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What Lesson Did I Just Teach? (WT566)
One of my weaknesses is that I let everyone else go first and I put myself last. It’s not a great quality and for the most part it only affects me (and of course, Ross from time to time). I was horrified the other day to realise that I may have taught this to my friend’s 2 year old child, unintentionally of course, but a life lesson, none the less. Here’s what happened: Magnus was climbing the slippery dip at a local café where we were having breakfast. Another kid, possibly the same age and a bit bigger in size, height and weight started climbing too. I was standing behind Magnus to make...
Can I Have a Go? (WT565)
“Excuse me.” “Excuse me.” “Is that an electric bike?” asked one of the kids in the caravan park where we’ve been staying. “Yes”, replied Ross. “Can I have a go?” the young boy asked. “No, it’s too big for you”, replied Ross. “Does it go really fast?” “Have you got to peddle all the time?” Ross chatted with them and answered their questions. They didn’t push the point for a ride and I couldn’t help admire their confidence to ask for what they wanted. Straight up! I love how kids don’t prejudge an answer. I love how they simply ask for what they want. It makes me curious. At what point do we...
Don’t Jump to Conclusions (WT564)
This week we’re in Canberra, running my signature Leadership Experience and the Canberra weather turned cold on the weekend and we are back in our winter woollies. Speaking of cold, I want to share Larry’s story with you this week. “He won’t do what I ask him to do”, cried Larry. “Who are you talking about?” I asked. Larry had two boys so I assumed he was talking about one of his sons. “My manager”, he said. “Your manager? What do you mean?” I asked. “I told him I wanted a stocktake done before the end of the first quarter.” “Larry, that was a week ago.” “Yes, but I told him to do it in...
How Good is Your Culture? (WT563)
You’ve heard me mention the REACH profile before. It’s a psychometric tool we use to understand people’s personalities as well as their REACH – their agility to adapt to the other profiles or as a leader, their ability to use all of the 16 leadership competencies. This week I did some peer reviews for one of my clients and we used the REACH Ecosystem Culture Survey. The results we received were outstanding. Both sets of results showed the current engagement scores for both leaders were in the top 10% of all culture surveys globally. So what do the Culture Survey or engagement scores show us?...
Phenomenal Coaching (WT562)
One of my clients was sharing a coaching experience they had recently. It unnerved me a little because if she was talking about them, it’s most likely only a matter of time before she starts talking about me. On a tangent here, I remember confronting a coaching client about the same thing. He was complaining about all of his suppliers. After he stopped ranting, I looked him in the eye and said “I’m just wondering when it will be my turn.” “Your turn for what?” he asked. “My turn for you to p..s all over me”, I answered and continued, “You’ve just sat there for 20 minutes and told me all the...
Ho’Oponopono (WT561)
This week I thought I would share another story to demonstrate where I use Ho’oponopono [ho.ʔo.po.no.po.no]. I have mentioned it before in Weekly Thoughts and it is so powerful, it deserves repeating. We also have it proudly displayed on the top of our motorhome, clearing the way as we go. Firstly, what is Ho’Oponopono? The word “ho’o” means “cause” in Hawaiian, while “ponopono” means “perfection”. The term “ho’oponopono” can be translated as “correct a mistake” or “make it right”. Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian spiritual practice that helps us to forgive past wrongs, conflicts,...
What is the Right Age for a Leader? (WT560)
Do you know the answer to this question: “What is the right age for a leader?” If your answer is, “There is no right age”, you are correct. How do I know that? Because I have worked with and been led by leaders of all ages. Just because you might be older, doesn’t automatically make you a leader and vice versa, just because you might be younger, doesn’t mean you can’t lead. Let’s think about this for a moment. Let’s take sporting teams for example, the Captains of which, are the leaders. There is a huge age range here from very young children to very old men and women. Why then, does there...
Get Out Of Bed (WT559)
It’s Autumn and the days are getting shorter. It won’t be long and we’ll be looking to snuggle up under the doona on a cold winter’s night. But that’s not what I’m talking about when I say “Get Out of Bed”. I’m referring to what we know as “Living Above and Below the Line”. Imagine a line drawn on a page. Above the line are written three words; one on top of the other (vertically): Ownership Responsibility Accountability Below the line are another three words, the first initials of which spell BED: Blame Excuses Denial If you live above the line, you take ownership for what happens in your...
I Can Hear You (WT558)
When you’re having a conversation with people, do you listen to what they are saying or are you waiting to speak? In our Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience we dedicate an entire day to developing our listening skills. It’s amazing to me how most people’s listening skills are so poor. The first micro-skill we teach for listening is to be quiet; to not interrupt and to show attending behaviours of nodding your head etc. to show that you are actually hearing and listening to what the other is saying. This skill is so important because it enables you to really understand what the...
Sit Under the Umbrella (WT557)
It was an overcast day and rain was imminent. I was meeting a coaching client for coffee at 11:00am at one of the local trendy cafes. I signed in and waited to speak to one of the three attendants, two of whom were engrossed in their own conversation and a third who had been cleaning tables. “Do you have a booking?” she asked. “No, I’m meeting a friend and we’d like coffees please.” “I’ll just find out where I can seat you.” The other attendant gestured to a table just near where I was standing. “You can sit here til 11:45am, then you’ll have to leave because we have a lunch booking.” That...