Why they stop listening the moment you start nagging

Elena* and I are at a local soccer match; she’s a soccer mum like me. Only she’s not a huge fan of the sport and attends just to be seen to support her stepson and her husband, the assistant coach, when she’d rather be literally anywhere else. She looks tired; …

All conflict is a values misalignment

Ah, conflict, you beauteous bitch, I’m onto you. I see you. At your core, you’re misunderstood. You just have values that aren’t lining up. In conflict, each person, team, department, organisation, or country involved has a set of values that are different from the opposing side. Values are attributes that …

How to give negative feedback

Do you work with someone that does things that drive you absolutely crazy? They’re a nice person but their actions just aren’t conducive to productive work. Did you know – and thanks to Brené Brown for her Dare to Lead inspiration – that it is actually super unkind to not give that person …

Other people’s opinions are none of your business

For most of my life, I’ve been told I need to tone myself down, to be less assertive, to be less … something they didn’t like or want to accept about me. My reaction used to be that I would care too much about their opinion of me, it would …

Fact vs. Fiction: A Tool to Avoid Assumptions

I believed it to be true, after all, they did that thing and said those words with that tone. It must have been what was intended. But, what proof did I have of their actual intention? So I asked. And as sure as the sky was blue that day I …

How to prepare to be your most authentic self on stage

I had just come off the stage in LA when the event organiser said, “I thought you would have been better, you seem so confident in person. At least you’re easily forgettable.” ‘Ahh, thank you, and feck you very much,’ I thought & so desperately wanted to say. That D …

The solution to ambiguity isn’t clear communication, it’s honesty

If the enemy of accountability is ambiguity, as Patrick Lencioni is quoted as having said, then surely ambiguity is solved with clearly communicated, concisely written, and consistently followed processes and procedures. Is it not? I learned today that if I’m not in a position to make things clear, concise, and consistent, then …

3 Questions to answer before someone can be influenced by you

As leaders, we’re challenged to hone in on our effectiveness with the people we lead. Leading requires you to have influence over others. I’d like to think that you’re positively influencing others, but we all know there are people who are in positions of leadership that I personally would not …