Meetings are a powerful tool that are widely misunderstood. Given the frustration most people feel when their time is wasted, gaining a reputation for running efficient and successful meetings is good for you and your career.

Running a successful meeting is more than sending out a notice that your team is to meet at a particular time and place. Successful meetings need structure and order, without these elements, they can drag on and not accomplish a thing.

So what makes a…

No company can operate without great employees. Nowadays, top talents and skilled employees are highly sought after by various businesses both big and small. Companies are looking to hire as many employees that not only fit into their culture, but are also able to contribute to achieving business…

Hang on a minute – who really is this ‘difficult conversation’ difficult for?

Many managers have told me that they need to properly prepare for a meeting with a staff member because the meeting will be uncomfortable for the staff member and the conversation content will be difficult to receive.

What I believe the manager is really saying to me is that they have to properly prepare for a meeting with a staff member because the message and the meeting experience will be difficult…

With the football World Cup on the horizon, football fans across the country are fuelling anticipation ahead of an inevitable early-stage exit for the England team.

Alongside our scrutiny of the players' performance on the pitch, the actions of the managers' barking orders from the sidelines will be under close inspection. As thousands of fans passionately cheer their side on, the pressure cooker of football management can sometimes get the better of even the most…

When we think of a playbook, we think of a strategy or plan used in a team sport. In this post and podcast, we're talking about how you can create your own personal playbook. It's a useful tool that helps purposeful leaders focus their efforts when they’re going into or have come out of a project or task. It prompts you to address the who, what, where, when and how of…

It’s about time!

• Our management meeting ran overtime and so I was late for the client meeting. The client was not happy.
• I don’t know why we schedule the meeting for 8.00am when the boss does not turn up till 8.15.
• We spent so much time on Sophie’s agenda item, we ran out of time to deal with my issue.

Time management is often a negative for meetings.  Here is…

There are many attractive reasons why you should move to the UK. As English is the one of the most commonly-spoken and influential languages, there are major benefits in moving to the UK for your career. Even with the surprising result of Brexit, house prices has still climbed with no signs of falling. Here are the top 5 cities to consider to work and live in the UK:

London

From…

Recently I wrote a couple of articles, here and here about Google’s 2016 Project Aristotle and how it identified psychological safety as the preeminent predictor of success and productivity in a workplace team…

What do you do if you know or suspect that the culture is bad & that bullying & sexual harassment is happening, but you don’t have any proof or actual complaints.

This can be tough as you have a duty of care to take all reasonable steps to provide a workplace that is free from bullying & sexual harassment, so I recommend a 3 step approach.

1. Conduct training to outline what bullying & sexual harassment are, the behavioural expectations of your organisation…

In a recent decision of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) (Heydon v The Highgate Group Pty Limited [2018] FWC 956), an employee’s summary dismissal was upheld after he tried to extort money from his employer and then deliberately withheld information about work health and safety (WHS) issues, forcing his employer to shut down a site for 1.5 days.

The employee was the Operations Manager for a business that designed, constructed and serviced…

Late last week, a job advertisement from a Sydney Optus store was the subject of media attention for its discriminatory language. The job advertisement placed on Seek for a casual retail consultant at its Neutral Bay store stated that candidates who were “Anglo Saxon” and lived near Neutral Bay were preferred.

The advertisement prompted the question – had this Optus store engaged in discriminatory conduct that is considered unlawful under Australia’s anti-discrimination…

Mobile phones have become somewhat of a permanent extension of the individual in this day and age. It is rare to come across someone who does not have their mobile phone in their hand, pocket, bag or otherwise within reaching distance at all times.

It is concerning, however, when employees seem unable to detach themselves from their mobile phones during work hours. In white-collar industries, employers often face the problem of employees spending too much time at work taking personal…

Having investigated 100s of workplace bullying/harassment complaints and conducted many training sessions. I have found that the requests/engagements have always come from the HR department or another senior manager (if there is no dedicated HR) but never from a manager involved in safety or WHS. 

Would a shift in responsibility for the handling of bullying and harassment complaints and training from HR to WHS/HSE affect the process and how bullying and harassment…

Ground-rules for meetings: Why they matter; how to create them, and how to best use them.

Last week's blog talked about setting and honouring the 'social contract' for meetings.  Today, we will talk about what is commonly the missing third of that 'social contract', namely the behaviour of those attending.  Some of those behaviours are detrimental.

• People keep drifting off the topic.
• Fred keeps bringing up the same issue we dealt…

The thought that some of the most vulnerable in our society - the elderly - might be at risk of harm in residential aged care facilities is abhorrent. But even with the best of intentions and the proper guidelines in place, there is still potential for abuse and assault to occur. 

Abuse allegations in an aged care setting are highly emotional and challenging for all involved, especially the victims and their…

In applications for orders to stop bullying, the conduct of an employer will not constitute bullying under section 789FD of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) if it can be shown that the particular conduct is “reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner”.

In some cases, the alleged bullying behaviour will relate to changes that an employer has made to the usual processes and procedures of the business – which can have adverse…

Employers can often find themselves in a difficult position when they are advised by an employee that they have been charged with a non-work related criminal offence and may be unable to attend for work.

In our previous blog, we suggested caution about acting too quickly in these situations and discussed the need for employers to consider the individual circumstances of employees and to seek legal advice before making any decisions about whether the employee should return to work or…

Launching an investigation in response to a workplace complaint can be a serious business. Investigators are required to speak to witnesses and review any evidence that is available to them. Weighing the evidence provided during an investigation is a crucial step in reaching a valid conclusion about whether an alleged event or incident occurred as it is said to have occurred. 

But what happens when an employee withholds information or evidence that is relevant to an investigation?…