What Matters

My mission is to make culture simple and actionable for leaders.

I work with executives, CEOs and leadership teams to shape, shift, strengthen and lead cultures.

Having led culture at the Executive and Board level for more than 15 years, with ASX10 and global teams, I now work as a strategist, speaker, and mentor, building cultures that work.

#culturesthatwork #cultureshift #leadershift #teamshift #culture #shift #leadership

Nothing much stuck from Etiquette lessons when I was in my teens (although I can still navigate the glassware and cutlery of a formal place setting despite not many opportunities to apply that lesson). There was one lesson however that stuck. I’m not sure why this one did over all others.

We were learning how to answer the phone / call someone. My teacher challenged me on the use of “speaking to” instead of “speaking with” someone.

Growing up in Brisbane, I’d only ever heard the phrase “speaking to” someone. As I thought about the difference...

Your Culture is not a monoculture. Never was, never will be.

Don’t fight it. Embrace and nurture your subcultures.

Like a beautiful garden full of different plants, a healthy Culture is made of lots of subcultures coming together, sharing common ground.

Love your subcultures - they are what connects your Culture and people on the ground. 

#culture #subculture #connection #leadership #cultureshift #leadershift

When you’re tired but busy, try microdosing joy.

Look for opportunities to microdose on things that lift your mood and energy.

1. Write a list of things that make you happy eg buying flowers for yourself or someone else or reading a book in the sunshine.

2. Next to each item on the list, note how long each takes eg 5 mins to dance to your favourite Beyonce song, 1 hour for coffee with a friend or 30 mins for a walk in the park with your puppy.

3. Look for things in your diary you could stop doing or remove - permanently or just temporarily until you’ve bounced back.

4. In this newly...

During NOvember, I'm practising saying NO.

NO to habits that aren't useful anymore, NO to distractions and NO to rabbit holes. Leaders I am working with are joining me in saying NO to meetings and superfluous emails. At my Retreat in Byron last weekend, we said NO to things that were holding us back and getting in the way.

As we head into summer and think about how 2023 might be different, it's time to prune and create space for the right things.

What could you say NO to in NOvember? Who can be your NO buddy to share your wobbles and wins with over the next 30 days? Join me in clearing some...

For my first year out of corporate roles, I set myself a target of reading 50 books.  Of course in the pursuit of working out which books to read I bought over 100! but my tsundoku habit is another story.

Here are twelve of the books I've loved that have shifted my thinking.  I often recommend these to leaders I am working with.

Culture and Leadership

Impact Players - I loved Liz Wiseman's Multipliers book from a few years ago and her latest book on those people in your organisation who punch above their weight is worth a read.  

Unlearning &...

The last two days in CBR with Exec team and Leadership Accelerator groups final sessions of their Leadershift programs and graduation ‍ ‍ dinners. Celebrating the shift over the last 9 months. Third group of ELT direct reports graduating today. I love working with CEOs who believe in the power of leadership to shift Culture.

Connection, Capability, Commitment… Doing it on purpose. Culture

 #magichappens #cultureshift #leadershift #shift #culture #leadership #leadershipdevelopment

Cultures are shaped by what you pay attention to.

 Like any currency, Attention is valuable because it is finite and scarce.

 What are you paying attention to?

As a leader, you know what metrics your CEO and Board care about by what they focus on in meetings.  ...by what they pay attention to. 

• What metrics they interrogate

• What initiatives catch their interest

• How they open and close conversations

• Weight of focus during meetings

• Outcomes that are rewarded and punished

 Most of your team members can tell you what you pay attention to. Could...