The Thoughtful Leader Podcast

Leaders often need to introduce process and structure into their teams. So it can be really frustrating when your people won’t follow what you’re trying to introduce! In this episode, I look at some of the major reasons why people aren’t following your process. And as usual, I’ll provide some ideas of what you can do about it, to have your people follow your lead. Book Your Discovery Coaching Session I invite you to a 90-minute Discovery Coaching Session, where we will: Get clear on your most important goals and what is most important to you Identify blockers and limiting beliefs that are holding you back; and Develop key actions you can take to move forward and make progress. You will leave the Discovery Coaching Session with a sense of clarity, purpose and practical steps to move you forward.

Daily commitments are a powerful tool that I use with some of my coaching clients. Commitments are a great way to shift mindset and help you show up the way you want to every day. For leaders this is extremely valuable, because we are often in challenging situations where our people are relying on us to remain calm, composed and motivated. After all, we want to role model the right behaviours! In this episode, I discuss the benefits of daily commitments, how you can develop some for yourself and then what to do with them. Try them out, they can make a big difference to your mindset and create a better tone for your day. Daily Commitment Questions: “If I reached the end of my life, what is something I would regret if I hadn’t done it?” “How do I want to be each day at work (or home, or wherever)?” “What behaviour, mindset or attitude will help me to reach my goals?” “What do I want to be really proud of, in my role / in my life / at the end of my life?” Book Your Discovery Coaching Session I invite you to a

Ever wanted to improve engagement in your team, and make work more interesting at the same time?  Well, you’re in luck! In this episode, I interview Lauren Dixon who is the founder of Wizard Innovation Labs.  Lauren is an ex-corporate consultant who wants to make work better for all kinds of teams. She founded Wizard Innovation Labs in 2020 to help teams be more innovative and effective through unlocking people’s creativity and performance. You’ll most often find her – Sharpie in hand – facilitating a creative problem solving workshop, or coaching leaders through understanding how to better understand the individuals on their teams. It’s a great interview – see if you can implement some of Lauren’s ideas in your team! And you can learn more about Lauren at the links below. Like the Show? Leave a Review On Apple Podcasts ✅

Many leaders struggle with the balance between wanting their people to like them and getting the respect they need to perform their leadership role effectively. So which is it? Is it better to be liked or respected? And is it reasonable to want both? In this episode I look at both sides of this issue and look at the pros and cons of each! Want to Feel More In Control of Your Leadership Situation?

It’s frustrating when you ask your people to do something and they just can’t seem to get on board. Your first instinct might be to think they are incompetent or lazy. However, I’ve found that hardly anybody comes to work looking to do a bad job – there is usually more to the situation. In this episode, I’ll take a look at some of the questions you can ask yourself about your people, to see whether you can narrow down the source of the problem. Want to Feel More In Control of Your Leadership Situation? Join the New Group Coaching Program If you struggle with your workload and feel like you’re not in control in your leadership role, then join the upcoming Group Coaching Program. Group coaching is a great way to benefit from coaching and learn from other leaders at the same time. To learn more and apply for your place in the program, click here: Group Coaching – Apply Now. Like the Show? Leave a Review On Apple Podcasts ✅

Some leaders consider regular 1 to 1 meetings with their team members to be a waste of time and effort. After all, there are lots of other things that could be done instead of adding another regular meeting to your schedule.  This perception often results in 1 to 1 meetings being held less frequently, on a monthly basis or even less. This isn’t very much over the course of a whole year! 1 to 1 meetings can be a valuable point of engagement with your team, especially if you focus on making them useful. In this episode, I share some of my ideas to improve your 1 to 1 meetings to both you and your team members can get the most out of them. Feeling Overworked and Overwhelmed?

It’s never pleasant when your people aren’t getting on board with what you’re trying to do. But leaders are in the business of making change, and resistance is a natural part of the process. Whether you are trying to introduce a new process, change the structure of your organisation or trying to get your people to think differently, you’ll likely find people who are resistant to it. Change brings uncertainty, which breeds fear of the future, and of the unknown.  In this episode, I discuss some of the ways that resistance to change can show up in our workplaces and of course, some ways that you can overcome it to be successful in your change efforts. Overworked and Overwhelmed?

