Challenging the invisible beast
Culture is a fascinating thing, an invisible beast, or life force. When a group of people come together to form an organisation, or community, it is like birthing a new […]
Standardising education kills creativity
I recently made some comments in the Educator Magazine about the risks of ‘standardising education’ and the resultant impact on so called ‘21st century’ skills. The debate on Twitter raged […]
Managing yourself
So much of leadership comes down to being able to manage yourself. A number years ago I observed a person collapse under the stress of the leadership role he was in. […]
Toxic cultures
I heard a horrific story this morning. A fellow I was chatting to about leadership shared with me a story about his wife’s workplace. She works for a corporate in […]
Parenting and leadership: interchangeable terms?
I have two grown up children, well, almost grown up. My son is 22 and my daughter is 20. Everyone said that they would grow up too quickly, and they […]
How does innovation occur?
When does innovation occur? Rarely, I would suggest. Most organisations don’t innovate unless they are threatened, out of necessity. If things are going along well why innovate? The theory of […]
When trust is gone
What do you see? A kind face, a gentle man with a radiant smile? When you see this man what do you see? A bum? Someone who has wasted their […]
Exhaustion
I have worked in schools for my whole career. There is an annual cycle in the life of a school, probably not unlike any corporation (end-of-financial-year, sales, etc.). There are […]
Who moved my cheese?
Last week a colleague lent me a book about change. “Who Moved my Cheese?” is a parable, a story about four mice who search for cheese in a maze. When […]
Are leaders born or made?
The perennial question when it comes to leadership. We all display leadership from time-to-time. Whenever we seek to influence another person, or group of people, we are leading. For example, […]
Leaders view life through the lens of opportunity
How long have I been a leader? Probably for as long as I can remember. Starting back when I took a leadership role at the local youth group, coaching a […]
Is reputation everything?
When threatened our instinctive response is ‘fight or flight’. The emotion we experience is fear. This instinct not only kicks in when we are personally threatened, but when the organisation we […]
To coach or to performance manage: Where is the line?
I recently attended a coaching course in Singapore run by the Center for Creative Leadership. It was an intimate group of seven with two facilitators. Amongst the nine there were […]
The Deal’s Off
We are witnessing an erosion of trust across the globe. With the inauguration of a new President all deals are off. Nothing is being honoured, not even the respect that should […]
Boom or bust? The Hero CEO
The new CEO has been appointed, brought in to turn around the ailing company. The Board are keen for results. Key Performance Indicators are set and the lure of a […]
I’m the busiest!
Here is my medal to prove it! I am officially the busiest person in the organisation, and therefore the most important! Notice me as I wear my medal proudly around […]
Great expectations: Lost or won?
I usually write from the perspective of the leader and not from one who is being led. We are all led by others, no matter what leadership position you are […]
Teach for the best, not to the test
The despairing commentary of the most recent international maths and science performances by Australian students is as predictable as it is unfortunate. Despite the commentary, Australia’s education system is not […]
Know your people, they are your bread and butter
I recently met a young restaurateur who, with his older brother had opened their first business, “The Wooden Horse.” They were 18months in and going well. He was talking to […]
Is our education system really failing our kids?
“Australia falls further behind on the international rankings” are the headlines once again. With the release of the 2016 TIMSS scores you could be mistaken for believing that our schools […]
What leadership lessons can we learn from Donald Trump?
Ironic really, that on 9/11 the improbable happened–Donald Trump was elected President of the United States of America. The result has left the world reeling. How did this man come […]
Leading or managing?
