leadership

The Right Thing

Long before digital platforms, social media and online reviews we’ve had the incentive to do the right thing. The need for the protection of our tribe and a sense of belonging to our community meant we adhered to rules and norms for the benefit of the collective good. We needed to do right by others,…

On Ambition

By Bernadette | |

Before I went to high school, everyone in our year sat an aptitude test. We were eleven years old, and the assessment took place over three hours one morning early in summer. The goal was to identify each student’s potential and stream girls into year groups based on their IQ. The theory being that matching…

The Medium, The Message AND The Messenger

By Bernadette | |

We know that when it comes to persuasive communication, it isn’t just the message that matters. How and where we deliver the message helps it to resonate and to spread. Speechwriters can write eloquent words which our leaders are instructed to deliver, but message only lands when it’s spoken with conviction. When it comes to…

Building A Reputation

By Bernadette | |

When you and I were at school, many students had a reputation. We can recall the smart and funny ones. The artistic or athletic ones. The introverts and the extroverts. Those reputations were not bestowed—they were built. People’s opinions about you are based not just on what you say, but on what you do. You…

The Way To Lead

By Bernadette | |

A few years back, my son was leaving the train station in Perth when someone asked him for directions. He began to explain the route but stopped halfway. ‘I’m going that direction, why don’t I take you there,’ he said, leading the way. One of the best definitions of leadership I’ve read, explains that it’s…

If I Were You

By Bernadette | |

If I were you. Four words it’s tempting to use when someone shares a problem. Four words I’m trying to avoid using—because I am not you. I don’t know what it’s like to sit with what you’re experiencing or feeling at this moment. You have the wisdom of past experiences to draw on. Ideas you…

Care To Lead

By Bernadette | |

You don’t know Hitesh Palta. Not many people do. Mr Palta is not famous. He doesn’t have a fancy title or a massive Instagram following. He doesn’t occupy a powerful position in government, and nobody asked his opinion about how to alleviate our current global health and economic crisis. Mr Palta is the owner of…

On Safety

By Bernadette | |

We know, as Maslow described, that our most basic needs are physiological and safety. If these needs aren’t met we stumble, we stall and we stop being caring and creative. Safety is a state, but it’s also a feeling. We can be perfectly safe yet feel fearful. Fear is more contagious than any virus. And…

Listening To Lead

By Bernadette | |

The promise of the digital age was the ability to more cheaply and rapidly raise awareness of our value, our message, or our cause. Digital media levelled the playing field and gave all of us the chance to spread our ideas. In some cases, the desire to quickly spread ideas has led to the misbelief…