Australasian Leadership Institute Free Articles
I am a former Broker Sales Manager and an Operations Manager who is now working as a leadership coach, consultant and strategist across four key areas:
- Leadership of successful teams
- Optimisation of mental performance
- Leadership psychology
- High performing teams
Within these areas, I design, coach and facilitate bespoke leadership development programmes for individuals and teams including managers of all levels, directors, executives, professional athletes and aspiring leaders. My clients include the Delegates of the European Union, The Fred Hollows Foundation in Timor-Leste, the Fiji Sun newspaper, Lakes DHB, Kmart and Foodstuffs.
I am listed by Evan Carmichael as one of the top 100 leadership experts in the world to follow on Twitter.
When I design leadership programmes I draw from my twenty five years of managerial experience across a range of industries in the United Kingdom and here in New Zealand. I am accepted in the MBTI suite of tools and I am a professional member of NZAPT (New Zealand Association of Psychological Type) NZIM (New Zealand Institute of Management) and NZATD (New Zealand Association of Training & Development). I am a published author of two leadership books and I've had articles published in a range of magazines including Lifestyle for Men Magazine, M2, New Zealand Management Magazine as well as having a weekly business column with the Fiji Sun Newspaper. I am the current editor of Elite Leadership magazine.
If you want practical effective coaching and facilitation based on a foundation of modern leadership theories then get in touch via Twitter, the enquiry form below or call me direct on 021 354 831 (New Zealand)
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Since his first appearance in June 1938 Superman has been one of fictions most iconic characters. The story of Superman is an inspirational one and contains many useful lessons which can help us become better leaders in our own lives.Posted: Monday 1 May 2017 -
The leader of a team is not necessarily the person who has been given the title of leader. Within every team there is the official leader and the hidden or unofficial leader and both play very important roles in influencing the team in subtly different ways. Every team has a Supervisor or a Manager, a person who has been formally appointed as the leader of the team. This formal leader has the responsibility for the team and has the power to assign duties and reward good performance as well as punishing poor behaviour. This is our traditional view of a team's leader yet if we have a closer look at every team, we see another leader, one that wasn't officially appointed as such and may not even be aware that they are a leader. Sounds familiar? So who is this hidden leader?Posted: Thursday 13 April 2017 -
When I delivered a leadership workshop recently I was asked the question "What was the best demonstration of leadership you have ever seen in person?" My answer surprised some people because it's not from the world of business or politics, for me the best demonstration of leadership was at the Final of the 2011 Rugby World Cup when Richie McCaw the Captain of the All Blacks led his side to victory over France.Posted: Monday 10 April 2017 -
More than any other time when things are bad we turn to our leaders. A workplace can be stressful in normal circumstances but when obstacles seem to be too big for the team to overcome and the future is uncertain stress levels rise and this impacts the productivity of the team. It could be a change process, a downturn in sales or a sudden departure of key staff. Whatever the reason, when we are uncertain we need direction and we seek that direction from our leaders. While these times of high pressure can be difficult for staff they can be even more challenging for our leaders who have to provide the much needed direction, so how can a leader effectively lead during bad times?Posted: Thursday 6 April 2017 -
Here is the typical scenario. You start work at a new job and on the first day you are given a manual or a collection of booklets and within that collection is a code of conduct. This manual contains complex rules of what you can and can't do within the workplace, what you can claim as expenses and what you can't and the potential consequences of breaking these rules.Posted: Monday 3 April 2017 -
The reason why we value great leaders so highly is because they are so rare. Leadership, especially good leadership, is difficult to achieve. There are numerous reasons for this. In fact too many to share in this article but the main reason so many good smart people fail to become effective leaders is because leading is all about influencing people and people are incredibly complex.Posted: Thursday 30 March 2017 -
It's a common question about leadership, are leaders born or made? The idea of leaders being born became popular nearly one hundred and fifty years ago through the works of Francis Galton. The English psychologist wrote the book "Heredity Genius" in 1869. The book examined the leadership qualities in the families of powerful men, comparing the effectiveness of leaders to their fathers and their children. Francis Galton concluded that leadership was in fact inherited and this formed the basis of people's understanding of leadership over the next fifty to hundred years.Posted: Tuesday 28 March 2017 -
Conflict is costing companies millions of dollars every year. Every team has conflict and in many times it can be a positive factor but when conflict is unresolved it can lead to wasted time and energy, reduced decision making quality, good employees leave, taking with them their valuable skills and experience which takes money had time to replace, poor employees tend to stay and end up demoralised and a destructive influence in the team which leads to lost work tome and productivity. All of this costs you money.Posted: Thursday 23 March 2017 -