We often throw around the words leadership and management as though they are interchangeable terms. They are not. Leadership and management are different. Blanchard offers what I think is one […]
A political platform to restore our education system
The media is once again filled with the gloomy news of our failing Australian education system. The natural conclusion people reach is that teachers and schools are failing our kids. […]
This is what I have learned and try to practise: Making decisions
Leaders make decisions. Those who don’t, aren’t leading. People look to a leader to make the decisions, no matter how hard. How a leader makes decisions tends to fall into […]
This is what I have learned and try to practise: Being visible
I have never met Malcolm Turnbull. I have met Mr Howard, Mr Abbott, and Kevin Rudd’s wife Theresa, but I haven’t met the current Prime Minister. Do I trust him? […]
This is what I have learned and try to practise: Offering trust
PhD research identified 10 practices that build trust and unlock the path to compelling leadership. Offering trust is perhaps one of the most powerful and yet, one of the hardest. […]
This is what I have learned and try to practise: Being controlled in every circumstance
Organisational and leadership author, Stephen Covey[1], has identified the ability to ‘establish, extend, and restore trust’ as the ‘key leadership competency of the new, global economy’. According to Covey, the […]
This is what I have learned and try to practise: Keeping confidences
The role of any leader is just two-fold: to provide a compelling vision of the future that people aspire to attain and, to build trust so those people will be […]
This is what I have learned and try to practise – Acknowledging others
PhD research identified 10 practices that build trust and unlock the path to compelling leadership: acknowledging others is one of them. I have learnt that leadership is often a thankless […]
This is what I have learned and try to practise – Leaders who care
PhD research identified 10 key leadership practices that engender trust, paving the way to compelling leadership. Caring for others is one of them. I was in Sydney earlier in the […]
This is what I have learned and try to practise – Admitting my mistakes
PhD research identified 10 key leadership practices that engender trust, paving the way to compelling leadership. Admitting mistakes is one of them. If you are my age you might remember […]
This is what I have learned and try to practise about: Coaching
PhD research identified 10 key leadership practices that engender trust. Coaching is one. While many people would describe me as a confident leader, underneath the facade I am constantly second […]
This is what I have learned and try to practise about: Listening
The role of any leader is just two-fold: to provide a compelling vision of the future that people aspire to attain and, to build trust so those people will be […]
Education for Peace
Last night I had dinner with a fellow Head Teacher. As we sat in a local restaurant in down town Shinjuku, Japan, he told me about his life growing up […]
Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing: Lessons learned from a Royal Commission
This piece was also published in the Independence Journal HOW does one recognise a pedophile? It can be tempting today – in our neat world of exhaustive policies and water […]
Broken Trust
The relationship between two colleagues is on the brink of all-out war. It once was a productive and mutually respectful relationship. Both worked collaboratively on projects. The conversations extended to […]
Who is responsible for our children’s learning?
With the latest PISA results out, the media is once again bemoaning the falling standards of our Australian education system. “Half of Australia’s high school students have flunked the minimum […]
The greatest mistake a leader can ever make
The greatest mistake you can make as a leader is believing that you are better than anyone else; better than you really are. All too often I have seen leaders […]
Cultural change: Is it possible?
I recently read about a fascinating experiment from way back in 1966. Five monkeys were placed in a large cage. In the middle of the cage was placed a set […]
Work life balance is a myth
The term work-life balance is such a clique. To ensue our wellbeing we are all encouraged to ‘get the balance right’. But when a colleague was bold enough to say […]
A leader is at their best when…
A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves. Lao Tzu (604 BC – […]
Admitting mistakes builds trust
Trust is foundational to a positive culture in any organisation, but how does a leader develop and maintain a culture trust? My PhD research uncovered 10 key practices that highly […]
Are you driven to be the best?
I want to be the very best school leader I can be. Why, because for me being a principal (or a teacher for that matter) is more than a job, […]
When it all boils down, good leadership is about two things: vision and trust
There is a wealth of literature and research on leadership. Many academics and psychologists have committed years to studying and understanding the practice. There have been countless leadership models or […]
Compelling leadership takes great courage
This blog was written in response to a question that I was asked about a previous blog on performance management. I have to make a really hard decision. Already I […]
Global Education Summit in Washington DC
I was gobsmacked when in June of this year I received a personal invitation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Sutton Trust to attend a Summit on 3 […]
When it all boils down, good leadership is about two things: vision and trust
There is a wealth of literature and research on leadership. Many academics and psychologists have committed years to studying and understanding the practice. There have been countless leadership models or […]
Trust improves outcomes—but how do you get it?
Trust is the fundamental resource for successful leadership. No one wants to follow a person, particularly to the unknown, if they don’t trust them. And yet, trust is a word […]
How do you create the conditions for innovation in a school?
Schools are notoriously conservative. They were conceived in the industrial age. Since their birth little has changed. David Price suggested that if time travel were possible, a person traveling from […]