No Bullsh!t Leadership

Episode #156 // I recently came across a new book called Return on Ambition: A Radical Approach to Your Achievement, Growth, and Well-Being. The book exposes a study on ambitious people, in which over half of those interviewed felt as though they’d sacrificed too much to get to where they were, and didn’t feel as though the rewards were commensurate with their effort and sacrifice.This got me thinking about my own ambition, and how I felt about my career achievements and the energy it took to fulfill them.Sure, nothing worthwhile comes without sacrifice, but how do you know in advance whether or not you’ll find those sacrifices were worth it when you look back in 10 or 20 years’ time?Everyone is different when it comes to their personal drivers and goals, but in this episode I give four key insights that you might find useful in deciding where you truly want your ambition to take you!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #155 // Earlier this month, the Tokyo Olympics provided a welcome distraction from some of the other pressing global issues that have dominated our attention for what seems like an eternity!I couldn’t help but notice the stark leadership lessons that came from watching elite athletes striving to make their long-term vision a reality. These opportunities don’t come around often, so being on your game (on the day) is all-important. For these athletes and coaches, it’s a much less forgiving environment than most of us operate in.So what can we learn about strategy? About delivering in the ‘clutch’ moments when performing under extreme pressure? And what is the surprising lesson on diversity? These seven leadership lessons are sure to give us all pause for thought.// To celebrate the publication of my book No Bullsh!t Leadership, we’re bringing you a free virtual launch event on the 31st August (1st September in Australia)! This event will take you on a journey to insight, with an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look into my leadership path.This interview isn’t just about the book, it’s about the hardest leadership (and life) lessons that I have gone through--the things that worked, the things that didn’t work, and the underlying motivators that inspired me to take on the US market.Save your spot and join the official launch event here!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #154 // As we start to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, and governments around the world loosen restrictions, business leaders are faced with the incredibly difficult task of working out how to get their businesses back to a relatively functional state.The imposition of vaccination mandates has been big news in the US in the last few weeks, and major corporations are taking a variety of positions on this complex issue.What are the right risk settings? What rules should be put in place for employees returning to work? And how should leaders strike a balance between their people’s individual freedoms and the collective good of customers, suppliers, and the business itself?In this episode, I provide a 5-step decision making framework to help you work through the issues for your own unique circumstances, and have created a handy template for you to work through which you can download for free at https://www.yourceomentor.com/episode154👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #153 // This Q&A episode deals with two excellent listener questions! The first, is about how to communicate the uncertainty of the current environment, while still making employees feel supported and secure. Sometimes, it can be tricky to find the balance between honesty and optimism.In the second question, we explore how to manage your emotions when a new employee comes in, all shiny and keen, and casts a shadow over you. The contrast between their attitude and energy, and your own, can make you feel even more jaded and exhausted. So how do you cope with these feelings?This episode has some great hacks to help you approach these types of situations with confidence and ease!We LOVE answering listener questions, so if you've got something you'd like us to cover, send your question to [email protected] and we'll add it to the Q&A list.Have you got your copy of 'No Bullsh!t Leadership', the book? Order now and claim your pre-order bonuses at www.martingmoore.com/thebook If you enjoy the podcast you're going to absolutely love the book!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

#152 // We get so many questions from listeners about career management and progression. I normally shuffle these to the back of the deck, purely because I always feel as though this isn’t my sweet spot - leadership is! But, due to popular demand, I’ve decided to do an episode (with a little help from a friend). My special guest is Laurie Ruettimann, and this topic is absolutely her sweet spot! Laurie’s an ex-HR professional who became disillusioned with how organizations worked, and chose to go out on her own so that she could make a real difference. She spends her time in personalized coaching, executive recruiting & training, and organizational consulting to solve people-related hurdles. Her recently-released book, Betting on You: how to put yourself first and (finally) take charge of your career, is a fabulous guide to all things job and career related.You can find out more about Laurie, her book and her podcast here: https://laurieruettimann.com/books/betting-on-you/👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #151 // I was being interviewed for a podcast in the US a few weeks ago, and the interviewer asked an excellent question: he said, “it’s all well and good when you talk about motivating professionals and senior leaders, but not everyone has jobs like that. How do you motivate people who have mundane, repetitive, and mind-numbing jobs?”Although we tend to imagine occupations like cleaners, fruit pickers, and production line workers when we think about mundane jobs, we may have many of these types of workers in our own offices and work groups. Think of the payroll, accounts payable, and accounts receivable departments.In this episode, I reference a fabulous documentary, American Factory, which treats this subject exceptionally well. I also give six tips for motivating the people who do these difficult jobs. You don’t have to be a high flyer to deserve competent leadership - it’s a right, not a privilege.