The Thoughtful Leader Podcast with Ben Brearley

Sometimes you'll come to work feeling like you're being tested by your people.  They'll push boundaries, do their own thing and maybe give you some attitude.  It can be super frustrating, but it's a natural part of leadership especially for leaders new to their role. Sometimes people just need some time to adjust.  In this episode I look at some of the ways that people will try to test your leader...

Do you find your team reacting to problems rather than taking proactive action? You're not alone – this can be a huge problem for team productivity and effectiveness. In this episode, I look at some of the reasons behind a lack of proactivity, and of course, some steps you can take to try to grow it in your team. It never feels good to be on the back foot all the time, so instead, let's see if we...

Ever wanted to feel better about your leadership, enjoy your role more and have more motivation to make change and lead the way? Well, you're not alone. Leadership can be a hard slog, especially with the constant change and turmoil that we have been experiencing over the last few years. In this episode, I look at some good ways to start to shift your mindset to a more positive place, so you can sh...

In this episode, I interview Robbie Swale who is a Coach and Author of the new book "How to Start When You're Stuck". In this interview we cover a lot of topics including how leaders commonly find themselves getting stuck, as well as a powerful question to ask yourself when you're struggling to know what action to take. I've been working with Robbie over the last year myself, and as usual in this...

Ever noticed how busyness is often a sign of capability, competence or importance in many workplaces? Well, it's time we put a stop to this.  The problem with needing to be busy all the time is that thoughtful leadership suffers.  In this episode, I look at some ways to start to push back against this nonsensical phenomenon and actually start getting real value out of the time we spend at work and...

Sometimes thoughtful leaders have a tendency to get in their own way.  It might be not asking for what they really want, putting everyone else's needs above their own or making assumptions about what's possible without really knowing. Whatever the case, this can hurt our leadership and career potential, so in this episode I look at some of the common ways that leaders hold themselves back and what...

Leadership can be daunting, and it can feel like we need to have years of leadership training and study under our belts to feel confident.  The truth is, sometimes leadership is made out to be more complex than it really is. What we often really need is to exercise some simple common sense.  In this episode, I look at some common sense leadership principles you can apply to your leadership, becaus...

It's important to understand our team members to create an environment where they can perform at their best. But it's no different for the leader.  In order to create an environment where you can perform at your best, you need to understand yourself. That includes your preferences, triggers and the situations that have you performing at your best and your worst. In this episode I cover why it's so...

Many leaders go through tough times dealing with politics, bad bosses and many other problems.  Not all of these issues are within our control to solve – so what should we do? Sometimes, the best we can do is to keep taking small steps to improve and do our best to feel at peace with our leadership situation. Otherwise, we run the risk of feeling frustrated, helpless and burning out.  In this epis...

It's very common for leaders to feel low on confidence. After all, they're often dealing with new situations and challenges which they've never had to tackle before.  When we feel unconfident, it can feel like we're lacking confidence *everywhere* in our leadership. In reality, there are often a few specific factors or situations that contribute to this feeling, not everything.  In this episode, I...

In this special episode of the Thoughtful Leader Podcast, I'm interviewed by Akua Asare, who is the founder of the Not-For-Profit Professional Women at Work. Akua is a Quality Manager and an inspirational improvement-focused individual who is doing great things! In this episode Akua interviews me about my background, how and why I got into coaching and some of the leadership challenges I commonly...

Negative behaviour patterns are common in workplaces, and you've probably run into them yourself.  So how do we put a stop to behaviour that impacts team performance and wellbeing? In this episode, I take a look at this tricky problem and outline some steps you can take to try to make a positive shift in your working environment, for the benefit of yourself, your people and your organisation. This...

It's a common problem for thoughtful leaders – taking on too much work to handle. Often, this comes from trying to help others more than we are trying to help ourselves. This is an admirable quality, but it can land us in hot water. In this episode, I look at some of the common causes of taking on too much, and of course, what we can do about them. Like the Show? Leave a Review On Apple Podcasts...

There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership. Every team is made up of different individuals with varied goals, motivations and personalities.  As a result, you can't just treat every team you lead the same way. To make matters more complex, every organisation is different too.  However, all is not lost. In my experience, there are a few main factors that I take into accoun...

Many of us are still caught in the busyness mindset – where we feel like we should be rushing around busy all day. However, in my experience, I've found that this is not a great way to show up as a leader. Doing less is the key, allowing us to focus our effort to our most important priorities.  In this episode, I look at some of the key benefits of doing less, and some ways that you can make it ha...

Many people "Like" all the nice leadership quotes on social media, and there seems to be an overwhelming amount of agreement of what constitutes good leadership.  So why do we continue to see bad leadership happening in our workplaces? In this episode, I take a look at some of the causes of bad leadership that I notice, and some steps thoughtful leaders can take to try to avoid them and make their...

Many thoughtful leaders suffer from the common problem of putting their own needs last, and focusing on everyone else first.  This is admirable, but over time, this can lead to a situation where you are working on everyone else's priorities and sacrificing your own time and effort. It's hard to lead effectively in this situation! In this episode, I look at some good ways to start putting yourself...

Many thoughtful leaders have a habit of overthinking things.  It's great to be thoughtful, but too much thinking can turn into a lack of action. You can also tie yourself in knots trying to come up with the perfect plan or strategy, when simply getting on with the task might be a better use of your time. However, we don't overthink things because we like it. We do it for a reason. In this episode,...

Wellbeing is no joke. Working long hours and experiencing stress and pressure is still seen as a badge of honour in many workplaces, but it's time we put a stop to it.  And the best people to make a change are leaders in our organisations! In this episode, I take a look at some simple ways to support wellbeing for your people, to improve motivation, productivity and help people work more effective...

In this episode I had the pleasure of interviewing Ben Alexander, the retired Australian international Rugby player. Ben played for the Wallabies 72 times and also retired as the ACT Brumbies' most capped player with 152 games. Ben is now the co-owner of Canberra pub 'The Dock' (Instagram:  thedockcbr ) and co-founder of meal tracking service Alfred (IG:  the.alfred.app ). The father of 3 is also...

It's nice to be optimistic, but what happens when we go too far? In this episode, I take a look at optimism bias and the impact it can have on our leadership. Of course, I'll also offer some ways that you can try to reduce the impact of optimism without turning you into a negative thinker! Be sure to leave a comment below and tell me about your experiences with people being too optimistic in your...

In this episode, I interview Justin Peters, a young leader who went from being an intern at one of his first employers to being the Program Manager for the entire internship program. We discuss many topics including the challenges of transitioning into a leadership position and the best ways to support new leaders to grow their confidence and experience. Justin also hosts the Struggle is Real podc...

Passive aggressive behaviour can be quite common in the workplace, as many of us work in a relatively polite society. Passive aggressive behaviour is a way for people to say "No" and push back on you, without direct confrontation. Needless to say, it can also be one of the most frustrating behaviours to encounter in the workplace! Leaders are likely to run into this behaviour because we are in the...

We often think that only "bad" leaders fall into displaying poor leadership behaviour. In reality, I believe that depending on the situation, we all have the potential to do things we're not proud of in leadership. This doesn't make us bad people or even bad leaders, it makes us human! So what should you do if you're slipping into bad leadership habits that you would like to change? It's all about...

Coaching can be a really powerful way to help your people improve. It also shows that you're interested in committing significant time to their personal and professional development.  In this episode, I run through some advice to help you coach your people, including when coaching might be appropriate, and when it might not be. I also introduce a simple model you can use for coaching, to help you...