I loved seeing Man I Need by Olivia Dean take out top spot in the Triple J Hottest 100 a couple of weeks ago - not just because it’s a cracking tune (although it is), but because of what it’s about: communication. It’s about using your words.Being emotionally honest.Saying what you need instead of hoping […]
I’m back at work properly today after school holidays at home with my three teen/pre-teen boys. So when I talk about communicating under pressure, trust me, I’ve been living it. Don’t get me wrong – we’ve had a great six weeks, including a week camping at Nicholson in East Gippsland and a few nights at […]
In the wake of the devastating attack on the Jewish community in Sydney, many people are feeling shaken, angry and raw. When emotions sit close to the surface, how we disagree, challenge ideas, and respond to each other matters more than ever. For my last newsletter of 2025, I’m resharing a piece I wrote last […]
This year I set myself a challenge: to read 52 books in 52 weeks. With just under three weeks to go, I’m sitting on 58. Safe to say, I love books. Whether it’s writing them or reading them, I'm always drawn to stories and ideas that stretch my thinking, give me perspective, and help me […]
For many people I’m speaking with, this year has felt like a scary theme park ride – maybe a haunted house or a ghost train. The kind where you’re strapped in, on edge, the track keeps twisting, and you’ve got no idea what’s coming next… but you’re bracing for the next jump-scare. Disruption. Uncertainty. Constant […]
In a recent workshop, I mentioned how gender discrimination can still show up in workplaces. A male leader in the room shook his head and said: “I call bullsh*t – and so does my wife.” Righto. He went on to say gender equality had been achieved, there was no such thing as a pay gap, […]
This week I’ve swapped the facilitator’s chair for the participant’s, diving into five days of training to become accredited in the Leadership Circle Profile – a 360-degree feedback tool I’ll soon be using with my program clients. It’s a powerful addition to the work I already do with leaders and teams through my larger programs […]
Empathy does not equal problem-solving. It’s a mistake many people make when someone shares a problem, concern, or emotion. It’s a mistake I fall into myself. Leaders do it with team members. Partners do it when their spouse comes home from work after a tough day. Instead of listening, we jump into fix-it mode. We […]
What are you doing to create space - and make it safe - for the quieter people in your team to speak up? That’s the question I posed to a roomful of medical leaders this week during my Soft is the New Hard workshop, and it got them thinking. Because it’s not only on the quieter people and passive communicators […]
How do you feel about public speaking? Do you get nervous? Power through it but breathe a sigh of relief when it’s over? Or maybe you're confident until the microphone is in your hand and all eyes are on you? If you're someone who dreads public speaking, you're not alone. Research shows it's one of the […]
