Post tagged in "psychological safety at work"

Have you ever felt like your team is stuck in mud, despite everyone working their guts out? I’ve been there. I know that heavy, sinking feeling when the big goals feel miles away and the energy in the room is flat. It’s frustrating. You want that unstoppable momentum, but it feels like you’re trying to push a b-double uphill. Over the years, especially after my own brush with a life-changing workplace accident, I’ve realised that we often look at growth all wrong. We wait for the “big bang” moment. We wait for the massive win to save us. But honestly?... read more

Have you ever walked onto a worksite and felt a heavy silence, the kind where you just know people are holding back their best ideas or, worse, hiding their mistakes? Why do some teams thrive under pressure while others crumble the moment things get difficult? My own path started with a literal bang. I survived an industrial explosion that nearly ended my life, and that split-second event changed everything I thought I knew about safety. I realised that achieving zero harm isn’t about thicker gloves or better clipboards. It is about what is happening inside the minds of your people.... read more

Have you ever stopped to look at your team and wondered if they are mirroring your best traits or your most stressful habits? I’ve spent more than twenty years obsessed with one thing: how we, as leaders, show up when the pressure is on. It’s a personal mission for me because I almost didn’t make it home from work one day. It taught me that my actions don’t just affect a balance sheet. They affect the safety and spirits of the people I lead. When I talk to people on my podcast about what leaders can learn about influence, I’m... read more

Have you ever wondered what one conversation could do for your team? When I first started leading teams, I underestimated the power of honest dialogue. I thought that as long as tasks were done, everything was fine. But over time, I realised that without open communication, no team truly thrives. That’s why I always stress how to start an open conversation with your team. It’s not about filling an hour with talk. It’s about creating a space where people feel safe to speak up. When a team knows their thoughts and concerns are heard, engagement goes up, creativity flows, and... read more

Over the years and especially through conversations on the Find Your Influence Podcast. I’ve had the privilege of speaking with CEOs, founders, frontline leaders, and entrepreneurs. Different industries. Different personalities. Different challenges.But the same leadership truths keep showing up. These conversations have reinforced something powerful: Leadership isn’t about position. It’s about influence. Here are the biggest lessons I’ve learned from talking to great leaders and how you can apply them immediately. 1. Influence Is Alignment, Not Control One of the strongest patterns I’ve noticed? The best leaders don’t try to control everything. They focus on alignment. In my conversation with... read more

Do you want more influence in your team, or are you still waiting for the authority that makes people listen? The leaders who carry the most influence are not the loudest. They are not the most charismatic. They are not the ones with the flashiest title. They are the ones who take ownership. If you want more influence, start there. why leaders must own before they lead I say this often in workshops and boardrooms. You cannot lead what you refuse to own. Ownership is not about control. It is about responsibility. It is the decision to say, “This is... read more

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself whether your influence is lifting people up… or quietly weighing them down? I think about this a lot. Influence is not about authority. It is not about your title. And it is definitely not about being the loudest voice in the room. Positive leadership influence is about how people feel after they’ve interacted with you. Do they feel clearer? Braver? More willing to act? Or do they feel smaller? Over the years, I’ve seen one truth play out again and again. You can’t force behaviour. But you can shape belief. And belief drives... read more

Have you ever walked away from a conversation with a leader feeling smaller, quieter, or unsure of yourself and wondered why? I’ve spent more than two decades working with leaders across Australia, and I can tell you this with certainty: damaging leadership influence rarely starts loud. It creeps in. It shows up in small behaviours that slowly shift how people think, speak, and act at work. Most leaders I meet don’t wake up wanting to harm their teams. The problem is that influence works whether you’re conscious of it or not. And when leaders aren’t aware of the signals they’re... read more

Have you ever stopped and asked yourself what really happens when the influence you carry as a leader starts to work against you instead of for you? I’ve spent most of my career life around leaders. Some outstanding. Some struggling. Some completely unaware of the impact they were having on the people around them. And one thing I know for certain is this: leadership influence is never neutral. It’s either building trust and belief, or it’s quietly tearing things apart. When leadership influence turns toxic, it rarely starts with bad intent. It starts with pressure. Stress. Blind spots. A lack... read more

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself what people actually feel when you walk into the room? I’ve spent years sitting with leaders after things have gone wrong. Not just KPIs missed or projects delayed, but moments where trust cracked, people shut down, or silence took over. And almost every time, the root cause wasn’t strategy. It was influence. More specifically, how that leader showed up when it mattered. The influence you carry shapes the culture you create. Culture doesn’t live in posters on the wall. It lives in behaviour. Yours first. Culture doesn’t start with values statements I hear... read more