, he thought he was doing the right thing by providing direction and instructions to his team. However, when he analysed his own routine, what he was Continue reading →

I absolutely love professional sport, especially Australian Rules Football – to see the finely tuned athletes apply their craft in arguably one of the world’s best stadiums, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, is a privilege. The way the players are able to combine as a team, to make the movement of the football seem effortless, to the point where the ball quite often does not hit the ground for minutes at a time, is sensational to watch. And in watching these professionals go about their work, we can sometimes sit back and ‘wish’ we were like them, to have their ability, and their precision with the skills and fitness. It is also somewhat easy to overlook the amount of work that these athletes have invested over time to reach that level of expertise, because we merely see the outcome or output of years of dedicated focus and application. Whilst these players started their professional career with ‘talent’, they have had to invest in and develop that talent constantly over time to earn the right and opportunity to play professional sport at the highest level. That investment has been a relentless and focussed approach to their daily activity. Their success did not develop and happen overnight – it was determined by their daily agenda, repeated over time. Continue reading →