Talking to leaders in a broad range of organisations, from early-stage startups to ASX20, has led me to conclude that confusion between actual and desired culture is a common problem. In particular, it’s common to see leaders actively choosing to anchor internal rhetoric with aspiration. This is designed to clarify the team's target state— a worthwhile endeavour. There is a but here…unless the sense of aspiration is explicit — ‘we strive to be…’ rather than ‘we are…’ — it comes with the risk that dissonance is created between a team’s day-to-day experiences and the rhetoric. And that dissonance makes it hard for people to know how they should behave. Should they do what they see or do what they hear? If the team does not believe that leadership understands the difference between reality and aspiration in culture, it will likely erode the organisation's trust and commitment.

Is it time to broaden our focus when it comes to work relationships? Making friends is one of the best parts of work - but it isn’t a guarantee. So how do we collaborate well even if we don’t get along?

Is it time to broaden our focus when it comes to work relationships? Making friends is one of the best parts of work - but it isn’t a guarantee. So how do we collaborate well even if we don’t get along?

how do we create the optimal conditions for team performance?

"If you're racing between things, you're probably creating friction and debt at unsustainable levels. When you build flow first, you can then sustain greater velocity over time."

So how can we create an atmosphere where achieving team flow leads to the speed and direction required?

Building a narrative around speed and urgency becomes dangerous when your team are so busy and moving so quickly that they can't even remember why they're doing it.

Instead, let's talk about velocity.

Even though we hate to admit it, we've all got limited time and capacity - and unlimited ways to deploy it. It takes real discipline to focus that capacity on delivering our desired impact

92% of resolutions fail. So why bother? Try reframing your thinking around intentions by focusing in how you want to be and how you’ll bring that to life

Do I optimise for today or invest in tomorrow? That's a leadership question that most of us regularly face. It presents in many different situations, including people leadership. As we help our team members grow and develop, we find ourselves balancing the role of expert (solve for today's problem) and coach (build capability for tomorrow).

The transparency trade-off - using transparency to build trust in your team