No Bullsh!t Leadership

Protecting your people feels kind…until it destroys their resilience and results. As the older generation vacates the workforce, companies are making way for fresh talent, new ideas, and different ways of working. This brings with it a number of challenges, as we transition from a workforce that has historically been compliant and robust, to one that has an elevated sense of entitlement, and a wor...

Are your long-tenured employees blocking performance? Here’s how real leaders respond. Every organisation has them…long-standing employees (“lifers”) who have built their personal reputation and perceived value on a deep knowledge of the business. They’ve also built a power base using this knowledge that they’re reluctant to surrender… and they won't do that without a fight. If you're brought into...

What if expecting more isn’t harsh, but the most caring thing a leader can do? If you want to produce outstanding results, there is no easy path… for you or your people.  Are you the type of leader who sets people up to achieve difficult things? Or do they dictate the terms? If you don’t set an expectation of excellence, there are devastating  implications for both team performance and i...

If AI can do a $440k job better than Deloitte, what does that mean for consultants? Of all the industries that are on the chalkboard for major disruption by AI, the consulting sector must be high up in the batting order. You’d think that, right now, consulting firms would be keener than ever to demonstrate their value, and extend their longevity: anything to prolong the mystique that surrounds wha...

I’ve heard leaders at all levels say something like, “ Marty, I have a staff member who’s a high performer, but their behaviour is just awful! ” If you relate to this, then in all likelihood you’re not actually dealing with a high performer: what you have, is a talented jerk ! If that talented jerk is in a leadership role, you should err on the side of intolerance , rather than allowing their bad...

Even the best leaders fail without strong management. Here are 6 lessons for phenomenal results. This episode started with a Simon Sinek post on LinkedIn, and ended up being one of the most practical, implementation-focused episodes I’ve ever produced. The Sinek article was titled, 5 Things Managers Do That Leaders Never Would . It got me thinking again about the fundamental nature of leadership a...

Learn why your boss might not be telling you the truth, and how to spot real feedback. Feedback is a gift… but, can you believe what you’re told? It’s rare to find a leader who gives consistent, high-quality feedback. It’s even rarer to find a company where feedback is part and parcel of the culture. This is why it’s so important to know how to read the play – the context is all-important.  I...

Talk is cheap. Discover the 3-step process to align leadership values with actions. You can stick your values in a glossy brochure or an annual report…you can talk about them in your town hall meetings…you can make them part of the onboarding process…  But your people don’t care what you say your values are: they only care what you do when the chips are down. That’s when the real test comes…b...

Build resilience by pairing optimism with hard truths. Master the Stockdale Paradox today! The strongest, most resilient leaders are optimistic, by nature. Rather than being blindly optimistic, though, they are incredibly pragmatic. Instead of worrying, retreating, or avoiding, the best leaders step into the problem … they face it, and deal with it head on.  If you want to go deeper on how yo...

Win trust fast, prove credibility, and lead with impact in your first 90 days of any new role. If you’ve just been promoted… or if you anticipate a promotion sometime in the next 12 months… or even if you were promoted some time ago, but don’t feel as though you have solidly established your credibility in the new role, you’re going to find this episode invaluable. Breaking your first 90 days up i...

Unlock peak performance with the 3 keys every leader must use: Challenge, Coach, Confront. The Challenge, Coach, Confront framework is the foundational toolkit for setting expectations, helping people to meet those expectations, and responding when they don’t. Many leaders have the skills to challenge and coach…but the real key to improved performance is what you choose to do when one of your peop...

Stop flying blind! Here’s how leaders uncover the real truth happening below them. Every day CEOs, boards of directors, and even middle managers are blindsided by things that happen below them that they didn’t know about, or failed to anticipate. If you’re a leader of leaders , you know how difficult it can be to navigate multiple layers in your team’s hierarchy. Any information that you try to di...

Micromanagement kills performance. Here’s how to lead without paralysing your team. You’ve all probably worked for a micromanager at some point in your career. It’s not fun. What makes leaders feel as though they have to micromanage? Is it a fundamental lack of trust? Or an inability to let go of control? Whatever the reason, you need to make sure that you’re not that leader. If you want to go a b...

