Thoughtful Leader

Leaders have a huge impact on the people they lead in terms of job satisfaction, morale and performance. So do we want leaders who are running around busy, with no time to think? No, you need time and space to think, so you can be more intentional about what you’re doing. You’ll make better decisions, and that will benefit your teams and your organisation (not to mention yourself). In this episode, I discuss some ideas to get more thinking time in your day, so you can lead better. 🎧 Listen to the episode here: https://lnkd.in/g8BPnFuZ 🚨 You can also find the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and subscribe there 🙏

Some thoughtful leaders have a tendency to be "people pleasers". This means they want to help and support people, be agreeable and generally please those around them. These can be excellent leadership qualities, because they help to create a team environment which is supportive and pleasant. But... these qualities can also hold leaders back in certain situations, especially if it means they start to withhold feedback, avoid conflict or fail to say "no". That's why in this post, I delve into how to lead effectively as a people-pleasing leader. And no, I'm not going to tell you to "just stop people pleasing" because that's part of who you are. Instead, you need to be aware of your tendencies and make sure they don't lead you down the wrong path. 📚 Read the post here: https://lnkd.in/g-i7BqtQ

Self-motivation is an important ingredient in the leadership puzzle. After all, we generally know how we should be leading. We’ve read the leadership books and listened to all the leadership podcasts. But it’s hard to show up every day with a great attitude and feeling motivated. That’s why in this episode, I take a look at some self-motivation ideas to help you show up in the best way you can, more often. 🎧 Listen to the episode here: https://lnkd.in/gUfmzypt 🚨 You can also find the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and subscribe there 🙏

Seeing defensiveness from people in your team? It's a common behaviour, especially when you might be dealing with team members who may be feeling insecure or worried about their work. In this article I take a look at what might be behind the defensive behaviour you're seeing, and what you can do about it. 📚 Read here: https://lnkd.in/gshgRp_s ♻️ Please share this post if you find it useful - thanks! 🙏

The 4-day work week is becoming more popular these days, following several trials in various countries. There are a few characteristics of the 4-day work week which I find contribute to its success. In this episode, I look at these characteristics and how we can apply them to any workplace, even if you aren’t lucky enough to have a 4-day work week! 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/ghBi8end ♻️ Please like or share if you found this one interesting or useful - thanks! 🙏

Regular reflection is generally regarded as a great thing to be doing, but I’ve found that many leaders don’t seem to do it! That’s why I created The Useful Thinking Journal, which is a journal aiming to help you reflect in a structured way, and turn those reflections into real action so you can improve, or keep achieving success. I've just released the journal following a successful trial with a small group of leaders, so in this special podcast episode I talk about some of the benefits of reflection, the challenges that many leaders face when it comes to reflection, and how The Useful Thinking Journal can help. 🎧 Listen to the episode here: https://lnkd.in/gAsDSEJg 📖 To order your copy of the journal, go here: https://lnkd.in/gHtXB2BU

I quite like motivation models as a way to simplify something so complex as human motivation. However, theory is only good if we can put it into practice. Models and theories are generally developed in controlled conditions, which we obviously don't have in our workplaces... which is why we need to try them out and see what works in our teams. In this episode, I take a look at some common motivation factors that show up as part of motivation theory, and then some steps on how you can start to turn them into practical action in your team. 📚 Read here: https://lnkd.in/gTB7s3wC ♻️ Please like or repost if you found this one useful - cheers! 🙏

Many thoughtful leaders find themselves feeling guilty at work. Not because they’ve necessarily done anything wrong – more that they are heaping pressure on themselves and suffering under the weight of expectation. In this episode, I look at the common sources of guilt and introduce a simple process you can follow to unravel these feelings and feel better about taking action. 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gJzcxvFk ♻️ Please like or share if you found this one interesting or useful - thanks! 🙏

In the old days, leaders knew best. They gave orders and people followed them. Now, it's much more likely to see leaders taking a coaching approach which is much more inclusive and collaborative. But what is it? What are the benefits? And why is it sometimes hard to do? I'll cover these questions in this week's article. 📚 Read here: https://lnkd.in/gMmNGPFk ♻️ Please like or repost it if you find it useful or interesting. Thanks 🙏

You might think of unproductive workplaces as ones where people aren’t doing much. I’ve found it’s quite the opposite – often people are running around madly… being busy. In this episode, I take a look at the cost of an unproductive workplace (other than just the money) and some of the common signs that we might hear that make it a bad place to be! 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gjDbz43X ♻️ Please like or share if you found this one interesting or useful - thanks! 🙏