It’s very common for leaders to feel a lack of confidence sometimes, and it’s nothing to be ashamed about. But ideally, we’d like to be perceived as self-assured and confident most of the time, so people want to follow us! In this episode, I look at some of the common signs of a lack of confidence that I see in leaders, so that you can try to avoid them. Sometimes it’s as simple as creating a shift in language and behaviour that can make us seem much more confident. If you like this podcast, be sure to leave a review on Apple Podcasts here – I really appreciate it! Show Links: Article: How a Lack of Confidence Shows In Your Leadership. Podcast: Beating Leadership Imposter Syndrome. Article:  Setting Boundaries at Work: Why It’s Crucial. Resource: Leadership Coaching to Improve Your Confidence.

Ever struggled working in a tough role in a challenging workplace? How about working for a horrible boss? If the answer is yes, then this episode is for you! This week, I interview Reshad Oberlander, an experienced leader and host of the excellent Weekly Leadership Experience podcast. In this interview, Reshad shares his experience working in toxic workplaces, and how he has managed to bounce back and keep leading despite the setbacks. Reshad is a leadership super junkie with more than 17 years of award-winning leadership experience in a number of industries. He hosts the podcast “The Weekly Leadership Experience” where he shares content designed to challenge, inspire, and grow your leadership. Reshad wants to help leaders grow themselves and their teams to be more effective and avoid the mistakes in leadership that he has made or seen. Reshad is a “Canameristralian” and lives in Edmonton, Alberta with his wife, two daughters, and Zeus the Weimaraner. Check out Reshad’s podcast at the link below – as well as

Thoughtful leaders sometimes get caught in the trap of trying to shelter their people from harm. While this can be a good thing, it can also slow the growth and development of your team members if they never need to fight their own battles or solve their own problems. In this episode, I look at protective leadership, some of the common causes and then the situations where I see it occur most commonly. You can use these scenarios to see whether you may need to adjust your own approach to your team! Like the Show? Leave a Review On Apple Podcasts ✅

Trust is a vital ingredient in a productive, cohesive team. When people in a team trust each other, they feel like they are in a safe environment, free from blame.  People in a trusting team are much more likely to show commitment to the team and to feel compelled to do a great job. For leaders, trust is important because they need to believe that their team members will be able to get the job done and work well with others.  However, trust goes both ways. Not only do you need leaders to trust the team members, team members also need to trust the leadership. A low trust environment can destroy confidence as people believe their boss is out for themselves and don’t have their best interests at heart. Compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-trust companies report: 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, 40% less burnout. – Article: The Neuroscience of Trust, Paul J. Zak In this epi

Work doesn’t always go smoothly, or to plan. As leaders, we are often put in situations where we are under stress and having to work through uncertainty. Leaders need to be able to keep calm, make good decisions and move forward. That’s why in this episode, I run through some good ways to help yourself stay calm in times of trouble, stress and uncertainty. After all, a calm leader looks more confident and capable, and is more likely to have people want to follow them! Like the Show? Leave a Review On Apple Podcasts ✅

Fear is a natural part of leadership, because leaders are always pushing forward, trying to make change and improve their workplaces. They are taking on responsibility and dealing with difficult situations every day. Thoughtful, introspective leaders can be vulnerable to fear because they tend to be aware of their feelings and emotions. Instead of ignoring them, they may feel that this means something is wrong. However, it’s impossible to avoid all fear in your leadership role, and it’s how we respond to them that really counts. In this episode, I discuss some common fears of thoughtful leaders and some ways to try to reduce their impact on your leadership. Like the Show? Leave a Review On Apple Podcasts ✅

One of the most frustrating parts of workplace life happens when people aren’t communicating effectively. After all, it’s easy for communication to break down in the hustle and bustle. In this episode, I look at some of the common causes of communication issues and of course, some ways that you can avoid them in your team and workplace. As usual, leaders have a huge part to play in how communication flows, which can have a dramatic effect on just how productive your workplace is! Book Your Discovery Coaching Session I invite you to a 90-minute Discovery Coaching Session, where we will: Get clear on your most important goals and what is most important to you Identify blockers and limiting beliefs that are holding you back; and Develop key actions you can take to move forward and make progress. You will leave the Discovery Coaching Session with a sense of clarity, purpose and practical steps to move you forward.

