Thinking Ahead Newsletter

The Thinking Ahead Newsletter brings you regular updates on how to be fit for the future in a fast-changing world.

Here are some recent articles:

• A Culture of Change Agents
  If you have created a workplace environment that doesn’t encourage, nurture, and inspire people to ‘go above and beyond’, that’s your fault, not theirs. It’s up to you to engage them, motivate them, or inspire them. And if you can’t do that, then (gasp!) pay them more! That’s the price you pay. In a tight ...
• The Power of the Pivot
  Many people think of disruption as a bolt from the blue that comes out of nowhere and shakes up an entire industry. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Sometimes you can make a small change in a slightly different direction. Done right, a small change creates massive opportunities. DOWNLOAD THE WORKSHEET HERE  
• Clear Their Path
  Although my first sporting love is cricket, I’m also a fan of Australian Rules Football. We’re in finals month now, so it seems like a good time to talk about it. A common defensive tactic in Aussie Rules is ‘shepherding’, where you assist a team mate from a distance. In brief, if a team mate is ...
• Nobody Wants to Pay For Work Anymore
  If you have been following the latest buzz around leadership and workplaces, you might have come across the phrase ‘quiet quitting’, which refers to employees who do what they are paid to do, and no more. Does that describe some of the people in your team? I think it’s a bizarre society when we say that ...
• Are You a Future-Ready Leader?
  I’ve recently been working with many leaders who are grappling with change, uncertainty, and disruption. Some are just battening down the hatches and hoping all that change stops soon. But that’s wishful thinking! If anything, we’ll seen even more change in the future, and you need new skills to survive and thrive in your leadership ...
• When The Going Gets Tough, Involve Your Team
  I’ve been working with many leaders recently who are doing their best to lead their teams through this time of great uncertainty and change. They know it’s their responsibility to take the lead, and they are doing their best, while still desperately trying to stay calm and collected for their team. But this isn’t always the ...
• Getting The Working From Home Formula Right For Your Team
  I’ve been doing a lot of work recently with leaders and leadership teams, and the biggest topic on their minds right now is the future of the office. Specifically, how do you manage a team that doesn’t want to come back to the office full time? Early in the pandemic, when organisations with office workers scrambled ...
• How Will You Leverage Something New?
  Last week, I started working with two leadership groups – from two very different industries – who wanted help with thinking about their future. Both groups were smart enough to realise they knew a lot about their own organisation, but didn’t know enough about external forces that could affect them. And, as the last few ...
• Turn The Tables On Talent
  Two weeks ago, I went to Bali to speak at a conference of HR professionals and executives from all around Indonesia. In addition to a keynote presentation to the entire group, I also ran a small invitation-only executive masterclass for senior leaders, sharing ideas about how they could be more future-ready in their roles. In a ...
• If You Don’t Ask, You Don’t Know
  Last week, I spoke at a conference in Bali, Indonesia, for a group of 1,000 business leaders and HR professionals from all around the country. I was talking about one of my favourite topics: leading through change, disruption, and uncertainty. In my briefing call with the conference organisers, they shared some of the biggest challenges they ...