Big Dreams Great Teams® with Paula Maidens

One of the most common questions I get asked by my clients and business friends is HOW to phrase giving somebody feedback. In today’s episode of Big Dreams Great Teams, I dive deep into this topic and discuss how giving feedback is an art, a skill and a science that can be learnt, as for many entrepreneurs it often does not come naturally. I know for many leaders, the fear of giving feedback is th...

In today’s episode of Big Dreams Great Teams, I go behind the scenes with one of my incredible clients, Amy Sanders-Robbins, who owns Bespoke Family Lawyers, a family law practice based in Brisbane, QLD. Amy has been a family lawyer for 15 years and started running and managing her own practice five years ago. Today, Amy shares her story with us and tells me how she's evolved and transformed...

Something I notice that is really common with my clients is that when something goes wrong in their business, they try to immediately fix the symptom themselves, rather than taking the time to understand the cause or reason for the problem.  When running your own business, it can be really normal that when you see a mistake or something that you don’t like, you jump right in and fix it, rather tha...

One of the big things that I work on with my clients is how they can design a business and team that truly suits them as an individual. So today I've invited Amy Lea onto the show to talk about working in coherence instead of hustle, and how understanding your human design can help streamline your life and your business.  Amy is an astrologer, Human Design consultant and somatic business coac...

Some of you may not know that I’ve been doing yoga for a really long time. Almost 20 years, in fact. Shortly after starting, it began to impact my life to the point where I would be told that when I practiced regularly, I became a better businesswoman, mother and wife. So what does yoga and leadership have in common? Today I share with you the surprising leadership lessons I’ve learnt on my yoga j...

I’m so excited to dive in and share with you how you can elevate your thinking, revolutionise your business, empower your team and take it to new heights to become a 7 figure CEO. We all know that as entrepreneurs, we start off wearing all of the hats and handling every aspect of our business. While this can initially be exciting and challenging, it can also become overwhelming and hinder our grow...

I’ve seen many employers and managers face hiring regret every day. You may think you have hired the absolute perfect person for the role but when they start working, they just don’t seem to be a good fit for the company culture or they just aren’t delivering the results you need. As an employer, you can start feeling frustration, disappointment and may even start resenting the new employee and yo...

I recently spoke on the importance of doing a time audit in your business when it comes to managing your and your team’s time. Today, I go behind the scenes and share the surprising results I received from my own time audit. I dive into what I discovered, how my perspective has shifted and what I’m now committed to changing.  I personally thought I had my time management sorted. I’m super organise...

A common struggle that many leaders and business owners face is knowing how to get the most value out of their people. Getting to a place where you are ready to hand over tasks and delegate to people on your team can feel like yet another thing on your growing to-do list.  So today I’m taking you through some powerful ways to get maximum productivity and value out of people who are working on your...

Creating effective systems or implementing change within your business has the potential to support you and your team in a powerful way. However, doing so can be such an overwhelming concept for busy entrepreneurs, that really nailing down our processes often falls by the wayside. Today I’m joined by Shauna Vassell, who shares her wisdom on improving your systems and processes  to help you scale. ...

A conversation that often comes up with my clients and business friends is around the topic of expectations. How do you know if what you are asking is okay? And what is the difference between having high expectations and being unreasonable? These are really common and important questions to ask and it’s likely that you’ve asked them yourself at some stage in your entrepreneurial journey. So in thi...

Have you ever done a time audit in your business before? I know what you’re thinking - this sounds more than a little boring and there are way more exciting ways to spend the precious minutes of your day. But I’m here to tell you why tracking where your and your team’s time is going will blow your mind and is an absolute MUST for your business.  As entrepreneurs, managing our time is pretty much t...

Change impacts different people in different ways, and it’s important to know how to deliver information in a way that supports anyone who may be affected by it. Today I’m joined by Mel Loy, who shares with us her top five tips to communicating change to your team effectively. Mel is the owner and CEO of Brisbane-based agency Hey Mel! Communication & Training. With  over 20 years experience in...