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #150 // Our listener base incorporates leaders from a massive range of different circumstances and experiences…leaders in over 70 countries, in countless industries, leading at all levels, in organizations of all shapes and sizes. That’s why not everyone gets the same things out of each episode - it’s obviously context dependent! This episode attempts to bridge all of these worlds, by addressing the issue of organization size, and highlighting some of the differences you’ll face in running a multi-billion dollar business (which I’ve done), to running a startup business (which I’m doing now). I help you to understand the common elements, what’s valuable in each context, and how to scale your approach to make it fit-for-purpose, no matter what size organization you’re currently in.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #149 // Quite often, when we push back on a boss who wants us to take on more work, we’re told to “just do it”. Or sometimes, when we raise risks, issues, and problems with our boss, they gloss over or ignore them, and we’re told to “just do it”.Given that the world’s leading athletic brand has the tagline, “Just Do It!”, I took to calling this type of leader the Nike Boss.You don’t want to be that boss, and you certainly don’t want to work for that boss. This episode gives both perspectives! I've also created a free PDF downloadable for this episode '4 Ways to Push Back on a Nike Boss', which you can get at www.yourceomentor.com/episode149👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #148 // Everyone has different levels of mental capability, emotional capacity, resilience, drive, and ambition. To make things even harder, on any given day these can vary for an individual, depending on what’s going on in their world. What works today may not work next Friday.Knowing what this means for each of your direct reports at any given point in time, is the baseline for understanding how far you can stretch them (without breaking them)!In this episode, I explore why positive stress is essential for your people, and why it’s the key to unlocking exceptional performance. I explain why overloading people with work doesn’t actually stretch them - it just demotivates them. And I offer some ideas for using the Challenge / Coach / Confront framework to lift every individual to their peak potential.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #147 // In this episode we have another couple of great questions to work through! First we’ll deal with how to manage the fallout of peer envy. There’s no doubt that when you start to rise above the pack, the pack will try to pull you back to them (especially in Australia - say hello to Tall Poppy Syndrome). I saw a lot of these situations in my corporate career, and watched some people deal with this better than others! I’ll be sharing with you what I think works best. Secondly, we had a great question come in from one of our Leadership Beyond the Theory alumni, Kaleb, who asked how he can more effectively manage handovers between teams on a change of shifts. We’re going to broaden this one out a little to start with all handovers, and then narrow down to the specific situation Kaleb has described.This is one of our longer episodes, but it's well worth the listen because we get really detailed on all these topics - it's a deep dive you don't want to miss!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #146 // Regardless of the size of business you’re in, one of your primary objectives is to prepare for the future. This means ensuring that you have the talent and capability in place so that, if something untoward happens to you or one of your key people, your business doesn’t skip a beat.So how do you actually ensure you have stability and continuity in your talent, especially in a micro-business where your options can be limited? Knowing your people, the market, and what skills are truly core to the effective operation of your business is important if you are to make smart succession planning decisions. In this episode, we talk about one of the world’s most famous key person risks, and I give you my eight tips for avoiding the cracks that can appear when you haven’t planned around your talent sufficiently.We've also got a [free] downloadable for this episode, my 8 Rules of Thumb for Succession Planning, so head to www.yourceomentor.com/episode146 and grab your copy!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #145 // We spend a lot of time talking about the difficult elements of leadership, and how to overcome them. Mastery of the right habits, behaviors, and mindset is crucial if you want to have a successful and happy career.But what about having fun at work? Let’s face it - we have very serious jobs, doing very serious work for our very serious stakeholders. But it doesn’t mean that every interaction has to be deathly serious! Knowing when and how to lighten the mood is a delicate balance that takes years to master.This episode unlocks the benefits of bringing your sense of humor into the workplace, and shows how you can improve your team dynamics and culture by knowing how to introduce some humour. Giving your people permission to have fun is something they will value, and the whole team will benefit from.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #144 // Since Covid, it has become a lot more difficult to attract and retain the right talent (which is a little counterintuitive, given how many people’s livelihoods were affected during the pandemic). But government stimulus measures in many countries have distorted labour markets.As it becomes increasingly difficult to secure quality candidates, it’s important to understand how to secure the right capability at the front end. Let’s face it, you just want to hire the best person for the job - someone whose values and objectives are aligned with yours - and then turn that into performance!What does it take to showcase your organisation in its best light (without overselling), and what can you do to attract and secure the best candidates from the available pool? I’m sure you’ll find my seven tips for attracting and retaining talent pretty useful.