Blog
Permission to Speak Freely (WT535)
This week Ross and I hired a room at the local library to create some training videos for a 9 Day Business Freedom Challenge I’m about to launch (for just $9 if you’re interested). Following my Blueprint for Business Freedom, the very first step is to Know Yourself. As part of the challenge, participants are encouraged to raise their self awareness by asking team members and family and friends to give them some feedback about how they show up in the world. I referenced the military term “Permission to Speak Freely”. All too often I find that people at work will not speak freely. This...
I Don’t Even Know What to Ask (WT534)
During the week one of my friends rang me out of the blue. She lives in Queensland and it was lovely to hear from her. She’s normally jetsetting around the globe running events, which have all been put on hold, of course, until we can travel again. “Shirley, it’s the school holidays in a few weeks and we just need to get away, so I’m looking at hiring a motorhome”, she said. “Wonderful! Where are you planning to go?” “We want to go to Airlie Beach and up and down the coast. The thing is I’ve never done this before so I thought I would ask you for some advice. I don’t even know what to ask”,...
I Wish I Hadn’t Said Anything (WT533)
How many times have you said that to yourself? “I wish I hadn’t said anything.” The other night Ross was watching some teenage boys who kept looking around to see if anyone was watching. You know the look people get on their face when they know they are doing something wrong and they don’t want anyone to see. I watched for a few minutes too. They were doing their best to break a pipe on the side of a community building opposite from where we were staying. Knowing the story of Kitty Genovese, who was murdered in 1961 in New York and not one person even rang the Police to get help, even though...
Stop Looking For The Wrong Evidence (WT532)
You know that your brain is a goal achieving machine. Right! It’s going to go and find you the answers to the questions you give it. It’s also going to go and find you the evidence for whatever it is you are focusing on. Stop looking for the wrong evidence. Here’s what I mean: Say you decide that your work colleague or your partner or your friend or a relative doesn’t like you anymore. You decide that they are upset with you for something that you did or didn’t do. They haven’t said anything to you. (Of course they wouldn’t, nobody likes confrontation.) Your brain starts looking for evidence...
Hi Ho It’s Off to Work We Go (WT531)
It’s been miserable in Tasmania the past few days. The weather has been wild. Lots of wind and rain and snow in the mountain areas. “So what?” you might think. Well it doesn’t stop the penguins, plovers or pademelons from their daily routine. I’ve been so impressed watching the wildlife as we travel around. It doesn’t matter what the weather conditions are, they’re out fishing and foraging for food. They don’t complain. They don’t wake up and moan, “Oh, I don’t feel like it today. I think I’ll have a doona day. I think I’ll stay in bed. I’ll ring in sick.” Nope! That doesn’t happen. Hi Ho...
I’m Fine (WT530)
I was talking with a colleague this week and as we often do, we got into a deep and meaningful conversation about leadership. We discussed the saying, “If you don’t want the answer, don’t ask the question” and the ramifications of not asking, or worse, asking and then accepting the answer, even if you don’t believe the answer. As an example, (we’ll call him Ted), explained how his kids will sense that his energy is off or his demeanour is rather gruff and they’ll ask him, “Are you angry daddy?”. His response is usually “No, I’m not angry”, hoping they will leave it at that. Of course, kids...
It’s the Same Old Same Old (WT529)
Have you ever found yourself saying, “it’s the same old, same old”? According to Dictionary.Cambridge.org, it’s a phrase that’s “used to say that a situation or someone's behaviour remains the same, especially when it is boring or annoying: Most people just keep on doing the same old same old every day.” Doing the same old same old behaviour concerns me when we apply it to work that we don’t want to be doing and in some cases, work that we “shouldn’t” be doing. Another of my favourite phrases that is relevant to our discussion this week can be abbreviated to...
I’m Leaving (WT528)
When you’ve got good people, the last thing you want to hear is “I’m leaving”. Talking with one of my rockstars this week, we discussed the importance of knowing your people so you don’t get blindsided when they give their notice. “The more I know about the people I lead, the easier it is for me”, she said. Knowing your people is the second milestone on our Blueprint for Business Freedom. When you know your people, you know what motivates them. You know what they want and don’t want. You understand what’s going on for them out of work. You know what’s important to them. Think about your...
The Power of Intention (WT527)
Over the past few weeks I’ve been playing The Cashflow Game online, from Rich Dad Poor Dad author, Robert Kiyosaki, with a couple of my colleagues. I’ve really enjoyed playing and have learned so much. I’ve learned lots of lessons about dealing with financial crises, like when you land on the divorce card and lose all your money or you find yourself redundant or the value of your shares gets halved and let’s not even mention the cost of having children when you land on that one. There are plenty of positive scenarios as well, like when your shares double or you get to sell a condo or house...
Please Respect Our Staff (WT526)
In these unique circumstances, I’m sure you would have seen signs in shops reminding us to be respectful to the staff. I totally agree with this and wouldn’t stop there. I think we should be respectful to everyone, including customers. Before I share this little story, I want to put my hand up and say the situation is my fault. I created it and I take responsibility for that. What I don’t take responsibility for is the disrespectful manner in which I was treated by an Australia Post worker. Many months ago, I purchased a book to support my friend who had written it, published it...