We know what leadership is when we see it, we know we need it and we know it's important but just how important is leadership? The impact of skills which are essential for every leader such as the ability to motivate and inspire are difficult to measure. If a team performs well how much credit should go to the leader? We have all seen teams that have performed well despite having a poor leader so just how important is leadership?Posted: Monday 20 March 2017 -
The job market is very difficult and the reality is that the majority of people settle for any job they can get rather than the job they really want. The certainty of receiving a regular pay check can override the dream of pursuing a better job and that is where the better job often stays a dream yet life doesn't have to be this way. You can get a better job because you just need to know how to start pursuing your dream and this article will help you with that journey.Posted: Thursday 16 March 2017 -
Every Leadership role is difficult, as long as people are involved each with different personalities and motivations, leading people is never going to be easy. Yet the most difficult challenge a leader can face is when they are put in charge of an underperforming team, a team that has a history of failure and losing. If you as a leader are in this position don't be disheartened because you are in the lucky position to be able to make a huge difference to the team and to the lives of the individuals within the team. You just need to know how to turn a team of losers into a team of winners.Posted: Monday 13 March 2017 -
Without doubt, the most popular topic I get asked questions on is conflict. Regardless of the level they are at within their organisation, whether at an entry level or senior executive, conflict and how to deal with conflict situations poses a significant challenge for the vast majority of leaders. In this article I will look at the most common barrier to effectively dealing with conflict and what it takes to overcome this barrier.Posted: Monday 6 March 2017 -
The most successful teams are the teams with a compelling vision of what success looks like. In these cases the leader is able to articulate in a statement their vision. Their vision is an inspirational description of what the team would like to achieve and a defined direction as to how to achieve that goal.Posted: Friday 3 March 2017 -
We all make mistakes. It's natural but it's how we handle the mistakes that defines us as individuals and brand us as companies. This is the challenge that is currently facing Price Waterhouse Coopers in the light of the recent Oscar Awards controversy. Their handling of this situation provides other businesses lessons as to what to do when their brand is in crisis.Posted: Thursday 2 March 2017 -
For a leader to be successful they have to possess many qualities . They have to be competent in what they do, they have to be courageous, they need to be able to delegate tasks, they need to be able to motivate people as well as being a visionary but there is one quality that has been established as being more important than others. This quality once mastered will have the single most impact on the leader's team in terms of motivation, performance and productivity. It's the leader's ability to instil belief in their followers that they are better than they believed they were.Posted: Wednesday 1 March 2017 -
A lot has been written about success but very rarely do we spend time on what happens afterwards. It's difficult to climb the mountain of success but if you are not careful it's incredibly easy to fall off when you have reached the summit and if you do the fall can be dramatic.
People often say that there is a fine line between success and failure and there has never been a situation that demonstrates this as much as the rise and fall of Claudio Ranieri.Posted: Monday 27 February 2017 -
Let me start by stating the obvious. I'm sure you will agree that it's important for a leader to be viewed as trustworthy. That statement is beyond doubt. In fact it's difficult to imagine an effective leader who doesn't have the trust of their team but what is open to debate is just how important it is for a leader to be viewed as trustworthy. It's no longer just a desirable quality because it's the right thing to do. It's now been established that how trustworthy a leader is viewed by their team has a direct impact on the profitability of the business.Posted: Monday 20 February 2017 -
Of all the superheroes in the world of fiction, arguably, the most popular is Batman. He's not from a different planet, he wasn't born with special powers or acquired them after a freak accident. He's just a man and I believe that is what makes Batman so special.
The story of superheroes continue to inspire us and the most inspirational hero of all, Batman can provide us with lessons for all of us to live our lives better and maybe in some way become the superhero of our own story.Posted: Monday 13 February 2017 -
The journey to become an effective leader is a long and difficult one. There are many barriers that prevent leaders fulfilling their potential which explains why there are such a few great leaders in business. Of all the barriers the most significant one to overcome is to close the gap between how leaders are perceived by their team as opposed to how they see themselves.Posted: Monday 6 February 2017 -
It's now the beginning of February and if you are one of those people that have already given up on your New Year resolutions then you are not alone. Research has shown that 75% of resolutions will fail by the end of January and 90% will fail by the end of the year leaving only 10% who will follow through with their resolutionPosted: Wednesday 1 February 2017