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 143 // Some companies have turned the concept of believing your own bullsh!t into an art form! It’s really easy to convince ourselves that we are achieving amazing things when, in actual fact, very little is changing.The Emperor’s New Clothes, the classic fairytale from Hans Christian Andersen, is a wonderful metaphor for this. Leaders often pretend that they’re in control, that they have all the answers. They even convince themselves that they’re excellent leaders, whom people love to follow. But the reality can be starkly different.This episode explores the psychological factors that push us to believe our own bullsh!t, and I give some tips to stop you from falling into this trap as your leadership career develops and flourishes!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #142 // When tech firm Basecamp released some new company policies, around a third of their people resigned (hey, it’s only a small business, but even so)! What’s all the fuss about?  These fairly innocuous changes made by co-founder and CEO, Jason Fried, drew clearer lines between social and work-related interactions, and set some boundaries that Basecamp deems appropriate. So how much should we let our people integrate their social and political interests with the work they’re paid to do? How much social interaction in the workplace is acceptable? And how would we address the issue if we think things are starting to get a little out of hand? You can read the original Basecamp blog here: https://world.hey.com/jason/changes-at-basecamp-7f32afc5👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #141 // Understanding risk, and being able to respond in a manner that’s both appropriate and proportional to the level of risk is a fundamental capability for leaders.When we talk about judgement in leadership and decision making, a lot of it comes down to how well we can assess and respond to risk, given the uncertainty that faces us at any given point in time.This episode brings the discipline of risk management to life, with a number of examples that take the mystery out of the subject. It will help you to implement a fit-for-purpose risk management approach that’s sure to enhance your decision-making.I've also created a FREE PDF downloadable to accompany this episode 'The 6 Principles of Good Risk Management' which you can download here: https://www.yourceomentor.com/episode141#download👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 140 // In this week’s Q&A, we’re going to cover two questions about the subtle art of managing upwards and how to deal with a passive aggressive boss.We do get an awful lot of questions about how to deal with those leaders above you, so much so that we’re actually planning out a mini-course about it!In the meantime, the two questions we’ve chosen for this episode cover the main issues that we see. The first question from Genevieve is about how to influence upwards when you feel as though you don’t have any basis for doing so, and the second from Chris is about working under a passive aggressive boss.We cover a lot of ground in this one, dialling it right down to the practical questions you can ask your boss today to better influence up the line. If you've got a horrible boss, this episode is going to give you the perspective and practical tips you need to move forward with confidence!A few other useful podcasts that we mention during this episode are:Episode #132 What do CEOs Do?Episode #134 Being More StrategicEpisode #138 It's Not WHAT You KnowEpisode #110 Getting In The Arena👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #139 // This week we take on a great listener question that will be on many people’s minds at the moment.Fear has been stoked to extraordinary levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent impact of lockdowns and travel bans on many businesses has been severe. Many people are living in fear, as they see their companies struggling to survive, and are faced with the harsh reality of their own lack of job security.What impacts are felt when individuals operate from a position of fear? What can we do to keep our fear in check? And what are the techniques for helping the people around us to keep going, so that we don’t see catastrophic impacts at the organisational level?This episode offers some practical guidance for dealing with the fear that we all feel at times like these.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #138 // I recently had a robust after-dinner discussion over this old expression. It’s often said by someone who’s trying to explain the reasons behind another person’s success. And, yes, it’s designed to somehow diminish their achievements.It implies that learning and knowledge are inherently more noble and worthwhile than building relationships… or perhaps there’s an element of favoritism or nepotism at play… or that anyone who leverages their connections is (at best) taking a shortcut and (at worst) doing something vaguely distasteful.This episode explores why the attitude that it’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know can be damaging, and takes a deep dive into some of the key areas that will really determine the level of success you enjoy, in any area of your life.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #137 // This week’s episode is another interview, this time with marketing icon, Eric Siu! Em managed to secure this interview with the man who was instrumental in us understanding how to build our business, in a world that requires mastery of both physical and digital marketing channels.For those of you building your own businesses, this episode will be invaluable. For those working in larger corporations at any level, Eric shares his insights and hard-earned wisdom on everything from:Long-term v short-term focusDealing with company turnarounds in the direst of circumstancesWhy continuous improvement is so important, yet sometimes elusiveBuilding success by getting through the daily grind, andHow to handle a work-from-home cultureYou can connect with Eric below: Instagram: @ericosiuTwitter: https://twitter.com/ericosiuYouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC3owDdLk7HL1dyQnkoBuRew LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ericosiu/Get the book: www.levelingup.com/👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #136 // How do you know when it’s time to leave an organisation?Like almost every question in leadership, the answer is - it depends. Every situation is completely different, and only you know the factors that affect you: the workplace culture, your personal circumstances, the impact your boss has on you, and your ultimate career aspirations.But wouldn’t it be great to have a framework that could help you make smart decisions whenever you face a career dilemma?!This episode provides that framework, and some scenarios to help you figure out how to apply it.