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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It's an all too common scenario. A leader asking their team to do something only to find out later they have to follow up because it wasn't done. Teams not following the instructions of their leader is so common in businesses that in many places it's just accepted when with just an application of a technique that I've designed this can easily be resolved.Posted: Monday 31 July 2017 -
In this article I want to show you a technique that I've used personally with my own teams and I've also helped introduce with clients to improve the effectiveness of their team and that is Red Team Thinking. This technique is used to improve communication within a team, encourages proactive thinking and produces a more robust and effective decision making process.Posted: Monday 24 July 2017 -
One of the many perks of my job as a Leadership Coach is that the more I teach the more I learn. When I visit companies around the world to deliver leadership training it gives me an opportunity to spend time with a multitude of successful business people, many of whom have achieved the remarkable feat of turning an idea into a real successful business.Posted: Monday 17 July 2017 -
It's one of the most common phrases in business "I didn't have enough time." The intention was pure and you wanted to complete the task but if only there was a few more hours in the day. Time management is one of the key barriers to success and the ability to manage your time efficiently in a way that allows you to compete more tasks can the difference between you and your competitor. So how can you find more hours in a day? Well! here are a few tips.Posted: Monday 10 July 2017 -
Leaders struggle to receive equality feedback so as a result struggle to develop yet this is not the same in other roles within an organisation. When you start in an organisation you will make mistakes, its natural and it's even expected because you are new. As a new employee you are made well aware of your mistakes and what can be done better, in fact it's difficult to avoid such feedback.Posted: Monday 29 May 2017 -
No matter the quality of your idea or the scope of your career aspirations one of the most significant challenges in achieving anything in business is obtaining the approval of your Boss. This is the person who can influence how you are perceived by the organisation you are working for and by other prospective employers. Your boss is a very important person and in order to succeed you need to be able to manage this relationship and find a way to get your Boss to say yes. This article will give you some suggestions on how to do just that.Posted: Monday 22 May 2017 , 1 Comments -
They are the leaders that leave an impression, they inspire, they motivate and people follow them not because they have to but because they want to and people go above and beyond what is required in order to support them. They are the charismatic leaders, often people have said that you are either born with charisma or you or not. Yet many charismatic leaders have learnt what I'm about to tell you and that is charisma can be learnt and you too can become a charismatic leader. You just need to know how.Posted: Monday 15 May 2017 -
An iceberg is one of natures great wonders, a large piece of freshwater ice floating freely in water. An iceberg is beautiful and dangerous in equal measure yet what you see of an iceberg is just a fraction of what is going on, with typically 91% of an iceberg being submerged underwater. When I think of an iceberg it reminds me a lot of the challenges facing a leader.Posted: Monday 8 May 2017 -
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