The Latest from Kristy-Lee

Hello and welcome to Episode 212 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today we are talking about one of my favourite subjects – Psychometric Assessments!

Specifically we are discussing when to use Psychometric, Strengths and Personality Assessments with your team.

We start by unpacking the difference between these assessments, and when you might want to use each one, as they each have their own value and purpose.

We then look at how to choose the right one for you, out of all the options out there.

Finally I share the 4 key ways I love to use these assessments with teams.

As promised, here is the link to our previous episode where we had Charissa Lim, Disc Expert, talk to us about using Disc in your recruitment process - https://www.peoplepoweredbusiness.com.au/blog/Charissa-Lim

An Invitation:

Would you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Gro...

There’s a fine balance between the number of people that report into any one position and how effectively a business or organisation continues to run. It’s quite often an aspect of organisational structure that is overlooked, neglected, or spirals quickly out of control as businesses scale and grow without a clearly identified structure or resourcing plan for growth.

But there is a magic number of direct reports that hits the sweet spot, ensuring that you have just the right number of staff reporting into a single position while still ensuring that position itself is effective depending on the nature of the role.

Structure is one of the fundamental aspects of ensuring that you don’t overwhelm, or even underwhelm, your management team and help set them, and their teams, up for success – in the long run, this feeds into your business success and is well worth investing in.

There are actually five key factors or variables that impact the success of direct report structures and...

Hello and welcome to Episode 211 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

In today’s episode I am joined by Mel Rosenthal, professional coach for founders, leaders and teams.

Mel is a Professional Certified Coach, accredited by the International Coaching Federation and an Australian Institute of Company Directors graduate (GAICD).  She holds a Bachelor of Commerce (First Class Honours) from the University of Western Australia and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. 

Mel works with Founders and Leaders to drive growth for companies and the people in them.

She has been trusted by the leadership of companies including Who Gives A Crap, Minor Figures, Keep Cup, StartUp Victoria, QBE, Tyro, Champion Life, Thoughtworks, The Australian Centre for Social Innovation, Inventium, Advisian, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Swinburne University, Alinta Energy, ME Bank, Visy and Medtronic.

Mel is also the cre...

Were you like me, and one of those kids who would ask ‘why?’ all… the… time?

My parents must have lost count of the number of times I said ‘but why’ and kept asking and asking and asking until I had a satisfactory answer, and I quite often didn’t.

Our Natural Curiosity

As young ones we are naturally curious, some more than others, but we all have a natural curiosity, and it seems that as we grow older, wiser, more experienced, we stop leaning into that curiosity. We become quicker to make assumptions, to assume we know the answer, to make educated guesses. That serves us well some of the time, but a lack of curiosity can also have its downside – we miss things, we miss the truth, we make false assumptions, and we make decisions based off half-baked information.

The Decline in Our Curiosity

I first witnessed this fading in true curiosity when completing a major research paper for my university studies, when I was studying criminology and forensic psychology. We were looking ...

Hello and welcome to Episode 210 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today I am uncovering the #1 mistake I see business owners and leaders make when it comes to communicating effectively with their people.

Do sometimes you feel your team aren’t listening?

Maybe that your message is falling on deaf ears?

That you’re being super clear, but they genuinely don’t seem to get it;

Or maybe you know you could be clearer but don’t want to be bossy…

Likelihood is, you’re making this mistake.

In this episode we start by talking about why our communication matters so much before unpacking the key elements of effective communication – and how communicating well is about so much more than what we say.

Then we get into the mistake – and I share with you some simple strategies to translate what you are trying to say, into a way your team can and will understand, listen and take action.

An Invitation

Would you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers e...

Mastering difficult conversations at work is an invaluable skill – especially for leaders – but do you know the ten most common types of difficult conversations?

While difficult conversations about performance management are definitely one of the most common types of difficult conversations we see in workplaces, they’re just the tip of the iceberg.

Business owners and leaders will encounter a wide range of challenging conversations with their teams, and knowing how to approach and navigate these difficult conversations is an invaluable skill. 

So, while performance dramas are undoubtedly a significant part of the landscape regarding difficult discussions, it's a mistake to believe that these are the only challenging conversations you'll have as a leader in business.

Why We Avoid Difficult Conversations at Work

There are many reasons why avoiding difficult conversations is bad for business, the most obvious being the creation of a toxic work environment that can be damaging for ...

Hello and welcome to Episode 209 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today we are answering a question that has come in from one of our listeners Lara. Lara’s question is: Lara’s question: how do you lead a team of young men when you’re an old fuddy duddy!?

To help unpack this further we start todays’ episode by looking to understand the different generations at work, and use McCrindle Research information to help us with that.

Then we discuss why a different generation doesn’t mean wrong or different, it’s just their lived experiences that has shaped them and how they approach work.

Finally we look specifically at leading younger generations in the workplace, and spotlight Gen Z who are currently aged 14 to 29.

The McCrindle Research tells us that Gen Z value approachable leaders who are clear communicators and display empathy.

They are focused on buying their own home and seeking financial freedom and they make decisions on their next role based on the access to an approach...

This is one of the topics I most often get asked about.

I see business owners, leaders and managers struggling with this one all the time: tackling difficult conversations with staff. Usually, this comes after a period of avoiding that difficult conversation which is what we’re going to spend a bit of time today looking at in depth.

We Are Conflict Avoiders

If you’re anything like me, conflict is not something you run headfirst toward with arms wide open to embrace - that’s exactly why tough conversations are hard.

That dreaded feeling in the pit of your stomach, sleepless nights, anxiety, avoiding the staff member and putting off THAT conversation, if not avoiding it entirely.

You are absolutely not alone.

It’s a Skill We Can All Learn

Even with my experience, I don’t like having these conversations either. I never have, and while I’m definitely better at tackling these tough conversations, it doesn’t mean I like it any more than I did before - I just developed the skills to ge...

Hello and welcome to Episode 208 of the People Powered Business Podcast!

Today we are talking about one of the most common frustrations I hear from business owners ‘my people aren’t listening to me’.

Have you ever felt that way? Maybe that you’re talking, but your message isn’t landing, or that you’re going around in circles, and it feels like you’re repeating yourself and nothing is changing.

In today’s episode we are discussing the signs and symptoms that we see when it looks like our people aren’t listening and I share with you the 3 most common reasons it can appear that your team aren’t listening.

Spoiler alert – all 3 things are on us! They are things we might be doing, or not doing – so are totally in our control to fix.

An Invitation

Would you like to connect with other like-minded business owners, leaders and managers experiencing similar situations with their team? Join the discussion inside our free Facebook Group – HR Support for Australian - Businesses - https://www....

One of the most common, and annoying, challenges we face as business owners is when we have a staff member who is frustrating us! Sound familiar?

It takes up headspace, energy, time, and ultimately distracts us from focusing on more positive actions and activities in our business.

It Can be Subtle

Often, we can clearly identify why we are so frustrated, but sometimes it more subtle, and even hard to put your finger on, and these are the trickier situations to manage. When we are clear on why we are frustrated, we can talk to the employee, articulate the problem, state what needs to change and work on a path forward. Whereas when the issue is more subtle and difficult to identify, it’s hard to know what to do. What ends up happening is the frustration builds, and often we lose sight of what we originally were reacting to, and everything starts to frustrate us when it comes to that team member.

The Importance of Clear Expectations

Fundamentally, when we are frustrated with one...