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #135 // Is there such a thing as “too much empathy”? Despite what many pundits say, I believe that there’s a place for almost limitless empathy in a leader. The more you have, the better you’ll be able to lead your people. The risk is that weak leaders often allow their empathy to devolve into sympathy, which is a very different thing.If you combine empathy with the right leadership behaviours - strength of character and uncompromising standards - it will build the foundations for everything you need to do as a leader.In this episode, I take a critical look at the nexus between empathy and sympathy. If you’re aware of this distinction, you’re more likely to resist the temptation to become a weak leader who rationalises, avoids, and freezes when faced with difficult choices.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #134 // Have you ever been told that you need to be “more strategic”?t can come as part of the dreaded post-interview feedback, when you find out that you haven’t got the job, or in a talent management discussion when your boss tells you that you aren’t seen as someone who might rise to the next level.Telling someone that they need to be more strategic means… well, nothing!This episode explores what your boss really means when she says “you need to be more strategic”, and I give my 6 top tips for becoming more strategic (with some work and commitment, over time).I've put these 6 tips into a FREE downloadable PDF so that you can keep it on hand to reference at any time! Head to www.yourceomentor.com/episode134 to get your hands on it!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #133 // INTERVIEWAfter 130-odd episodes of me giving my two-cents worth on all things leadership, we’re starting to introduce the occasional interview with a leader who has really made a difference in the world.In this episode, I interview Luc Robitaille, President of the Los Angeles Kings National Hockey League franchise. After a 20-year career as an elite athlete in one of the toughest sporting arenas on the planet, Luc made the successful transition to corporate executive ranks.We all face difficulty when we transition to an unfamiliar role, especially when moving from a technical role to a leadership role. Luc goes into the nitty-gritty of how he did this: the challenges and the triumphs.There's a lot of talk in business about the concept of world class performance, and today, we'll give you some insight into what that actually means!You don't want to skip over this episode, Luc drops gem after gem that you can apply as a leader in any industry!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #132 // There are many variables that have an impact on what a CEO role entails at a given point in time - industry, company size, maturity of the business, external market forces, customer segmentation, ownership structure etc.On top of this, every day can be vastly different, which is why some of the most important attributes for a CEO to possess are adaptability, change tolerance, and mental agility. Add to these the ability to communicate and align the organisation around a compelling value proposition, and you’re starting to get close! This episode explores both the theory and the practice of the role of the CEO. I share my views on the non-negotiable outcomes that are relevant to every CEO role, and I also give you a “Day In the Life Of” as I reflect on my time as CEO of CS Energy.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #131 // I run into leaders all the time who struggle with the personal impact that a leadership role has on their lives. It can be emotionally draining, and it can have far reaching impacts through every aspect of their lives.To be a successful leader in the longer term, and at the most senior levels, you first have to learn how to manage yourself. As they say during the airline safety briefings, “if oxygen is required, fit your own mask first before assisting others”.Strong leaders are strong people - strong enough to shoulder the duty of care that comes with a leadership career, and equipped to help others develop.This week, we look at the common types of fallout that many leaders experience, and provide seven practical tips for dealing with the emotional toll of leadership.We've also created a FREE PDF downloadable summary that wraps this all up in a nice bow for you, which you can download at www.yourceomentor.com/episode131👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #130 // As leaders, we expect most things to be logical. They should make sense to us, and be easy for us to explain to our people. And to a large extent this is true.But we also can’t overlook the fact that some of the most important principles of success are actually counterintuitive, and we need to be able to hold this dissonance in our heads.It’s in our nature to look for easy answers to the things that challenge us. The fact of it is, though, there are no silver bullets. Any ground we make as individuals and leaders is hard fought and won. Embracing this reality makes us stronger, but trying to bargain for an easier path will see us rooted where we are, eventually feeling like victims, and wondering why life is so unfair.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #129 // INTERVIEWIn today's podcast, I talk about the 'Executive Breakthrough' with Michelle Foley, Chief Customer Officer at The Arnott's Group.Michelle has been with The Arnott’s Group for over 17 years now, and knows the company intimately. The iconic Aussie brand that brings us Tim Tam cookies and Jatz crackers is now going through some change, and Michelle is one of the key executives guiding the company through its next phase.In this exclusive pre-recorded interview, Michelle shares her tactics for striking a balance between being a cheerleader for your people, and still being driven by results. She takes a deep dive into building competitive advantage, the work life juggle, and the legacy she wants to leave.This is a live event interview recording, so the audio quality isn't as sharp as usual, but the content is absolute gold so I really hope you enjoy this change in format!