Big Dreams Great Teams® with Paula Maidens

Welcome to our brand new Client Lessons series. These are short sharp episodes where Paula Maidens draws on her client coaching calls each week to share a key lesson, learning or tip in a way that is quick and easy for you to digest. Client Lesson Summary  In this client lesson, Paula shares an inspiring lesson from one of her recent private clients who has come to the end of her first round of pr...

In this episode, Paula reflects on the past 12 months in her business and shares her end-of-financial year review. She discusses the decline in revenue but emphasises that she paid herself more in wages compared to the previous year, which is more important to her.  Paula highlights her business value of chasing profit rather than just revenue and the details of how she conducted a cost review to...

Welcome to our brand new Client Lessons series. These are short sharp episodes where Paula Maidens draws on her client coaching calls each week to share a key lesson, learning or tip in a way that is quick and easy for you to digest. Client Lesson Summary  In this conversation, Paula discusses the common feeling of “being mean” or “awkward” during the hiring process when including a test and offer...

In this episode, Paula shares her experience of hiring a Filipino virtual assistant, providing an in-depth look at the hiring process and valuable insights for businesses considering hiring virtual assistants from the Philippines.  She breaks down the step-by-step process, highlighting the importance of clarity, research, and trial periods in ensuring successful offshore hiring. Highlights Cost Ef...

Welcome to our brand new Client Lessons series. These are short sharp episodes where Paula Maidens draws on her client coaching calls each week to share a key lesson, learning or tip in a way that is quick and easy for you to digest. Client Lesson Summary  This lesson dives into the importance of creating an effective application screening process to quickly identify suitable candidates for a role...

In this episode, Paula Maidens dives into a common challenge many business owners face: struggling to find the right candidates for their job openings.  Paula reveals that the issue often lies not with the availability of talent but with the way job advertisements are written.  She shares valuable insights on how to craft compelling job ads that effectively communicate the role, reflect business v...

Welcome to our brand new Client Lessons series. These are short sharp episodes where Paula Maidens draws on her client coaching calls each week to share a key lesson, learning or tip in a way that is quick and easy for you to digest. Client Lesson Summary Entrepreneurs and business owners of all sizes often struggle with delegating tasks, especially when it comes to delegating the management of th...

In this episode, Paula Maidens delves into the essential strategies for achieving hiring success as a small business owner in 2024.  With over 17 years of HR and recruitment experience, Paula shares invaluable insights into how to confidently hire employees, ensuring your team performs at its best.  Whether you're looking to hire your first team member or improve your hiring process, this epi...

In this episode of Big Dreams Great Teams‪®‬, I am joined by Aubrey Nation, a Registered Nurse, Yoga and Meditation Teacher and Wellness Expert who specialises in Functional Genetic Testing. Aubrey shares her insights on personalised health, functional genetic testing and what the impact of stress can be on our health as entrepreneurs.  We discuss the different types of stress, the role of genes i...

In this episode, I discuss the relationship between a high performing team and culture. There are many different ways of looking at this and I explore the questions of ‘does high performance come from a good culture?’ Or, ‘does culture drive high performance?’ I explore how they are interdependent, with each influencing and reinforcing the other. I talk about why it is important to look at both be...

In this episode, I discuss the importance of fostering an environment in your business where team members feel empowered to take initiative and make decisions, particularly in busy or peak times. I talk about why giving permission and creating psychological safety for team members is important for your business, and how it allows them to make executive decisions and show initiative. I talk about t...

Today, I discuss the four characteristics of an effective team and how to identify whether your team is operating efficiently (or not!). I share the reasons why having regular conversations with your team about expectations and decision-making is important if you want your team to operate effectively and in a spacious way. I talk about how to understand the timings and spaciousness of your team, a...

In this episode, I discuss two common business challenges that have been a theme for many of my clients in the first quarter of 2024. I talk about how to manage team members you feel are performing at an average or below-average level, and how to evaluate your team costs and efficiency, particularly in the context of potential changes in revenue. I share the reasons why it’s important for you to r...

In this episode, I talk about how to determine appropriate pay structures for your team members, and how it can impact your team dynamics and business outcomes. I explore some of the intricacies of underpaying and overpaying for a role, and explain why it is important to align pay rates with market research, financial feasibility, and the role's inherent value within your business. From asses...

In this episode, I discuss what decision-making authority is in your business and why it is important. I share how to hand over more of your decision-making power to build trust and confidence with your team. I explore the reasons why clear decision-making power is essential to ensure the smooth operations and growth of your business. I share some real life examples of decision-making authority an...

In this episode of Big Dreams Great Teams‪®‬, I am joined by Mel Daniels, a Content Marketing Strategist, speaker, podcast host and author. Mel shares her insights on how to create powerful content, the importance of authenticity, and when and how to delegate content creation within your team. Mel shares the four P’s of content creation, and why they are important. Mel and I talk about how to star...

In this episode of Big Dreams Great Teams‪®, I delve into the importance of setting and maintaining healthy boundaries in your business, and with your team. Boundaries are a positive tool for creating a thriving work environment, and they will support your business for further growth and success.  I talk about how clear boundaries are guiding principles that help to define responsibilities and exp...

In this episode, I discuss the importance of having performance enhancing conversations with your team. These conversations are necessary to have regularly when you want to improve the performance of team members who are already ‘doing okay’ but you know could be doing better. I talk about how performance enhancing conversations should be two-sided conversations with the aim of supporting the indi...

In this episode of Big Dreams Great Teams‪®‬, Paula is joined by Shana Lynn, a trusted advisor for top-tier subscription companies looking to amp up their customer retention. Today, Shana talks about being an online community strategist, and shares her expertise on hiring and managing community managers. We discuss the benefits of having someone else manage your online community, as they can focus...

In this episode the host, Paula Maidens discusses the importance of mastering delegation to overcome the cycle of overwork.  She shares seven steps to effectively delegate tasks and responsibilities in a business and offers ways that you can delegate effectively, free up their time, reduce stress, and create a business that can thrive beyond their personal involvement. Highlights Why mastering del...

In this conversation, Paula talks to offshoring expert Tiffany English about all things offshoring and in particular, how to make a success of hiring a Filipino VA. Tiffany starts with sharing the difference between offshoring versus outsourcing and the various skills and roles that Filipino offshore resources can excel in including how much this has evolved over the last 10-15 years.  Tiffany pro...

In this episode Paula dives into the common question of “When it is the right time to let someone go” along with all those other common questions about firing including "How much time is reasonable" "How do you know enough is enough" etc etc!  This episode covers all the important considerations you need to take into account including the importance of being clear about expecta...

How to BE yourself at work with Cassandra Goodman Welcome to another podcast episode with Paula Maidens. In this episode, Paula interviews Cassandra Goodman, a seasoned leader with over two decades of global executive experience. Cassandra, the author of "Being True: How to Be Yourself at Work," shares insights on authentic leadership and the importance of activating your true brilliance...

5 Interview Questions you Must ASK In 2024 Welcome to another podcast episode with Paula Maidens. The host, Paula Maidens discusses the importance of strategic hiring in the new year and shares five strategic interview questions to ensure you make the right choices for your team. Highlights of this episode: The threefold purpose of an interview and why this needs to be kept front of mind when stru...

Profit Profit Profit : How to get more of it in 2024 Welcome to 2024 with our first Big Dreams Great Team® podcast episode for the new year!  In this episode, Paula is joined by her guest, Laura O’Hagan, a profit and growth consultant who helps business owners pay themselves more . Laura specialises in the health, beauty, and professional services industries. The focus of this episode is all about...