Understanding how to motivate your team can be one of the biggest challenges business owners, managers and leaders face. Finding the right people for your business is just the first step, once you have the players in place, getting the most out of them, motivating them and pushing for greater productivity and motivation is an ongoing pain point which can often feel like some sort of secret witchcraft.

For many managers, when thinking of ways to motivate staff, our automatic default is to entice them with some form of incentive, or show them recognition with some sort of gift, reward or show of gratitude. Some people even think that the bigger the gesture, the more expensive the gift or reward, the higher the motivation should be.

Then, after outlaying the money, expecting a huge return on their investment by achieving high motivation across the team, they are disappointed, frustrated and resentful that their efforts have had no direct impact, and in fact can sometimes appear to...

Why is it so important for leaders to master their mindset?

"Your mindset matters. It affects everything – from the business decisions you make to the way you lead your team." - Carol Dweck, author of ‘Mindset: The New Psychology of Success’

Nowhere is this more true than for a leader.

As a boss, you are a leader and mastering your mindset is crucial to your success.

It allows you to approach challenges with clarity and confidence, make better decisions, and inspire and motivate your team. By developing a growth mindset and cultivating resilience, you can become a more effective leader and navigate the ups and downs of running a business with more ease.

Don't underestimate the power of your mindset - invest in your personal growth and see the positive impact it has on your business.  

The mental game of being a boss can be the most challenging part, requiring resilience and knowing when to have tough conversations. As the boss, you have the power to steer your b...

What is the ‘Great Resignation’?

The "Great Resignation" refers to the surge of employees leaving their jobs in search of better opportunities, work-life balance, and job satisfaction driven by the COVID-19 pandemic that kicked off in 2020.

This global event precipitated the shift towards remote work which gave many employees the freedom to reevaluate their priorities and pursue new career paths.

The term was originally coined in the US by organisational psychologist Anthony Klotz in May 2021 to describe the spike in resignations that appeared post-pandemic.

As a result, many employers around the world faced a significant talent crunch, as employees left in search of more fulfilling roles. Companies were scrambling to find ways to retain their top talent, and invested in initiatives such as flexible work arrangements, employee wellness programs, and increased benefits to keep their employees happy and engaged.

The Great Resignation made it clear that traditional wor...

When managing staff tests your grip on reality

Put a group of strangers together in a room. Give them some constraints and take away certainty. See what happens.

This is essentially the plot device of many a story by the master of meditating on human nature, Stephen King. It also happens in many workplaces where strangers haven’t been nurtured into a team cohesively and consistently. Leave a dysfunctional team alone for long enough and you might eventually think you’re living one of King’s horror stories as things get toxic.

This is why leaders are so important in the workplace. |The role and responsibility of leaders are to nurture their team members. It’s also to catch any issues that start out as weeds before they take firm root in company soil.

But how do you know when you, the leader, are the problem?

As leaders, it’s easy to absolve ourselves immediately and look outward for the issue. And sometimes it is an issue with a system, a process, a situation and ano...

Compliance Update – Paid Family & Domestic Violence Leave

Are you up to date?

When the government changes, so do a range of things including compliance. At the end of 2022, we had a look at the first round of Industrial Relations Reforms that were announced and what we could expect in 2023.

Short answer: a lot.

In February 2023, significant changes were made to the Domestic Family & Domestic Violence Leave.

The major difference is that it used to be unpaid leave and is now paid leave. The Labor Government also pledged $153 million to end Family and Domestic Violence so this is a top priority on their agenda while they’re in office.

We dive deeper further below into the specific changes to this leave entitlement and what you need to be on top of as an employer.

What’s becoming clear, however, with the current government is that pleading ignorance around compliance obligations isn’t going to cut the mustard anymore and breaches of these new laws are going to be cost...

Why are planning sessions so crucial to your team?

There’s a reason why Simon Sinek’s Start With Why upended the world of leadership and business when he hit the mainstream with both this talk and the book.

For a long time, the focus in the workplace was on outcomes without connecting their people to the why of those outcomes. We soon realised by using Simon’s framework, that connecting people to the core of why the business exists and exactly how their role impacts the world created stronger relationships, better outcomes, and more innovative thinking.

A fundamental aspect of connecting your people to your business why is running effective team planning sessions. From this connection grows a rich dynamic for your team – but without a well-structured planning session you could be missing out on leveraging the best from your people.

People want purpose.
People want clarity.
People want to belong.

Understanding these driving motivators, and planning sessions are a great opportunity t...

Why do we need to hit the brakes in our businesses from time to time?

We’re living through an unprecedented post-pandemic period of transition. Many of us are starting the year feeling completely depleted. Everything feels hard and in some instances, insurmountable.

So, what’s the deal?

Whether you struggled or thrived through the pandemic, there’s research being released about the short and long-term impacts on our collective and individual well-being around the world.

The Georgia State University Research Magazine released an article titled Two Years of Trauma in a bid to better understand the lasting legacy of the mental health adversities of the pandemic. Doing the promotional rounds for his latest release, The Myth of Normal, Dr Gabor Maté also talks about the lasting impact of the pandemic as a trauma we are still emerging from.

Hustle culture also isn’t all it cracked up to be, and being a boss has never been more complex than it is today. Now, more than eve...

What does your team need to help your business succeed?

I bet if I ask you what your 2023 vision is for your business, you’ll likely have a good idea. Maybe you’ve reflected, formally or informally, reviewed and planned and strategised what your business is going to look like in 2023.

One vision I notice many small to medium businesses miss clarifying is their vision for their team. If I ask you what your 2023 team vision is – do you have an answer?

There are a few key ingredients to identifying your 2023 team vision. You need to know the what. You need to know the why. You need to then share it with your team. And then you need to plan your team’s capacity – what do they need, maybe even who do they need, to deliver your business vision?

Is it more tools? Or is it more people? Is it clearer roles and responsibilities? Is it a new position? Is it professional development? Is it transitioning team members across roles that are a better fit?

Whatever it is, it’s your...

What do you need to know as a business owner about pay secrecy clauses in your employment contract?

If you’re a small business owner or you work for an organisation that includes sole traders, partnerships and trust structure in Australia you are likely covered by the Fair Work Act.
 

The Fair Work Act covers a range of rights in the workplace including a host of industrial relations legislation and compliance updates that organisations and business need to keep up with. For a more in-depth dive on this act, passed in 2009 by the Rudd Government, read more at the Fair Work Ombudsman.

With the recent changes in government there have been a raft of industrial relations reforms underway in Australia across the end of 2022 into 2023.

The update we’re focusing on today is the banning of Pay Secrecy Clauses in employment contracts and agreements which came into effect on 7 December 2022.

From this date onwards, if you introduce a Pay Secrecy Clause in any of your employment contracts or...

The key to success in business is letting go

Elsa sings in the earworm Disney hit, Frozen, “Let It Go” which is a nice sentiment but not a reality for many business owners who often carry too much on their plates and wear too many hats.

At some stage in a successfully growing small to medium business, the owner and founder is going to have to start letting some of their daily tasks and responsibilities go. This is usually to other people in the business as they start to hire and expand, or outsourcing when there’s a little more cash flowing through the business (sometimes before).

The reality is, in order for our businesses to grow and thrive, and for us to have time to live the life we want, we are going to have to learn how to start letting things go.

Letting go isn’t an easy task as a business owner, though – especially in fledgling or rapidly growing businesses.

Why are we so bad at letting go in our businesses?

When we talk about letting go, we’re talking about ...