//Leadership Beyond the Theory is now taking enrolments for the March 2021 cohort! Head to www.yourceomentor.com/program and claim one of the limited places before we start class on Monday 1st March!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #128 // In this episode, Em & I discuss a few brilliant listener questions relating to promotions.The first question is from Anne, who asks about breaking through the middle management ranks to get to more senior levels when you think you’re overdue for a promotion, but your bosses don’t see your potential the same way you do.The second question is from John, who asks about some of the ways you can prepare the future leaders whom you’re intending to promote from within the organisation.These questions are faced by virtually every leader at some point during their careers, so there are some great tips in here for everyone!A word of warning, this episode is VERY detailed, so you may need to listen to it a few times with a pen and paper on hand!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #127 // We’ve had a lot of people recently asking us about the role of purpose in business. In this episode, we answer a great question from one of our Leadership Beyond the Theory alumni, David.What should we make of the push for organisations to be ‘purpose-driven’? Can we truly put people before profits? What are the pros and cons of setting up a purpose, and trying to use that to drive your organisation? And is there ever justification for putting people through the pain of restructures and redundancies?As a pragmatic former CEO, I unpick some of the pitfalls you’ll encounter if you decide to turn your organisation into a purpose-driven business.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #126 // At some point, every leader needs to present proposals to their boss in order to gain approval for deploying the organisation’s resources.After years of analyzing and approving investment proposals (many for hundreds of millions of dollars), I demystify the process, giving you the practical tips that will enable you to deliver a winning proposal, every time.Whether you’re asking for $50m to invest into a research and development project, $5m for a new software package, or $5,000 to upgrade an ailing piece of equipment in your office, the thought process is the same. Knowing what to present can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection. All leaders need to speak the language of finance, especially when it comes to making investment decisions.I've also put together a free downloadable cheat sheet for this episode, as there's quite a lot to remember! You can download the Ten Tips for Building a Winning Proposal at www.yourceomentor.com/episode126👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #125 // How do you develop a mindset to make decisions confidently, while removing any concerns about the implications it could have for your job - your promotability and future prospects?This can be a particularly vexed question when you work in a larger organisation, where the politics can sometimes be quite vicious.So how do you learn to take smart career risks, knowing that things will work out for the best? Is it at all possible to teach this to others?In this episode, I offer some practical suggestions that you can use to help build character. It may even help your people to develop it as well!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #124 // There are very few people who are totally comfortable presenting in a public forum, whether it’s a submission to the board, a ‘town hall’ style meeting for people who work on your team, or a sales presentation.We released an episode over 12 months ago, called “Epic Presentation Fails”. This focused mainly on how to structure a presentation, and how to not bore your audience to death by simply delivering dry information without insight and context.This week, we’re going to go beyond the original episode to speak about the actual delivery of a presentation. Communication is a core skill for leaders at every level. If you can’t communicate clearly and confidently, you’ll struggle to lead!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #123 // There was a lot to celebrate in 2020, despite the difficulties we all faced. And whereas much of the world was focused on leading through the pandemic, it still didn’t stop the run-of-the-mill failures that come from deceptive, negligent, and self-interested leadership.As a subscriber to the Australian Financial Review (our daily Wall St Journal equivalent), I just love their end-of-year wraps. The one I focus on in this episode is what the AFR considers to be the best examples of corporate failures in 2020.I deconstruct some of the cases mentioned in the article, then cap it off with my own prize for the most breathtaking leadership accountability failure that I witnessed last year.//Are you coming to No Bullsh!t Leadership: Live? To celebrate reaching 1,000,000 downloads of the No Bullsh!t Leadership podcast, we are throwing a completely free, not-to-be-missed half-day virtual leadership event!Places are limited so register here to save your spot (and get your friends and colleagues to do it as well)!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #122 // As much as I think any day is a good day to rethink what we’re doing in our lives and careers, a milestone like the new year typically prompts us to reflect a bit more deeply.2020 was a pretty tough year for many of us. This time last year, when we released the Crush Your Career challenge, we had no idea what twists and turns the world was about to take!Having said that, if you did manage to complete the challenge last year, I’m sure it massively helped you to navigate through all the difficulties that were thrown up at you.So, just as we did last year, we’re re-releasing the Crush Your Career challenge to help you set up for whatever 2021 may bring… enjoy!Register for the FREE 5-day content series at www.yourceomentor.com/cyc👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #121 // As we traditionally do in December, Em and I thought we’d take a look back on the year of podcasts, and pick out our favourites for you to go back and listen to while you’re enjoying some downtime in the New Year.It’s been a helluva year and, as I look back, I