Learn how to build high-performing teams by setting and enforcing clear standards. The colourful expression " It's Easier To Rein In a Stallion Than To Flog a Donkey" gives you pretty much everything you need to know about talent management and team performance. But it’s advice that's rarely heeded by leaders. We spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get people to reach a level of performan...

Tired of burnout? Discover 3 leadership shifts that will energise your work and life. We still get a seemingly endless stream of questions from leaders who feel as though they’re heading towards burnout, asking for advice about how to avoid it. Why do many leaders lose their zest and enthusiasm, to the point where they feel as though there’s no end in sight? In this MomentI give you the 3 keys to...

Are you tired of trying to lift your team’s productivity, only to find that the results remain stubbornly average? The thing that’s holding your people back may not be obvious. Over the years, I came to realise that busy is the enemy of productive . A huge amount of what our teams do each day delivers no value, whatsoever … it’s organisational white noise that serves only to distract us, and creat...

Is ‘Imposter Syndrome’ real, or just an excuse leaders use to avoid accountability? Imposter Syndrome is a term that’s really taken hold over the last several years. LinkedIn is full of heart-wrenching confessions from those who suffer from Imposter Syndrome. So, what’s the difference between Imposter Syndrome, and the natural self-doubt that any well-adjusted leader experiences from time to time?...

The #1 performance lever leaders ignore: single-point accountability. I was recently asked a compelling question by one of the leaders in our Leadership Beyond the Theory community: “If accountability is so critical to performance, why haven’t I come across it before? ” This is a leader who already has an MBA… he’s participated in a variety of leadership courses… and he’s read all the classic lead...

Entitlement is killing performance - here’s how to reset the standard. For as long as I can remember, I’ve believed strongly that leaders shouldn’t give into unreasonable or frivolous employee demands, especially if they clearly conflict with the best long-term interests of the business. This Moment reminds you that your people are there to do a job, not to be entertained and indulged. I also give...

Not every high performer wants to lead...here’s how to spot true leadership potential! It always comes as a surprise when someone we had earmarked for bigger and better things announces that they have no desire to progress. Our search for talent, and our need to fill the leadership pipeline for our company can deceive us. We occasionally typecast someone who has absolutely no interest in leading....

Unlock better decisions and protect value by mastering a risk mindset in every situation. We manage risk in order to  protect value . So, you have to understand where the greatest value is, before you can decide what you need to protect. Eliminating or reducing the severity of a risk can be expensive, so it’s important to take an 80/20 approach to risk mitigation. Whether you’re making an ope...

Avoid AI & IT project disasters with 10 proven tips from 40 years of hard-earned lessons. 40 years ago to the day, I started my professional career, when I walked into the State Bank of NSW as a newly minted trainee computer programmer. Yep, I was actually a coder… WAY before it was cool! Since then, I’ve been involved in IT projects of all shapes and sizes. In this episode, I’m going to get b...

Nothing’s  ever perfect, but many leaders say they are striving for perfection – and they say it like that’s a good thing… they don’t understand the dark side of perfectionism. In most cases, perfectionism is driven by fear… fear of making a mistake… fear of not being good enough… fear of losing standing with your peer group. Perfectionism will freeze you. It’s kryptonite for a high-performan...

Think marketing’s not your job? Think again. Why brand is now your leadership edge. In a world flooded with AI-generated noise, brand and authenticity have become your sharpest leadership tools. In this episode, Em and I unpack the most common marketing blind spots leaders have, and what to do about them. We explore how to use AI without losing your voice, why trust is built through  proof &n...

Too many leaders sidestep the tough conversations that actually  create  performance. In this Moment, Marty unpacks why avoiding feedback isn’t a strategy - it’s a ceiling. Want the full story? Listen to  Ep.6: The Psychology of Feedback . ———————— 🔥 2,000+ No Bullsh!t Leaders Are Inside… You In? 🔥 Join our free Skool community for real leaders with no egos.  👥 High-calibre...