Post tagged in "psychological safety at work"

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

Have you ever finished speaking in a meeting and wondered whether your message actually landed? I’ve asked myself that question more times than I care to admit. Over the years, I’ve learnt something simple and uncomfortable: the most influential voices don’t speak louder or longer. They speak with intention. Intentional communication isn’t about sounding polished. It’s about knowing what you want to shift in the room, choosing words that people can hear, and saying them in a way that builds trust rather than tension. If you’re leading people right now, your voice matters more than ever. People are watching for... read more

Have you ever noticed that the harder you push people, the more quietly they pull away? You can’t force commitment. You can only earn it. The leaders who try to control every move might get short-term compliance, but they rarely get trust, care, or people who genuinely want to do their best work. Influence is different. Influence lasts. And influence starts long before you ask anyone to follow you. Why control feels tempting and why it keeps failing I get why control feels safe. When pressure is on, deadlines are tight, and responsibility sits on your shoulders, it can feel... read more

Have you ever noticed that the harder you push behaviour, the more people quietly resist? I’ve spent years watching leaders try to force change. New rules. New reminders. New consequences. And yet the same behaviours keep showing up. What I’ve learned is you can’t force behaviour. You can shape it. Behaviour follows trust, not pressure. Why forcing behaviour never sticks When behaviour is driven by fear, it only lasts while someone is watching. The moment the pressure lifts, old habits return. People don’t change because they’re told to. They change because they feel ownership. That’s backed by research on self-determination... read more

So here we are in 2026, but what does great leadership actually look like right now? I ask this question often. In rooms full of senior leaders. In quiet coaching sessions. And sometimes late at night after a long day. Leadership has shifted quickly, and the old playbooks don’t hold the way they once did. I’ve spent more than two decades inside workplaces where pressure is real, mistakes carry weight, and silence causes harm. What I see now is clear. Leadership in 2026 is less about control and more about how you show up when things feel uncomfortable or uncertain.... read more

As you look at the year ahead, are you repeating old leadership habits, or are you ready to step into a different chapter? Every January, I see the same thing. Leaders come back rested, hopeful, maybe even optimistic. Then within weeks, the pressure creeps back in. Conversations get shorter. Patience thins out. People stop saying what really needs to be said. I’ve lived this. Not from the sidelines, but from inside workplaces where silence felt safer than honesty. That’s why I don’t see a new year as a fresh coat of paint. I see it as a line in the... read more