feel an incredible sense of gratitude for what I’ve personally experienced, and feel especially humbled by both the business and personal success I’ve been fortunate enough to have this year.2020’s been a big one for Your CEO Mentor. Just a couple of weeks ago, we reached our 1 Million Download milestone for the podcast. I wrote the No Bullsh!t Leadership book while in lockdown, which is being published in the US next August. We’ve run two more wildly successful cohorts of Leadership Beyond the Theory and I continue to work with some incredible clients to help them cut through the clutter and improve the performance of their businesses.I hope you have got a huge amount of value out of the podcasts we’ve produced this year. 80% of episodes have come from listener and student questions, so keep them coming! If there’s something you want us to cover or do a deep dive on in 2021, send your question through to us at [email protected] or get in touch on any of our social media channels.For ease of access, here are our top 5 picks for 2020 to put on your holiday listening list: Episode #111 The Leadership Meeting Cadence: Bringing the concepts to life (download the free PDF here)Episode #85 Strategy Isn’t Hard: Don’t overcomplicate it (download the free PDF here)Episode #92 The Leadership Dance: A winning mindsetEpisode #107 Resilience, Faith and Optimism: The Stockdale ParadoxEpisode #82 Leading Through a Crisis: Calm, capable and confident (download the free PDF here)👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #120 // This week, I share a mentoring session with a senior leader from a large industrial business. Vahid ran an extremely successful transformation program in his own business unit, and asked me how he should go about expanding the initiative so that the broader organisation might benefit. Having seen some early resistance in other business units, I talked Vahid through some of the typical blockers that can make it difficult to gain acceptance when trying to influence one’s peers. The sailing isn’t smooth when politics comes into play, so working out how to navigate that is an essential skill for any senior leader.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #119 // A lot of leaders say that their organisation is suffering from “change fatigue". Although there are no doubt many impacts from the seemingly endless list of change initiatives that organisations roll out, is change fatigue really a thing?Maybe it’s simply an inevitable part of life in a fast-paced business environment. But the problem with using cliches like ‘change fatigue’ is that they can lead us to overlook the role that our own leadership behaviours play.What’s the difference between change fatigue, and change resistance? Has Covid changed all of this? And what could we do differently to bring some sense and order to our change initiatives, while protecting our people from the most damaging side-effects?We've also put together a really handy free PDF downloadable to summarise the key takeaways from the episode, which you can download from our website www.yourceomentor.com/episode119👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #118 // When we spend so much time dedicated to our work, it’s pretty common to feel as though we’re neglecting other important areas of our lives: our families, our health, our friends… we can even lose our basic zest for living. We forget that we’re supposed to be working to live, not living to work.In this episode, we focus on how to have a stellar career, and still be successful in the other critical areas of your life. Our first question from Jay asks specifically about the impact that a high-powered career can have on your children.We also explore how to get the hiring process right, and work at the right level so that you don’t get sucked into the vortex of a never-ending task list. Like anything in leadership, it takes discipline to create and maintain the right habits.//We are on a mission to hit 1 million listens by the 31st December 2020 and we're less than 20k listens away from that goal!To help us to reach this goal, and impact even more leaders just like you who would benefit from the strategies and tools that Marty covers in the podcast, please share the podcast with your network. You can also subscribe, follow, rate and review the podcast, that will help more leaders find us when they’re searching for a new leadership podcast to binge on.If we hit our goal, we will be running a completely free live virtual leadership event in February 2021, and we would love for you to be there!Keep up with the live listener number and see how close we are to our goal at www.yourceomentor.com/stats 👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #117 // Every organisation inherently has a number of natural tensions between different groups and functions - finance vs marketing; sales vs operations; operations vs asset management; IT and… virtually everyone!Rather than trying to eliminate these tensions, leaders should concentrate on using them to get better outcomes. It’s through nurturing and managing natural tensions that you’ll find a balance - this will improve your decision-making, and ultimately create the greatest value for your organisation.There are no black-and-white answers to this question, but there are some practical principles and philosophies you can employ. In this episode, I provide some useful tips for managing natural tensions in order to improve the value outcomes of your team. //We are on a mission to hit 1 million listens by the 31st December 2020.To help us to reach this goal, and impact even more leaders just like you who would benefit from the strategies and tools that Marty covers in the podcast, please share the podcast with your network. You can also subscribe, follow, rate and review the podcast, that will help more leaders find us when they’re searching for a new leadership podcast to binge on.If we hit our goal, we will be running a completely free live virtual leadership event in February 2021, and we would love for you to be there!Keep up with the live listener number and see how close we are to our goal at www.yourceomentor.com/stats  👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #116 // We tend to talk a lot about how important it is for leaders to give their people feedback, but focus much less on how to receive feedback. In this episode, we turn the tables a little. All great