No Bullsh!t Leadership

Moment #69 // Virtually every senior leader finds themself executing a major change or transformation program at some point in their career.  It’s easy to get caught up in the hype – expensive consultants telling you what needs to be done… teams drowning in PowerPoint decks that explain the change… and a whole bunch of traffic light reports to convince you that what you’re doing is working. I...

Episode #289 // "Build an island of excellence within your team, even if the organizational culture resists change. Your leadership can thrive despite the barriers." It’s often the case that the biggest impediments to improving your leadership performance are the organizational barriers that frustrate your efforts to be a strong leader. For example: A boss who doesn’t want to change the way things...

Moment #68 // There are many ways to get your team to do things, and the type of power you use to get results is all-important. But, we rarely think about it. Some types of power are more sustainable than others, so be careful to wield your leadership power deliberately , not just let it flow subconsciously, based on your mood of the day! Being aware of power dynamics opens the door for you to wie...

Episode #297 // “If you ever find yourself thinking, "How could the company possibly do without me?" Well, trust me, they'll work it out!” For as long as I can remember, the business media has been awash with stories about the job market… how to get a job, how to keep a job, how to juggle your job with other demands, and how to climb the corporate ladder .  Since the Covid pandemic, it seems...

Moment #67 // You’ll often hear people explain away someone else’s success by saying, “ It’s not what you know, it’s who you know! ” It’s easy to discount another person’s achievement by putting it down to their position of privilege… to believe that the only reason they made it was because they received a leg-up, or a head start… to succumb to the dangerous thinking that says, “ they have somethi...

Episode #296 // "Middle management is the engine room of performance. This is where you are closest to the work, and you can make some real inroads into performance improvement." I produced a podcast episode over 4 years ago, titled “ The Curse of the Middle Manager ”. So, when I recently came across an HBR article that signaled a resurgence in middle management roles, I figured it was time to tak...

Moment #66 // Leaders who have been passed over for promotion are often told, “ You need to be more strategic ”... whatever that means! There could be a number of possible explanations for this… but you can’t always rely on your boss to explain exactly what she means!  In this Moment, I give you a few suggestions for how you might be able to interpret this feedback, and use it to work on the...

Episode #295 // “We make mistakes, at each new level that we move to – it's an essential part of our growth and development. But the higher up you go, the bigger the impact that those mistakes have.” One of my recent social media posts went viral ( this one - 2.7mill views as of writing this), as I outlined the three biggest mistakes I made when I was finding my feet in my first few senior leaders...

Moment #65 // If you want to be a great leader, you have to learn to read the play – to know when it’s appropriate to push one of your people harder, when it’s appropriate to work more closely with them, and when it’s appropriate to stand back and let them get on with it. In this Moment, I take a look at Situational Leadership Theory (SLT). This model gives us guidance for how to adapt our style s...

Episode #294 // “If you can create a culture that values momentum, you will almost always outperform teams that don't!” I often talk about the need for speed. As a leader, placing a premium on forward progress is one of the most reliable tools you have to achieve execution excellence in your team.  If you can create a culture that values momentum, you will almost always outperform teams that...

Moment #64 // Many CEOs and senior executives talk a good game when it comes to culture change and transformation… it’s almost expected. But, even though they might make the right noises , it doesn’t necessarily mean they have the commitment to set a higher standard, or generate the level of momentum it would take to lead the change successfully. Pretty much every senior leader says they want a co...

Episode #293 // “ I look at my high performers with one thought in mind: What will it take for them to get to the next level?” When you focus on setting a high standard for performance, it’s easy to fall into the habit of managing the exceptions — to focus on the people who fall behind, or don’t meet the minimum standard you’re trying to preserve.  The old saying that the squeakiest wheel get...

