I have just concluded my series of newsletters about using the ADKAR model (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement) to help with your adoption of AI.
In a most timely manner, I then came across research by BCG called AI At Work. Its subtitle is Momentum Builds, But Gaps Remain.
The research surveyed 10,635 frontline employees, managers and leaders across 11 countries.
Read MoreIn my last newsletter, we explored the knowledge needed to engage with AI, how it can save you time, spark creativity, and future-proof your skills.
I explained that I am using the ADKAR® model to drive your adoption of AI, and I hope I provided you with plenty of sources of knowledge to explore. In this newsletter, we answer the question, “How do I apply my knowledge?” We are focusing on the ABILITY stage of the model. This is where the fundamental shift happens.
Read MoreIn my last newsletter, we explored the desire to engage with AI, how it can save you time, spark creativity, and future-proof your skills.
I explained that I am using the ADKAR® model to drive your adoption of AI, and hopefully, I lit the desire within you. In this newsletter, we answer the question, “What do I need to know?” We are addressing the KNOWLEDGE stage of the model.
You need to know how to ask questions, experiment safely, and apply AI where it helps you the most.
Read MoreIn my last newsletter, I explained that I am using the ADKAR® model to drive the adoption of AI and hopefully raised your Awareness. In this newsletter, we answer the question, “Why should you care?” We are addressing the Desire stage of the model.
Why should you want to support and participate in the change?
Read MoreAI. It’s just another change. But once again, there are many running around screaming, “The robots are coming.” I am witnessing intelligent people throw their hands up in the air and exclaim that their careers are over now that AI is here.
The primary difference between previous changes and AI is the speed, prominence, and associated high risk. It feels different due to its wide-ranging and simultaneous impact, as well as the speed at which it is changing, making the endgame unclear.
Read MoreYou cannot build lasting motivation with bonuses, slogans, or performance scores.
Real motivation doesn’t come from what leaders give - it comes when people have a sense of satisfaction, enjoyment, or belonging gained from their work.
If your leadership approach relies on external rewards to drive effort, you will create short-term compliance, not long-term commitment.
In this newsletter, I’ll explore why the best leaders focus on intrinsic motivation — and what that means for how you lead, recognise, and build engagement in your teams.
Read MoreWhen I set out to write “Be REMARKABLE! The New Leadership Mindset: Learn to Unlearn.” I did so in the firm belief that we have a leadership crisis. There are too many leaders are stuck in past modes of operation that are no longer suited to a world in constant flux, with unforeseen challenges shaping the landscape of business and society. Traditional leadership skills are no longer the sole reason for success. Today, leadership must be as much about mindset as skill sets. A leader must have a mindset that embraces constant change and can adapt.
Read MoreIn this newsletter, I want to discuss how we can work to eradicate bullying from our workplaces. It has no place. If you ignore it, you are condoning it. If you are silent, you give the bullies power and approve their behaviour.
Read MoreI read this somewhere, so I am not claiming it as mine.
“It’s always the quiet ones who secretly make the most noise.”
Do not assume that all is well with the world because employees are quiet. The opposite could be your reality.
Silence is the Loudest Scream
Read MoreWise words from former US First Lady Michelle Obama. During Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, she said:
“When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don’t stoop to their level. No, our motto is: “When they go low, we go high.”
I was reading Chris Westfall’s thought-provoking article, “ Bullying Is Back: How Hard-Line Leadership is Crushing Morale, “ when those words came to mind.
In his article, Chris highlights that leadership strategies involving coercion and emphasising punishment are on the rise.
Chris refers to lessons from our childhood about bullying and their ongoing relevance in the workplace. This prompted me to reflect on how to apply those lessons to' go high when they go low.”
Read MoreA few weeks ago, my newsletter explored the financial ramifications of overlooking employee experience within our organisations. The figures were more than significant.
I outlined how feedback on employee experience can be gathered beyond the annual or biannual survey.
I also referenced the key drivers of employee experience as determined by Qualtrics and explored the drivers of trust, authority and empowerment. This week, I want to look at work-life balance, recognition, and growth and development.
Read MoreYou cannot afford to ignore the cost of employee disengagement. There are two key drivers of the employee experience (EX). TRUST.trust must permeate every part of the organisation and be an integral part of company culture. Leaders and managers must take deliberate action to demonstrate trust through their words and behaviours, but those actions must penetrate every aspect of the organisation. Trust must be a value lived by everyone.
AUTHORITY AND EMPOWERMENT. Everyone must feel they have the appropriate freedom to exercise their judgment and do their jobs to the best of their ability. Everyone must have autonomy at work - a widely recognised driver of positive employee attitudes. When employees are genuinely given authority and empowerment, they feel trusted.
Read MoreI doubt I would find one person who would disagree that employee engagement is a key driver of organisational success.
When employees are engaged, they are motivated and committed to the organisation. Productivity and profitability increase.
So, why are organisations struggling to improve the EX?
Read MoreHaving now written five books (8 if you include the three small business books for Bookboon), people are surprised when I call myself an accidental author. But that is how it all started.
Read MoreYou will embark on a journey of learning, unlearning, and relearning. I liken your leadership journey to the hero’s journey.
The hero’s journey is a classic story structure derived from Joseph Campbell’s monomyth from his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The hero goes on a quest to achieve a goal and must overcome obstacles and fears before embarking on the return journey home.
There are three stages to the hero’s journey:
· Separation: the hero leaves the familiar world behind
· Initiation: the hero learns to navigate the unfamiliar world
· Return: the hero returns to the familiar world
Read MoreSuccessful organisations will have leaders who can proficiently navigate the shifting terrain while enabling their people to navigate their changing direction successfully.
As a leader, you must be The Visionary, inspiring others and painting the vision of the future and what it will look like for the individual and team.
You must be The Sherpa, helping the team reach their destination, overcoming obstacles, and ensuring no one gets lost.
You must be The Seer, constantly observing what is happening around you and within your team. You are intuitive and can sense when intervention is necessary. You lead with empathy.
You are The Coach who plans and enacts strategies for the team to achieve goals. You motivate and develop high-performing teams.
You must be The Valiant, brave and courageous, transparent and vulnerable, authentic and trustworthy, and dependable.
Read More“Technological change, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts and the green transition – individually and in combination – are among the major drivers expected to shape and transform the global labour market by 2030.”
The most critical skills selected by surveyed organisations were:
1. Analytical thinking
2. Resilience, flexibility and agility
Read MoreThis is my second newsletter of 2025, and I have been reflecting on the house move I made over the Christmas and New Year period and the lessons for leadership hidden within.
Before I reveal those lessons, let me put the move into context. We lived in Pascoe Vale, a suburb 9 km north of Melbourne's central business district. We moved to Edithvale, a beachside suburb 28 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district.
We moved from a 3-level townhouse with four bedrooms to a one-level villa unit with 2.5 bedrooms (the 0.5 to be used as my office).
This was a sea change in every sense of the word.
Read MoreUnbossing became a workplace trend in 2024. Unbossing is the practice of thinning out middle management layers.
Some bodies of thought, such as McKinsey, say that flattening an organisation’s structure minimises micromanagement and allows for closer collaboration between employees and senior leadership.
Others place the practice firmly in the basket of cost-cutting. Whatever the reason, it has impacts if not done correctly. I am a big fan of decentralisation, but it should not just be a matter of laying off managers and allowing those who remain to pick up the workload.
Read MoreGallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 highlights the decline in mental well-being.
Many of us have been raising awareness of workplace stress levels and its impact on employee mental health. We even made this video three years ago.
Despite many interventions and solutions on the table, employee mental well-being is declining.
Read More