leaders were first great followers, and had to experience how life felt on the other side of the table. Listening and learning should never stop, no matter how high up you go.We look at how human nature can get in the way of our ability to hear the feedback that’s given to us. We then examine the efficacy of formal feedback mechanisms, and I also give some practical tips for how to receive feedback graciously.We've put together a free PDF resource that pulls out the key takeaways from this episode, which you can easily download at https://www.yourceomentor.com/episode116//We are on a mission to hit 1 million listens by the 31st December 2020.To help us to reach this goal, and impact even more leaders just like you who would benefit from the strategies and tools that Marty covers in the podcast, please share the podcast with your network. You can also subscribe, follow, rate and review the podcast, that will help more leaders find us when they’re searching for a new leadership podcast to binge on.If we hit our goal, we will be running a completely free live virtual leadership event in February 2021, and we would love for you to be there!Keep up with the live listener number and see how close we are to our goal at www.yourceomentor.com/stats 👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #115 // Innovation has become a very overused term, which can be found in the bullsh!t bingo dictionary between agility, and strategic. The term has become so hackneyed that it can sometimes be almost meaningless. In this episode, I strip away some of the mystique around innovation, and offer some practical guidelines for managing the innovation process in your organisation.The value of major market disruption is obvious, albeit risky. But how do you create value from a continuous improvement culture, without jeopardising the core value outcomes of your formal work program?//We are on a mission to hit 1 million listens by the 31st December 2020.To help us to reach this goal, and impact even more leaders just like you who would benefit from the strategies and tools that Marty covers in the podcast, please share the podcast with your network. You can also subscribe, follow, rate and review the podcast, that will help more leaders find us when they’re searching for a new leadership podcast to binge on.If we hit our goal, we will be running a completely free live virtual leadership event in February 2021, and we would love for you to be there!Keep up with the live listener number and see how close we are to our goal at www.yourceomentor.com/stats 👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #114 // Starting a new role can be a little daunting, whether you’re being promoted to lead the team you used to be part of, or moving to a completely different organisation in a new industry.Every new role requires you to go through a deliberate process to set yourself up, and to establish the right expectations with your stakeholders - your boss, your peers, your team and, depending on the role, your customers and suppliers.As someone who transitioned through lots of roles during my corporate career, I want to lay out a bit of a roadmap for how to transition into any new role, play to your strengths, and stamp your own individual excellence on it.So in this episode I’ll cover three key areas: How to match your skills, capabilities, and experience to any new roleWhat you can do to establish yourself as a credible performer, under any circumstances and; Some tips for drawing a line in the sand and setting or resetting expectations for your team👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #113 // In the last couple of decades, we’ve seen an increasing focus on embracing diversity. The emphasis on this is often limited to gender diversity, as we look to achieve increased representation of women in senior leadership positions. But even though gender is clearly a priority area, diversity needs to go way further if we truly want to achieve better outcomes.There are two distinct steps to harnessing the power of diversity. The first is to select and retain the right people in your team, and the second is to tap into the diverse capability that you’ve assembled.In this episode, we look at what really constitutes diversity, and provide some tips and suggestions for unlocking it. There’s not much point in having a diverse team unless you can liberate people’s unique perspectives, experiences, and insights to improve organisational outcomes, and ultimately deliver greater value.//We are on a mission to hit 1 million listens by the 31st December 2020.To help us to reach this goal, and impact even more leaders just like you who would benefit from the strategies and tools that Marty covers in the podcast, please share the podcast with your network. You can also subscribe, follow, rate and review the podcast, that will help more leaders find us when they’re searching for a new leadership podcast to binge on.If we hit our goal, we will be running a completely free live virtual leadership event in February 2021, and we would love for you to be there!Keep up with the live listener number and see how close we are to our goal at www.yourceomentor.com/stats 👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #112 // We get an enormous number of questions on making better decisions, but we haven’t really addressed this subject directly in quite a while. Ultimately your ability to make better decisions, faster than your competitors provides the foundation for execution excellence.In this week’s episode, we go back to Q&A format, where Em and I pick up a couple of questions from our podcast listeners on the finer points of decision making. First, Olivia asks if there’s a place for ‘gut feel’ in the decision making process.Then we answer Tim’s question on how to manage a situation where a decision that’s already been made by one of your people needs to be reversed.