MAD LEADERS BLOG

Many leaders who work with me are at a crossroads, unsure of what to do next with their career planning. By the time they reach me, they're often in a state of feeling confused, stuck, lost and even unhappy.  

The risk for these leaders is that their state of confusion can show up in the workplace as disengaged, disheartened, withdrawn and possibly toxic. A shift in their behavior can create a negative shift in the perception of them with management, their peers and their team.

They may say things to various people in the business such as, "I don't know if I want to be here" or "I'm lost". 

Now, while this communication may be honest, if it’s not delivered in an empowered way it can be detrimental to your brand. The people you speak with may share your feelings with others and it can ripple out across the business, impacting people’s perception of your engagement and question your value in the business.  

Now, I’m not saying that if you are lost or stuck, you don't communicate that...

I’ve noticed a growing trend of people leaving the corporate space, because they believe that they can't fulfill their yearning for purpose, or to explore their passions while in a corporate environment.  

It saddens me to see these people giving up on what was previously their dream, because they have lost their way in the corporate world, believing there is no way to attain fulfillment if they stay. 

Of course, for some people leaving is the best pathway, but for many there are ways to find alignment without venturing too far afield from their current trajectory. 

If you’re contemplating where to next, I’d like to encourage you to be open minded and explore how you can align your passions, purpose and interests within your current organisation or industry. 

How can you evolve and expand your role to bring you greater fulfillment? 

One of the activities I do with my clients to help them with role and purpose alignment is map out a delivery timeline and ask a number of questions t...

What leadership career ladder are you climbing, and are you climbing the right ladder for you?

I am working with a leader in middle management, who is at a point where he is wondering: Do I elevate beyond where I am and apply for the director role? 

This manager is a technical expert, and like so many leaders in organisations he's been promoted up the ranks without any quality leadership or management development.  

One of the key challenges he’s facing right now is that he has received feedback that his team is losing trust in him, as he doesn’t delegate work and wants to deliver much of the work himself.  

He’s doing the work, rather than delegating the work. 

One of the questions I asked him was, ‘Do you want to let go of the technical aspect of your work or does that bring you joy?’  

Through our coaching journey he has realised that he will always want to do some of the technical delivery himself, as it fulfills him so much. He has also recognised that while he really does e...

Today, I want to talk about how important it is to build your network, even if networking takes you out of your comfort zone.  

A lot of the leaders I work within organisations say to me, "I don't want to build my network because it feels like I'm being political.”

I want to challenge this thinking. I want to invite you to reframe networking in your mind from ‘playing the politics game’ to wanting to find out how can you add greater value to the business. 

Ask yourself, ‘How can I and my team provide greater value to the business?’  

Allocate time in your calendar to meet with stakeholders in the business to ask them, "How do we provide our greatest value to you?", "How can we support your business area more?" and “Who else should I be meeting with to add greater value?” 

By doing that you both strengthen your existing network and build relevant new connections. Keep in mind that all of those people have connections as well.  

What you're doing is building relationships, build...