Moment #63 // Times are tough and, when the pressure is on, it doesn’t take long before companies start to squeeze their suppliers in an attempt to find cost savings. Unfortunately, your suppliers are facing exactly the same pressures you are. Their costs are rising too, and they’re experiencing the same difficulty in finding and keeping their best people. Knowing how to manage your suppliers for...

Episode #292 // “ In team sports, “leading from the front” means a completely different thing than it does in business. ” There are a number of elements that contribute to your leadership identity. Many leaders let their identity form organically, without much conscious thought or planning. That’s fine, but there’s an enormous amount of upside to be captured, if you choose to be deliberate and met...

Moment #62 // The board of directors is increasingly seen as the accountable body for ensuring ethical, responsible behavior from companies. But we still seem to be witnessing some pretty spectacular failures in corporate governance. To me, this isn’t at all surprising. The board has very little influence over what the management team does on a day-to-day basis.  Boards have limited control o...

Episode #291 // “ The boundaries between our work and personal lives have shifted, and leaders need to deal with the fallout. ” When I began my corporate executive career, the only concern leaders had for safety was to ensure that people working in dangerous environments didn’t get seriously injured or killed. Then, there were a lot of businesses that didn’t even need to think about the word “safe...

Episode #61 // What if your people knew exactly what to expect from you? What if they understood your style, the objectives that drive you, and the things you value the most? If you want your people to be really clear on what you’re after, developing your own Leadership User Manual can be a simple but effective way to lay out the ground rules, and establish your expectations in an unambiguous way....

Episode #290 // "The best leaders do what's needed to master their stakeholder ecosystem, taking it from chaos and unpredictability to control and alignment." In last week’s episode , I outlined the 10 key ingredients that contribute to your promotion prospects. In doing so, I realized that, after almost 300 full-length episodes of No Bullsh!t Leadership , we hadn’t yet produced one that deals spe...

Moment #60 // I’m a big believer in avoiding the problems that inevitably emerge when you become too isolated, or spend too much time cocooned in your own little world.  There’s no end to the number of consultants out there who hold themselves up as experts, and promise to make your business better in oh-so-many ways. How would you know which options are likely to give you real value for mone...

Episode #289 // “ In the absence of your ability to handle pressure at your current level, your boss is going to think twice about promoting you ” Although every episode of No Bullsh!t Leadership is peppered with practical guidance on how to improve your leadership confidence and performance, I’ve never given you the specific recipe for improving your promotion prospects — until now!   In thi...

Moment #59 // Collaboration is one of the big buzz words of 21st century leadership. But the concept of collaboration in business dates back to the 19th century, as an underpinning feature of the theory of the firm. Although there are a lot of benefits to collaboration, the pendulum has swung too far. We’ve devolved into decision-making by consensus , and management by committee . The alternative...

Episode #288 // “After almost 62 years on this planet, you'd think I'd know better – and I kind of do – but it doesn't mean I always get it right. ” We all know what to do, for the most part. Each day when we wake up, we can either choose to do it, or not do it. If we choose to not do it, then our brains quickly come to the rescue to tell us why that’s the best decision under the circumstances — t...

Moment #58 // Conventional wisdom tells us that we have to put people before profits … that if we look after our people then, in turn, they will look after our customers, and the business will thrive. But the problem with conventional wisdom is that, even though there’s always at least some grain of truth to it, it’s easy to oversimplify, to rationalize, and to misinterpret. The people before prof...

Episode #287 // “It's way easier just to roll your sleeves up and fix something, than it is to put in the hard work of leadership to lift someone else's capability. ” As a leader, you face daily pressures which are quite different from the pressures that confronted you when you were a carefree individual contributor , responsible only for your own work. The type of pressure, and its intensity , de...

Moment #57 // Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is often summarized as: the survival of the fittest . But, in fact, Darwin’s conclusion was that those who survive aren’t necessarily the fittest – they are the most adaptable . As a leader, one of your most valuable characteristics is your capacity for change. Change is constant. But many of us don’t cope with it particularly well. We often strug...