Leadership Matters Blog

We are leading in a world that moves faster than our nervous systems were ever designed to handle, where our attention is constantly pulled in a dozen directions at once and where the volume of decisions, information and expectations we face each day seems to multiply the moment we catch our breath. The pressure to […]

Promoting strong individual contributors into management is still one of the most common leadership decisions organisations make yet remains one of the least supported.  A high performer delivers results, earns trust, and gets recognised. The next step seems obvious: give them a team. But the move from doing the work to leading people is not […]

Leadership training is one of the most common investments organisations make and one of the least interrogated. Courses are rolled out, workshops are delivered, and managers are given frameworks for feedback, delegation, and communication. On paper, capability is being addressed.  But when organisations step back and look at how leadership actually shows up day to day, the same patterns […]

Everyone says truth matters – yet leaders speaking it clearly and fully is rarer than ever. Why is that so, and how do we fix it?  Edelman’s 2026 Trust Barometer shows we are plumbing new depths of a trust crisis. Whilst the last 12 months saw some paltry gains in some trust measures, across the […]

A recent McKinsey survey found that while more than 70% of organisations have piloted or deployed artificial intelligence in some form, fewer than 30% report having achieved measurable, sustained business impact from those investments. The gap between ambition and outcome is striking – and largely predictable. The reason is rarely the technology. AI tools have […]

Return to office has become one of the most debated people issues of the past few years, especially with the current fuel crisis where several governments are mandating that workers stay home to save on fuel and the cost of living pressures. For many Australian leaders, the tension is real. Teams are harder to connect, […]

Key Takeaways Resilience isn’t about working harder under pressure; it’s built through clarity, trust, and adaptability. Adaptive leadership creates the conditions that allow resilience to develop naturally within teams. Key elements of adaptive leadership include: Clarity and shared direction Trust and psychological safety Continuous learning and reflection Shared problem solving and responsibility The Institute of […]

Key Takeaways Organisations often over-invest in senior execs while leaving frontline and mid-level managers (who manage 80% of the workforce) under-equipped. Gaps in soft skills such as communication, coaching, emotional intelligence, and conflict management are major risks to productivity and retention. Structured leadership development helps organisations address these capability gaps in a targeted and measurable […]

As we step into 2026, leaders face familiar challenges but in a world shaped by hybrid work, AI, and shifting expectations, old problems demand new approaches. At IML, we see this as an opportunity: to rethink leadership and set the agenda for the year ahead. At our recent Leadership Outlook 2026 webinar, we invited Jacqueline […]