Unlock more work happiness: tackle Psychosocial Hazards

by Rob Sheppard [Approx 3.5 min read] Does your workplace experience heavy workloads, have unclear roles for its people or little to no communication between managers, teams and individuals? If it does, then we just identified some of the criteria to suggest you have ‘psychosocial hazards’ in the workplace. In this article, we’ll expand on last month’s article [Right to Disconnect Puts the ‘Off’ in Office Hours.] that touched on psychosocial hazards and dive into what they are, how they …

Compliance and conversation – the keys to 2024

by Rob Sheppard [Approx 3 min read] 2024 marks the year for businesses in Australia to be more aware than ever of how they operate – both in terms of the suite of new employment laws they face and the way businesses attract and retain their workforces. It is especially crucial for SMEs to be aware of the changes in employment conditions and entitlements as they continue to expand their operations (issues impacting 2-3 team members will be exponentially worse …

The future of leading: 3 essential skills to develop RIGHT NOW.

by Rob Sheppard [Approx. 5-minute read- because being Super doesn’t happen quickly] In today’s rapidly changing world, the role of managers and leaders is evolving like never before. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and the automation of routine tasks being taken over by machines, a focus is clearly developing that highlights one thing: managers WILL have a greater responsibility to lead and manage humans using Emotional Intelligence (EI). What are Super Skills? Super Skills, in the context of …

Work trends you NEED to know

by Rob Sheppard [Approx. 4-minute read] You will be hard pressed to find someone NOT saying the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just fundamentally alter the way we need to work, it also created a ‘jobs crisis’ we’ve not seen for decades. The post-Covid work landscape certainly seems to be ‘super charged’ – global wars affecting supply chains, inflation not tipped to really fall until 2024 and a tight labour market we’ve not seen since the last jobs boom. We recently discussed …

Inspire your people with a Value Proposition.

by Rob Sheppard [Approx. 4-minute read] If you manage a business, chances are you occasionally lose sleep over the following question: Are my [good] people thinking about leaving? The post Covid employment landscape for many industries has radically impacted this question- especially as ‘employees’ may now find themselves returning to work asking ‘why am I coming to work?’. They may come to the conclusion that the rewards are not compensation enough for their experiences (how they feel) when at work. …

Missing a link to leading better? Lead ‘to’ the Organisation.

by Rob Sheppard [Approx. 4-minute read] Let’s jump straight to the point… …as a Leader/Manager, you will generally be accountable for: Defining strategy Designing organisational structure Designing productive systems of work Building workforce capability Managing strategic relationships If you’ve read our previous two articles, you’re already aware that achieving this list starts with Leading Self and Leading to Team. But there is one final and important part in becoming a better leader – a ‘missing link’ of Leading to Organisation. …

Leading teams. Nine steps to doing it better.

[Approx. 3 minute read] One of the challenges of being a manager (especially if you’re in middle management) is how you lead to what your people need in their working life and what the business needs from your team. You might have heard of this concept as Leading to Team (which fits nicely with our view of always ‘thinking and acting human first’ in any organisation). Leading to Team. A deliberate oversimplification of what Leading to Team means is …looking …

Lead yourself? 9 proven ways to do it.

by Rob Sheppard [Approx. 3 minute read] There is a quote attributed to Aristotle that goes along the lines of ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ – fun fact, he didn’t actually say this – but something that might be construed that way. This concept, applied in a business context, is that an organisation is there to coordinate the work of the many towards a common Purpose. How an organisation achieves this Purpose relies heavily on …

Want to manage better? Manage like a HUMAN.

[Approximately a 4 minute read] If Covid taught the business world one thing, it was that how we lead and manage in the future will separate the good companies from the great. It will also go a long way towards establishing an Employee Value Proposition that does not rely on financial incentives. But first, why do we separate being a Leader from being a Manager – particularly for mid-level managers (often the ‘meat-between-the-bread’)? What is Leading and Managing? Let’s start …

High Performing Teams

Aristotle and High Performing Teams

3 minute read In this article, we highlight the Google research conducted on creating and driving high-performing teams. This was called Project Aristotle – named after Aristotle (BCE 384 – BCE322) the famous Greek philosopher who is attributed (some experts say incorrectly) with the quote… …”the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” attributed to Aristotle Side note, this project was conducted in 2015…but is still very relevant in a post-COVID world. 5 keys to performing teams The …