The Latest from Kristy-Lee

We all know the feeling, we’re losing sleep, we’re avoiding the person at work, we’re angry, frustrated and tearing our hair out. We have an employee who is not performing, not showing up how we want them to at work or behaving in a negative way, a way that isn’t sitting right with you.

We can’t always quite put our finger on the exact issue, it’s just not quite right, but it’s wrong enough to be consuming our time and attention. Or maybe it is more obvious, but we feel like we’re going over the top if we bring it up – we don’t want them to feel like we are micromanaging them or pulling them up for something that feels petty and insignificant (yet the fact that it’s consuming our time and attention does in fact mean that at some level it is significant to us).

So, we tolerate it, whether it’s behaviour, attendance, performance or something else, we tolerate it. We think maybe it’s not that much of a big deal, or maybe it’ll be short term, or surely they will realise soon and fi...

As a business owner, leader or manager, the ability to successfully delegate tasks, responsibilities and authority is critical to your ability to grow and develop your business.

However, it’s a skill that often we struggle with.

Even those who can delegate, often don’t do it as effectively as they could, and for those who own their own businesses this can be a really tough art to master, because it involves letting go, and releasing control.

Put simply, delegation is the action of assigning responsibility for the completion of a task to another person.

Typically, you as the delegator maintain the responsibility for the task being completed, although you may, depending on the circumstances, delegate the authority up to a certain level as well. So, you delegate the ‘doing’ but still need to ensure the doing gets done.

As your business grows, delegation becomes critical, you will ultimately become a bottle neck in your own business, and the reality is you can’t do ever...

Hello and welcome to Episode 164 of the People Powered Business Podcast.

In today's episode we are discussing how adaptable we are as leaders, and whether we’re displaying adaptive leadership with our teams.

We all have a natural or default leadership style that we tend to lean towards, and we all also have blind spots or weak points in our leadership – but how well can we move from one style to another to lead in the best possible way based on the situation, circumstances and people.

Today we take a look at what adaptive leadership actually looks like, why it’s important to work on our adaptive leadership skills, and how we can develop a more adaptive leadership approach.

I also mention research conducted by Tomoko Yokoi, here is a link to the Harvard Business Review article outlining the work of her and her team:

https://hbr.org/2022/01/finding-the-right-balance-and-flexibility-in-your-leadership-style

If you’d like to continue the conversation on this, please join us in the...

Do you ever get the feeling you are trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole when it comes to your team?

It’s not that people are doing a bad job, or underperforming, but simply that the skills they have no longer suit the business, or that the business has changed and needs new skills.

All businesses face these challenges as they grow and evolve. The skills that were once critical to your service delivery perhaps are now obsolete, technology has absorbed tasks or customers have changed how they do business with you.

When we need to grow what we tend to do, often out of uncertainty and desperation is just to ‘tack on’ a new role, where we think the gap is, without any strategic thought or forward planning.

The problem with this approach is you end up creating a team structure that’s clunky, anything but streamlined and usually isn’t the most efficient and productive structure for your business.

This is why I really believe in the value of a clean slate, and ...

Hello and welcome to Episode 163 of the People Powered Business Podcast.

In today's episode, I’m excited to again be speaking with Brett White of Be Leaders.

Brett has worked with hundreds of leaders across not only Australia but the globe, and works with organisations to help them develop their leaders, with a special passion for emerging leaders.

Brett is passionate about helping leaders, teams and organisations find their hidden potential. His hope is that as they develop a deeper understanding of themselves and the world around them, they will create meaningful change.

Brett has worked with over 50 organisations and 350 leaders and influencers.

He is accredited in Life Coaching, Thought Dynamics and Organisational Leadership and has run hundreds of face to face and online training workshops and keynote sessions throughout Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore and Cambodia.

In today’s discussion we’re talking about leader behaviour. This is something Brett has been doing...

Hello and welcome to Episode 162 of the People Powered Business Podcast.

In today's episode, we're going to be talking about a topic that many of us have experienced or even been guilty of ourselves - micromanagement.

We'll be discussing what micromanagement is, the common characteristics of micromanaging bosses, and why we tend to do it. We'll also be exploring the negative consequences that micromanagement can have on your team and your business, and sharing some practical strategies to help you stop micromanaging and start trusting your team.

First, we'll define what micromanagement is and what it looks like in reality. Micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes, controls, and intervenes in the work of their team members.

We'll discuss some common characteristics of micromanaging bosses, including being a control freak, lacking trust, having perfectionist tendencies, and struggling to delegate effectively.

Next, we'll explore why micromanagement is b...

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.

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.

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 get better at having them. 

These skills ...

Hello and welcome to Episode 161 of the People Powered Business Podcast.

Do you avoid being a leader in your business? Are you a "non boss" who struggles to manage Effectively? In this episode, we'll explore what a "non boss" looks like and why people might adopt this mindset. We'll also discuss the downsides and consequences of being a "non boss" and provide strategies for overcoming your fear of leadership and becoming a better boss.

Firstly today we will define the "non boss" mindset and unpack what a “non boss" looks like.

Specifically we’ll look at symptoms like avoiding conflict, lacking direction, catering to everyone's needs even if it isn't good for the business, making decisions by committee, and failing to make decisions at all.

We’ll then turn to some of the consequences and ripple effects being a “non boss” has on your business. Things like a downturn in morale, motivation, and engagement and how a lack of clarity results in a downturn in productivity.

Then I’ll share...

In my view, leadership is one of, if not the most critical attribute in successful organisations. Businesses who can not only survive, but thrive in tough environments, and continue to exist beyond the lifetimes of their founders and their original dream team, must, by their nature have great leaders., without that they are surviving in spite of themselves and will ultimately fail to continue.

Importantly, leadership is not a position, or term of rank within any business. Great leaders can be found at any level, in any role. Leadership is not a title. Put simply, leadership is the ‘art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal’ it could be directing, but that’s really managing, for me leading is about inspiring others to take action, by setting the example and the tone for ‘how things are done around here’. Great leaders have people follow them not because they have to, but because they want to, not because of what they do and say, but because of how they ...

Hello and welcome to Episode 160 of the People Powered Business Podcast. Today we’re discussing why doing performance reviews is more important now than ever before.

We’ll start by unpacking what are performance reviews and why do we avoid doing them.

As business owners, leaders and managers putting off reviews, or avoiding them completely is more common than we’d like to admit. Whether it’s due to time constraints, fear of negative reactions, and lack of experience with formal evaluation processes – I’ve heard all the excuses under the sun!

So I want to make the case for why you should do performance reviews. So I’m diving into the reasons why employers should conduct regular performance reviews. We discuss the benefits of providing feedback and evaluations, such as increased employee performance, accountability, and productivity. We also explore how performance reviews can help identify skill gaps and provide opportunities for employee development.

Finally, I wanted to share the ...