Micromanaging is almost like a dirty word, and we generally strive to steer clear of leading in this way. But is micromanaging always a bad thing?  Many of my clients explain to me the challenges they encounter with getting someone on their team to perform the way they want them to. And there is so much fear around being perceived as a micromanager, that I see people quickly jumping in to say they...

Have you ever wondered why you’re consistently hitting that slump at 2pm and reaching for another coffee? Do you struggle with a case of brain fog when you go to write that blog post? Or maybe you’re experiencing digestive issues and trouble sleeping.  Today, I chat with the amazing Dr Heather Finley about how your gut health may be affecting your performance at work and in life. Hailing from the...

Today we're talking about team values and how having a value statement plays a critical part in building a high performing team.  It can be easy to think of mission or value statements as just words on a glossy marketing brochure to present to customers. However, I run through what team values actually ARE and how they become the backbone of the way things are done internally.  It can be easy...

In today’s episode, I get personal and give you another behind the scenes look into how I run my business. Particularly, my process for re-hiring a key person and what my hiring mastery method is all about. As an example of my approach to recruitment, I talk through the recent re-hire of my new assistant.  Many of us are on a hiring journey, and frankly it can be a pretty emotional process that al...

Today’s topic is leadership. In particular, what does a POWERFUL and GRACEFUL leader look like? How do you need to act and react to be both powerful and graceful? In this episode I talk about one of the big things I teach my clients, and that is how to step up into power as a CEO.  When I talk to my clients about stepping up as CEOs in their businesses, I teach them to lead in a way that feels aut...

Today’s episode is a little bit of a personal share, where I give you a behind-the-scenes look at what’s going on for me in my business. In particular, how I’m working through this really strong sense of feeling busy.  We know that business goes through lots of ebbs and flows - periods of hustle, periods of stabilisation and those wonderful bouts of growth. And then we reach those times where we n...

In today’s episode I’m gifting you, as entrepreneurs and business owners, my top 5 tips to hire right this year. Consider this your cheat sheet to bypass the hiring hassles and nail your choice when it comes to hiring your first (or next) team member. For your business to truly thrive, it’s critical to get your team right. So pop this episode on to find out -  The importance of managing expectatio...

I’m thrilled to be speaking to my client and friend the incredible Dr Kristy Goodwin who is a digital wellbeing and productivity expert. Kristy helps you manage your digital distractions and take back control of your attention – one micro-habit at a time and what’s even better she **doesn’t** think we need to ditch social media or netflix binges in the process! (Thank goodness!) This episode share...

It’s been 13 years since I dived into being an entrepreneur and hired my first team member. My journey since has been jam-packed full of lessons from my own experience and working with so many amazing clients doing brilliant things in their own businesses. So I refreshed my earlier 11 lessons episode and am sharing my top 13 lessons on all things hiring, leadership, creating your dream team and ge...

Today’s episode  is a recast of my super popular chat with the fabulous Melissa Froehlich. We discuss what to do when the operations side of your business feels heavy after the initial buzz of growing fades and overwhelm creeps in, as you're "too busy" juggling all the balls.  So it's the perfect time of year to revisit this important conversation so you checkin and reset to av...

Leading a team well, innovating in business and getting the growth profit you desire, doesn’t come without the ability to look in the mirror and challenge yourself to be the best leader you can be  - powerful and graceful as you lead your business and team.  So in today’s episode I share the common challenges my clients experienced last year and the lesson in each of them. Tune in to hear: How you...

As we settle into a new year, many entrepreneurs dream of finally creating a high performing, rockstar team to support them. Yet often hiring is left well past when it’s needed and rushed decisions are made - having far reaching impacts on their business. So in this episode I share the benefits of hiring strategically, and why hiring early provides the discipline needed to grow your business. Tune...