//We are on a mission to hit 1 million listens by the 31st December 2020.To help us to reach this goal, and impact even more leaders just like you who would benefit from the strategies and tools that Marty covers in the podcast, please share the podcast with your network. You can also subscribe, follow, rate and review the podcast, that will help more leaders find us when they’re searching for a new leadership podcast to binge on.If we hit our goal, we will be running a completely free live virtual leadership event in February 2021, and we would love for you to be there!Keep up with the live listener number and see how close we are to our goal at www.yourceomentor.com/stats👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #111 // If you took a poll of 100 leaders, you’d be hard-pressed to find one who’d say that they’d like more meetings in their lives, especially these days where 'Zoom fatigue' has become a factor.However, meetings can be a powerful construct for setting standards, making decisions, and lifting performance. If you're spending a lot of your time in meetings, you want to make them count!In this episode we talk about how to bring together all aspects of the individual AND group meetings that drive your execution tempo, as I let you in on my proven leadership meeting cadence.This is an incredibly detailed episode, so we've created a free PDF guide 'Practical Execution Tips: How to Get Your Meeting Cadence Right' which you can download from our website at https://www.yourceomentor.com/episode111. If this helps, make sure you share it with your team so that you're all working from the same playbook!Some other episodes that we reference:Episode #96 Performance ReviewsEpisode #6 The Psychology of FeedbackEpisode #57 Challenge, Coach, Confront//We are on a mission to hit 1 million listens by the 31st December 2020.To help us to reach this goal, and impact even more leaders just like you who would benefit from the strategies and tools that Marty covers in the podcast, please share the podcast with your network. You can also subscribe, follow, rate and review the podcast, that will help more leaders find us when they’re searching for a new leadership podcast to binge on.If we hit our goal, we will be running a completely free live virtual leadership event in February 2021, and we would love for you to be there!Keep up with the live listener number and see how close we are to our goal at www.yourceomentor.com/stats👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #110 // We all get busy doing the things we do in life, and sometimes we don’t really think about what we’re actually achieving. Some people love to be in the thick of things, happy to risk success or failure. Others appear to be much more comfortable watching from the sidelines, at a safe distance.Unless you learn how to put yourself “in the arena”, you’ll struggle to find success and satisfaction in your career, whether you’re running a start-up business, or a major global multinational.The episode unpicks some of the natural impediments to getting in the arena, and offers a suggestion to help you overcome whatever is holding you back!👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #109 // The concept of “Servant Leadership” was first formulated by Robert Geenleaf 50 years ago, most likely as a reaction to the command-and-control leadership style of corporate America in the 1950s and 1960s.Servant Leadership has a lot going for it. Putting the focus on the growth and well-being of the individual, and using this as a means to achieve organisational outcomes is indeed compelling. And despite the fact that there is little empirical research to support the hypothesis, a number of successful companies swear by this approach.Join me as I unpick the key elements of servant leadership, explore the potential downside of adopting it as an overall style, and have a crack at cherry-picking the best features to help us improve and expand our existing leadership repertoire.Link reference: Episode #5 Using Power Wisely: Why how we get results actually matters//We are on a mission to hit 1 million listens by the 31st December 2020.To help us to reach this goal, and impact even more leaders just like you who would benefit from the strategies and tools that Marty covers in the podcast, please share the podcast with your network. You can also subscribe, follow, rate and review the podcast, that will help more leaders find us when they’re searching for a new leadership podcast to binge on.If we hit our goal, we will be running a completely free live virtual leadership event in February 2021, and we would love for you to be there!Keep up with the live listener number and see how close we are to our goal at www.yourceomentor.com/stats👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #108 // This episode takes a look at the delicate issue of relationships at work. Why do we still see a revolving door of very senior executives exiting organisations at incredible personal, financial, and reputational cost?Cultural standards and policies vary wildly from organisation to organisation and, let’s face it, around 1 in 5 of you actually met your current partner at work.But we’ve seen a massive shift in societal awareness and expectations of relationships in the workplace, especially when these involve a power imbalance.This episode explores some of the nuances of the issues, and offers a simple guideline for leaders to follow.//We are on a mission to hit 1 million listens by the 31st December 2020.To help us to reach this goal, and impact even more leaders just like you who would benefit from the strategies and tools that Marty covers in the podcast, please share the podcast with your network. You can also subscribe, follow, rate and review the podcast, that will help more leaders find us when they’re searching for a new leadership podcast to binge on.If we hit our goal, we will be running a completely free live virtual leadership event in February 2021, and we would love for you to be there!Keep up with the live listener number and see how close we are to our goal at www.yourceomentor.com/stats👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode #107 // The amount of disruption, challenge, and uncertainty we’ve dealt with in the past six months has tested us all. Who is committed to coming out the other side better for the experience?This episode illuminates the road to true resilience, as we tap into the experiences of those who’ve come before us. How do we cope when everything appears hopeless, and the barriers seem insurmountable?The Stockdale Paradox is a roadmap to surviving even the most difficult and gruelling circumstances, and fits perfectly into our current paradigm as we look to an uncertain global future.👉 Doors are open for Leadership Beyond the Theory. Be the boss you wish you had.🔗 Enroll now at leadershipbeyondthetheory.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.