Category: New In Leadership

High-speed rail (HSR) has been the subject of debate in Australia for decades. Why are we so slow to leave the station? An Australian HSR network High-speed rail carves an intricate grid across places such as Europe, China and Japan, where the first Shinkansen bullet train shot out of a Tokyo station more than 50 […]

I hate the way we have cynically reduced the naturally sociable instincts of human beings (we evolved as herd animals, after all) to a bloodless skill or – worse – a KPI. I have never in my life “networked”, but I will happily have a chat with just about anyone. Which brings me to another thing […]

When ambitious young leader David Bartlett , then aged 40, became Tasmanian premier in May 2008, he had a clear vision in mind for Australia’s island state. More than that, he’d planned in clear time increments what would happen in his first three hours (specifically, a media conference where he’d announce his intention to build a “clever, […]

The problem is the word “impact” tends to be intrinsically linked to size. Impact is only viewed positively when it’s big. In fact, big is often not enough. It needs to be bigger than big. It needs to be HUGE. A small impact is basically no impact. A tiny impact isn’t worth the paper it’s […]

Indian restaurant Pappadavada and Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya join Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on this month’s thumbs up list for effective leadership. Thumbs down goes to 7-Eleven, Priceline CEO Darren Huston, and Portico/PwC high-heel scandal in the UK. Pappadavada Many food retailers and wholesalers donate unsold produce to charities but Minu Pauline’s Pappadavada restaurant in […]

Australian salaries aren’t going anywhere fast. In its latest figures, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) says the nation’s wages grew by just 2.2 per cent in 2015, the lowest rate of growth since it started publishing these numbers in 1998. The IML 2016 National Salary Survey confirms that people’s pay packets haven’t put on […]

A lot can happen in a workplace in a year. People join, people leave and whole businesses can be restructured. But when those big changes happen, employees who are absent on parental leave are often an afterthought. Quite a few managers have tripped up by denying these parents their legislated rights when their jobs are […]

Despite my nerves, the day went well and I returned home rather pleased with myself. The workshop had made a positive impact – of that I was sure. Indeed, the feedback forms were filled with praise. I was positive they’d use my services again. Then I didn’t hear anything from them – for years. Perhaps, […]

Today a worker who returns a positive drug and alcohol test faces the risk of losing his or her job. This is not a new phenomenon; over the centuries the law has allowed employers to penalise workers for out-of-hours behaviour they don’t approve of. A 1777 English court case upheld a master’s right to dismiss a […]