It’s inevitable that at some point in your leadership career, you’re going to come across a colleague that you just don’t see eye to eye with. In this episode, I cover the various causes of poor working relationships and some ways to fix it so that you can work together productively, even if you don’t become amazing friends. After all, it’s much nice to come to work without the stress and awkwardness of a difficult colleague. Book Your Discovery Coaching Session I invite you to a 90-minute Discovery Coaching Session, where we will: Get clear on your most important goals and what is most important to you Identify blockers and limiting beliefs that are holding you back; and Develop key actions you can take to move forward and make progress. You will leave the Discovery Coaching Session with a sense of clarity, purpose and practical steps to move you forward.

Sometimes even the best of us will go down the road of weak leadership… even if we don’t mean to. Leadership is complex and can be difficult and sometimes we’ll run the other way when we come up against our fears. We might take the easy road instead of the more difficult path. But what might that mean in the long run? Could our problems get even worse? In this episode, I’ll discuss some of the misconceptions of weak leadership, as well as some of the key signs of weak leadership and what you can do about it. Book Your Discovery Coaching Session I invite you to a 90-minute Discovery Coaching Session, where we will: Get clear on your most important goals and what is most important to you Identify blockers and limiting beliefs that are holding you back; and Develop key actions you can take to move forward and make progress. You will leave the Discovery Coaching Session with a sense of clarity, purpose and practical steps to move you forward.

Collaborative and inclusive leadership can be great when used in moderation. But what happens when leaders collaborate too much? Many thoughtful leaders fall into the collaboration trap because they value the input and opinions of others. They care about giving people a chance to make their opinions count. This is generally a good thing… but it can come with some issues. In this episode, I’ll cover the pitfalls of the collaborative and inclusive leadership style and look at some ways to avoid them in your leadership. After all, it’s good to be collaborative, but only when it serves you and your team, not when it creates bigger problems! Book Your Discovery Coaching Session I invite you to a 90-minute Discovery Coaching Session, where we will: Get clear on your most important goals and what is most important to you Identify blockers and limiting beliefs that are holding you back; and Develop key actions you can take to move forward and make progress. You will leave the Discovery Coaching Session with a sense

In this episode I interview Michael Watts, who is a consultant focused on helping business incorporate more purpose into their operations. In our conversation we cover what we mean by “Purpose for Profit” and how leaders can start to use a purpose-driven approach to improve engagement within their teams and organisations. You can get in touch with Michael by clicking the show links below, but don’t forget to leave a review if you like the podcast! Like the Show? Leave a Review On Apple Podcasts ✅

Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone in our teams were super high performers? You know, go-getters who are striving to improve their career and going over and above all the time? Well, maybe. But maybe there are other people in our teams who play a valuable role that we are actually overlooking. In this episode, I take a look at some of the types of team members who deserve some appreciation, but sometimes aren’t the first people we think about. Book Your Discovery Coaching Session I invite you to a 90-minute Discovery Coaching Session, where we will: Get clear on your most important goals and what is most important to you Identify blockers and limiting beliefs that are holding you back; and Develop key actions you can take to move forward and make progress. You will leave the Discovery Coaching Session with a sense of clarity, purpose and practical steps to move you forward.

Do you ever wish your team members were more resilient? You know, putting up with the problems and striving forward with even greater motivation?  Well, it’s not enough to wish people were more resilient. And you can’t just blame them for feeling bad in a chaotic and complex work environment. Leaders need to set the right conditions for resilience to happen. In this episode, I talk about some of the key ways that I believe you can create resilience in a team, and have your people feeling more able to cope with the challenges that come. Book Your Discovery Coaching Session I invite you to a 90-minute Discovery Coaching Session, where we will: Get clear on your most important goals and what is most important to you Identify blockers and limiting beliefs that are holding you back; and Develop key actions you can take to move forward and make progress. You will leave the Discovery Coaching Session with a sense of clarity, purpose and practical steps to move you forward.